GLOVE/PUPPETS:
I have a vision of continuing with the glove that I made at the beginning of the semester. I’ve been really hesitant about the whole glove thing because it so simple and so popular right now. But of all the ideas I’ve come up with, this is the one that keeps popping back up in my head, so I figure that’s more important than anything else.
My primary focus would be the glove. I’d like to make at least two sets so that two users could use both hands at the same time. I’d like to continue with using them as digital switches (on/off) and not cross over to an analog (flex sensors, FSRs, etc). However, depending on their use, I might like to introduce a panel of foot operated switches & analog inputs that could be paired with the gloves. Or additional options for input located on the glove but not on the fingers. The setup would be one where the users were standing in front of a large image (preferably projected) and they would interact with each other through what was happening on screen. One possibility is electronic puppets. I started with this for my ICM midterm and could work off of that if I decide to go in that direction.
It’s really important to me that the glove be really beautiful/functional/comfortable both as an object and as a tool. The design is really important. I’d like to try out a lot of different materials/sizes, as well as different conductive materials for fingertips. Also, there’s the question of wires. Will really long wires allow enough freedom of movement? Is there any other way to deal with this?
I like the idea of combining craft with electronics – wires that are sewn, puppets created on a computer screen with scanned, tactile materials. The thimbles I’m currently using are awkward, but I really like the concept. I’m really attracted to the crossover between worlds. There’s also the desire to make something very playful, something that both children and adults would enjoy. Something that you could play with with a stranger and you would both end up laughing. An excuse to communicate. Dance party anyone? I feel like sometimes there’s an opportunity to have a more honest, less self-conscious interaction with someone when communicating through a third element.
If I did do the puppet thing, the foot switched could allow the user to select different characters, environments, events, etc. It could turn into a real storytelling situation.
Here’s some documentation of my glove and its use with the program that I made for my ICM midterm. Currently, body motion is controlled by the 4-switch glove. Background color, body location, verticle position of planes, and horizontal position of desert/pyramid are controlled by pentiometers. A toggle switch triggers a meteor shower in the background. A momentary button causes the background to shake.
OTHER FINAL POSSIBILITIES:
- continuing the umbrella project
- creating a room with light that is responsive to the location & activity of the occupant
- hacking a 16mm film project and make the projection of a film loop responsive to some sort of user input
