Interactive Surveillance: Live digital art installation by Annabel Manning and Celine Latulipe |
| Interactive Surveillance: Live digital art installation by Annabel Manning and Celine Latulipe Posted: 12 Dec 2010 07:30 PM PST Interactive Surveillance, a live installation by artist Annabel Manning and technologist Celine Latulipe, was held at the Dialect Gallery in the NoDa arts district of Charlotte, N.C. on Friday, December 10th, 2010. I attended this event with the intention of capturing some of the interaction between the participants and the artistic content during the experience, but I came away with so much more. The themes embedded in the installation struck a chord with me on several different levels. Friday's version of Interactive Surveillance provided participants the opportunity to use wireless gyroscopic mice to manipulate simulated lenses on a large video display. The video displayed on the screen was a live feed from a camera located in the stairway leading to the second-floor gallery. When both lenses converged on the screen, a picture was taken of the stairway scene, and then automatically sent to Flickr. Although it was possible for one person to take a picture of the scene holding a mouse in each hand, the experience was enhanced by collaborating with a partner. In another area of the gallery, guests had the opportunity to use wireless mice to interact with previously recorded surveillance video on another large display. The video depicted people crossing desert terrain at night from Mexico to the U.S. In this case, the digital lenses on the screen functioned as search lights, illuminating - and targeting- people who would prefer not to be seen or noticed in any way. On a nearby wall was another smaller screen with the same video content displayed on the larger screen. This interaction is demonstrated in the video below: A smaller screen was set out on the refreshment table so participants could view the Flickr photostream of the "surveillance" pictures taken of the stairway. On a nearby wall was a smaller digital picture frame that provided a looping video montage of Manning's photo/art of people crossing the border. The themes explored in the original Interactive Surveillance include border surveillance, shadow, and identity, delivered in a way that creates an impact beyond the usual chatter of pundits, politicians, and opinionators. The live installation provided another layer to the event by providing participants to be the target of the "stairway surveillance", as well as play the role of someone who conducts surveillance. Reflections: In a way, the live component of the present installation speaks to the concerns of our present era, where the balance between freedom and security is shaky at best. It is understandable that video surveillance is used in our nation's efforts to protect our borders. But in our digital age, surveillance is pervasive. In most public spaces it is no longer possible to avoid the security camera's eye. Our images are captured and stored without our explicit knowledge. We do not know the identities or the intentions of those who view us, or our information, remotely. We are numb to the ambient surveillance that surrounds us. We go about our daily activities without notice. We are silently tracked as we move across websites, dart in and out of supermarkets and shopping malls, and pay for our purchases with plastic. Our SMART phones know where we are located and will give out our personal information if we are not vigilant, as our default settings are often "public". It is easy to forget that the silent type of surveillance exists. It is not so easy to ignore more invasive types of "surveillance". We must agree to submit to a high degree of inspection in the form of metal detectors, baggage searches, and in recent weeks, uncomfortable physical pat-downs, for the privilege of traveling across state borders by plane, within our own country. In some airports, we are subject to whole-body scans that provide strangers with views of our most private spaces. We go along with this effort and prove our innocence on-the-spot, for the greater good. Conversely, we have multiple means of conducting our own forms of surveillance, through Internet searches, viewing pictures and videos posted to the web, and playing around with Google Streetview. As I wandered around the Dialect Gallery with my video camera, I realized that I was conducting my own form of surveillance, adding another layer to the mix. Unfortunately, some of the time I had my camera pressed to "pause" when I thought I was filming, and vice versa, and as a consequence, I did not capture people using the wireless mice to interact with the content on the displays. I went ahead with my mission and created a short video reflection of my impressions of Interactive Surveillance. If you look closely at the video between :40 and :47, you'll see some people from across the street from the gallery that I unintentionally captured, and now they are part of my surveillance. Although the video below was hastily edited, it includes music and sounds from the iMovie library that approximated the "soundtrack" that formed in my mind as I experienced the exhibit. To get a better understanding of Interactive Surveillance, I recommend the following links: Barbara Schrieber, Charlotte Viewpoint Video Reflection of Interactive Surveillance (Lynn Marentette, 12/10/10) Live Installation: Interactive Surveillance, by Annabel Manning and Celine Latulipe from Lynn Marentette on Vimeo. Interactive Surveillance Website  Interactive Surveillance Flickr Photostream http://interactivemultimediatechnology.blogspot.com  |
| Posted: 12 Dec 2010 04:36 PM PST Nicolas Loeillot, of LM3LABS, has been ahead of the natural user interaction/ interface game for many years as his company has expanded. He's done quite a bit of deep thinking about the work of his company, and has used this wisdom to create a nice concept map that describes how LM3LABS' solutions fit into the world of gesture-based control and interaction:  In my opinion, this chart would make a great template for mapping out other natural interaction applications and products! Here is the description of the concepts outlined in the chart: "If all of them belong to the "gesture control" world, the best segmentation is made from 4 categories:
If you are interested in this subject and want to view some good examples of off-the-desktop interfaces and interactions, take a look at the LM3LABS blog, as well as Nicolas Loeillot's Vimeo channel. Also take a look at the sample of posts I've written about LM3LABS over the last few years - the links are at the end of this post. Interactive balloons from Nicolas Loeillot on Vimeo. Interactive Balloons v lm3 labs v2 (SlideShare) Background I've learned quite a bit from watching LM3LABS (and others) grow, given my passion for postWIMP interactive technology and my commitment to blogging about this subject. Nicolas has really worked hard in this arena. As early as 2005, LM3LABS was working with Scala to provide "smart" interactive displays, and his company's applications have been supported by computer vision technologies for many years, allowing for gesture-based, or "touch-less" interaction, as demonstrated by the Catchyoo Interactive Table. This application caught my eye back in early 2007, when I was working on projects for large interactive displays for my HCI and Ubicomp classes, and was thinking about creating a table-top application. My hunch is that LM3LABS has set the foundation for further growth in the future, given the lessons they've learned by taking risks with postWIMP technologies over the past few years! Previous Blog Posts Related to LM3LABS: Interactive Retail Book (Celebrating history of Christian Dior from 1948-2010 (video) Ubiq Motion Sensor Display at Future Ready Singapore (video) Interactive Virtual DJ on a Transparent Pane, by LM3LABS and Brief Ad LM3LABS' Catchyoo Interactive Koi Pond: Release of ubiq'window 2.6 Development Kit and Reader A Few Things from LM3LABS LM3LABS, Nicolas Leoillot, and Multi-touch More from LM3LABS: Ubiq'window and Reactor.cmc's touch screen shopping catalog, Audi's touch-less showroom screen, and the DNP Museum Lab. About LM3LABS "Founded in 2003 by a team of passionate researchers, engineers, designers, and marketers from various international backgrounds, focused on fast transformation of innovation into unique products, LM3LABS is a recognized pioneer in computer vision-based interactivity solutions. Keeping a strong customer focus, LM3LABS' team of unique people pioneers new directions, explores new concepts, new technologies and new interactions. Engaging, playful and magic, LM3LABS' products and solutions are always scalable and reliable" info@lm3labs.com Note to readers: Over the past couple of years there has been an explosion of postWIMP technologies and applications, and with this pace, it has been difficult for me to keep abreast of it all. There is quite a bit I miss, given my full time job and daily life! I welcome information about postWIMP interactive technologies and applications from my readers. Due to time constraints, not interest, I am not always able to post about a topic as soon as I'd like. That is OK, as my intention is not to be the first blogger to spread the latest tech news. I like to dig in deep when I can and make connections between innovative, interesting technologies and the people and ideas behind them. http://interactivemultimediatechnology.blogspot.com  |
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