Wireless Independent Living Device & Twisted Alternative Motivation Enhancer
Concept
For centuries domestic animals occupied an important role in human lifes. During the last decades, gadgets and other technical artifacts gained a similar standing in the life of many people. Despite their appearance, humans tend to regard those artifacts as living entities with their own character. Normally those entities are connoted negatively and resilient, as machines often seem to resist the users commands.
The goal of WILD&TAME is to create an artifact that evokes the impression of an independent entity reacting to the user but also having its own motivations. By observing and interacting with WILD&TAME, the user projects a character into the artifact. This character can be intentionally controlled and designed algorithmicly and thus is not exclusively negative but more likely to mimic the human-pet relationship.
Abstract
WILD&TAME is an artifact with its own character.
In a playful interaction the player tries to tame the artificial entity WILD using the flexible Controller TAME.
The shape of WILD is based on a sphere but changes during interaction, expressing the emotions of WILD.
WILD
WILD is a spherical device with its own character. Through its malleable surface, WILD is able to move and express its emotions. To tame WILD - the player has to empathize with its artificial entity.
WILD has 30 cylinders that can change its surface and appearance. It has a rich sensory system, being able to sense its own rotation, acceleration and even the surrounding magnetic field.
As hybrid technile organism, WILD shows many behavioral patterns of animals - that the player can read into. It also is connected wirelessly to TAME, which is a part of its entity.
TAME
TAME is a flexible Controller that is wirelessly connected to WILD. It is not connected to WILD like a remote-control but is part of its entity. The pulse of WILD is transduced onto TAMEs body. Thus the player can gain insight in WILD&TAMEs emotions by touching the TAME.
As the acronym TAME states - it is a twisted alternative motivation enhancer. This means that through flexing and tilting the TAME, the player does not really control the behavior of WILD but gives impulses that can possibly trigger completely different actions.
Interaction
The interaction with WILD&TAME is the most important part of this project.
Interacting with WILD&TAME does not mean controlling it but trying to tame it. It has its own character and emotions that it expresses through surface-animations, behavior and its heart-rate (senseable by touching the TAME).
To tame the entity, the player can act aggressively or calming, using different gestures. The player has to read the changing emotions of WILD&TAME in order to find out which actions are appropriate. Taming it becomes easier as the mood and character of WILD&TAME gets clearer over time and understanding the presence and state of the technile entity leads to a new way of reflecting its actions.
Video
Team
- Hendrik Heuer
- Michele Krüger
- Julian Hespenheide
- Wiebke Roetman
- Felix Heibeck