Traffic Lights as Media
Traffic lights are media that uses one of the most simple technologies to deliver communications. Yet, their influence is so powerful that it literally controls the whole traffic flow of a city. In retrospect, I was amazed how bits of LED lights would have such an impact on everyone. The initial goal of this project was to create moving images that reinterprets meanings of traffic lights in our everyday life. I explored the imaginative story behind the scenes of mundane experiences related to the traffic system.
Exploring Virtuality and Augmented Reality
The purpose of this project was to create moving images that would be applied to a site. In my case, I chose sites that had traffic lights. The first proposal was an installation piece that had the little man on the traffic light interact with a passenger. At a certain point, the passenger’s phone would ring and as he/she picks it up, traffic light would communicate more sophisticated informations. However, the fact that it was a one-time episode seemed to limit other possible interesting stories. During my consultation with Professor Ben Hooker, I was introduced an open source code for augmented reality. Later on, I explored diverse possibilities of using the technology and concentrated on producing interesting scenarios. I investigated on understanding new meanings of a physical world that holds aspects of virtuality.
Making
The project opened a new approach towards communicative spatial design. I was genuinely impressed by the method and still have a strong motivation to make an actual product that projects augmented reality in a physical environment. I have been collecting the open sources and did 3d modeling. Then I converted 3d modeling file into a format(md2) that was compatible to papervision 3d and frartoolkit for Flash. I also created PAT file that is applied as the smart grid system. Computer would detect this grid mark and generate a three dimensional animation according to viewer’s perspective. I haven’t figured out the actual code to import all of my files yet. However, it is still in progress. I also learned that it was possible to make an augmented reality simulation by using excelerometer attached to cam recorder. To create stories of a world where one can customize their own surroundings through the embedded technology, I have sketched out random ideas that could be possibly made by using code. The black and white motion collage is a simulated sketch that shows a collection of the user’s little journey of augmented reality. I also explored methods that could be used for displaying virtuality in physical space. My first hypothesis was that If the world where this technology is common using specially designed glasses or contact lens would also be ubiquitous. However, my final proposal of display is mirror. The mirror itself is virtual, and expanding its aspects of augmented reality through technology seemed intriguing. A user would embed his own collective memory in his surroundings. Whenever he/she looks into the mirror the user would experience his customized virtuality.
Click thumbnails to see process
