I had the chance to test Simpletones at PlayTech, an annual event at Parsons where children of all ages come to play test games and interactive projects that students are developing. It was a great experience where I could test a more finished version of Simpletones working with a new kind of audience . The evaluation is positive, kids interacted with the interface and behaved in a similar way from what I have observed before with previous versions, they explored, discovered, communicated, and they had tons of fun.
For this version I incorporated the color-lighted controllers, that gives the installation a different aspect and makes the computer vision sensing work more accurately. By doing this i solved the issue of clothing, since Simpletones uses color tracking, there is now no problem with the colors present in the clothing of users, making the tracking system consistent.
I also built the central pole with wheels that can be moved around the room.
Something beautiful to point out is that in many cases, children didn’t know each other but they still engaged in the collaborative experience. I see now that Simpletones can make complete strangers participate in a communal activity around music, which is something I expected but never really tried before.
I performed this the with the new configuration (mapping) for Simpletones. As I expected, taking it to a bigger scale changes completely the interaction and the mood of the experience. I’m really pleased with the initial results, and I can say that it’s working in its current state. Participants collaborated to find out how it worked, played and most importantly they had tons of fun. The test was extremely helpful to see what needs to be fixed and improved.
One big issue is going to be clothing. Although the color tracking can be very precise (low tolerance to a different color than the selected), if any of the users are dressed in the same color of the tracking points, the system gets confused. To solve this I implemented a way to filter out any color point that is not a square or a circle (using a ratio relation), so it will try to pick the points in their hands (they should be spheres). However, this might not be enough, so I will have to find complementary ways to ensure the points’ positions are consistent.
6_Prototype for two participants
02.08.2012, Comments Off, 6. Two participants, Prototypes, by Francisco.4_Sound Installation in Public Space
11.04.2011, Comments Off, 4. Public Installation, Prototypes, by Francisco.Test date : October 26, 2011
Location : MFA DT Lab, Parsons The New School for Design
Objective
Observe the level of attention, exploration and engagement with a sound installation.
Observe behavior of participants when confronted to a sound interface with no visual feedback.
Description
A computer sound interface is placed in a highly transited zone in an private open space. The interface uses a camera to sense movement and proximity and outputs sonic feedback based on those parameters. The camera and speakers were placed in a zone where people usually walk by (near a hallway), with the intention to see if the interface made them stop.
When users walk by the interface, depending on how much they move, a sound becomes louder, if the user freezes, the sound stops. A second control is provided depending on the proximity with the camera: as the user gets closer to the camera, a second sound (with different timbre and frequency) gets louder. Consequently, if the user walks away from the camera, the sound will decrease in loudness.
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3_Physical Sound Control – Two Modes
11.02.2011, Comments Off, 3. Gestural Sound Control User Testing, Prototypes, by Francisco.Test date : October 18, 2011
Location : MFA DT Lab, Parsons The New School for Design
Objective
Observe how the interface can influence on user’s behaviors.
Description
As an extension of the previous prototype, this experience was built under the same basic principles: users standing in font of a camera connected to a computer that transforms the arm gestures into sound.
for this version, a more detailed and straightforward visual feedback was provided: every time a sound is triggered, a red dot appears indicating which side is activated. This proved to be more effective comparative to the previous experience.
For this version, two modes were supported in order to allow comparison between passive and active behavior from the interface:
Mode A : freestyle improvisation
Mode B : Users hear a base rhythm
Each one of the users tried both modes and at the end of the experience they were prompted to describe the differences between each mode. Basically they were asked to describe in what situation they felt more comfortable.
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2_ Physical Sound Control
09.29.2011, Comments Off, 2. Gestural Sound Control, Prototypes, by Francisco.Date:
26-30 September, 2011
Objective:
Observe user behavior when confronted to a sound interface with body as input without giving them any directions.
Description:
A sound controller using camera vision that is capable of understanding if you extend your arms to the right, left or up.
This set of three actions are used to trigger three different sounds
1_ Collaboration – simple rythm
09.29.2011, Comments Off, 1. Collaborative drumming, Prototypes, by Francisco.Date:
14-17 September, 2011
Objective:
Observe the communicational behaviors of players when engaged in creating a collaborative sound piece.
Description:
- Four players sit around a midi device with buttons that trigger different sounds.
- Each player will be in charge of operating one quart of the interface ( a 4×4 matrix ) .
- The goal is to collectively create a rhythm where each participant plays only one sound, basically is dividing the role of a drummer within four participants.
Contraints:
Participants can play one sound at a time and they can only do it after the previous player’s turn
Questions:
- How do players build a strategy to tackle a common goal?
- What stages in the developing communication can be identified?
- What kind of communications can be observed (i.e. physical, verbal, through the interface)?
- How is the learning process when operating the interface?