This week just flew by.
I decided to just put my stuff out for people to try, as I was get antsy with my progress. First, I did it outside the hybrid lab. I was just testing out my set up when a friend came by with her friend, and both of them tried it out.
Some things they mentioned:
“It’s kind of creepy that it’s following me around.”
“It’s kind of stuck.” (frame rate)
I also put my prototype up in the Nave during Halloween, because I thought it’d be a perfect time for people to do weird stuff—with the help of Gina and Hridae!
Below are some images I took stealthily. I was sitting by the side (looking after my equipment) and observing how people are reacting to it.
Some observations:
- Some people don’t even notice it. Because it’s placed on the side, some people just pass by it.
- Some people are wary of the camera. It pushes them away or makes them a little creeped out.
- Proximity (Tech issue). The ML model that I’m using isn’t optimized for closer distances, so when curious cats were coming up close, nothing shows up.
- “It looks like stick figures.”
I am also wondering if the Nave isn’t really a space for people to wait—it’s where people are transitioning from place to place. It is a great space to test my prototype, because public transport stations are also transitory places—but it is also a space where people wait.
As a next step, I might try another set up (facing the front of the entrance, instead of sideways) and also figure out how to aesthetically make it look more like constellations (instead of stick figures).
Sidenote: I created an Instagram account for people to follow my process along, and for my own documentation as well. I’m calling my little experiences Waiting Games 😉
