Thematic Background
Our environment is constantly evolving and shifting
at both micro and macro scales. The geological motions of the
earth, the carving of canyons by a patient flow of water, the
shifts of economic wealth, take place over time-scales too long
for us to observe. The world is in constant motion and we remain
subjective participants at a localized scale, unable to observe
these processes from an objective distance. We can only perceive
the results of such processes, not the inner workings. Conversely
in our digital environment today, the rapid changes in the network
activity, shifts of digital bits across continents, and the growth
in electronic data, are not easily perceived. The dynamics of
the digital community remains even more mystical then the shifts
in the physical environment. We propose an abstract and aesthetic
integration of electronic activity in digital spaces with tangible
elements in physical environments.
By utilizing a natural landscape, we wish to form
a computational metaphor that we term “sandscapes.”
In such an interactive environment, spatio-temporal forces are
applied to the malleable and persistent medium of sand. This creates
a naturalistic interface that enables the communication of emergent
behaviors. The surface of sand permits a four-dimensional display
of information over space and time. The resulting sandscape is
a dynamic sculpture that encodes abstract expression through its
shape, form, and texture. The microcosm of the human body embodies
the elements of matter, air, light and water. As multiple users
affect the macrocosm of the sandscape through digital and physical
forces (air, water and light) over time, their “traces of
being” emerge through the tensions manifested by their distributed
group activity.
Installation
The sandscape is embodied by a large physical environment
and distributed digital interfaces. The interplay between participants
interacting with elements in each space creates a tension represented
as physical displacements and electronic intrusions. The physical
space of the sandscape is coupled with remote digital portals,
providing a symbolic unity between the actions of participants
as abstract tangible forces.
The Physical Environment
The physical environment is a miniature sandscape
formed by sand-dunes, shorelines, and water-bodies. The sandscape
is in constant motion via changes in wind, water, sand and projected
lighting. In this environment, sandscapes are formed as the tangible
result of air or water interacting with sand. The wind and sea
act as global and patterned forces that form large structures
in sand, such as the soft shorelines, dunes, and valleys. The
dynamics of the light projected on the sand casts shadows and
indicates temporal variations in the environment.
The physical sandscape consists of regions that act
as both tactile input mechanisms and display surfaces. The environment
is structured as a peninsula in a 3x4' rectangular space. It is
surrounded by water on most of the 3 sides and a sand-shore on
the outer edge of the peninsula. This arrangement entices and
constrains the physical participants to interact with the sand
and water in the outer edges of the peninsula. The body of water
can also be physically manipulated by the hands of a participant,
as well as remotely by a wave-generator. Participants can stroke
their fingers through the sand on the shoreline, creating patterns
and leaving traces of their thoughts, their presence. Beyond the
shoreline, past pebbles and rocks, a landscape of dunes will be
manipulated by digitally patterned forces of wind and movement
of the earth. Here remote interaction will influence subtle changes
in the dunes via fan-blowers installed around the sandscape and
pneumatic forces (air-controlled balloons) under the sand. A mechanical
arm moving in the x-y plane will be used to create directed patterns
on the sand, acting as a digital sand plotter. Focused lights
projected on the sand will illuminate aspects of the environment
and provide a sense of passage of time. In addition specific video
projections will be used to create abstract patterns or shadows
in the sand dunes, complementing the granular texture of the sand.
The Digital Space
The tangible forms of the physical sandscape are
integrated with the immaterial presence of remote users. A network
of electronic terminals will allow distributed individuals to
sense and affect the natural elements of air, water, light and
sand. Different Java-based applets (Client Elements) running on
remote machines will be used to represent each element in the
physical environment. Each individual may login with a different
role influencing and shaping one of the elements. The remote participants
will have abstract experiences of the environment based on their
thematic control, i.e. minimalist visual and sonic representations
of one of the natural elements of air, water, light and wind.
Hence, an element such as water will be depicted by overlapping
and electronically textured waves with floating sounds. Abstract
controls in the applet will permit subtle changes in the speed
and direction of the waves in the physical environment. The waves
of water would gradually shape the form and surface of the sandy
shoreline. In addition, changes in each element as well as physical
interactions in the sandscape will impact the state of other elements.
Water would have a different impact on the sand if the forces
of wind are stronger. These dynamic tensions between the natural
and digital elements will be conveyed in the electronic representations
for remote participants. Tiny microphones embedded in various
places in and around the sandscape would amplify the subtle sounds
of movements in the environment to large speakers in the space
as well as transmit them over the network.
A central Java-based Environment Control Server (ECS)
will coordinate the activities of each Java client and pass digital
interactions to the mechanical devices in the physical space as
well as physical representations of changes to the networked Java
clients. Individuals logged in as "observers" will
be able to view the overall dynamic patterns in the sandscape
(via live images) and the actions of the physical and remote participants.
Overall the interaction of live human and remote
digital participants would create a shared abstract representation
of memories and experiences on the sandscape. This will be coupled
with live data from the Internet (weather, data traffic etc.)
to provide a sense of dynamism in the sandscape, over time, via
emergent patterns. The theme of remote and physical participants
interacting together via granular shifts in sand and digital bits
provides a compelling means of supporting an abstract community
activity.
Required Equipment
Chris Dodge - Born Jan. 15th, 1969 in Maine, U.S.A.
Graduated with honors from New York University, 1991, B.A. Film/Video,
Music Composition, and Computer Science. 1991-1993 Digital Signal
Processing Software Developer, Ariel Corp., 1994 - 1995 Artist-in-Resident
at Zentrum fŸr Kunst und Medientechnologie (ZKM), Karlsruhe,
Germany, 1995 - 1997 M.S. Graduate student and Media Art and Technology
researcher, Media Lab, M.I.T. Creative and technical collaborator
for the Brain Opera: a world-wide touring electronic operatic
performance with an interactive lobby experience, created by Tod
Machover of the Media Laboratory, 1996/1997. Interactive computer
vision researcher, Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories (MERL),
Summer 1996.
Nitin Sawhney completed an M.S. in Information Design
and Technology in the school of Literature, Communication and
Culture, at Georgia Tech. He worked on hypermedia, mobile computing,
experimental video and interactive sound. Nitin recently presented
a paper, "HyperCafe: Narrative and Aesthetic Properties
of Hypervideo" which received the first Doug Engelbart
best paper award at Hypertext ‘96. His work has also been
showcased at MILIA’97 in Cannes, France. He has worked with
the GVU Lab at Georgia Tech and the Fuji-Xerox Research Labs in
Palo Alto. Nitin is currently a graduate student in the Media
Arts and Sciences program at the MIT Media Laboratory. His research
interests include audio environments, tangible media, spatial
and temporal media aesthetics, and audio-based wearable computing.