Using embodied audio-visual interaction to promote social encounters around large media façades

Abstract

In this paper we describe the design of a large-scale interactive light and music intervention on a corporate high rise building and its surrounding urban area. Designing for interaction with media façades has traditionally posed challenges regarding proxemics, scale of the augmented architecture and placement of interactive spaces. With the increasing availability and affordability of interactive technologies, factors such as playability and tangibility are assumed not only to be present but also to enable richer collective experiences. We propose a new approach for interaction with large media façades employing embodied audio-visual interaction at the floor level. That way, the floor level serves as proxy for interacting with the media façade whilst facilitating social encounters. We discuss aspects considered during different phases of the project development and derive principles for connecting zones of proxemics, promoting encounters by distributing the performance, designing for urban activation and isolating implementation concerns.

Proxemic Flow: Dynamic Peripheral Floor Visualizations for Revealing and Mediating Large Surface Interactions

“…A number of earlier systems provided projected tracking feedback on the floor in the form of halos such as the Solstice LAMP [24] and Proximity Lab [25].…”

“…Interactive illuminated floors have been used in different contexts, such as interactive art [24,25] or games [31], and have recently seen increasing exploration as a primary interaction space [11,12]. A variety of input and output technologies have been used for these interactive floors, such as tracking users through computer vision techniques [31] or pressure sensing [12], and showing output using projectors [12,31], LED illumination [32] or vibrotactile feedback [33].…”

The Role of Embarrassment to Shape Public Interactions

“…Similarly, Hespanhol and his colleagues [11] have observed social encounters around large media façades. It is interesting to see in this study how people approach the interactive space, how they behave differently depending on the relative distance they are from this physical space and on the social situation they are in (i.e., alone, with friends or with children).…”

“…Several recent studies [1], [3], [10][11] have shown for example the influence that the mere presence of strangers has on the individual's intention to participate or not to participate in these interactions. VideoMob [10], for instance, is an interactive art installation based on Kinect technology that encourages strangers to connect across space and time.…”

Facilitating the First Move

“…Practitioners and researchers from many fields have proposed a wide variety of interventions [62], gadgets [51], installations [29], objects [49], and apparel [41] to support initiating interactions between co-located people. However, a systematically presented collection and analysis of existing social icebreaking design examples appears lacking.…”