This project focuses on the development of an object with an agenda of selectively collecting and entrapping as many items as it can. To achieve this, it is situated in an ideal environment where it is easily able to interact with human users. It is through persuasive measures that the object is then able to coax these users into making an offering. After which, it is at the object’s discretion as to whether it will accept or reject the offering due to predefined preferences and capacity restrictions.
Success for the object indicates that it is “full”, having coaxed multiple users to make offerings.
Early iterations of the project, like those depicted below, also focused on the object being a vehicle of entrapment, However these versions aimed to entrap the user, rather than their offering
The alternative to physical modeling was to simulate the object digitally in Grasshopper, using the Kangaroo and Human Plugin to create an expressive object, as well as a simulation that from a user-interface perspective, was easy to comprehend.
The expressive nature of the object is achieved through realistic dynamics simulation – mainly through gravity forces. The object is a state machine and achieves its responsiveness to user interaction through sensors and memory capabilities. When a diverse range of users, with an equally diverse range of offerings approach the object, the physical persona it takes on is very interesting sand expressive.
The diamonds above detail the decision points for the state machine:
(1) Attracting User (2) Avoiding User (3) Rejecting Offering (4) Accepting Offering (5) Memorizing Characteristics (6) Adapting Physical Form
The scenarios above depict the sensory envelope of the object, and how it interacts with users.
Excerpts from presentation.
