FlowField
Timothy Chen, Sidney Fels, Thecla Schiphorst · 2002
We have created a new interactive experience piece called Flow-Field. Participants touch and caress a multi-point touchpad, the MTC Express, in a CAVE (CAVE Automatic Virtual Environment), directly controlling a flowing particle field. Collisions in the particle field emit musical sounds providing a new type of musical interface that uses a dynamic flow process for its underlying musical structure. The particle flow field circles around the participant in a cylindrical path. Obstructions formed by whole hand input disturb the flow field like a hand in water. The interaction has very low latency and a fast frame rate, providing a visceral, dynamic experience. In FlowField, participants explore interaction through caress, suggesting reconnection with a sense of play, and experiencing a world through touch.