ARS Electronica 2009. Review
On September 3rd, five members of the Syzygy Deutschland Team boarded a plane and started their trip to digital heaven. Divine destination: this years ARS Electronica in Linz (Austria), themed Human Nature.
For nearly three decades now the ARS Electronica is one of the world’s foremost media art festivals. Symposia, exhibitions, electronic music sessions and performances throughout the city space as well as the international audience contributed to the unique festival spirit.
Some Highlights …
Quartet
Quartet is an Internet Interactive Kenetic Musical instrument.
"Become the fourth member of a musical quartet, by entering a short melodic theme through a simple web interface."
"The custom software expands your theme into a unique three-minute piece of music. The music is played by the three robotic members of the Quartet: The first is a ballistic marimba, which launches rubber balls 2m in the air, precisely aimed at marimba keys. 35 tuned wineglasses are played by robotic fingers, and an ethnic percussion ensemble round out the quartet."
Red Psi Donkey
"Sound is invisible, but can be translated it into the visual world with the help of new technologies, such as the Acoustic Camera. Sound produces wave patterns that at first appear as abstract as waves in water. It is theoretically possible that wave-shaped images can be produced from the overlappings: hatchings whose appearances are coincidental, but accidentally resemble things we are familiar with from the visual world such as an object or an animal.
The basic concept of the Red Psi Donkey consists of a static image constructed from wave patterns and visualized by means of Acoustic Camera technology. Speakers produce a sound that is inaudible for humans which in turn produces an image, the image of a red donkey."
"The wave pattern depicting the red donkey exists solely as long as the waves can unfold undisturbed within the empty exhibition space. The wave pattern changes as soon as a visitor enters the exhibition space; the image of the red donkey disappears. The entering into the sound space causes the dissolving of the image."
"Red Psi Donkey deals with the visualization of an otherwise invisible reality that is destroyed by means of its own presence. Red Psi Donkey consists of an aural and a visual room segment."
Mertz
"A child’s voice, big eyes and bushy eyebrows—MERTZ is a “face robot” that evokes empathy. As soon as it notices a human being in its surroundings, it makes contact with him/her."
"Thanks to its camera sensors and special software, MERTZ can recognize faces. It attempts to interact with as many people as possible, and, in doing so, gathers data about their facial expressions. MERTZ is able to differentiate among up to 15 individuals with whom it’s familiar."
Bare Skin Safe Conductive Ink
"Bare is a conductive ink that is applied directly onto the skin allowing the creation of custom electronic circuitry. This innovative material allows users to interact with electronics through gesture, movement, and touch. Bare can be applied with a brush, stamp or spray and is non-toxic and temporary. Application areas include dance, music, computer interfaces, communication and medical devices."
"Bare is an intuitive and non-invasive technology which will allow users to bridge the gap between electronics and the body."
Geminoid HI-1
"Hiroshi Ishiguro, professor at the University of Osaka and guest group leader at ATR Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratories, served as the model for HI-1, the very first geminoid. Since 2006, HI-1 and other geminoids have been used for purposes of research, which has essentially been following two approaches."
"Some projects concentrate on the development of a functional remote-control mechanism and the programming of movements that most closely resemble that way a human being naturally moves; others focus on cognitive modeling to investigate typical characteristics of humans—for instance, “human presence.” The combination of the two approaches leads ultimately to the development of robots that strongly resemble a human being and open up novel insights into human nature."
"Our purpose to develop the geminoid is to study on Sonzai-Kan by extending the framework of android science. The scientific aspect is to answer the questions how humans recognize human existence/presence. The technological aspect is to realize a tele-operated android that works on behalf of the person accessing from a distant place. This will be one of the practical networked robots that is realized by integrating the Internet and robots."
Deep Space
"Experience a new dimension of travel through space and time. Immerse yourself into breathtaking 3D stereo universes featuring jumbo-format, high-definition images that will absolutely blow you away!"
"In Deep Space, you can experience far-away, unknown and historical places. You’ll see what used to be invisible. Your perceptions of familiar sights will undergo a radical shift, and you’ll be amazed by previously hidden details revealed by perspectives that are impossibilities in the real world. The spectrum of projects on display in Deep Space ranges from artistic works that utilize a wide array of graphic techniques and approaches all the way to interactive storytelling, from architectural and art historical visualizations to images shot by state-of-the-art cameras positioned in outer space."
"The technological heart of Deep Space consists of eight 1080p HD- and Active Stereo-capable Barco Galaxy NH12 projectors. The images are projected onto mammoth 16x9-meter displays mounted on the wall as well as in the floor. A great vantage-point view and a dizzying shift of perspective is available from the Deep Space Platform set up at an altitude of about five meters."
TaxiLink
TaxiLink Project is an interactive installation which enables users to experience an authentic distant taxi ride. TaxiLink Project creates a link between a taxi driving in Jerusalem and participants from a distant location abroad.
Sitting in the static TaxiLink booth, the passengers join a live tour in and around the old city of Jerusalem, experiencing a personal interaction with a real-life taxi driver. Through live video and audio transmitting from the driving cab , the passenger can now experience a genuine back seat ride of Jerusalem and its breath taking surroundings.
Rope in Space
"Rope In Space" is an interactive installation developed by the Ars Electronica Futurelab. It allows people who are in different locations to play tug of war. You have to pull a rope which is attached to a device with a screen and camera. Your data is then sent to the other location and the other way around, so both can see how they’re doing.
Life Writer
"Life Writer consits of an old-style type writer that evokes the area of analogue text processing. In addition a normal piece of paper is used as projection screen and the position of the projection is always matched with the position of the type writer roll. When users type text into the keys of the type writer, the resulting letters appear as projected characters on the normal paper."
"When users then push the carriage return, the letters on screen transform into small black and white artificial life creatures that appear to float on the paper of the type writer itself."
"The creatures are based on genetic algorithms where text is used as the genetic code that determines the behaviour and movements of the creatures. The algorithms were developed for one of our previpus works called Life Spacies and here the text functions as genetic code for the creation of artifical life creatures."
Medial Stage
"The goal of the project was the enhancement of the traditional static stage setting into a reactive and dynamic stage design that plays its own vital role in the narration."
"On the stage, large planes were arranged onto which architecture, generated in real-time, was projected. The projection screens formed clipping planes through an imaginary virtual architecture positioned on stage. Machiavelli’s – the opera’s protagonist’s – movements and gestures were camera-tracked, and the virtual architecture moved according to his movements and gestures. This concept allowed linking the staged action and the architecture closely: Machiavelli, as a powerful and dominant character in the play, has power over the stage (and consequently over his co-actors) through the possibilities of interaction given to him.
In addition to the architecture, the costumes of the actors were also augmented with digital media. Via a tracking system developed especially for this opera, digital masks were generated in real-time, according to the silhouettes of the actors. Textures were then pasted onto these masks, and the ensuing “media costumes” were projected to fit exactly onto the singers. This way, it was possible to depict the characters’ conditions and feelings with dynamic textures on their bodies."
ARS Electronica Center. LED Fassade
Realtime Controll of 40.000 LEDs allows to do amazing live performances visuals & music:
Höhenrausch
The art exhibition OK | HÖHENRAUSCH (Thrill of the Heights) entices visitors up to and over the roofs of Linz.
Klangwolke
"Fabulous creatures created and brought to life by people from Linz and vicinity pour through the city and transform it into a biotope full of wonders. Klangwolke 2009 follows the flow of one of humankind’s oldest narratives – the myth of the Great Flood. Over the course of the day, the signs and omens intensify as onslaughts of animals careen through the streets and prophets presage frightening visions. At nightfall, the banks of the Danube become the setting of a drama at the nexus of doom and deliverance. With video projections, live music and fireworks, a theatrical account of survival is played out before the backdrop of the night sky and the big river."
Making of:
Some impressions
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