Traces

Abstract

Traces is an artwork for the Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE) that uses a novel machine vision system to enable unencumbered full body interaction with a range of semi-autonomous agents without the imposition of any sort of textual, iconic or encoded gestural interfaces and without physically restrictive wiring, pointing devices, or headgear. Furthermore, Traces does not consist of a 'world' which is 'navigated'; instead, the movement of the user through the space leaves volumetric and spatial-acoustic residues of user movement that slowly decay. This project was motivated by a desire to explore and critique four central issues in contemporary human-computer interface (HCI): (a) embodied interaction with computational systems; (b) rapid and transparent learning of interfaces by untrained users (the autopedagogic interface); (c) immersive bodily interaction with software agents, (d) extension and elaboration of the general conception of 'interactivity' itself. To explore these issues, we built an infrared (IR) multi-camera machine vision system that constructs a volumetric model of the whole of the user's body in real time. We have also developed custom thee-dimensional vision tools, graphical techniques and a range of techniques for generating and managing semi-autonomous agents in immersive environments.