In my last blogpost for this semester, I will summarize my findings and ideas, introduce the second version of my prototype and give a short outlook on my plans for the next semester.
I started working on tangible user interfaces in the beginning and shifted my focus from image recognition and marker detection as a potential user interface to the question how data visualization can be made more physical.
So, the topic I will focus on are icebergs.
How did their mass change over time? How are we as humans responsible? How can we provoke change and call to action?
Moreover, I have found various Experts who currently research on icebergs. To get insights into their latest research findings I am planning to conduct expert interviews with them soon.
MiroBoard
To merge my current research findings with those from last semester I made a Miro Board where I summarize my findings from both semesters. It can be accessed with the following link:
Until now the focus of my research was about communicating social and environmental problems with the help of tangible user interfaces. In this blogpost I want to concretize my current topic of my master thesis and focus on one specific environmental problem – “melting ice sheets and their impact on sea level rise – starting a so called “chain reaction”.
So how should such an exhibit be designed, to not only offer great experience but also stating a call to action?
What is the perfect symbiosis between the digital and analog medium for communicating sensitive topics like climate change?
Staying true to the concept of multisensory experiences I would like to create an exhibit that has the following layers of abstraction:
Physical feedback
For the physical representation of an ice cap, I want to build a three-dimensional model out of sticks covered by an elastic mesh. The height of the sticks can be controlled separately with a motor, giving the impression of a shape changing constantly.
c Edwin Lang
Audio feedback
By recording the cracking of an ice bucket with contact microphones, I want to create a sound similar to a cracking ice cap.
In terms of video, I want to project morphing organic shapes onto the physical representation of the ice cap. The shapes could be generated with programs like OpenFrameworks and real data sets of melting caps[1]. With the help of machine learning and algorithms the complexity of the data sets could be drastically reduced – however further research and testing is needed[2].
Credits images: https://pin.it/4OqiwA6
User Interface
The visitors should be able to see changes of the ice cap based on their ecological footprint. The ecological footprint gives an indicator on the greenhouse gas emissions, can be converted to emitted energy and further be linked to the capability of melting ice.
The interface itself has yet to be explored but will be of great importance to successfully link the individual ecological footprint with the ice cap and make the visitors emotionally bonded to the exhibit.
