Spatial Media: Look out below!

This project aims to be much more lighthearted than the TrafficFlow project. My primary interest in the Spatial Media final project was to do something large – at an architectural scale. Anderson Miller had a similar desire and we came up with an utterly ridiculous idea.

Sometimes it seems as though a bird has taken aim at me when I’ve been hit by their droppings while walking along. What if they are? What if YOU were that bird and you ARE aiming at folks?

Take on the role of a bird and try to hit hapless passersby. See if you can lead them just right to score a direct hit!

Designed to be played from the roof of a low multi-story building, participants get a literal bird’s eye view of the sidewalk below. Control your target with a joystick or bird-like avatar and let loose. Projection is bounced off a mirror overhanging the roof edge and depicts the falling excrement. Splat on sidewalk or victim – computer vision will detect a successful hit. Past misses will persist on the ground, providing fair warning to others walking by.

The projector/camera support should be designed to be carried up several flights of stairs, and assembled / broken down quickly.  Most importantly, it should be safe and stable. The front portion of the rig will be supported by the building or window ledge and the bag portion will be directly supported by rigid legs as well as tethered by several nylon strapping anchored with sandbags. For portability, it would be desirable to break the rig down into several backpacks and possibly be transported by bicycle trailer.

The project is conceptually simple, but may prove to be technically complex given the unknown condition of the potential display environments. There are of, course the implications of interacting with unwitting and possibly unwilling participants. Finally, permission to use a physical location may become an issue. Inspired by the GRL L.A.S.E.R. TAG project, they had the advantage of being laterally distant from the projection surface, which could likely be public or semi-public property. Getting to the necessary vertically oriented position will likely involve entering private property (with permission) or locating an accessible public space.