Hi everyone,
I wanted to introduce myself and my colleagues who will be showcasing some
immersive VR collaborative and networked art doing the conference.
We are the VR studio at Media Study, UB, website:
http://www.ccr.buffalo.edu/anstey/VRSTUDIO/
We will be posting details there soon! Our show will run concurrently
with other events. Since our VR system can only comfortably accommodate ~5
people at a time, we suggest people sign up for 20-30 minute time slots.
We will post information on the sign-up later. For now here is a brief
description of some of the works.
Networked Virtual Reality Art Pieces
A networked VR environment allows participants in different
locations to share the same virtual environment. The
participants see each other as avatars in the virtual
environment. Since the participants are wearing tracking
systems, participants can see where each other's avatars are
looking and pointing as well as navigating. They can see if an
avatar has picked up a virtual object, or pressed a virtual
button. Networked VR can be used for any kind of collaborative
project, scientific, industrial, design or art, where the
collaborators are located on different continents, different
cities or just across town. Typically high speed networks arev needed to
carry the necessary information between the
locations. We will show the following pieces networked between
UB and Indiana University
* PAAPAB - PAAPAB is a dance-floor environment inhabited by
life-size puppets that are animated by the users. Users
from the different remote locations can watch each other
record puppets. They can also dance with each other and
their puppet recordings on the dance floor.
Collaborators: Josephine Anstey, Dave Pape, Dan Neveu
* BEAT BOX - Beat Box presents networked participants with a
playful arena of interactive virtual sound machines. Each
of three machines has a unique periodic duration and
controls, respectively, percussion, ambient loops and bass
sounds. Beat Box is virtual sonic chronometry as the
environment is enveloped in keeping time with the sound
machines. Collaborators: Margaret Dolinsky, Edward J.
Dambik, Mitja Hmeljak, Nicolas Bradley
*Interdisciplinary Collaborations
Very typically collaborative teams of artists, computer
programmers, and sound designers are needed to put together
complex Virtual Environments. The scope and focus of such
environments is virtually unlimited,. We would like to present
the following stand-alone VR pieces that indicate some possible
directions of the media
* metaspace: dissimulation - This project is the
exploration of meta-spaces - the space between spaces, a
constructed environment that exists solely in the digital
realm, mimicking the real world. It is a place that
reflects its inhabitants- unstable, unpredictable, and
desolate. It is a place that also reflects our own
fears.
Collaborators: Chris Galbraith, Ivan Itchkawich,
Adrian Levesque
* Whose Streets? - Is a unique combination of the otherwise
separated fields of (video) documentary and virtual
reality. The user is able to experience recent protests
against globalization and the WTO (World Trade
Organization) first hand. She is introduced to the
situation via actual video footage and later on literally
enters the mind of a cop to enhance her awareness of his
thoughts and motivations.
Collaborators: Chris Outlaw,
Richard Wetzel
* Auralmap - The tradition of static sound sample playback
to supplement 3D worlds is giving way to increasingly
dynamic sound design, which not only enhances the visual
experience, but has the potential to putting its
importance on par with the visual component. This is a
look at some of the possibilities of combining real-time
audio processing with a virtual environment. Concepts in
audio spatialization and parameter mapping are explored.
Collaborator: Dan Neveu
* The Trial The Trail - This Interactive Drama in progress
is a collaboration between VR and AI artists and
scientists. We would like to take this opportunity to
undertake some networked "Wizard of Oz" experiments and to
test the early implementation of the agents.
Collaborators: Josephine Anstey, Dave Pape, Stuart
Shapiro, Vikranth Rao, Orkan Telhan, Trupti Devdas Nayak,
Paul Visco