Looking Outwards : Components
The Ada Fruit CC3000 is an Arduino shield which allows wireless connectivity to the internet. This drastically augments an Arduino’s capabilities, as data can be stored and processed online through server side operations. For instance, a device which takes pictures of a given area once a minute would fill the Arduino’s relatively small storage space very quickly. However, with a WiFi connection, the images could be automatically uploaded onto an imgur account, completely removing any concern of depleting storage space. Next, a program run on a powerful personal computer could access the imgur account and process the image data to see how often different parts of the pictured area are occupied by people. Such a calculation would be impossible with the modest computing power aboard an Arduino Uno. Next, the computer program could generate a ‘heat map’ showing the relative levels of human occupation color coded over the pictured area, and upload it to a different imgur account. The Arduino could then download the processed image and display it on a screen, thus giving the impression of on site calculations when, in truth, the WiFi shield has deferred the bulk of the work to a remote computer.
The fingerprint scanner provides a (nearly) bullet proof mechanism for designing personalized interaction. I have been turning over in my mind different methods by which a user could build a personal relationship with an installation. Having personalized interactions requires the installation to identify and remember individual viewers. The most straightforward way would be to establish a user login system, but that would require viewers to both make an account and then subsequently log in every time they visited for the installation to recognize their presence. Facial recognition would be more intuitive, but requires a camera and is quite fallible to facial accessories/hair. A fingerprint scanner, however, provides a quick and easy way for viewers to inform an installation of their specific identity. From there, the installation can build up profiles of each individual in much the same way that we do, adjusting the experience accordingly. For example, an installation which displayed a virtual rabbit, could then keep track of each user’s individual interactions with said rabbit, and alter the behavior of the rabbit based on the user’s previous interactions.