Tech Project
Description of the challenges faced by the Tech Project
Along with the growing digitization of public space, the important topics of livable spaces, the value of attention in a stimulating environment and motivation of the communicated contents are being raised. How can we harness the assumed potential for empathic interaction and intensive user experiences of mixed reality tools (any tools that combine virtual and real world in a user experience), while reclaiming or redefining former places of exchange and communication in increasingly globalized and privatized public space? The usual requirements for technical development of a digital public content - one-to-many relation, intuitive usage, participatory appeal and effective message transfer - should be considered and approached form a new, artistic perspective.
Brief description of technology
The residency will be hosted by MIREVI Lab (Mixed Reality and Visualisation), Hochschule Düsseldorf, as the coordinator of the project. There is a wide array of mixed reality hardware and expertise in state-of-the-art mixed reality that will be at hand to the visiting artist. Various different Head-Mounted-Displays (HMD) allow for the creation of VR applications, like the HTC Vive Pro or the Samsung Odyssey, which uses Inside-out tracking for free movement in large scale environments. Devices like the HoloLens enable to place virtual content into the real world by means of overlaying the real environment as seen through glasses by an image of the virtual content. Human motion can be captured in a studio, utilizing an OptiTrack setup with the use of markers and a full body suit, as well as the markerless setup Captury which allows multiple persons to be tracked as they are. Additional hardware like eye trackers, 3d Printers, 360 degree cameras, projectors and various mobile devices are available. Other partners from the project consortium can provide support in 3D modelling and animation (LAVAlabs), projection mapping (tennagels). The artist is welcome to combine the provided technologies to realize his/her vision in a unique way.
What the project is looking to gain from the collaboration and what kind of artist would be suitable
We would like to host an artist from any kind of artistic field interested in creative use of our technologies. The project topicsupports, but is not limited to, exploration of the dualities - real and virtual, local and global, online and offline, memory and oblivion, body and mind, human and non-human, as well as the utopian/dystopian reflections on the future of public space. We are curious about possible artistic uses of mixed reality technologies with human-centered perspectives and hope the residency would at the same time stimulate new methods of knowledge exchange in synergy with the rest of the team. An ideal outcome of the residency would be an interactive mixed reality installation for outdoor or indoor public space. Basic knowledge and previous experience with similar technologies are favoured.
Resources available to the artist
During the residency, the artist will be provided with own office desk in a creative and exploratory atmosphere of MIREVI lab in Düsseldorf, with high-speed internet connection and access to mentioned technical equipment and infrastructure.The artist has the freedom to use a wide range of listed mixed reality tools (also in combination with projection mapping, sound systems, 3D printing). Expert support of the project team (technical support and project manager) will be regularly at disposal. For the purposes of the project presentation, a travelling budget, as well as the resources for additional equipment is available.