Project page: xdefault.cl

Press: Disup, Qué Pasa

Team

Research – Manuela Garretón, Tomás Ossandón.

Research assistant – Karina Highland.

Musical composition and sound – Pablo Garretón.

Visualization – Roy Mcdonald.

Interaction programming and implementation – Benjamín Benavides, Esteban Sandoval.

Design intern – Paulina Vasconcelo

Process

Two minutes of a subject’s resting state brain activity were captured using an MRI. This resulted in about 14,600 points throughout the brain. Each point has a fixed spatial position and a measurement of brain activity updated 30 times per second. The visualization uses this data to create connections, in the form of lines, between the most active areas. As the viewer moves through the room, they control the 3D camera of the visualization, giving the sensation of walking inside this dynamic network of neurons. The audio is generated and modulated based on the data from the brain region where the viewer is located.

Hardware

3 projectors. Kinect V2 mounted 3 meters above the ground facing the viewers. LED spotlight that turns on when someone enters the room. Ultrasonic distance sensor made with Arduino to detect the entrance of people.

Software

Touchdesigner receives information about the position of the players in the room from the Kinect and sends it via OSC to Max MSP (audio) and to OpenFrameworks (visualization). The Arduino is connected via serial to Touchdesigner.