My set of interactive projects unintentionally ended up as a set of physical objects.

feelSpace

feelSpace is actually a cognitive science research project at the University of Osnabrück, but I think it is a strong inspiration for artistic interaction. The project consists of a belt lined with vibration motors and an electronic compass. The section of the belt that points to magnetic north is always vibrating slightly, which allows the wearer to feel his or her heading. After wearing the belt for six weeks, users reported that they became accustomed to navigating with their sixth sense.

So while it was designed to research how the brain adapts to new sensory sources, there’s a lot of artistic potential in making intangible information always present to us as “new” senses. As an aside, this project inspired the Stalker Sensor, a belt I made that gives the wearer a crude approximation of the distance of object behind them.

Optocoupler and other New Needs Devices

[vimeo 25769471]

These projects by Ludwig Zeller also take on psychological and cognitive science topics, but come from an art and design perspective without a focus on research. The three devices, Dromolux, Optocoupler, and Introspectre explore how technology can be used to alter mental ability as a reflection on the intended and unintended consequences of living in an always-connected world. I particularly enjoy Optocoupler (pictured), which is designed as a “digital depressant” or relaxation chamber. I can’t speak to how well it actually works, but I think the form is interesting (sticking your head inside a TV) and the light patterns are beautiful. Very reminiscent of scenes from Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey

My little piece of Privacy

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKhbUjVyKIc]

Niklas Roy’s My little piece of Privacy is a great example of the fun to be had in overengineering. Roy’s studio has a large window facing the street and to gain some “privacy”, he mechanized a tiny curtain so that it would move to block the view of passerby. This instantly creates a game where people on the street are distracted by something moving as the walk past and then try to outsmart the curtain and see into the studio. As a result, there’s probably even less privacy, but despite the title, I don’t think that was the point. I like this because its fun, conceptually simple, and the engineering is well done and well documented.

Bridge 1

Last, we have Michael Cross’s Bridge 1. The interaction here is purely mechanical, but I find the result incredibly compelling. Inside an old church flooded with water, visitors walk across a bridge that appears in front of them and disappears behind them, leaving them apparently in the middle of the water with no way back. So while there’s nothing computational about this piece, I include it because its one of my favorite interactive pieces and the feelings it evokes and explores can inspire many other projects.