Interaction Design WikiPhysical Computing

Zauberwald 2018

Project Brief

The 3rd semester Interaction Design students will create a light installation for the Zauberwald festival 2018 in Lenzerheide. The project will be part of the Physical Computing and Interactive Visualization courses. As the project is supported by Energiewerke Zürich (EWZ) we will take the topic of "Renewable Energy" for the installation.

Partner

EWZ produces and delivers energy in Zurich and Graubünden and also powers the festival with 100% renewable energy.

Topic

The light installation focuses on the topic of renewable energy, specifically the production, efficiency and use of those energies today and in the future.

We will look at the following energy sources as part of the project:

Output

The 3rd semester students are tasked with creating an input object and visualization that is presented in a common installation in the forest.

Each input object embodies one of the energy sources as an abstract, minimal, symbolical interpretation. The visitors should be able generate "power" by interacting with the object which can be aligned with the actual way of generating that power or in a more simplified fashion. The objects will emit the a value between 0.0 and 1.0 representing the capacity of generated power, 0.0 meaning none and 1.0 meaning at full capacity. As the light installation will be presented in harsh weather the objects must be solid, rugged and fit for snow and water.

In the second phase, the students will create a visualization that is projected on a big circular screen in the forest. The visualization harnesses the data emitted by all the objects and may for example show the different efficiencies of the present energy sources. The visualizations are played after each other and may deal with the same or similar topics. Every group should develop their own visual style that fits the "magical" forest scenery. An additional poster will present the used data, visualization approach and process of each visualization to visitors that are more interested in the project.

Format & Constraints

The physical objects must be self-contained and have the size of 40x40x40cm. Each object sends its value over MQTT to a separate topic e.g. "/water1".

The visualisations are Processing sketches that work with a resolution if 1080x1080 pixels. The sketches will be invoked with the following function:

void viz(float time, float solar, float water, float wind) {
  // time from 0 to 1
  // energy values from 0 to 1
}

Deliverables

Physical Computing

Interactive Visualization

Important Dates

01.09Visit ZauberwaldLuke & Joël
14.09Plans & MaterialsJürgen, Luke & Joël
1.10Finalized TextsJürgen, Luke & Joël
09.12Begin SetupLuke & Joël, Angela
12.12Final Check?Luke & Joël, Angela
13.12Media EventJürgen, Luke & Joël
14.12VernissageStudents & Staff
30.12Finissage
31.12TeardownLuke & Joël, Angela

Plan

Text

Wer:
ZHdK Zürcher Hochschule der Künste
Studienvertiefung Interaction Design 

Kontakt (Print):
http://iad.zhdk.ch

Kontakt (Web):
http://iad.zhdk.ch
luke.franzke@zhdk.ch
joel.gaehwiler@zhdk.ch
juergen.spaeth@zhdk.ch

Titel: 
Quellen der Energie

Projektbeschrieb (Web + Print):
Pusten. Leuchten. Plantschen. Wieviel Wind muss wehen? Wieviel Sonne muss scheinen? Wieviel Wasser muss fliessen? Erneuerbare Energien wie Wind, Sonne und Wasser sind das Thema der diesjährigen Module „Physical Computing“ und „Interactive Visualization“ des Studiengangs „Interaction Design“ an der Zürcher Hochschule der Künste. Sieben Wochen lang setzen sich die Studentinnen und Studenten des dritten Semesters mit physikalischen Eingaben und visuellen Ausgaben auseinander. 

Personenbeschrieb (Print): 
Geleitet werden die Module von Luke Franzke, Joel Gähwiler, Prof. Jürgen Späth und Timo Grossenbacher (Theorie) in Kollaboration mit EWZ Elektrizitätswerk der Stadt Zürich.

Personenbeschrieb (Web + Print):
Geleitet werden die Module von Luke Franzke, Joel Gähwiler, Prof. Jürgen Späth und Timo Grossenbacher (Theorie) in Kollaboration mit EWZ Elektrizitätswerk der Stadt Zürich. Die Installation wurde erstellt von Mélanie Abbet, Claudia Buck, Duy Bui, Randy Chen, Jennifer Duarte, Fiona Good, Andrin Gorgi, Edna Hirsbrunner, Marcial Koch, Lilian Lopez, Stefan Lustenberger, Felix Prantl, Colin Schmid, Michelle Schmid, Dominik Szakacs, Janina Tanner und Mara Weber.