Project: Dandelion
Client: Victoria & Albert Museum, London
YOKE has developed the interactive Dandelion in collaboration with London based design agency Sennep. The piece is part of the exhibition Decode: Digital Design Sensations at the Victoria & Albert Museum, 8 December 2009 to 11 April 2010. The exhibition is co-curated by the V&A and onedotzero and showcases the latest developments in digital and interactive design. We are excited to exhibit alongside internationally renowned artists and designers such as Daniel Brown, John Maeda, Casey Reas, Golan Levin, Daniel Rozin, Troika, and rAndom International just to mention a few.
The intent of the piece was to make a playful and magical experience with a simple and satisfying interaction for young and old.
The viewer use a hairdryer to blow the seeds of by pointing the hairdryer at the projected dandelion on the screen. The seeds can be blown around after they have come off and the grass also react to the hairdryer. We use an infrared camera to track an infrared beam of light coming from a light source in the tip of the hairdryer. A speaker in the hairdryer plays an adaptive hairdryer sound and speakers in front of the screen play a soundscape that changes depending on where you blow.
In terms of software we have used processing for the camera tracking, MAX for the sound, and Unity for the visuals. We use OSC (open sound control) to communicate between the programs.
Comments, articles, reviews and blogs on the Decode Exhibition:
grafik – The Magazine for Graphic Design
Michael Shirley – my future me blog
[...] – see it in action after the break. Another outstanding piece is ‘Dandelion’ by Yoke – as shown on above left [...]