Datt3700 Mid-term presentation
1
FaDING
fOREST
PITCH
By: Divya Mehta, Kimberly Davis, Vanessa Dang-Lam, Virginia Chan
Fading Forest Pitch
- Over 17% of the Amazon has been depleted due to deforestation practices such as, cutting down of trees, cattle ranching and forest fires.
- Imagine this! What if we created a forest space that embodied an abstract aesthetic, while still evoking the feel and the awareness message of deforestation/reforestation?
Our General Idea
Our General Idea
- We plan on suspending some of the trees upside down from the ceiling and having some of the trees placed normally on the ground.
Novel & Innovative Qualities
- Demonstrating a bridging connection between a virtual forest world and our physical forest environment. Therefore, the virtual environment can act as an expansion of the physical environment.
- Actions that are done in the real environment, would have similar effects implemented in the virtual environment (cause and effect).
- Embodies human and machine interaction, allowing users to be a part of positive change (Reforestation)
- Deforestation does not just affect an ecosystem, but the entire planet earth. An abstract generative art piece of planet earth will also be projected on one of the walls.
Novel & Innovative Qualities
Brief Description
Brief Description
- The installation deals with a physical forest (ground and ceiling trees), interconnected to virtual worlds. “Fading Forest” aims to showcase both Deforestation & Reforestation practices.
- Depicted through a repeated cycle of calmness to despair (emulating total chaos). The installation embodies wildlife sounds, lights, movement detection, abstract projections and motor movements.
- 3 types of light modes for the installation (green, multi colored and red).
- Reforestation will be showcased through the users' interactions with the trees
Experience & Interaction Models
- Integrating the sound of animals and insects to provide a more immersive and realistic feel to the forest space. Beginning with a serene and lively atomosphere.
- Then! Visitors will be subjected to randomized/spontaneous sounds of an axe chopping and a chainsaw that would output from a speaker.
- Essentially, the users will have no idea when the acts of deforestation will occur within the space. This would further provide the users with an element of surprise and the feeling of not being in control of what is happening initially.
Tree(Ground & Ceiling ) Cutting Mode Interaction & Experience
Tree(Ground & Ceiling ) Cutting Mode Interaction & Experience
- Once those sounds are activated, a motor will cause the structure to bend. The green lasers will shut off, signifying the destruction of the tree. We also want to have the sounds of the animals and insects slowly fade away as the trees are being “cut.” This would further symbolize despair and the probable element of extinction of the wildlife.
- When the trees are being “cut” down, the trees on the ceiling would move from side to side using motors. For safety reasons, the lasers would be replaced with neopixels which would still display all 3 modes of light (green, red and multicolored) depending on the occurence of different deforestation acts.
- The installation will also allow the users the opportunity to “replant” the “trees” through the use of RFID tags, sewn on a glove (Reforestation).
- This will trigger the servo/motor which will allow the bent “trees” to return to their original positions. Thus, turning on the multi coloured neopixels that would signify new growth as well as the restoration of the wildlife sounds.
- The multi coloured neopixels would eventually change to the green lasers again, emphasizing the end of the growth process.
Forest Fire Mode Interaction & Experience
Forest Fire Mode Interaction & Experience
- The forest fire mode would also be randomized and will involve crackling sounds made to emulate fire. This would be where the lasers would switch from green to red.
- (Reforestation element) The red show lights in ACW 103 can also be triggered for a further firery effect. In order to stop the forest fires, any light source can be shown on a photoresistor, the light will represent water.
N.B. All the regular lights in the room will be turned off !
The Abstract Planet Earth Interaction & Experience
The Abstract Planet Earth Interaction & Experience
An abstract generative art of planet earth will be represented with the use of green “squiggly” lines. Every time any act of deforestation occurs the green lines would slowly start changing to brown and vice-versa. Once the entire representation becomes brown, this would signify that the earth has become barren.
Further Development
Further Development
If our project gets selected, its further development would involve the use of Kinect to detect user's movements within the space. This detection would allow for simulation of gentle wind movements showcased through the trees. For example, if users are within the eastward direction of the space, the functioning trees within that direction will move gently side to side and trigger rustling sounds.
References To Other Works
Musical Laser Forests by Marshmallow Laser Feast
References To Other Works
Autopoiesis
- An artificial life installation by Ken Rinaldo
Technical Proposal
Platforms
Technical Proposal
- Tree Structures (Ground & Ceiling) for the physical platform
- Virtual Plaform (projections of the virtual forest and abstract planet earth)
- Kinect, for the detection of users as triggering wind movements (motors) of the forest trees
Users
RFID Tags
Cotton gloves (wear with RDIF tag)
Kinect for user detection
Virtual Worlds
Maya/Sketch-Up (virtual projections)
Max MSP
Projectors
Arduinos
Laptop
Ground & Ceiling Trees
Lasers (red and green)
NeoStrips (multicoloured)
Acrylic Leds (ground only)
Motors
Wooden Dowels
Speakers (sound output)
Mp3 Shields (sound storage)
Wire frames for the ceiling trees
3D printing (for parts of framework)
Wood (to place the acrylic leds for ground trees)
Transmitters and Recievers (communication)
Photoresistors (water rep.)
Jumper Wires
Budget Link https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1u87E024pN9hOkyOJ2sc0q0cqlkjoSR1jsctA-y3mh-k/edit#gid=0