EMMA: New Ground

Physical Computing

The Krueger article is fascinating to me because it made me excited about my own work. I would love to create the ultimate VR environment where people can communicate even if they are at different places in the world as in his VideoPlace project. When reading about his Psychic Space, I thought it might be a fun project to do a similar piece with a physical space. I would like to create a MAZE that is contained in a 10’x10’ area, but that has walls that constantly appear and disappear to create the illusion of an infinite labyrinth. I think the psychology of using a real space might produce some interesting results. (In a related project, University of Tsukuba is working on floors that move to simulate a bigger space than the one you are in. http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2004/081104/Shifty_tiles_bring_walking_to_VR_Brief_081104.html) This is a tool that is an extra step in making the input controls with technology a bit more transparent.

I was also particularly fond of Maeda’s essay on pragmatism and Co’s essay on the role of nature in technology. They both emphasize the idea of using technology for more than simple processing of information. Bringing the ambiguity and unpredictable features of nature is not only interesting, but required if we want to have the computer be a better participant in the performances of the future. They both also speak on the idea of the computer being an element in real physical space (rather than just viewing visuals on a screen), which is also worth considering when thinking about technology and performance.
Also related to performance and robots: Please read this months Wired article on robots in theater. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.02/posts.html?pg=3

posted by Steven G. @ 2:42 PM