SofiArt

A Computer Vision Installation

Light Identity is a software mirror installation that plays on the concept of multiple-fragmented identity. It explores individual identity as multiple reflections of subjective diffracted realities of the fragmented self in the perceptible world of the electronic age. It attempts to prompt the question of identity in the mind of the passer-by in a light and playful way, as images of themselves advance ahead of the subject or follow behind. The mirror reflects individual identity as multiple electronic light objects, alienating and dehumanizing individual identity, and, at the same time representing the multi-dimensionality of identity and the self. Different aspects of identity might be physical, mental, psychological, social, spiritual, economic, artistic, ethical.

Why interactive?
The experience is interactive, and interdependent on the presence of the spectator who also becomes the performer in the installation. The otherwise empty physical space of the installation becomes alive only with the involvement of the audience. Under the light of surveillance, the participator realizes that he/she is both the one that looks and the one being looked at. The boarders between art and life, the artist and the audience are blurred. The question of who the artist is becomes less important as interactive art is as much about the artist as it is about the people who actively or passively interact with the art.

The Inspiration

The inspiration for the aesthetic of the effect came from my friend’s Lori Napoleon’s Diffraction lenses and Laser effects – see Lori’s blog http://itp.nyu.edu/blogs/lan274 and web site http://www.subk.net/holoindex.html. I had always wanted a 360 degree projection in physical space with no screen, and Lori was doing just that with lasers. In this project I achieved a 360 degree projection using a servo motor. I now want to transform the installation to a 180 degree projection. The blue green color scheme resembles the Mediterranean sea and also green lasers.

The Process

Shiffman’s mirror effect triggered the idea of imitating light diffraction and the code was perfect for a diffraction effect! I combined the diffraction effect with Golan Levin’s brightness thresholding for background subtraction to achieve the aesthetic I was looking for. Below are the steps involved in completing the project:

1_Designing the raw effect using Shiffman’s mirror example with processing.

2_Visualizing the final effect in photoshop.

3_Background subtraction using brightness thresholding.

4_Combining the effect with background subtraction.

5_Replicating the image into a multiple effect.

Lighting is key!
When I tested it at home against a white wall and using a desk lamp, I knew that the code basically worked. The process of battling with the code to refine the effect, was a mystifying experience, as unlinke any other visual media I had used before, I had no real control over it. Attempting to combine serial communication with video was a challenging mission. Due to partly my ignorance of what this might entail, and partly my confidence with video and lighting, I was determined to continue. The code, succeeded and broke 4 times for no apparent reason except that serial and video are touchy with each other. The things I tweaked to fix the code in the end did not make any sense to me. For example, changing the order of declaring my variables in setup. Amazingly, and as I had heard usually happens, it all came together the night before my presentation.

Physical Computing

1_Using a camera for video tracking x and y data input.

2_Mapping x and y data into arduino using serial communication.

3_Servo motor to control the output movement of the mirror.

The installation

For motion tracking and background subtraction I used a black background, IR light, and a night vision camera. A mirror is mounted on a servo motor projecting an image around the room, according to the horizontal movement of the subject in the camera frame.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 10:01 pm and is filed under interactive. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.