Multiverse

Leo Villareal's Multiverse first installed in the fall of 2008 is now a permanent exhibit in the National Gallery of Art. The installation is "the largest and most complex light sculpture created by American artist". While this installation is impressively large with 41,000 LEDs, it lacks significance. The tunnel is beautiful landscape but it does not go further than that. I wish there was some element of interaction or a moment where the audience can see a dialogue or connection within the space. Regardless of its shallow meaning, I can still imagine kids looking up in awe as the move underground between the East and West wing of the National Gallery.

Stick Bomb

Tim Fort's kinetic display of popsicle sticks puts dominoes to shame.

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer is a Mexican electronic artist whose work spans the realms of architecture, technological theater and performance. Focusing on the urban environment, Lozano-Hemmer creates "relational architecture". Purposefully avoiding the cliche term interactive, Lozano-Hemmer intends his interventions to speak to a collective whole and defines them as "ephemeral experiences that establish architectural and social relationships where unpredicted behaviors may occur".



'Alzado Vectorial' (vectorial elevation) is an installation Lozano-Hemmer completed in Mexico City in 2007. This light sculpture consisted of 18 searchlights that were directed over Zocalo Square. The light shows that took place were all designed by spectators. Through a website (www.alzado.net), individuals could design a light show nd then watch it take place in real time. By creating another level of participation for the audience and by giving the viewers more authority, Lozano-Hemmer changes the perception of public pace; the public’s hand in creation is evident.



‘Pulse Front’ is a later installation Lozano-Hemmer finished in 2007 on Toronto’s Harbour Front. This light show is controlled by people’s heartbeats. There are multiple stations where onlookers can input their pulse and watch their beats along with others vibrate through the sky. This performance allows multiple composers to contribute to the show and begins to make relationships within members of the audience. ‘Pulse Front’ not only empowers the audience but also connects people to one another in new, strange ways.

the dawn of gesture development

This is an interesting dialogue between interaction designers at Nokia talking about gestural interfaces with electronics. Beware, "it could make you look insane."

more 'skin'

Imagine a city where ugly buildings could be covered, wrapped, and hidden from sight. LAVA Laboratory for Visionary Architecture proposes this "Tower Skin" to alleviate the eye sores that exist in every city and to improve efficiency in outdated buildings. This high performance 'skin' is a composite mesh and it does everything under the sun - generates energy from photovoltaic cells, collects rainwater, improves daylighting and employs convective energy to power the building's ventilation. Another added feature, the building can become an animated surface with embedded media at night allowing it to morph into infinite forms. This is a fun concept, but how many buildings will admit their unattractiveness? Initially called a "face lift", but it is more like a face off.


by day



by night

Wave Face Ultra

Gestural interfaces are emerging technologies that takes interaction design to a more intimate level. ASUS introduces a gesture controlled smart phone that can be worn as a bracelet - the Wave Face Ultra. This wearable device filters information as it comes to you and also interfaces with the user through body movements. At the flip of your wrist, the Wave Face Ultra can open inbox messages and move through the virtual architecture. ASUS has presented Wave Face as a suite with Wave Face Light which is more like a personal computer and the Wave Face Casa for the home. The Ultra is the most impressive with its simplicity and more subtle gesture control. Though we are many years away from this technology becoming a reality, this concept will change how we interact with our world. But do you want to turn on and off your computer with a blink of an eye?

Firefly

I met Jason Krugman at the ITP show a couple years back where I saw his first version of the Firefly. While always a great concept, this piece has really evolved into a beautiful installation that highlights the playfulness of air. Proposed for billboard use or building surfaces, this LED matrix displays the unseen forces around us and creates a magical experience for onlookers.

Short Firefly Demo from Jason Krugman on Vimeo.

'SKIN'

The Portuguese company Displax has unveiled a 'skin' that will be able to make any surface interactive. This 'skin' is a polymer film that's claimed to be thinner-than-paper. There are a grid of nanowires running through the film that detect touch interactivity and relay this data to a microprocessor. The film is 98% transparent, almost invisible, and the largest screen 50" can detect up to seventeen touches simultaneously. The 'skin' can also detect air movement and will be one of the touch sensitive technologies with that capability. With the possibility of any surface transforming into an interactive screen, our landscape will morph into a more digital reality. Get ready for Displax's multi-touch 'skin' to hit the market later this year.

who knew jewelry could be this much fun?

Kinekt's Gear Ring is a great twist on the simple mechanism of rotating cogs. I'm delighted to see analog technology in kinetic wearables - something tangible, interactive, and fun that doesn't require batteries. I can't wait to play with one.

Taking the smart phone into 3D

Nissha a Japanese touchscreen manufacturer is on the verge of bringing another dimension to our cellphones. Touchscreens will soon be able to detect not only our touch but also the amount of force our finger places on the surface. Today most touchscreens work using capacitance or resistance technology in order to detect where a finger interfaces with a touchscreen. This new technology thanks to Peratech's Quantum Tunneling Composites QTC works with ultrathin low powerforce sensitive switches (this sounds so fancy). How ever it works, this will change how we gather information, how we search through files, how we play video games, and much more. Taking a 2D interface and transforming it into to 3D will bring a amazing new possibilities to interaction design.

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