The Long View — XYZN: Scale SIGGRAPH 2013 Installation

This is an interactive projected art piece that portrays time through the evolutionary progression of a planet. Using motion detection hardware (Microsoft Kinect) and custom made software (derived from the OpenNI drivers, and programmed using Processing), we can track users movements in space to add motion parallax, position based scaling, and interaction or manipulation of the world.

The visuals are created using Adobe Flash and a physics engine (Box2D WCK). The world changes as time progresses. The user can effect the worlds short term state, but is unable to change the course of its long term progression.

“Our piece integrates open sourced physics based gaming engines in Flash with our own gesture-based interactive system that utilizes the Microsoft Kinect as an input device. The installation allows/encourages viewers to interact with the projected elements by moving their hands and body in a natural way. The projected “planet” view exhibits visual/behavioral changes over time and “evolves” as human technology and industrialization advances/increases. Viewers can play with these “ecosytems” to change them in some way. The piece itself loops, and metaphorically creates a conundrum for the viewer as to man’s long term relationship to the earth.

It relates to the theme XYZ(N) in that it both covers vast epochs of time as well as creates different experiences for the viewer depending on their proximity to the projection. We are interested in creating interactive systems and experiences that are intuitive and require no learned grammar. We believe that in the future, gesture-based interactive spaces and experiences will become a common way for individuals and groups to interact with media, environments and each other.” — Patrick FitzGerald