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meldOrbs Interactive Installation

Siggraph 1998, Interactive Dance Club; Acrylic Hemispheres, Proximity Sensors, Audio, MIDI, Dual-Channel Video: Variable Dimensions


An abstract narrative experience where embodied interactions affect a story told with real-time 3D projected imagery, lighting and sound.

INTERACTION KEYS

  • In multi-participant installations, feedback must be immediate and clearly connected to an action among multiple signals.

  • Collaboration is rewarded; controlling projected shapes that fluidly blend together, and special audio and lighting.

  • Narrative is advanced through both the actions of participants and the predisposition of the orb imagery.

 

3D IMAGERY RENDERED IN REAL-TIME

The 3D graphics were created & managed in real-time with Houdini software. Use of Houdini's procedural networks allowed a high level of visual fidelity in real-time.

Below are a few selected images from the participant-controlled animations that are projected on the screen.

ORB SENSOR ARRAY

Below is the weathered orb sensor breakout and infrared sensor schematics:

Orb sensor wiring diagram, above.

Proximity sensors triggered state changes fluidly in the software's node-based networks. 3D objects, motion, & audio were painstakingly tuned for real-time interaction & high frame rate output.

Below, images from the Interactive Dance Club installation.