Investigating Full Body Interactions within Public Spaces for XR Exhibition
Project partners: Teesside University, Ellie Land, Lorent Rezari, Lucy Wheeler (lead artist)
XR Network+ is supporting a collaboration between Teesside University, Artists Ellie Land and Lucy Wheeler, and immersive technologies developer Lorent Rezari, to develop an interactive art experience that will explore North Shield’s heritage through immersive storytelling.
The experience will invite the audience to explore what it means to be a hydro citizen (how people live in their communities and environments in relation to water). Narratives of the North Sea fishing industries collected from local fishermen will be evoked through audience interaction as the site-specific experience unfolds.
The work will align with a separate project at Teesside University led by researcher Ellie Land and creative technologist Lucy Wheeler, and funded by North Tyneside Council which is investigating interactive and experience design for a real-time immersive installation. This includes digital design techniques with multiple audiences interacting with creative content.
This new collaboration will explore how game-engine software can interact directly in public spaces, with minimal technology – utilising surveillance technologies like cameras to create a performative experience between digital and real world engagement. The project will encompass creative and technical development for a diverse audience.
The piece will challenge how extended reality and real-time technology can progress into public spaces through:
- Developing a body detection pipeline that acts as a messaging server between camera detection, AI and game-engine software
- User experience and technical execution of real-time experience for site-specific environments, including outdoor locations.
- Integrating technology pipelines to support server latency
- Exploring user experience of multiple bodies through AI camera detection.
Researchers will work with industry partners to expand on their existing work creating real-time performance with motion capture technology by supporting the development of a user testing prototype. Using Teesside University’s Media Suite, the collaboration will experiment within a large studio space and use the prototype to test performance based experience.
The project is one of four initiatives supported by the XR Network+ Prototyping, Impact and Acceleration (PIA) round two funding call, with grants of up to £10,000 awarded to researchers at UK universities to develop new ideas and complete existing research related to VP.
Image credit to Ellie Land.
Categories: Arts, Research, Technology