Parazoan is an exploration of the interactive relationships between participants, a set of three augmented biomorphic physical objects, and the digital content they are coupled with. The parazoans are coupled with the digital content to generate visuals that reflect how participants manipulate them. Similarly to the painter's hand moving the brush, participants' gestures generate painterly graphics on a central display as they tilt, move, shake, squeeze and play with the parazoans, without the need for a direct contact with the screen. Each parazoan emits a particular color through its semi-transparent silicone skin and is coupled to a virtual "stroking agent" of the same color. The stroking agent generates a range of visuals based on the way a participant manipulates the object, from soft and detailed line drawings when handled with care to bold graphics when manipulated with intensity.
hardware
The installation consists of the set of three parazoans and a horizontal rear-projection display. A custom built wood table provides the inner space (15" X 23" X 3.5') necessary to host a projector and a front-face mirror to createa sizable projection. The parazoans are made of a custom built silicone casing covering an embedded microcontroller and a vibrating motor.
software
Parazoan utilizes two separate but interrelated pieces of software: one application runs on the microcontroller of each parazoan and another executes on the host computer. Each SunSPOT runs a custom Java application that manages the sensors, actuators and wireless communication of the parazoan. The application running on the host computer manages the data received from the parazoans and generates visuals reflecting how participants manipulate them.
exhibitions
entre-deux, Beall Center for Art + Technology, UC Irvine, CA, June 2008
thesis
Parazoan is part of a larger exploration of tactual interaction, UC Irvine, Ca, June 2008
photos
