Real-Time Augmentation / Interaction. Critique on March 3rd.
This project is concerned with creating a system that responds to signals or information in real-time. It’s anticipated (but not required; see below *) that your system will be interactive — that is, you’ll probably make something that responds to signals from a human user/visitor/player/interactant. For example, you might make a tool, an instrument, a game, a toy, or some other kind of responsive experiential system.

Developing an interactive system will ask you to think about augmenting human experience through an exploration of interactive feedback in the context of a user’s high-bandwidth, continuous and real-time signals — whether intentional or inadvertent; gestural or spoken; or based on any other measurable property or behavior. You might develop, e.g. a gesture processor, a drawing program, a transformative mirror, an audiovisual instrument, or some other system which allows a participant to experience themselves and the world in a new way. For simplicity, you might want to restrict yourself to signals from the standard mouse, keyboard, drawing tablet, microphone, or webcam that comes with most computers.

* Is it OK if it’s not “interactive”? Sure! Consider an ‘ambient’ surveillance system that responds to the movements of pedestrians many yards away. Or an automobile traffic-monitoring system that uses a public video feed. Or a system which responds to signals from a turtle in a terrarium, a fish in a fishtank, or some ants in an antfarm. You could even use an abstract information stream from the Internet. The core requirement is that your project work in real-time — responding to unpredictable signals.

Please give some consideration to the potential of your software to operate as a cultural artifact. Can it attain special relevance by responding in ways which address a real human need or interest?

• Wednesday, February 24: Project 3 Sketch due. Have, ready to show, a sketch (or perhaps even a working prototype) of your project. Blog posts at this midway point are encouraged but not required. We’ll workshop the class in small groups.
• Wednesday, March 3. Project 3 Due.

Please use the “Project-3″ category tag for all related posts.