tactile landscape based on visibility analysis, University of California Irvine
Arts, Computation and Engineering thesis project, April 2005
Master of Science in Information and Computer Science
with concentration in Arts, Computation and Engineering Thesis pdf [868k]
Technologies are not mere exterior aids, but interior changes of consciousness that shape the ways the world is experienced. As we enter the age of ubiquitous computing, where computers are worn, carried or embedded into the environment, we must be careful that the ideology the technology embodies is not blindly incorporated into the environment as well. Space is not merely a neutral background for human activity; culture is built into its forms. As disciplines, engineering and computer science make implicit assumptions about the world that conflict with traditional modes of cultural production. TactileSpace is an experimental location aware garment that seeks to address lacuna in the design process of computationally enhanced cultural artifacts and the spaces they inhabit. It consists of a GPS + torso tactile display that communicates tactile textures related to the spatial form of the environment. TactileSpace functions as an intervention to raise awareness of embodied interaction in wearable and ubiquitous computing design practice. Much in the same way that graphic design became an important element in the design of visual interfaces, I believe that computer scientists need begin to look to architecture and the humanities, with their long history of designing and conceptualizing space for human use, in the design of wearable and ubiquitous computing systems.
system
maps/sketches
ACE THESIS PROJECT as shown in
at the Beall Center for Art + Technology
Palpable City explores the relationship between the abstract and concrete spaces of the city by
parameterizing its spaces of representationÐthe space of architects and urban plannersÐwith
phenomenal space, to challenge our "lust to be a viewpoint" [1] in understanding the urban
experience. The project allows walkers to feel the spatial form of the urban grid at their
location as vibro-tactile rhythms on their body. The rhythms of the urban grid are
parameterized by local conditions as the walker encounters them, reflecting the influence of
time, light, temperature and humidity on the experience of space. Augmenting the everyday
activity of walking the city with a tactile experience challenges participants to think about the
interrelation of vision and touch in their experience of space. The void of purely optical space
is thickened with palpable sensations, creating a tactile space that can only be explored by
moving through it. Tactile displays are usually applied to provide orientation information in
unusual phenomenal environments, such as virtual reality, deep sea diving, and zero gravity
environments. In Palpable City, this process is reversed; instead of providing a stable spatial
reference in unusual conditions, the technology is used to make the usual experience of space
unusual.
1. Michel de Certeau. The Practice of Everyday Life, "Walking the City."