Groove Mechanic » installation http://groovemechanic.net Tech. Music. Toys... they're all the same Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:35:47 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc Kaleidoscope http://groovemechanic.net/2009/02/kaleidoscope/ http://groovemechanic.net/2009/02/kaleidoscope/#comments Mon, 16 Feb 2009 18:13:04 +0000 abel http://abelallison.com/wp/?p=331 abelandtable_crop

Kaleidoscope

The Kaleidoscope is an interactive, reactive system for tessellating the world around you.  The project is part of an ongoing investigation of creative expression using images from the world around us.  It uses a live web-cam as the video input, tiling the image on-screen to produce kaleidoscopic images.  The system also allows for feed-back loops by pointing the camera at the screen.  The result is a recursive fractal image that moves and fluctuates as the camera tries to auto-adjust to the ever-changing image.

The idea for a video kaleidoscope was the result of brainstorming with Hayes Raffle and Sean Follmer at Nokia Research.  For the installation, the camera was surgically implanted into the eye of a stuffed bunny rabbit, and the kaleidoscope image was displayed on a 28″ television screen mounted on the floor.  The software was written using Processing 1.0.1.  There is no other image processing done aside from taking part of the camera image and tiling it on screen (i.e. no additional color operations, etc).
Kaleidoscope from Abel Allison on Vimeo.
Click thumbnails to view full image. The Kaleidoscope was displayed on a standard television turned on its side. The low-res image of the tv made for some great effects. To make the setup look nicer, the TV was covered with a sheet. I cut a hole in the top so that the screen could show through. This cute guy was my excuse for a camera stand. I wanted something creative and provocative. Something to attract people to the image. This guy was made by cutting open his back, removing an eye, and shoving the camera up and through the eye hole. I then sewed his back shut with needle and thread. The Touch IdiotBox abelandtable img_0737 A wondeful look This is a resulting image when the refracting glasses were worn by the rabbit. Pretty neat. This shows the more traditional kaleidoscope mode. N triangles tiled around a center point. Every other triangle is reflected so that the edges coincide. We discovered half-way through the night that the Rabbit could wear the glasses. You can see the difraction of the christmas lights on the TV screen. I guess that's me taking the photo. I love the TV's interlacing artifacts. abelandtable_crop ]]> http://groovemechanic.net/2009/02/kaleidoscope/feed/ 2 SeaMe! http://groovemechanic.net/2009/02/seame/ http://groovemechanic.net/2009/02/seame/#comments Sun, 08 Feb 2009 21:53:36 +0000 abel http://abelallison.com/wp/?p=30 you could make a fish?]]> shot2_crop

SeaMe!

SeaMe is an interactive application that lets children create a fish that will come to life.  They choose the type of fish they want to create, color in the creature, give it attributes, then bring it to life.  The fish is transported into our virtual aquarium where it interacts with other fish.  Each fish becomes part of the natural foodchain, eating some fish and being eaten by others.
Click image to view full photo. Step 1: Draw your Fish Step 2: Import your fish Step 3: Read about the fish you have created Step 4: Observe your fish in its environment! Place your fish on the screen and it is shown on the monitor as it will appear in the fish tank. This is Bernie This is Cleveland One idea for foodchain structure fishstatemachine1_edit 5th Graders making some fish The kids were so into it. The thing they enjoyed most was being able to draw whatever fish they wanted. A softball fish GiantOctopus! SeaMonster SleekFish SoccerFish IdiocyFish Can't wait to go back and show them the new additions to the app Here is the tank during the daytime. Here is the tank at night. This is our big button hacked out of a Staples "That was easy" button. paper-cutout-prototype-003 paper-cutout-prototype-007 paper-cutout-prototype-001 paper-cutout-prototype-010 paper-cutout-prototype-008 This was my initial prototype of doing background subtraction to extract cut-out fish from the camera images. It works really well! These are the photos taken during the extraction process. 1) Red photo 2) Green photo 3) difference 4) normal photo 5) generated mask 6) Final result This app shows what your fish will look like before you send it to the tank. shot2_crop ]]> http://groovemechanic.net/2009/02/seame/feed/ 0