Time2024
Program
NYUShanghai IMA Capstone
Team
Personal Project
This project is my capstone project for undergraduate studies of Interactive Media Arts at NYU Shanghai. It is an interactive kinetic installation that connects the virtual to the reality. Audiences are able to control the position of physical boxes via a virtual user interface.
Design
This project aims to create a direct connection between the Virtual Space and the Physical Space. When we manipulate the virtual space in games or modeling software, what would happen if one physical model would act corresponding to the virtual model? This project FLOAT will give the audience a way to experience the affect of controlling their physical space in the way they interact with a virtual space on the architectural scale. Just like the game Minecraft, the audiences are able to put blocks onto spacial positions they like, except in this project, there will be physical blocks rendered in reality in real-time. This would not only provide tangible interactions and haptic feedback for the virtual space, but also provide multi-modal sensory output for a virtual environment, uniting the virtual experience and virtual power to the reality.
The design of the project focus on a matrix of floating boxes, each individually controlled by the computer and corresponding to a virtual box in the User Interface. When the audience controls the virtual boxes on the computer, it sends signals to the Arduino controlling 16 stepper motors, and the motors will let the boxes rise and fall as controlled by the audience. The overall structure of the boxes forms an interactive architectural structure in the appearance of a dynamic shape floating in the air.
Building on the tangible interplay between virtual and physical space, this project, FLOAT, explores profound creative, philosophical, and conceptual territories. By allowing users to manipulate physical space as easily as virtual elements, the project challenges conventional boundaries between digital and physical experiences, proposing a new paradigm where architecture is not merely inhabited but interactively co-created. This dynamic interaction underscores a philosophical shift towards viewing architectural spaces as partners in creation rather than static environments. Conceptually, FLOAT posits architecture as an active participant in its own evolution, responsive to and shaped by human interaction. This symbiosis between human intent and architectural response not only enriches the user experience but also elevates the discourse on the future of interactive and adaptive environments.