MPC Digital in Soho will play host to ‘Urban Prairie’ an intuitive interactive art installation conceived and designed by their Digital department and Architecture firm *ın square lab. The project; developed in collaboration with existential ltd is for the London Festival of Architecture 2010 which runs around the capital June 19th – July 4th.
in square lab and MPC Digital create motion recognitive
Press Release from MPC Digital
MPC Digital in Soho will play host to ‘Urban Prairie’ an intuitive interactive art installation conceived and designed by their Digital department and Architecture firm ın square lab. The project; developed in collaboration with existential ltd is for the London Festival of Architecture 2010 which runs around the capital June 19th – July 4th. The installation underlines the notion of bringing the inside out; whilst blurring the boundaries between architecture, interactive installation and art.
At its core; Urban Prairie is an experimental installation that illustrates the opportunity of merging the real world with the ever-increasing virtual environments we find ourselves living in. Through intelligent design and interventions, we aim to synchronize physical materials with real-time graphics in a bid to create one experience.
An array of optical sensors and arduino boards are used to capture and comprehend the movements of passers by in front of MPC London building at 127 Wardour St. This digital data is then translated into kinetic responses via a series of servos; creating the phenomenon of a sea of grass swaying in the breeze. The motion of the 'real' grass is in turn measured by our software and translated, after sufficient delay, to a virtual prairie on four 42" screens behind the 'real' grass.
The combined result is an interactive 'Urban Prairie" which passers by can interact with through their movements in space. By varying their speed and location in front of the windows, passers by can generate wind disturbance that travels from the ‘real’ grass to the virtual prairie seamlessly and eventually fading off into the horizon.
After the LFoA (www.lfa2010.org); the team plans to present the project in a variety of global locations.
From ın square lab:
Creative Director: Jackson Tan
Project Manager: Ernest Tsui, Ernie Lew
Hardware/Software: Mats Trovik, Damien Brown
From MPC Digital:
Executive Producer: Jonny Dixon
Producer: Jason Plews
Graphics Software Consultant: Robin Carlisle
Production Coordinator: Samantha Rocca
From Existential Ltd:
Software Developer: Adam Cubitt
Producer: Alenka Abraham
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
