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IT, arT, desIgn& experIencesProject catalogue 2000-2010

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Partners: 43darkitemaaros – aarhus Museum of artB&OBaltic Film and Media school, estoniaBirgit Kjærsgaard, architectBjarke Ingels group BIg, architectsBoost Hbg in skane, swedenBretteville HotspotcaVI - center for advanced Visualisation and Interaction center for digital Urban Living center for Interactive spacescentral denmark regioncity of aarhusclaus Bjarrum, architectsdanish centre for Uban Historydanish design schooldanish enterprise and construction agencydanish national Operadanmarks smukkeste Festivaldansk data displaydBc – danish Library centreden Frie centre of contemporary artdept. of computer science, aarhus University development council of museums in the central denmark regiondIeM – royal academy of Music difus designdigital aesthetics research center, aarhus University

estonian Film Foundation, estonia Filmby aarhusFilmförderung Hamburg schleswig-Holstein gmbH, germanyForster rohner agFuzzygumLinkHigh-Tech accelerator of the University of Lodz, polandIdrætssamvirket – sports cooperationInformation & Media studies, aarhus University Innovation LabInterfaceJette gejlJørgen TeilerKattegat centret – oceanariumKristiansand Municipality, norway KulturprinsenKunsten, aalborg Museum of art Landsbyen sølundLegO a/sLise autogenaLodz city council, polandMari Brolin Tani, swedenMartin professionalMidtjysk TurismeMoesgaard MuseumMogens Jacobsen Morgenavisen Jyllands postennational Film centre of Latvia national gallery of denmarkniels rønsholt

nikolaj copenhagen contemporary art centenorth denmark regionOlsen Boatspolycomrune Wehner – light and sound designersigne Klejs – interaction designerskive Museum of artsøren Jensen - consulting engineersTdcTeatret KatapultTeKne - network for digital art and digital experiences TeKne productionTelephone company 3The animation WorkshopThe danish arts agencyThe Heritage agency of denmarkThe Jutland art academyThe people speakTool-TribeUniversity of agder, norwayVibeke WindeløvVisit HorsensWahlberg apsWall of pixelsWillie FlindtZentropa Interactionaarhus Festivalaarhus school of architecture aarhus school of architecture, dept.of designaarhus University

It, art, desIgn & exPerIences– Project catalogue 2000-2010

© published by the alexandra Institute 2010

THe aLexandra InsTITUTeaabogade 34dK-8200 aarhus nphone +45 70 27 70 12Fax +45 70 27 70 13e-mail: alexandra@alexandra.dkwww.alexandra.dk

editorial team: Kristian Krämer signe Mejstrup sørensen

contents

Innovation in the interplay among It, art, design and experiences 2tekne Production 4Honeymoon 6opera 7Pandora project 8My luna rally track/3rd sight 9World spaces 10sousveillance 11tekne 12aarhus e 14talkaoke 15enter actIon 16dMdM 18Mariko Mori 19MMex 20retHInk 22Planetary Pledge Pyramid 23Hyperkinetic kayak 24climate trends 26climate dress 28atmosphere 29store torv 24 H/24 M 30expo 2010 in shanghai 32eco-friendly Homes of the Future 33Media Facades 34Mobile urban drama 36Infogallery 38iBib 40@aglance 41Wisdom Well 42H2interaction 44iHome 45iskole 46Mobile tagblogger 48Ixp 50swingscape 52echoes of the city 53lego – out of the Box 54gumlink 55Virtual national exhibition 56new Media 58dynamic transparent Windows 60

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An artistic comment on the notion of interactivity.

InnoVatIon In tHe InterPlay aMong It, art, desIgn and exPerIences

The IT city of Katrinebjerg and a number of close partners have created a wide range of projects that combine media, IT, art, design and experiences. This catalogue presents the main part of these projects.

during the past decade, we have built up a close cooperation with artists, industrial designers and computer scientists covering both technical and humanistic fields. all of these projects have delivered spectacular and innovative solutions that integrate IT into our physical surroundings, for example in schools, museums and furniture.

The projects reflect a general trend: With pervasive computing, design and aesthetics become more important than ever.

FroM tecHnology to total exPerIenceInformation technology is to an increasing extent being integrated into our surround-ings. This trend is called pervasive computing, which means that computing power is everywhere, for everybody, at any time and is becoming an integral part of more and more physical products. The use of mobile devices is on the increase. More and more people use mobile phones, pdas and laptops, and we expect to have access to data and applications no matter where we are and what IT devices we have at our disposal. In the development of pervasive computing, focus has – until now – mainly been on technical aspects such as system reliability, security and functionality. now we add an extra di-mension, namely design and aesthetics. There is a growing realisation that the interplay between industrial design and user-friendliness is decisive in the development of new pervasive computing systems.

It all boils down to creating a total experience. When we embed IT into our urban envi-ronments, homes, furniture, cars, toys, etc., we need to take both efficiency and aes-thetics into account. The visible IT components embedded into physical units must be both well-designed and well-integrated to ensure intuitive use.

It, desIgn and artThe projects in this catalogue show how we work with pervasive technologies at Katrinebjerg. We have an interdisciplinary approach that fuses IT, design and architecture.

In addition, the projects are based on our long tradition for research-based userdriven innovation, which entails close cooperation among users, industry and research within the field of innovation.

We are also increasingly engaged in digital art. This is a natural development as art has always been an important inspiration for design. There is no clear distinction between art and design, and when it comes to IT, digital art is an important driver for embedding IT into our surroundings and new physical, IT-based devices.

The role of art is to convey meaning to the audience, and this idea is shared with both interaction designers and industry when new products are to be developed and market-ed. experiments, surprising experiences and familiar objects combined in new ways are part of the nature of art. art will therefore always be an important element of innova-tion processes. at Katrinebjerg we are involved in disseminating art in new ways, and we work directly with the artists. BusIness drIVerIt is commonly acknowledged that denmark holds a strong position within both design and IT. By bringing digital art into focus and strengthening the interplay between IT and design further, we are convinced that we can sustain denmark’s competitive position.

apart from the collaboration between those two disciplines, denmark holds a strong competitive position because of our long tradition for cooperation on innovation among users, industry and research. The combination of research-based userdriven innovation, digital art, media, design and IT gives us a unique competitive advantage.

We hope you will enjoy this catalogue.

Ole Lehrmann MadsenManaging director & professor, the Alexandra Institute

tekne ProductIon Was estaBlIsHed WItH FundIng FroM:

- dIeM, danish Institute for electronic Music, The royal academy of Music- department of design, aarhus school of architecture- darc, digital aesthetics research centre, aarhus University- caVI, centre for advanced Visualisation and Interaction, aarhus University

a selection of projects in TeKne production:Jette gejl – Waterfield – Lise autogena – Most blue skies – Birgit Kjærsgaard – World spaces III – digital production of Holger the dane at Kronborg castle

a nuMBer oF key Persons HaVe adVIsed tekne ProductIon: during the first years, TeKne production re-ceived advice from an expert panel consisting of: - Jesper rasmussen, head of The Jutland art academy- gitte Ørskou, director, Kunsten- Fuzzy, composer- rasmus Vestergaard, director skive Museum of art- Mogens Jacobsen, artist

TeKne production is co-funded by:- central denmark region, city of aarhus - danish Ministry of culture

TeKne production has been appointed “na-tional commission” by the danish Ministry of culture

contact:Head of department Morten Lervig email: lervig@cavi.dkphone: +45 8942 5638

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tekne ProductIon– a team of art and experience producers

FacTsObjective: setting new standards fOr art and experiences.

Well over a hundred years ago, the emergence of the motion picture marked a new era in storytelling. similarly, the use of digital materials used within the context of art and experiences will open the door to new dimensions in the coming decades. digital media will give us new opportunities for working interactively and dynamically with art, culture and experiences in general.

artists and other ”experience producers” in denmark are already exploiting these op-portunities but often have to settle for low-end equipment that offers only limited op-portunities or is time- and resource-consuming. In addition, competence and equipment have to be built up from scratch. so there is a clear need for building up knowledge and improving access to both artistic/technological advice and to production environments. and TeKne production plays an active role in the realisation of this goal.

dIgItal exPressIons Break WItH tHe tradItIons oF art Traditionally, we divide art into separate forms of expression: visual arts, music, dance, opera and so on. However, the new digital media often challenge this conventional way of understanding art. digital materials enable us to combine various forms of expres-sion, thus creating new functions and phenomena in works of art and productions. Many of the competences that are needed for working with digital art are also applied in other forms of expression.

To give an impetus to the development within this field, it is essential to gain experience about production and to take a new and far more cross-disciplinary approach. In TeKne production research environments and the art and culture life work together to exploit the opportunities offered by the digital materials.

This knowledge will be made directly available to industry through the TeKne network, and in this way TeKne production can contribute to growth in the experience economy.

since 2007, TeKne production has completed a variety of art and experience produc-tions where artists, experience producers, technicians and computer scientists have worked together. The use of digital media and information technology has been essen-tial for both design and results.

examples include: The voice of the opera singer is transformed into real-time 3d graph-ics , data collected by climate scientists are used in multimedia art, and the scenogra-pher’s dream about a high-tech, well-functioning scenography comes true.

Photos from two shows produced by TEKNE Production.

TeKne production initiates productions in a variety of sizes. Focus is on cutting-edge deployment of new technologies, and the experience dimension is an important pa-rameter in the selection of projects to be initiated. Furthermore, TeKne production is heading a number of process-oriented workshops where artists and experience producers have the opportunity to try out new technologies.

WHat Is tHe oBjectIVe?TeKne production facilitates competence development and exchange of ideas and knowledge across knowledge institu-tions on the one hand and artists and experience producers on the other. TeKne production creates complete works and high-quality productions, while at the same time disseminating knowledge about the potential of the new technologies and how they can be used.

Production of the Mejlby runestone.

target audIences people interested in opera, visitors at the spor Festival 2009

tecHnologyadvanced 3d visualisation, stereo-video, elec-tronic music

PerIodOctober 2008 – May 2009

Partners TeKne production; danish national Opera; dIeM – danish Institute for electronic Music; signe Klejs; niels rønsholt

FundIngTeKne production, The danish national Opera contactHead of department Morten Lervig email: lervig@caVI.dkphone: +45 8942 5638

target audIencepeople interested in opera

tecHnologya number of different interactive technologies have been investigated

PerIod2004-2009

Partnersdanish national Opera; caVI

FundIngIcT research funds; Ministry of culture; cultural development fund of the city of aarhus

contactHead of department Morten Lervigemail: lervig@cavi.dkphone: +45 8942 5638

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FacTs

FacTs

Opera singers Joachim Knop and Susanne Elmark.

Objective: tO widen the Opera fOrmat thrOugh new technOlOgy and tO test the human senses by means Of a digital Opera installatiOn.

The digital opera installation HoneyMoon tests human senses in ways that are unprec-edented in the performing arts. Interaction designer signe Klejs and composer niels rønsholt have produced HoneyMoon in cooperation with TeKne production and the danish national Opera.

HoneyMoon is one in a series of co-productions between TeKne production and the danish national Opera where artists are given an opportunity to challenge the opera format through new technology.

The production of HoneyMoon took place in TeKne production’s Motion capture studio, which made it possible to create more scenographies than a physical opera house is able to accommodate. The two opera singers, Joachim Knop and susanne elmark, who have made their most recent appearance in the danish national Opera’s successful pro-duction of the Magic Flute, played the leading parts in the digital opera.

HoneyMoon is designed as an installation where the spectator – alone – embarks on an intriguing honeymoon with a virtual bride or bridegroom. The duration of the journey is 10 minutes. The journey begins with a fall from a tall building and ends with the fatal collision with the ground.

HoneyMoon is therefore in many ways a love tragedy. Yet, the fall does not create horror and screams – quite the contrary. What the spectator experiences is a gentle, angelic story with a strange ending (which is perhaps even more disturbing), mixed with an underlying feeling of doubt and melancholy.

The high-rise building is designed in 3d in a rough cartoon-like style, whereas the singer ”steps out of the image” as a stereo-video. electronic music and sounds are mixed with field recordings and sampled recordings of songs performed by the singers – a kind of stop-motion aria composed of micro-samples from the singers.

HoneyMoon- digital opera installation

Opera singer Jesper Brun Jensen in The Barber of Seville.

Interactive digital scenography for The Barber of Seville.

take an Opera singer, a sculptOr and a handful Of cOmputer scientists. ask them tO build up an interactive digital scenOgraphy fOr the ”la calunnia” aria Of rOssini’s Opera the barber Of seville. and the result is a spectacular experi-ence fOr the audience.

This was caVI’s recipe for success and an example of how academic research can con-tribute to strengthening the experience economy, which is already a growing industry and is expected to be an important competitive advantage for denmark in a future glo-bal perspective.

classIcal oPera and neW tecHnologIesIn 2004 caVI’s collaboration with the danish national Opera resulted in the develop-ment of new digital scenographies that revolutionise the way in which we experience opera. One of the results was the production of the “La calunnia” aria in a new interac-tive, digital scenography shown in caVI’s 3d panorama cinema. and the very combina-tion of classical opera and new technologies was one of the reasons why the experience was a huge success among the audience, says head of department at caVI, Morten Lervig:

- The combination of a live opera singer and the 3d technology creates an embracing scenography that turns the experience into something unique for the spectator. a feel-ing of “being there” that one does not normally experience in the traditional theatre. and it was fascinating to meet an opera singer with such a powerful voice in caVI’s inti-mate 3d panorama cinema, explains Morten Lervig.

cross-dIscIPlInary cooPeratIonThis technical-artistic collaboration was an important prerequisite for the success of the project. a cross-disciplinary approach which forms the basis of caVI’s work.

– We are focused on establishing productive cross-disciplinary collaborations. One minute we discuss with the opera singer how we can communicate the grand emotions of an aria. The next minute we discuss with the computer scientists how we can use the programming language c++ to design the particle system that is to be the main ingredi-ent in the interactive digital scenography, says Morten Lervig.

tHe danIsH natIonal oPera and tekne ProductIon In 2007 caVI entered into a collaboration with the danish national Opera on a number of experiments and productions. This was the result of caVI’s “national commission” as producer of digital art and experiences. so far, the collaboration has resulted in a number of investigations, e.g. in cooperation with the FIgUra ensemble and in the opera installation HoneyMoon that premiered in caVI in January 2009.

oPera - in a digital scenography

FacTs

target audIencedance audience

tecHnology Motion capture

PerIodspring 2008

Partners choreographer Mari Brolin Tani; composer and professor Wayne siegel, dIeM – danish Institute for electronic Music; caVI - centre for advanced Visualisation and Interaction; TeKne – network for digital art and digital experiences; TeKne production

FundIng The danish arts agency, TeKne production and TeKne

contactprofessor Wayne siegelemail: ws@musik-kons.dkThe royal academy of Music

target audIencesMuseum visitors

tecHnologystereo camera/webcam, mono cameras, LegO explorer car, incl. software

PartnersJette gejl, peter Friis, Jonas christensen, Jakob Fredslund, Ole caprani, Ove christensen

FundIngOwn funding and voluntary work

PerIodJanuary 2008 – June 2008

contactartist Jette gejlemail: jgejl@cs.au.dkphone: +45 8942 5720

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Pandora Project– interactive sound and scenography in modern dance

Objective: tO develOp and test technOlOgies fOr interactive scenOgraphy and sOund in mOdern dance. tO dOcument and cOnduct research intO new fOrms Of expressiOn that emerge in the interplay between technOlOgy and dance.

Today it is possible to design interactive systems of such high complexity and accuracy that the audience is taken on new journeys into the world of art. The purpose of The pandora project is to develop technologies for interactive sound and scenography in modern dance and to test these technologies in an artistic collaboration with compos-ers, choreographers, production designers, technicians and dancers.

The background for Wayne siegel’s initiative is that digital media are an inevitable part of our society and constitute important elements in the development of new artistic expressions and cultural forms. The new digital art forms are for instance characterised by interactivity, real time and multimedia and by the fact that they often transgress tra-ditional art forms such as music, dance and visual arts, which thus form new hybrids.

In Wayne siegel’s and The pandora project’s version of the hybrid “interactive dance”, movements, music and scenography create each other and are integral parts of one another. By using for instance the motion capture technology, one can track the move-ments of the dancers, which are then transformed into components in the scenography and in the music.

This fundamentally changes the cooperation among choreographer, composer and production designer when they produce a show, and it also changes the role of the per-forming dancers.

However, despite the great artistic potential of interactive dance, only a few projects on the subject have been conducted in the nordic countries. This is mainly due to the fact that competence and equipment have to be built from scratch. One of the pioneering projects within the field is Wayne siegel’s “The dIeM digital dance system.”

In 2001, research resulted in the interactive dance show “sisters” that siegel produced in cooperation with swedish choreographer Marie Brolin Tani.

Photos from the dance show ”Sisters”.

Objective: tO investigate and experiment with the interactiOn between the seen and the perceived. tO investigate the limitatiOns Of the physical wOrld.

The art work is not an ordinary art project as such. It was created in a collaboration among two computer scientists, en engineer and an artist and brings digital art and the construction of digital art into focus.

The art work was exhibited twice but with a different installation and expression in each exhibition. The two installations are constructed from the same basic elements and with focus on the virtual reality.

The original construction of the art work is “My Luna rally Track”. It is made up of a racing track built of recyclable materials. a LegO car equipped with two stereo cameras travels around in a small universe of garbage constructed for the purpose. The LegO car is the motive force of the installation – the curious and playing element that transforms the physical reality into a virtual reality and adds a human perspective. The users are supposed to sense the universe and contribute to the installation by building the track themselves and by steering the car through the playing universe while the recordings are shown on a screen.

In “3rd sight” the digital element is really brought into focus. It is made up of enhanced image recordings from the LegO car edited and mixed to 3d and shown on several TVs in a wooden rack. The 3d effect is supposed to imitate the human eye’s capacity to perceive spatiality and judge distances. The technology for the special 3d effect is pro-duced by superimposing the two film tracks from the cameras of the car, making them transparent and then converting the colours in the one film from red to green and from green to red in the other. This creates a kind of trashy and rustic look.

The opportunities of the LegO car and the 3d effects of the stereo cameras are diverse and can contribute to fostering new artistic expressions.

My luna rally track/3rd sIgHt- digital art

Photos of Jette Gejl’s works.

FacTs

FacTs

target audIenceeveryone

tecHnologystereo film

PerIod2006-2009

Partnersarchitect Birgit Kjærsgaard; composer Jørgen Teller; producer Willie Flindt; caVI - centre for avanced Visualisation and Interaction; TeKne - network for digital art and digital experiences; TeKne production

FundIngThe danish arts Foundation; cultural develop-ment fund; culture and citizens services, city of aarhus; TeKne production and TeKne; Kulturhus aarhus

contactarchitect Birgit Kjærsgaardemail: verdensrum@hotmail.comphone: +45 3166 0831

target audIencesThe general public, students, researchers, artists

tecHnologyall kinds of surveillance technologies

PerIod8-9 February 2009

organIserscurated by Lars Bo Løfgreen and Tatiana Bazzichelli, digital aesthetic research centre; digital Urban Living

PartIcIPantsgoodiepal (dK), Jakob Jakobsen (dK), dmytri Kleiner (ca/de), Leipziger Kamera (de), Manu Luksch (UK), david rokeby (ca), shining (IT), space Hijackers (UK), alexei shulgin (rU), Mare Tralla (UK/ee). Moderators: christian U. andersen, Tatiana Bazzichelli, Lars Bo Løfgreen and søren pold (dK).Funded by Videnssamfundet (aarhus Univer-sity), it-vest and The Italian cultural Institute.partners: skive Museum of art, aros aarhus Museum of art, studenterhus aarhus and TeKne

contactLars Bo Løfgreen: lbl@hum.au.dkTatiana Bazzichelli: imvtb@hum.au.dk

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Objective: tO create a renewed experience Of different wOrld cultures and their images by means Of virtual and 3-dimensiOnal media.

“Verdensrum “ – world spaces – is a virtual film trilogy composed of three 3d short films titled “World rooms I, Mosaic&rain”, “World rooms II, Basketry&Haze” and “World rooms III, Mandala&Wind”.

The films are inspired by three different world cultures: arabia, India and china. The short films are not films in the traditional sense as they focus only on image, space, sound and smell. What makes them special is that they must be viewed with 3d glass-es. This 3-dimensional effect creates an illusion that the images step into the room and involve the audience physically. The films are accompanied by digital sound composi-tions and scents. each film has a duration of 15 minutes.

The fascination of faraway exotic cultures, their aesthetics and spirituality, has been the motivation for creating this project. The films are intended as a kind of cultural icons or symbols of “the arabic”, “the Indian” and “the chinese”, respectively.

Thematically the project reaches back in time towards the origin and spirituality of the non-Western cultures. The production itself points towards the future – towards new virtual horizons. The films work in an interaction between film and space in a purely simulated universe. They draw upon elements from three different world cultures – pat-terns, graphic signs and weather conditions – and are designed as fictitious journeys into the red and golden mysticism of the east and the Tales from the Thousand and One nights.

The films are accompanied by sounds and scents that serve to add to the mood of the film, and especially the scents help us recapture memories of the cultures that the films present to us. each film is by and large accompanied by a single effective sound – the sound of a droplet, the sound of a chinese temple gong and the sound of Indian tablas. By means of digital tools, the sounds have been adapted for modern digital composi-tions. The use of virtual media creates spaces of an immaterial and volatile nature. They are visible and yet physically absent, which wraps the intervening audience in a floating reality or surreality.

The films came into being on the basis of research trips to spain, Morocco, Thailand, Japan and Taiwan funded by The danish arts Foundation. They were shown at The Mid-dle east culture festival 2006, The International digital Festival 2006, charlottenborg’s spring exhibition 2008 and will be presented at the a trans pavilion in Berlin, 2010.

“VerdensruM” – World sPaces– digital art

sousVeIllance With the massive spread in pervasive digital technologies, the public space has not only been opened for observation and surveillance but also for new aesthetic experiments.

In continuation of two exhibitions at aros and skive Museum of art, aarhus University held a conference and a series of art interventions in the urban space. The theme was artistic approaches to the issue of surveillance.

Focus was on the different aesthetic and political strategies that art deploys to make people aware of and understand the implications of surveillance, digital information, the net and the urban space.

FacTsThe network is made up of these four expert teams with different competences to secure a high level of expertise in the network activities:

- dIeM – danish Institute for electronic Music, royal academy of Music. The expert team is headed by professor Wayne siegel.

- aarhus school of architecture, department of design. The expert team is headed by associ-ate professor svend erik søfelt.

- digital aesthetics research centre, aarhus University. The expert team is headed by

associate professor søren pold.

- centre for advanced Visualisation and Interac-tion (caVI), aarhus University. The expert team is headed by professor Kim Halskov.

contact network manager anne sophie Witzkee-mail: annesophie.witzke@alexandra.dkphone: +45 2512 0808

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tekne is an interdisciplinary, crOss-institutiOnal netwOrk that facilitates knOwledge sharing, knOwledge disseminatiOn, prOductiOn and partnerships within digital art and digital experiences.

The goal of TeKne is to bring together the corporate world, researchers and artists to create innovation within digital art, experiences and products. The innovation is to be realised through collaborative development projects among people with research, com-mercial and artistic interests.

tekne Works WItHIn tHree Focus areas:· digital art and digital experiences · digital museum presentation · digital experience-oriented marketing

The network is intended as a forum where people can meet, get an update on new tech-nologies, find partners for artistic and commercial projects, get advice on project devel-opment and participate in workshops, seminars, exhibitions, after-hours meetings, etc. In this forum the creativity of digital artists combine with the know-how of IT research-ers and the commercial needs of industry.

The reason why the network has been established is that ditigal media constitute an important element in the development of new artistic expressions and cultural forms. The digitisation of art and culture has for instance resulted in the emergence of new art genres and creative expressions such as software art, internet art, adaptive music, 3d experiences, interactive films and scenography.

tHe MIssIon oF tHe netWork Is:to contribute to promoting digital art and experiencesto assist with the production of digital art and cultural offerings to strenghten interdisciplinary and cross-aesthetic collaboration across institutions and professions through the establishment of networks and projects to contribute to technological innovation through creative artistic experimentsto benefit commercially from the potentials of this cooperation in order to boost growth in the cultural industry and in the experience economy

tekne – network for digital art and digital experiences

FacTs

FacTs

target audIencesMusicians and people interested in music

tecHnologyelectronic music PerIod2008 – artIstsHeidi Mortenson, Jonas Olesen, Karsten pflum, Morten riis, puzzleweasel, Vectral, Wäldchen-garten, Jonas r. Kirkegaard and Voks

Partnerscity of aarhus, royal academy of Music, and dIeM, danish Institute for electronic Music

FundIngFor aarhus Berlin crush – nOTIcnasTIc & UnTer Uns, aarhus e, Wood Wood, Hummel; Berlinaut and dense

contactprofessor Wayne sigelemail: ws@musik-kons.dkroyal academy of Music

talkaoke

target audIencescompanies, research environments, organisa-tions, public authorities, cities and venues

tecHnologyVideo streaming, online archiving, live annotation

PerIodOngoing from the spring of 2009

Partners and FundIngdigital aesthetic research centre; digital Urban Living; The people speak; TeKne production; skive Museum of art; the danish arts agency (dIVa), and others.

contactchristian Ulrik andersen, cua@multimedia.au.dk, phone: +45 8942 9260 & søren pold, pold@multimedia.au.dk phone: +45 8942 9254

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Objective: tO prOmOte the electrOnic music envirOnment and the visiOnary artists in aarhus.

aarhus has become the new melting pot for electronic music. Many of denmark’s best electronic artists have settled down in the capital of Jutland where the vibrant electronic music environment flourishes of innovation, creativity and artistic progress. In recent years, the penetration and recognition of electronic music has skyrocketed, and aarhus has made its presence felt as a meeting place for the most trendsetting and interesting artists. electronic Music aarhus presents a group of visionary, enthusiastic and boundary-pushing electronic musicians. The genres of electronic Music aarhus range from me-lodic electronica, insisting Breakcore to dream-like digital soundscapes and conceptual media-commenting erroneous-aesthetic noise outbursts. But common for all the artists of electronic Music aarhus is the passion for expressive and innovative electronic music. electronic Music aarhus offers a programme package with the finest electronic artists – a package that gives a good picture of the variation and versatility of top performers of electronic music in denmark. so far, aarhus-e has conducted the following projects: electronic music at the spot Festi-val 2008, strøm Festival concert at the national gallery of denmark 2008, aarhus Berlin crush 2009, roskilde Festival 2009, and a tour in china 2009.

a//B//c//d//e//Fa//B//c//d//e//F (aarhus - Berlin - crush - digital - electronic - Festival) is a portal of aarhus artists. aarhus Berlin crush presented a number of musicians at the Berghain Kantine music club in Berlin. Berghain is located between the two performing arts quarters of Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg and is not merely a centre for club culture in Berlin but is one of the most distinguished clubs in the world. The first event took place on 28 Febru-ary 2009 and was a huge success that received excellent press coverage in Berlin (for instance several features in major Berlin newspapers).

The project is organised by aarhus-e, which is a collaboration between dIeM/royal academy of Music and the city of aarhus (please visit www.aarhuse.dk ). aarhus Berlin crush is organised by nOTIcnasTIc & UnTer Uns and funded by aarhus-e, Wood Wood, Hummel, Berlinaut and dense.

Electronic musician Puzzleweasel in concert.

aarHus e- electronic music

Talkaoke is a television-style talkshow for ordinary people. The project is a collaboration between digital aesthetic research centre, centre for digital Urban Living and the artist com-munity The people speak from London. The purpose is to encourage people to tell about their communities, their cities and their lives in ways that they find fun and spontaneous. The talk-show format is well-chosen because it does not resemble a public hearing organised by the local government, it provides a deeper insight than a journalist’s ‘voxpop’, and it is far more entertaining than a researcher’s focus group interviews or a questionnaire.

Talkaoke is a round table (a luminous UFO) with a talkshow host sitting in the middle. people are free to sit down and join in the conversation, which is live televised on the internet where speech balloons and illustrations can be added. The debaters and the audience can see the comments and illustrations on a screen during the talkshow. Later the recordings are archived on archive.org.

In Talkaoke the conversation among people is spectacular like in a talkshow. But people bring their own agenda here. The microphone is open, and everyone who feels like having a con-versation about their city, their lives, democracy, public space, etc. is free to join in. The pur-pose is to invite people to engage in a lively and entertaining conversation. By letting people decide what to talk about, the event becomes spontaneous and entertaining, and everybody learns about each other and from each other.

Talkaoke can be regarded as a design tool that helps you to investigate a certain place – what people are talking about there, and what is on their minds. The tool can be used for user and citizen involvement, as a speaker’s corner, a platform, or a roundtable discussion forum where people can make themselves heard. It is entertaining and thought-provoking and works both in public spaces, in places where the agenda has already been set, and in companies and or-ganisations that want to initiate a clarifying debate.

Talkaoke has been applied in a number of cases, for instance in aarhus (Mølleparken, gallery rum46, ‘nature in the tent’ at the aarhus Festival, Bruuns galleri, gellerup/café perlen) and at skive Beach party in collaboration with skive Museum of art. In addition, Talkaoke was part of planetary pledge pyramid (see later section).

A selection of works in the exhibition at ARoS.

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FacTstarget audIence Museum visitors

contents Various works of art such as robotic art, sound installations, interactive works, net art, etc.

tecHnology Various technologies from the field of digital art

PerIodFebruary – april 2009

Partnersaros Museum of art, the alexandra Institute and TeKne - network for digital art and digital experiences

artIsts rafael Lozano-Hemmer (Mx/ca), Manu Luksch (UK), Kaffe Matthews (UK), Knowbotic research (de/aT), Ludic society (aT), Marnix de nijs (nL), erik Olofsen (nL), Ben rubin & Mark Hansen (Us), alexei shulgin & aristarkh chernyshev (rU), christa sommerer & Laurent Mignonneau (aT/Fr), Mari Velonaki (aU), eva and Franco Mattes aka 0100101110101101.Org (IT), Mogens Jakobsen (dK)

curatorsanne sophie Witzke and anne sophie Løssing from TeKne - network for digital art and digital experiences

FundIngOticon Foundation, VILH. KIers FOnd, TOMcaTs and danske Bank

contactnetwork manager anne sophie Witzke email: annesophie.witzke@alexandra.dkphone: +45 2512 0808

The exhibition enTer acTIOn – digital art now was part of the celebration of the 150th anniversary of aarhus Museum of art at aros all through 2009. While the anniversary exhibition ‘aarhus Museum of art year 1859’ in the western gallery was a journey back in time, enTer acTIOn – digital art now presented the capabilities of art in 2009 where digital art has entered the stage.

a large part of the 13 works were interactive and their common indicator was the man-technology relationship. The works of art therefore involved each museum visitor. In a sensual, appealing, playful and insisting way, enTer acTIOn – digital art now reflected upon all aspects of technology’s influence on modern man and showed what art is also capable of. The visitors at aros could meet Moodles, the LegO robot with a humanoid appearance, who raised the question whether there is any difference between having feelings and just pretending to have them. The robot, designed by Jakob Fredslund from the alexan-dra Institute in cooperation with LegO Lab at aarhus University, personified the theme of the exhibition with his interactive technology and his touching presence: the blending of man and technology.

digital art is no longer a niche in the art world. On the contrary, it draws attention in major museums around the world – including aros where enTer acTIOn – digital art now was the first exhibition of its kind in denmark. The organisers had managed to obtain major works of art by the most ground-breaking digital artists in europe, russia, Usa, canada, central america and australia.

all artists contributing to enTer acTIOn - digital art now used the computer as their paint brush and palette, so to speak. This resulted in very different works such as

enter actIon - digital art now

Objective: tO present digital art tO museum visitOrs – in particular interac-tive digital art.

robotic art, sound installations, interac-tive works, net art and even portrayal art based on motives from computer games. all the works in the exhibition aimed to give us new experiences in the interplay between man and work of art.

enTer acTIOn – digital art now was not just about art. The exhibition also thema-tised the man-technology relationship and the emotional aspects of this relationship.

FacTstarget audIenceYoung artists under the age of 27

tecHnologIesVarious digital media technologies

PerIodFebruary – June 2008

dMdM juryVibeke Windeløv, film producer (chairman); søren pold, associate professor, digital aesthetic research centre, aarhus University; Wayne siegel, professor, danish academy of Music; Morten Lervig, head of department, centre for advanced Visualisation and Interaction, aarhus University; anne sophie Witzke, network manager, TeKne – network for digital art and experiences, the alexandra Institute.

PartnersTeKne production and TeKne

FundIngTeKne production and TeKne

contactnetwork coordinator Kristian Krämeremail: kristian.kramer@alexandra.dkphone: +45 8942 5683

FacTscontentsInteractive presentation at aros

target audIenceMuseum visitors

tecHnologydirectional loudspeakers, interactive projection technology, camera tracking

PerIodOctober 2007 - January 2008

Partners aros; Zentropa Interaction; centre for Interactive spaces; dIeM – danish Institute for electronic Music; the alexandra Institute and TeKne

contactnetwork coordinator Kristian Krämeremail: kristian.kramer@alexandra.dkphone: +45 8942 5683

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Winners of the digital media championship.

Chairman of the jury, Vibeke Windeløv, awards a prize to Tobias Ebsen for ”Running Sculptures”.

Objective: tO bring digital art intO fOcus and tO spOt new talent fOr the creatiOn Of digital media.

dMdM - danish digital media championship

The first dMdM event took place in 2008, and on 19 June the same year, chairman of the jury, film producer Vibeke Windeløv, awarded prizes to five talented artists at the winners’ event in aarhus concert Hall.

One of the winners of the two major prizes of dKK 20,000 each was søren Bendt pedersen for his animation film HUM. The work is an eight-minute long animation film about a robot with a head shaped like a gramophone. The robot has been aban-doned in an old workshop and decides to wake up his old friend, the loudspeaker.

The other winner was søren Lyngsø Knud-sen (aka Vectral) for a 2007 live recording of Vectral who demonstrates the compu-ter program graphx designed by the artist himself. graphx is a program for live mixing of visuals for concerts. shapes are created by real-time 3d graphics that respond to sound inputs.

tHree WInners oF 5000 danIsH kronerTobias ebsen for his running sculptures. The artist was in charge of the digital sce-nography when the dance show running sculpture was presented on the facade of aarhus concert Hall in connection with aarhus by Light. The resulting work is the interactive soft-ware used in the project.

Jonas rasmussen Kirkegaard for his Tefernol-d Beta-speaker. an audio work that deals with the interplay between digital representation of sound and physi-cally audible sound. The work is a physical structure made up of eight suspended iron plates in different thicknesses and sizes mounted with a so-called “sound bug” that can transfer frequencies to a physical object.

Julian Juhlin for his video installation Inbox. In an intimate dreamlike room the specta-tor sees a film that has neither beginning nor end. The film consists of a series of unedited text messages from the artist’s own inbox on the mobile. The audience gets a glimpse of message fragments and will have to figure out the rest themselves. The film gives an insight into the many relations that exist among people.

In the autumn of 2007 aros opened the doors to the exhibition “Oneness” about Japanese artist Mariko Mori who is highly acclaimed and popular all over the world for her spiritual and spectacular works of art. Mariko Mori attempts to bring elements of the Japanese cultural tradition of animism into a hypermodern context by unifying spirituality, mass culture, design, science and high technology.a series of interactive presentation initia-tives were developed for the exhibition. Under the headline “The sound & con-templations of art”, the organisers used state-of-the-art technology to present the context and background for Mariko Mori’s works to the museum visitors. part of the interactive presentation was made up of sound zones in the exhibition itself where the visitors could activate Ma-riko Mori’s voice to hear her tell about her thoughts and ideas behind the works. The other part was a number of rooms in the special exhibition foyer where interactive installations gave visitors a deeper insight into Mariko Mori’s sources of inspiration – from ancient Japanese rites to the latest technology.

In one of the rooms, “cohesion across Time and space”, installations provided background information about two of the main works, UFO and Oneness.The Oneness installation consisted of pressure sensors and a projection of Ma-riko Mori’s aliens in the middle. When a visitor stood on one of the sensors, the alien dissappeared and an inspirational image appeard behind Oneness. after a while, the image was replaced by another image of an alien.

The other installation – a staircase equipped with sensors - showed the sources of inspiration for the work UFO. When a visitor climbed the stairs, the inspirational material would appear on a screen, and by walking up and down the stairs, the visitor could flick through the material. If more persons stood on the staircase at the same time, the screen split and more images appeared. In this way the rooms themselves created new inter-active installations that contributed to the artistic expression in the exhibition.

MarIko MorI - the sound and contemplations of art

Sound zones where visitors activate Mariko Mori’s voice to hear her tell about her works.

When a visitor walks up and down the stairs, inspira-tional material is presented on a screen.

Objective: tO cOntribute tO the presentatiOn Of the exhibitiOn ”Oneness” abOut japanese artist marikO mOri. tO tell abOut marikO mOri’s sOurces Of inspira-tiOn fOr the exhibitiOn.

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FacTstarget audIencesMuseums and businesses

tecHnologyanimation, advanced 3d visualisation, interactive projec-tion technology, interactive sound

PerIod2008 -

Partnersdevelopment council of museums in the central denmark region; caVI; The animation Workshop; Kulturprinsen; Teater Katapult; Interface; TeKne and TeKne production

FundIngcentral denmark region, The Heritage agency of denmark

contactHead of department Morten Lervig, caVIemail: lervig@cavi.dkphone: +45 8942 5638

Interactive reenactment of the story about Åne who sent his son Eskil on a fatal journey across Oresund.

Objective: tO prOvide unique presentatiOn sOlutiOns. tO cOmbine technOlOgy and knOwledge abOut cultural disseminatiOn. tO establish denmark’s first centre fOr the develOpment Of new digital presentatiOn and cOmmunicatiOn sOlutiOns fOr the cultural wOrld.

The idea behind MMex is to establish denmark’s first international competence, knowl-edge and facility centre for the development, production and sale of digital presentation solutions. Behind the project are the development council of museums in the central denmark region, caVI, The animation Workshop, Kulturprinsen – development centre for children’s culture, Teater Katapult, Interface and TeKne.

The idea is to provide unique presentation solutions based on the museum tradition of project cooperation and the partner group’s unique composition of experts in advanced visualisation, interaction, animation, children’s culture and drama. potential customers for MMex may range from museums with a need for better presentation of their exhibi-tions to private corporations with a need for high profiling. The objective of MMex is to combine high technology and “soft” knowledge about culture and dissemination and to contribute to enhancing collaboration between the publicly funded museum sector and private businesses. Based on these competences and on untraditional interdisciplinary alliances across regional boundaries, the goal of MMex is to produce innovative and surprising results.

Under the auspices of MMex, TeKne production has been involved in the creation of an interactive experience-oriented reenactment of history on a 1000-year old rune stone, the Mejlby stone, for the cultural-historical museum in randers. The story about Åne who sends his son eskil on a fatal journey across Oresund is visualised as a spectacu-lar, high-tech, 3d interactive light and sound production that brings the runes to life. The story is told by means of animation and illustrations, and the spectators are active participants. When the spectators walk up to the stone, the runes light up strongly; then the dramatic story changes from writing into an animated story, which ends when the runes scatter onto the floor between the spectators and the rune stone. The spectators will then have to kick the runes back into their position on the Mejlby rune stone, where they finally transform into our present alphabet.

MMex - meaning making experiences

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retHInk – contemporary art & climate change

FacTsexHIBItIons and dates

retHInk relatIonsThe national gallery of denmark, 31/10 2009 -5/4 2010.

curatorMarianne Torp, The national gallery of denmark retHInk tHe IMPlIcItden Frie centre of contemporary art, 31/10-27/12 2009.

curatorMalene natascha ratcliffe, den Frie centre of contemporary art. retHInk kakotoPIanikolaj copenhagen contemporary art centre, 31/10 2009-10/1 2010.

curatorcurator elisabeth delin Hansen, nikolaj copen-hagen contemporary art centre. retHInk InForMatIonOnline and in selected public places, from 31/10 2009.

curatoranne sophie Witzke, the alexandra Institute. contactanne sophie Witzke, the alexandra Institute.email: annesophie.witzke@alexandra.dk phone: +45 2512 0808

Objective: tO create an exhibitiOn abOut climate changes that includes wOrks Of art by leading nOrdic and internatiOnal cOntempOrary artists.

FacTstarget audIencescitizens, activists and audiences at cOp15

tecHnologyVideo streaming, online archiving, web2.0 ap-plications, video capturing, online votes

PartnersThe project was realised in a collaboration among digital Urban Living & digital aesthetics research centre (aarhus University) and the British community of artists The people speak planetary pledge pyramid is part of the exhibi-tion reTHInK – contemporary art & climate change. http://www.rethinkclimate.org/

The project was realised with support from:

tekne ProductIonhttp://www.tekneproduktion.dk/Klimaforum 09 – http://klimaforum09.orgcopenhagen golden days - http://www.hopenhagen.org/

dIgITaL UrBan LIVIng & dIgITaL aesTHeTIcs researcH cenTre:christian Ulrik andersen, cua@multimedia.au.dk phone: +45 8942 9260søren pold, pold@multimedia.au.dk phone: +45 8942 9254Lars Bo Løfgreen, lbl@hum.au.dk phone: +45 8942 9249

the wOrld’s largest and mOst impOrtant game shOw – dOn’t wait fOr the pOliticians tO save the climate!

If it is hard to comprehend the issue of cli-mate change, it is even harder to find a so-lution. can the politicians fix it for us? are climate-conscious companies the answer? Or is that only another hollow promise? We have to engage ourselves in finding the solutions, and the need for global mobi-lisation and discussion is huge. planetary pledge pyramid changes our perception of social networking and takes the whole idea of web 2.0 one step further. Why just settle for supporting a good cause and spreading the news in our network when you can actually contribute to formulating the idea and not least make it come true. With planetary pledge pyramid people get a new platform for making global decisions and fund them with real money. planetary pledge pyramid is the world’s largest and most important game show.

HoW dId It Work?The Facebook application planetary pledge pyramid collected the ideas that people found to be best suited for saving the cli-mate and that they were willing to put into practice and back up with cool cash. The most popular ideas went on to a spectacu-lar game show held on 18 december during cOp15 at Klimaforum09: Who Wants to Be…? a special end of the World edition.

The project attempted to use Facebook’s network distribution channels to cre-ate commitment and public debate about

climate issues – the utopian ambition was to gather all citizens of the world, which did not quite succeed, though. But unlike the official cOp15 summit, we reached an agreement, and a tree planting project in colombia has now been initiated.

talkaoke at tHe cIty Hall square during cOp15 it was also possible to join in live talkshows, Talkaokes, at the city Hall square in copenhagen. Talkaoke is a tel-evised talkshow where everybody is invited to join in a debate about for instance the impact of climate changes on denmark, af-rica or a third place, the summit’s value for the city, or other things on people’s minds. The microphone was open and everybody was invited to formulate the agenda, which hundreds of people actually did.

PersPectIVesplanetary pledge pyramid was part of the reTHInK exhibition developed for cOp15. The combination of web 2.0 tools, online fundraising, roundtable discussions and decision games may of course be used in other situations where there is a need for engaging and involving citizens in the de-bate in order to reach practical solutions.

Planetary Pledge PyraMId

The national gallery of denmark, den Frie centre of contemporary art, nikolaj copenhagen contemporary art centre and the alexandra Institute joined forces to create reTHInK - contemporary art & climate change. The exhibition presents international contemporary art that puts the climate debate into perspective.

climate changes are much more than po-litical discussions about cO2 emission and renewable energy sources. climate chang-es are also about how ordinary people’s perception of reality changes. a unique collaborative project among The national gallery of denmark, den Frie centre of contemporary art, nikolaj copenhagen contemporary art centre and the alexan-dra Institute resulted in an exhibition of a number of works of art that investigate the abstract issues of the climate debate. all of the works insisted on giving the audience a new angle to issues of environ-ment and climate.

reTHInK was an exhibition with around 30 works by trendsetting nordic and interna-tional contemporary artist who, in their own ways, related to the crossfield between art, culture and climate changes. The exhibition opened on 31 October 2009 at three copen-hagen museums, at an online gallery and in selected public spaces in copenhagen. The exhibition presented works by e.g. Tomas saraceno (ar), Henrik Håkansson (se), The Icelandic Love corporation (Is), super-flex (dK), eke Ugochukwu Bright (ng) and Olafur eliasson (Is/dK), and some of the works were new productions.

project manager of reTHInK, anne sophie Witzke, the alexandra Institute: “The basic idea behind reTHInK was the conviction that art can inspire us to see the world in a new light. art can be a catalyst for people’s interest in and commitment to climate issues, which are often difficult to comprehend for us as individuals.

reTHInK was appointed “The nordic ex-hibition of the Year 2009–2010” by the nordic culture Fund and received funding from the Branding denmark Fund, the city of copenhagen and by the danish arts council, expert committee on the visual arts. In addition, the exhibition was part of the official cultural programme for the United nations’ climate summit, cOp15, in copenhagen in december 2009. afterwards, the exibition has been shown in the nordic countries at rogaland Mu-seum of art in stavanger, norway, and at Tensta Konsthall in stockholm, sweden.

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purpOse: by investigating and playing with the encOunter between the physi-cal real wOrld and the digital artificial wOrld, art can engage the specta-tOr in the climate debate.

Hyperkinetic Kayak is a virtual universe built like an abstract miniature arctic sea. sitting in a kayak simulator, the visitor engages in a dialogue with the arctic sea – a piece of nature that only few people are granted the opportunity to experience. The work is cre-ated by Jette gejl Kristensen in cooperation with peter Møller-nielsen. The Hyperkinetic Kayak uses meteorological data collected at Qaanaq in greenland to trigger the visi-tor’s perception of the arctic. While sitting in the kayak, the visitor can paddle along in a universe of stylised icebergs, sea and sky – a landscape that transcends the laws of nature. It is also possible to sail, dive or fly through the universe. The virtual landscape is influenced by actual changes in the air temperature and by the movements of the rower. The landscape can be both calm and quiet and turbulent and noisy. The combi-nation of a virtual universe and actual data creates an immediate physical and emotional experience of the impact of global warming on greenland’s nature. Hyperkinetic Kayak is a three-dimensional image of the magnificent greenlandic nature and the immense consequences of temperature rises.

The sea is a stereoscopic rendering of the arctic sea and must be viewed with 3d glass-es. The sound of creaking and cracking icebergs together with the subtle background music create associations to a specific location in the arctic sea and reinforces the feel-ing of actually being there.

The work is part of the reTHInK Information exhibition at Moesgaard Museum outside aarhus, which is part of the project reTHInK – contemporary art and climate change, appointed ”exhibition of the Year 2009 – 2010” by the nordic culture Fund.

FacTstarget audIenceMuseum visitors

tecHnologyInteractive kayak simulator, 3d stereoscopy, surround sound.

PartnersJette gejl, peter Møller-nielsen, department of computer science, aarhus University; rasmus Lunding, department of Information & Media studies; Olsen Boats; Wahlberg aps: TeKne production; caVI

FundIngTeKne production dKK 150,000caVI sponsorship dKK 100,000The danish arts agency, dKK 75,000alexandra approx. dKK 75,000sponsors approx. 50,000 (volunteer labour)

PerIodOctober 2009 – March 2010

contactJette gejl Kristensen email: jettegejl@yahoo.dkphone: +45 2615 6710

HyPerkInetIc kayak - Interactive installation with 3d stereoscopic visualisation

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”klimatrends” – climate trends – is an experience-Oriented iphOne app that investigates the interplay amOng a current tOpic (cOp15 climate summit in cOpenhagen), jOurnalism, sOcial media, physical sensOrs and a game-like lOOk On the mObile phOne.

The purpose of “Klimatrends” was to investigate the boundaries of journalism and new media. as we spend more and more time on Facebook, google and Youtube, it is neces-sary to find out how descriptive journalism - which is important in a democratic society – can find new ways to remain relevant and compelling.

“The idea of having a real-time live dialogue with the users is something we will see a lot more of – both within news media and social media.”Viggo Lépoutre ravn, journalist, Jyllands-posten

The app is not just a news reader, a social network, a measuring instrument or a game. It’s got a bit of everything and more besides. The water level in the oceans is an indica-tor for the state of the climate. The higher, the worse. There is no exact measurement, just an indication of many factors. Ice floes emerging from the deep are opinions, articles and measurements from cO2 sensors. press an ice floe to see what it hides.shake the telephone, and a random number of ice floes will emerge from the deep.If you are a Twitter user, you can influence the situation yourself, both directly in the application and by means of other Twitter programs (by adding #jpklima in a tweet).You can also follow certain people and see what they think about the current climate debate.

Technically “Klimatrends” is therefore first and foremost an iphone app plus a back-ground service in the form of a server (computer) that collects all information. relevant information (new messages, users, water level, etc.) is then retrieved by the app on each iphone and presented to the user.

as anyone with a Twitter account can send messages to “Klimatrends”, there are many possibilities of getting inputs from a variety of sources. For example, websites can be designed to automatically send messages tagged #jpklima when breaking news happen. It is also possible to fit sensors that can send messages via the internet. We did that with “Klimatrends” where cO2 sensors placed on three locations in copenhagen sent regular messages about the cO2 level in each particular location.

clIMate trends– news, opinions, feelings and climate data

FacTstarget audIencesreaders, citizens, consumers

tecHnologyiphone app, 3d visualisation, Twitter

PerIodaugust – december 2009 (during the cOp15 climate summit in copenhagen)

Partnerscentre for digital Urban Living; the alexandra Institute; Morgenavisen Jyllands-posten; telephone company 3

contactLecturer, phd Martin Brynskovcentre for digital Urban Living, Information and Media studies, aarhus Universityemail: brynskov@imv.au.dkphone: +45 3068 0424

during the test period “Klimatrends” was no. 3 on the list of the most popular free news apps in denmark, ahead of for instance the new York Times and reuters.

all in all, “Klimatrends” has given us the opportunity to test an interesting situation which is not easy to assess in advance. The mix of effects, technologies, informa-tion and interactivity is interesting because so many new dimensions and opportunities emerge. at the same time, we have a major challenge in investigating how the different content elements can find an expression that is meaningful to both sender and recipient.

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The climate dress detects and visual-ises information about the pollution level around the wearer in such a way that pol-lution becomes an apprehensible and una-

voidable part of the near context. This has an impact on our knowledge and aware-ness of pollution, which is the first step towards taking a standpoint.

at the same time, visualisation of pollution via the clothes can be part of the wearer’s self-promotion and identity creation.

The dress uses a cO2 sensor to measure the current cO2 level in the surround-ings. The cO2 level is then visualised as a pulsating light pattern on the dress. a high cO2 level results in frequent pulsa-tions, thus symbolising weak and irregular breathing. a low cO2 level results in low pulsation, thus symbolising calm and sta-ble breathing. If you breathe on the cO2 sensor, the lights react promptly to the increased cO2 level in the air.

Moreover, the dress is an example of how stylish design can be combined with high technology in the textile industry.

tHe clIMate dress

The installation atmosphere – the sound and sight of cO2 translates measurements of cO2 levels into an audiovisual expression and demonstrates how climate data can be communicated to the general public in an artistic and experience-oriented form. during the cOp15 negotiations in copenhagen in december 2009, sensors placed at The city Hall square (rådhuspladsen), Kongens nytorv and Østre anlæg measured variations in cO2 levels round the clock. a software program continuously compared and translated the data into electronic music and into a minimalist visual expression shown on a two-metre high, square sculpture made of low-resolution Led screens.

The installation enabled the citizens of copenhagen to follow variations in cO2 levels at different locations in the city and to comprehend the differences in volume and intensity expressed in a sensuous form. during cOp15 the installation was mounted at The city Hall square as part of the Hopenhagen LIVe activities.

atMosPHere – the sound and sight of co2 coP15/ Hopenhagen lIVe, 7 – 18 december 2009

FacTstecHnologyThe climate dress uses a cO2 sensor, a micro-controller board, two Led controllers and 112 Leds distributed on 28 individually controllable channels. The cO2 sensor transmits an analogue signal to the microcontroller, corresponding to the cO2 level in the surrounding air. The program in the microcontroller then translates the cO2 level into values for a number of parameters that control an animation sequence in the Leds. The microcontroller calculates a new light intensity for each of the 28 light channels 50 times per second. The information is transmitted through the conductive embroidery to the two Led con-trollers that control the intensity in the Leds.

PartnersThe alexandra Institute; The danish design school; diffus design; Forster rohner ag.

contactrikke Koch, the alexandra Institute email: rikke.koch@alexandra.dkMobile: +45 2126 8724

FacTscredItsThe installation was developed in a collaboration between Hopenhagen LIVe and centre for digital Urban Living at aarhus University.

realIsatIon and concePtMorten suder riis, Tobias ebsen, rasmus B. Lunding and Morten Breinbjerg.

digital Urban Living would like to thank the royal danish academy of Fine arts, The national gallery of denmark and TeKne production.

contactFor further information, please contactassociate professor, phd Morten Breinbjergemail: mbrein@multimedia.au.dk phone: +45 8942 9258

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Photo: Gunnar Kramp

On 18 October 2006, students from the Master’s degree programme in audio de-sign at the department of Information & Media studies, aarhus University, recorded sounds from the main square, “store Torv”, in the heart of aarhus. In groups of two, the students observed the rhythm of the day as it unfolded in the central square and collected sounds of nightlife, of the city wakening and of activities during the day.

Through mixing and sound transforma-tions, the 24 hours were then cut down to a 24-minute fabulist soundscape composi-tion that gives people a new way to listen to and experience the city.

The 24-minute soundscape is available on dVd in surround-sound format and can be downloaded at the project website. The website also contains detailed descriptions of the project and examples of recordings.

The project is the initial part of a ma-jor project that investigates the history of aarhus from an audio perspective, not least how the sound image of the city has changed up through history. The purpose is to find new ways of communicating and documenting the city’s cultural history – its streets, alleys and squares – in audio form.

store torV 24 H/24 M – description

Foto: Poul Iversen

FacTscontactFor further information, please visit: http://www.digitalurbanliving.dk/soundscapes/ or contact:associate professor, phd Morten Breinbjergemail: mbrein@multimedia.au.dkphone: +45 8942 9258

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Foto: Gunnar Kramp

researchers at caVI are investigating the opportunities of large-scale media fa-cades, thereby building up research com-petence within the topic.

In the summer of 2007 denmark was registered for the second world exposition in shanghai in 2010. The theme of expO 2010 is “Better cities Better Life”, and danish preparations have been going on for a long time.

The exterior of the expO pavilion serves as a huge media facade – one of the larg-est and most complex that caVI has been involved in designing in collaboration with the firm of architects Bjarke Ingels group BIg and Martin professional.

The Little Mermaid posing in a basin filled with water from copenhagen and visitors cycling along the cycle path – the danish pavilion in shanghai offers many experi-ences. But visitors will not only get spec-tacular experiences inside the building. The expO pavilion itself is a work of art in its own right that balances between digital art, urban design and architecture.

The building is shaped like a double spiral where a combined bicycle path/footpath leads visitors from level 0 through two

curves at a height of 12m and then down again. With a diameter of 50m, the danish pavilion is a remarkable piece of architec-ture.

The exterior of the building is a steel structure with holes of varying sizes and positions. The surface serves as a large complexly shaped media facade. each hole is fitted with an opaque plexiglass tube and Leds controlled by advanced hardware and caVI’s customised software. The holes should thus be seen as a kind of round pixels and the exterior of the building as a long curved screen with few vertical pixels and many horizontal pixels. This gives an opportunity to play with our understand-ing of media facades and investigate the potential of such a complex installation, how the spectators experience it and what the challenges are.

expO 2010 in shanghai is excellent for this purpose. The organisers expect that around 70 million people will visit expO, of which foreigners account for 10 per cent. The shanghai area alone is reckoned to account for more than 10 million visitors. More than 200 countries and organisa-tions are expected to visit the exhibition.

exPo 2010 In sHangHaI a complex large-scale media facade

Photo: Poul Iversen

The Bright green exhibition was held in Forum copenhagen in connection with the cOp15 climate summit and was a dem-onstration of the intelligent home of the future.

The activity zone The energy aware House, designed by the alexandra Institute, among others, demonstrated how differ-ent technologies can automate and visual-ise energy consumption. In the future, we will be able to use energy at the right time, for the right purpose and at the right price. We will be able to cut our energy con-sumption by 50 per cent by using:• energy efficient products based on wire-

less communication• intelligent control of actual energy con-

sumption• visualisation of actual energy consump-

tion and suggestions for further savings.

The energy aware House was a universe of experiences that gave concrete answers to specific concerns. For the first time we combined technical solutions that run on different platforms and demonstrated the eco-friendly home of the future.

Visitors were taken on a tour into four different scenarios that illustrated how to save energy by using existing climate-friendly high-tech solutions.

research and private enterprises with the aim of developing visionary and commer-cial solutions using embedded, mobile and pervasive technologies. The network has a variety of focus areas, and at this event focus was on buildings.The energy aware House was presented by 15 enterprises and knowledge insti-tutions who had joined forces at Bright green to show that it will be possible to save energy and make a difference for the environment. The alexandra Institute was responsible for designing and building the exhibition. The implementation was funded by the regional IcT corridor programme with a grant from eBsT – the danish enterprise and construction agency (eU structural Funds).

next stoP: tHe MInIstry oF scIence, tecHnology and InnoVatIonThe former Minster for science, Technology and Innovation, Helge sander, visited en-ergy aware House and became so enthu-siastic about the exhibition that he asked to have it moved to the ministry where it was exhibited for yet another month after cOp15. read more at www.swkorridor.dk or www.brightgreen.dk.

Four scenarIosThe energy aware House was divided into four scenarios: Moving energy, Light con-trol, Visualising energy and Open Window. Moving energy showed how to save en-ergy by means of sensors in the home. Light control showed how to save energy through control and automation of lighting in the home. Visualising energy visualised energy consumption in such a way that people became aware of their actual energy con-sumption. Open Window showed how to save energy if the heating is turned down automatically when airing out.Visitors also had the opportunity to try out Bright green energy planner to check their own energy consumption and plan how to use renewable energy in their homes – to the benefit of the environment and to save money.

Partners BeHInd tHe energy aWare HouseThe energy aware House has been created by the Intelligent Buildings Interest group under the auspices of the infinIT network – innovation network for IT. The pur-pose of the network is to bring together

eco-FrIendly HoMes oF tHe Future - the energy aware House at the Bright green exhibition

FacTstarget audIenceVisitors from all over the world at expO 2010

tecHnologyLeds and customised software

PartnersBjarke Ingels group BIg; Martin professional; caVI; centre for digital Urban Living

FundIngTotal budget: dKK 150 million Ministry of economic and Business affairs: dKK 75 millionrealdania: dKK 50 million a.p. Moller - Maersk; grUndFOs; Vestas Wind systems a/s; agriculture and Food (arla Foods, Kopenhagen Fur and carlsberg): dKK 20 million.

The new carlsberg Foundation is heading the artistic decoration of the pavilion.

PerIodexpO 2010 is open from 1 May to 31 October, 2010.contact: Morten Lervig, email: lervig@cavi.dk

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purpOse: tO build new cOncepts fOr interactive media facades in the crOss-field between public cOmmunicatiOn, entertainment, digital art, branding and prOduct presentatiOn.

Media Facades is part of the research field Urban computing. The project focuses on developing interactive media facades as an integrated component of buildings – both inside and outside.

The project demonstrates and creates new types of large-scale dynamic and inter-active contents using for instance video and animations. The project investigates and conducts research into media facades from different perspectives: spatiality and architecture, technology and materials, interaction design and usability, and genre and contents. The aim is to develop specific concepts for the use of interactive media facades, public/interactive communication, enter-tainment and digital art, as well as brand-

ing and product presentation. The project is structured around a number of cases which also focus on the development of new core technnologies for interactive media facades.

FIVe cases HaVe Been deVeloPed so Far- aarhus by Light- running sculpture - colorscan- sHangHaI expo 2010 - climate wall

all of the projects have been developed by caVI and centre for digital Urban Living.

aarhus by Light is one of the central cases of Media Facades. The aim was to focus on visual expression and experience by means of interaction. aarhus by Light was

MedIa Facades– urban computing

Aarhus by Light on the facade of Aarhus Concert Hall.

The Climate Wall in Aarhus.

onto the facade where they could pad, push, lift and move the little creatures.

The climate Wall was part of the Beyond Kyoto conference in aarhus. Ordinary peo-ple were invited to give a statement on the issue of climate. a whole range of speech balloons were projected onto the wall of “ridehuset” – a former equestrian hall. By walking and standing on the pavement, the spectators could move the words in the balloons around and thus create small statements that related to the climate, the future, and aarhus.

From an overall perspective, the project Media Facades offers many opportunities and modes of application and holds a large future potential.

a social experiment that involved an inter-active media facade on concert Hall aarhus which was also meant to enrich the visual architectural qualities and the surrounding urban environment.

The facade of the concert hall would be crowded with little interactive creatures that fitted into aarhus’ skyline. They were designed to wave, sleep, climb, fight, jump, kiss and sometimes disappear and come back. The creatures would estab-lish a relation with the spectators, not just physically but also emotionally. sensors were placed in three illuminated zones around the concert hall to register the presence and movements of the visitors. The movements would then be trans-formed into digital silhouettes projected

FacTscontentsMedia Facades is structured around five cases based on different technologial media concepts

target audIence public space, citizens and the urban environment

tecHnologyThe projects use different technologies from Led tubes and projections to new innovative and experimental technologies

PerIodFebruary 2008 -

PartnerscaVI; BIg Bjarke Ingels group; Martin profes-sional a/s; The animation Workshop; Wall of pixels; centre for digital Urban Living

FundIngdanish agency for science, Technology and Innovation (regional IcT corridor programme); danish council for strategic research (KInO programme)

contactprofessor and director Kim Halskov email: halskov@cavi.dk phone: +45 8942 9241

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Foto: Gunnar Kramp

purpOse: tO renew the theatre experi-ence. tO make the theatre experience part Of the urban envirOnment.

Mobile Urban drama is a range of interac-tive audio dramas where the user is the main character in a drama set in a real ur-ban environment. an attempt to renew the theatre experience.

In the play, users are equipped with mobile phones, headsets and maps and experi-ence the drama as they walk through the streets, triggering different scenes by means of location-based technology. dur-ing the play, they will receive text messag-es and phone calls and meet real actors who are part of the play that takes place along a predefined trail through the city. The technology is based on tags, by means

of which information and audio elements can be scanned into the mobile phone. Mobile Urban drama has resulted in four different projects developed in collabo-ration with Teater Katapult and centre for Interactive spaces at the alexandra Institute. Under the name audioMove, the first drama, “corridor”, was developed for the aarhus Festival 2007. The user plays a journalist who has been assigned to uncover information about a celebrity that will make headlines in the following day’s newspaper. The play is about stress, superficiality and multitasking versus qui-etude, contemplation and intimacy.

The next audioMove project was devel-oped during the summer of 2008 in Hors-ens under the name “gaMa – on the trail of unknown land”. The play is targeted at the tourist industry in Horsens and sends the user on a dramatised city walk through an historical city with real actors playing historical characters.

The interactive outdoor play ”HasleBakker” was developed specifically for teach-ing purposes, the target audience being children in the sixth grade. The purpose is to give the children a better understand-ing of the man-nature relationship through individual or team tasks prepared by the teachers.

The project dialog09 initiated by the city of aarhus resulted in the audioMove drama HIKUIn’s Vendetta. The purpose of the play is to provide new ways of dis-

MoBIle urBan draMa– interactive audio drama

Information and sound are scanned into the mobile phone.

Foto: Poul Iversen

seminating history – in this case the Viking age in aarhus – where the user can get a new insight into an historical location in the public space.

audioMove/Mobile Urban drama holds a large potential within a cultural context. as with gaMa, the concept can be angled towards tourism where the main empha-sis is on the user’s experience of the city and its attractions and not so much on the dramatised narrative.

In HasleBakker the learning process is in focus. The users are active and co-creative

contributors to the narrative, for instance because the facts and learning elements of the play serve as school tasks.

a new concept is to exploit audioMove’s potential as dissemination and communi-cation platform for internal and external corporate communication. The company becomes a co-producer in its own story-telling process and can use audioMove to create specific stories targeted at custom-ers, employees or stakeholders. In essence, audioMove can help a partner, a company or an institution to communicate information or learning through a fictitious story.

FacTstarget audIencesTheatre guests, aarhus Festival guests, school children, citizens, and others

tecHnologyMobile phone, 2d bar codes, Tags, UrbanWeb infrastructure, etc.

PartnersTeater Katapult and the alexandra Institute

audIoMoVe BIs Innovation Lab; Idrætssamvirket; the alexandra Institute; Teater Katapult; Visit Horsens

MoBIle VIkIngsKatapult; the alexandra Institute; city of aarhus,; Midtjysk Turisme; Moesgaard Museum

PerIod2007–2009

FundIngTeater Katapult; central denmark region; The Heritage agency of denmark; Visit Horsens

contactprofessor, Head of research and Innovation Kaj grønbæk email: kaj.gronbak@alexandra.dkphone: +45 8942 5636

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Foto: Gunnar Kramp

InFogallery – digital information in the physical space

purpOse: tO bring digital infOrmatiOn intO the physical space in new ways. tO invOlve users in the experience and enable them tO take the infOrmatiOn hOme by means Of web 2.0 technOlOgies.

Infogallery is a new media that makes digital and interactive information available in the physical space and puts emphasis on user involvement and social interaction. The project is based on a number of important elements which together create a unique ex-perience for the users and is an excellent tool for knowledge sharing.

Originally, Infogallery was designed for libraries as a new method for presenting digital contents in an aesthetic way. Today, Infogalleries are mainly installed in libraries but are also used by museums and citizens service centres. In an experience-oriented society Infogallery also holds a huge potential in the private sector, for instance in shopping malls, supermarkets, experience centres and railway stations.

Infogallery is designed to tailor digital information towards a specific target audience, time, place and situation. Libraries and other customers create contents using an editor application where the editor decides which information should be presented where and when on the various displays. The information can also be shared across cultural insti-tutions and other organisations, depending on their needs and desires.

Infogallery is designed with a special feature: interactivity with the users, i.e. the visi-tors. The users can take the information home via for instance e-mail, Bluetooth or podcast. Other elements are blogs and voting facilities for big screens, possibility of sending notes from a mobile phone to the Infogallery screens, integrated sensors that can activate sound or visual feedback on the screens.

The designers behind the display looked to the field of Informative arts for two reasons: to be able to wrap the information in an artistically and aesthetically appealing interface and to optimise the information by focusing on the visual expression. What makes this display so special is that the information has been made more accessible and functional for each individual institution. The graphic design can be extended with a range of tem-plates, enabling the customer to create her own visual expression, which can easily be modified for new contexts.

Example of screen image in InfoGallery.

Foto: Poul Iversen

Examples of screen images in InfoGallery.

FacTstarget audIencesLibrary visitors, museum guests and citizens in general, including citizens service centres, shop-ping malls, railway stations, etc.

tecHnologyTouch-screen, Web 2.0 technologies, Bluetooth. The infrastructure includes editor application, display applications, contents database and rss feeds

PartnersThe alexandra Institute and dBc – danish Library centre have designed the common xpO platform

FundIngThe alexandra Institute (technical) and dBc (ac-counts and sales)

PerIodFrom March 2006

contactBalasuthas sundararajahemail: info@infogalleri.net www.infogalleri.netphone: +45 8942 5714

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purpOse: tO develOp new ways Of using ict in libraries. tO enhance user-friendliness and interactivity in libraries.

The vision of the Hybrid Library project was to create aesthetic and engaging aug-mented reality environments and spaces in the library of the future. The purpose was to transform the traditional library into a physical, interactive knowledge portal – an experimental space for interaction with information.

In combination, the functional and per-ceived images of these new environments should provide access to information search and guidance and offer the users alternative possibilities for public cultural production and debate.

The traditional library must be able to meet a number of challenges arising from the increased use of information technology. Future libraries must therefore offer a versatile range of media – especially digital media – that are accessible to the users and play an important role for the activi-ties at the library.

The purpose of the project was to cre-ate a number of design proposals for the physical shape and layout of the library environment based on augmented reality, architecture and participatory design. The project also demonstrated how informa-tion technology can be used in the physical

space. Two prototypes were designed for the project: an interactive floor for com-munication among users (Icom-Floor), and an installation that presented a selection of digital resources available at the library (info-pillar).

IcoM-FloorThe Icom-Floor invites users to study questions and answers by means of text messages or e-mail.The purpose is to cre-ate communication among the users. The system consists of a server that keeps track of the questions and answers, and a projector in the ceiling that projects the display onto the floor. The display on the floor works on the basis of a video track-ing system that registers people’s posi-tions and movements and transforms them into forces that attract the cursor.

InFo-PIllarThe info-pillar investigates how we usu-ally find digital information by displaying a number of selected links on a circular projection surface. These links, however, are only appetizers compared with the full version of the web resources. The system consists of a computer linked to three pro-jectors inside the physical structure, plus a web browser that organises the contents of the info-pillar.

iBIB - hybrid library

a Bluetooth device is also linked to the pillar, which makes it possible to move a selected link to a personal computer if the user wants to study it further – either at the library or at home.

Foto: Poul Iversen

Partnerspartners behind @aglance: aarhus University, deptartment of computer science; the alexan-dra Institute; 43d; polycom; Landsbyen sølund; the skanderborg Festival

contactpreben Holst Mogensen, aarhus University, department of computer science email: phm@cs.au.dk phone: +45 2338 2188

Foto: Gunnar Kramp

@aglance is a high-tech system that supports emergency personnel by providing an overview of for instance festival fields, cycle races or major accidents. a graphic rep-resentation of the current position of the emergency personnel and tracking of crowd movements support the work and cooperation among the emergency personnel. The system was used with great success at the skanderborg Festival 2009.

When the on-site commander stands in front of the interactive screen, he gets a real-istic 3d topographic image of what goes on in the field. The screen provides informa-tion about the position of the emergency personnel and what is happening around a patient or a situation. The on-site commander will also be able to see the situation from both his own perspective and that of his colleagues. This gives the on-site commander an overview which is essential for responding immediately to emergency situations. The system also features improved crowd control, which helps to prevent emergency situations before they arise. When a concert begins or ends at a festival, huge crowds move from a to B; @aglance tracks crowd movements, and on the interactive screen the on-site commander can monitor if too many people are gathering in one place or if too many are moving in the same direction.

FacTs

tecHnology • supports local and central overview

through interaction between the 3d envi-ronment on handheld devices used in the field and screens placed at coordinating points, local emergency centres and at the control centre.

• integrates communications infrastruc-tures - wired net, WiFi, 3g, gprs, radios.

• supports visual communication by means of video, images and resource tracking –all integrated into the 3d environment.

• offers ”activity indication” for crowd control – the intensity and direction of major crowd movements are visualised in the 3d environment.

• tracks emergency personnel/key person-nel/coordinators by means of gps.

• supports interaction between static and remote controllable cameras and images/videos in the 3d environment.

@aglance

FacTscontentsIcom-Floor and info-pillar

target audIenceLibrary visitors

tecHnologyprojectors, video tracking system, webcam, mouse tracking, Bluetooth, displays

PerIodFrom May 2004

Partnerscentre for Interactive spaces and claus Bjarrum architects contactprofessor, Head of research & InnovationKaj grønbæk email: kaj.gronbak@alexandra.dkphone: +45 8942 5636

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Foto: Gunnar Kramp

purpOse: tO integrate infOrmatiOn technOlOgy intO the educatiOn prOcess in a new way. accOrding tO the theOry Of kinaesthetic learning, learning is tO take place thrOugh physical activity.

The Wisdom Well is an interactive floor fitted at Møllevangsskolen in aarhus. The floor is intended as a central meeting place for pupils and their teachers.

The Wisdom Well works with new ways of integrating interactive IT into the education process with focus on learning through physical activity. It is a supplement to tradi-tional teaching methods and inspires children to work in new ways and share knowledge across classes. The interactive elements of the project enable the children to apply a special learning style called kinaesthetic learning, which involves the body in the learning process.

The Wisdom Well contains a range of applications, such as iFloorQuest and stepstone developed by centre for Interactive spaces. These applications are suited for both edu-cation, breaks and events and can also be used for the education of hearing-impaired children. Within the context of these applications, children and teachers have developed approximately 100 learning games for different class levels. These games are available to all pupils at the school. The Wisdom Well is a collaborative installation that inspires pupils – and spectators – to

tHe WIsdoM Well - the interactive floor

Foto: Poul Iversen

collaborate to solve the tasks assigned, which is not only about finding the right an-swers but also about identifying plausible wrong answers.

The Wisdom Well is embedded into the floor at the school and consists of a projection surface with four F3 projectors. at each projector a webcam registers the users’ move-ments and sends the information to a tracking device that provides the centre position with an Id in order that the user can be tracked. The Id can be used as an input for the applications in such a way that a graphic object is selected within a few seconds. This enables pupils and teachers to interact with different digital materials by moving around on the floor. The technology is new and is called “limb-based interaction”, meaning that interaction is based on the position of limbs (feet, hands, knees etc.) on the Wisdom Well.

The Wisdom Well has received international acclaim for its function and innovative de-sign. In 2007, the Wisdom Well won the red dot design award - “best of the best” in the category education.

The main objective of the Wisdom Well is to enhance education through interactive IT and kinaesthetic learning. The project is working on a light version of the Wisdom Well for Tornbjerg skole in Odense. Obviously, the Wisdom Well is suited for other than school purposes, for instance for information and learning in museums, etc.

FacTstarget audIencesschool children, teachers, etc.

contentsThe Wisdom Well contains learning game applica-tions such as stepstone and iFloorQuest. classic applications like pong have also been redesigned for the Wisdom Well

tecHnologyInteractive floor based on sensor technology. The floor itself is a projection surface connected to a web camera and a Tracking client to create a multitouch user interface

Partnerscentre for Interactive spaces, aarhus University; aarhus school of architecture; the alexandra Institute; arkitema; søren Jensen a/s; dansk data display and city of aarhus

PerIod2006 – 2009

FundIngcity of aarhus (incl. funding from the Oticon Foun-dation), Boligfonden Kuben and ncc a/s. sold on commercial terms through dansk data display

contactprofessor, Head of research and Innovation Kaj grønbækemail: kaj.gronbak@alexandra.dkphone: +45 8942 5636

contentscasOMe, eMote and MultiLightTracker

target audIenceHome dwellers

PerIodapril 2003 to april 2005

Partnerscentre for Interactive spaces; aarhus school of architecture; aarhus University – department of computer science; Bang & Olufsen

contactprofessor, Head of research & InnovationKaj grønbæk email: kaj.gronbak@alexandra.dkphone: +56 8942 5636

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h2 interactiOn is an interactive exhibitiOn in vestenskOv On lOlland. visitOrs get an understanding Of the different prOcesses invOlved in prOductiOn, stOrage and recuperatiOn Of hydrOgen.

H2InteractIon

In the exhibition one can go for a walk on an interactive floor that reveals if one’s cO2 footprints are good and green or bad and black.

The visitor can play “weather god” in a miniature village where he or she decides if the sun should burn or if it should rain or be windy. Or one can compete against one’s friends to find out who is best at splitting water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen.The exhibition is made up of six instal-lations that apply different technologies such as multitouch tracking, rFId and Led, projections and gesture tracking on floors and walls.

The village illustrates how a hydrogen system can be applied in many different situations: varying production methods, varying consumption and different stor-age units. In addition, rFId chips, Leds and acrylic are used to create form, atmos-phere, projection and sound.

The wall encourages visitors to produce energy through physical interaction. To produce wind energy, the visitor must swing his arms like a windmill; to produce wave energy, the visitor must swing his arms in front of him like when splash-ing in water; and when producing solar energy, the visitor must blow the clouds away from the sun. so the more the visi-tors move, the more energy is created. The installation uses gesture tracking and projection.

The floor encourages visitors to reflect upon their own consumer habits and the cO2 footprints resulting from their behav-iour. The visitors walk around on the floor and use their feet to select situations they know from their everyday lives. Then it is illustrated whether the selected situations are cO2 neutral or not. The installation uses gesture tracking and projection.

storage is an installation where visitors learn about three stages of hydrogen stor-

age: electrolytic splitting, compression, and recuperation (conversion of hydrogen to electricity and heating in the household). The installation uses two unique multi-touch screens that make it possible to register the interaction of several users on the screens simultaneously. In the past it was only possible to register the interac-tion caused by one or two touches on a screen, whereas the screens used in this project can register several interactions.

a dynamic trouchscreen gives visitors back-ground information about Lolland’s position within renewable energy production. The system uses video and image material.

purpOse: tO create new experiences by using digital media and it in the hOme tO achieve aesthetic, cOntext-based interactiOn.

The focus of the project was to develop prototypes for home filing systems and “in-tranets”, plus concepts for aesthetic, context-based interaction among different media in the home. The project attempted to respond to issues of integrated context-based handling of many different media types, digital images, Mp3, recipes, websites, etc. used in the home. The project developed interaction forms adapted to the aesthetics and atmosphere of home environments, while at the same time drawing on experience from information handling systems for professional use.

The purpose was to provide theories and methods for IT in the home and context-based interaction techniques and infrastructures that may form the basis for future projects in the home. a number of prototypes were developed for the project, each of which dealt with themes like “context-aware computing”, “aesthetic interaction” and “connected inter-active surfaces”.

casoMecasOMe is a context-dependent interactive software infrastructure. displays can act as touch-screen, passive screens, projectors or sound displays and may be located in different places in the home: tables, walls, or projected onto the floor or ceiling. The platform includes an interactive table that supports multi-user interaction. The applica-tion may be designed to control specific media objects such as images, videos, websites and music.

eMoteThe iHome project has also developed eMote, which is a context-dependent, gesture-based one-button remote control that always operates the closest display with music, films and other media in the home. When the user approaches a display, eMote is auto-matically recognised through rssI in Bluetooth. With a gesture, the user can transfer for instance an image from one display to another. MultIlIgHttrackeranother prototype is MultiLightTracker, which is a simple technique for simultane-ous tracking of several objects on a semi-transparent surface. The technique enables multi-user interaction on projected surfaces by means of vision-based techniques and traditional webcams. The physical design is a pen whose location can be identified by a unique colour emitted from an Led. This identification is used as an input for applica-tions and allows multiple users to interact at the same time.

iHoMe- aesthetic Interaction for the home

FacTs

target audIencepupils and teachers

tecHnologydisplays with BlueTooth, mobile phones, gps-based browser, software infrastructure for e.g. eBag

PerIod1 april 2003 - 30 april 2005

Partnerscentre for Interactive spaces, the alexandra Institute; søren Jensen consulting engineers; arkitema; Tool-Tribe; Tdc/Innovation Lab and dansk data display

contactprofessor, Head of research & Innovation Kaj grønbæk email: kaj.gronbak@alexandra.dkphone: +56 8942 5636

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Foto: Gunnar Kramp

purpOse: tO develOp sOftware infrastructure, gui and spatial cOncepts fOr new interactive schOOl envirOnments. tO develOp an Open and flOating infOr-matiOn technOlOgy that suppOrts learning in and Outside the physical limits Of the schOOl. tO create new ways Of integrating infOrmatiOn technOlOgy in the schOOl.

Both pupils and teachers must experience coherence between the use of digital and physical materials across competence centres (laboratories, libraries etc.), classrooms and fieldtrips.

The project developed an open and “floating” information technology that is robust and accessible and supports learning in and outside the physical limits of the school. con-cepts and prototypes were evaluated at a number of schools in aarhus.

These prototypes were developed for the ischool project:

eBagThe eBag is the digital counterpart to the physical schoolbag. a personal digital bag can contain the pupils’ images, videos, music, documents and other materials to be used for projects and presentations at school. eBag can be connected to larger displays, mobile phones or pcs and provides quick access to digital materials and the possibility of shar-ing images, links and documents. The eBag is a small program on the mobile phone. When a pupil approaches one of the interactive screens at school, her personal eBag will appear on the screen via a Bluetooth connection between the mobile phone and the screen. Using drag’n’drop, the pupil can share her own files with others. It is also possible to create shared folders for multiple eBags.

iscHool– interactive school environments

Interactive screen in the classroom is part of the iSchool project.

FacTs

ecell ecell is a virtual group environment that can be established in unused areas of the school – for instance in corridors where temporary workstations could be set up for project and presentation work. ecell is a closed group room in which a wall-mounted pressure-sensitive screen is linked to a public display outside the room. The group can use the outer display to present their work as it progresses or to present themselves to people passing by. The screen in the group room is an ordinary pc linked to a Blue-tooth device, which enables the group to have their eBags shown on the screen and continue their work there. The public display outside the room can be controlled from the screen in the group room where the pupils can drag’n’drop images to be presented in public on the outer display in the form of a powerpoint presentation or an image col-lage.

HyconexPlorer Hyconexplorer is a mobile explorer whose purpose is to support learning outside the physical limits of the school. Hycon is a gps-based browser that gives the pupils infor-mation about their local environment. The information is dependent on the geographi-cal location of the pupils and is intended to support their project work.

eclassThe eclass concept focuses on physical learning environments and on integrating them with established concepts and prototypes. The development of the eclass concept was based on two basic activities: The first activity focused on equipping existing learning environments with different technologies with the purpose of experimenting with educa-tional scenarios and possible fields of application. The second activity focused on the ba-sic design of the learning environment, i.e. on providing a possibility for making decisions on layout, establishment as well as larger-scale use of technology in the school.

target audIencecitizens, festival guests

tecHnologyMobile phones, tag scanner, 2d barcode, i nfrastructure sensortype UrbanWeb

Partnersaarhus Festival; the alexandra Institute

FundIngaarhus Festival; the alexandra Institute

PerIod2007-2009

contactallan Hansen, phd, post. doc.email: fah@interactivespaces.net phone: +45 8942 5658

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purpOse: tO make infOrmatiOn abOut the aarhus festival available in the urban space. tO develOp a technOlOgy that links infOrmatiOn and services tO physical Objects and places.

The Mobile TagBlogger is part of the major UrbanWeb project that introduces interac-tive technologies in the urban space for citizens to use. By means of Web 2.0 technology Urban-Web attempts to create an urban environ-ment where citizens are not just recipients of information but also active users and producers of information.

The project began as a part of “the red route” during the aarhus Festival 2007–2008. One of the main objectives was to deliver location-based or context-aware information about the festival programme via people’s mobile phones. another main objective was to develop a platform for people to create, publish and share their own contributions to the city and the festi-val with other users in the city.

a number of information posts were set up in aarhus. They were equipped with 2d barcodes or tags that make it easy for mobile phones to read the information. at each 2d barcode the user received loca-tion-based information about for instance concerts, events and attractions.

The UrbanWeb application has other inter-active features, for instance mobile blog-ging where users can share and make com-ments by means of text, images or video. during the aarhus Festival 2007, the offi-

MoBIle tagBlogger – technology in the urban space

cial posters were equipped with tags. Visi-tors could then for instance enter images from a concert or a text about their experi-ence and share this material with others at that specific tag.

a series of new urban space applications were developed for the 2008 festival – for instance the quiz “guess a statue”. The

tags were used for creating active quizzes and surveys, a so-called dynamic service.

The technology behind Mobile TagBlog-ger can be used for many other purposes than a festival. It is easy to create new information for the 2d barcodes, and they can be placed in a variety of locations and contexts.

Facts

target audIenceMuseum visitors, children and adults

contentsFive different fish species, each deconstructed into five pieces: body, head, tail, swim bladder and fins. Hydroscopes

tecHnologydome display, rFId tag readers, two digital hy-droscopes consisting of a laptop, a large screen, loudspeakers and a digital compass

PartnersThe alexandra Institute, centre for Interactive spaces, has developed the prototype in collabo-ration with the Kattegat oceanarium

FundIngThe Ixp project is carried out under the IcT corri-dor programme and is funded with dKK 3 million

contactprofessor, Head of research & Innovation Kaj grønbæk email: kaj.gronbak@alexandra.dkphone: +45 8942 5636

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purpOse: tO learn by explOring and experimenting. tO develOp new tech-nOlOgy fOr future experience rOOms.

The Ixp project was a cross-disciplinary research project that developed new technological concepts and prototypes for future experience rooms. The project gathered businesses and researchers in an attempt to create a future for the technol-ogy in the experience economy.

The Ixp project is based on three main research areas: aesthetic interaction, context-aware interaction and rooms as interfaces. all of these areas contribute something unique to the development of projects.

“Build a fish” is a prototype under the Ixp project and was custom-made for the Kattegat oceanarium. The prototype con-sists of two elements:• a tall round table with a dome display and

a circular shelf equipped with three rFId tag readers. at the table, the visitors can combine pieces to build whole fish.

• Two digital hydroscopes that enable visi-tors to observe the fish under water.

The purpose of the project is to enhance the learning process through exploration and experiments with building fish. The “assembly kit” is based on five differ-ent fish species deconstructed into five different pieces: body, head, tail, swim bladders and fins. each piece uses rFId to link to information and to a correspond-ing virtual piece in the dome display. In the display the fish is shown together with

information about its particular strengths and weaknesses and an assessment of its ability to survive.

While the visitors construct the fastest, strongest or funniest fish, they learn about fish anatomy and how it affects the life of the fish and its ability to survive. There is no “correct” fish – it is all a matter of learning by exploring and experimenting. Visitors then let their fish loose in the digital ocean where it remains invisible until it ap-pears in the hydroscope where they can explore it beneath the surface.

IxP– build a fish

Collection of fish at the Kattegat Centre.

Fish life observed through a hydroscope.

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purpOse: tO cOntribute tO a dialOgue abOut the library as part Of the public space thrOugh deplOyment Of interactive installatiOns that play with the interface between indOOr and OutdOOr spaces.

target audIencecitizens and users of the library

PerIodFebruary 2010

PartnersThe alexandra Institute, Interactive spaces

kontaktclaus Mølleremail: claus.moller@alexandra.dkphone: +45 5152 4950

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target audIencecitizens

tecHnologyThe hardware consists of a 15x15m steel frame fitted with swings and Led tubes. sensors and software that control light and sound are hidden in the frame and in the swings

PerIodFebruary 2010

PartnersThe alexandra Institute, Interactive spaces;sound and light designer rune Wehner

contactclaus Mølleremail: claus.moller@alexandra.dkphone: +45 5152 4950

purpOse: swingscape is an artistic installatiOn that emphasises the cOntrast between the cOld winter and the interactive and playful space prOvided by the in-stallatiOn. the Objective Of the installatiOn was – amOng Other things – tO bring peOple tOgether in the public space when OutdOOr activities are limited by seasOn.

swingscape was designed and realised in connection with a winter festival in February 2010 in roskilde, denmark, where the overall theme was “light and sound”. We faced a number of challenges: How can we make an active substitute to for instance ice skating in February? How can we make a collaborative installation, which brings citizens to-gether? How can we unite audio and visual experiences in an outdoor environment? The solution was “swingscape”.

swinging is well-known to most of us. Because of the intuitive interaction, swingscape seems to appeal to a wide range of users: children use it as a traditional swing, teenag-ers push the swings and use them as a jukebox, adults experiment with the different tracks, and the elderly rest their feet while slowly rocking the swing. The swing instal-lation consists of two zones which illuminate in different colours when people swing. Lighting plays an important role in the setup as it forms a colourful living scenery in a grey and cold city. at the same time, each zone activates a larger sound universe. In the blue zone varying beats are activated and in the green zone melodies are activated. If visitors in several zones swing in line, a sonic harmony is created which can be heard from all seats in the installation. The sound in one’s own swing area plays a greater (and louder) role in one’s own sonic feedback – in other words, the audio experience is unique depending on which swing you choose. Visitors can experiment with the tracks and create different mixes of tunes.

The work with swingscape was not just about how to use the swings to activate the installation. security and choice of materials were also in focus. The swings are custom-made of ash wood, suspensions are made from ecological rope, and the ground is cov-

ered with a grass carpet. everything is a contrast to the cold winter and is meant to call to mind an atmosphere of spring. The installation was developed for a square in roskilde which is centrally located between several approach roads. It can therefore be seen as a dynamic meeting point for both people passing by on a bike, by car or on foot. It was important for us to integrate physical movement into and around the installation to ensure that the installation became a natural part of this city context.

Bringing people together by means of an audiovisual installation creates a warmer and more inviting urban space.

sWIngscaPe – an interactive swing in the urban space

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ecHoes oF tHe cIty– an interactive installation at roskilde library

roskilde Library was transformed into an experience room where users dived into the flow of information that passes between the library and the outside world. pulse, at-mosphere, sound and movements from the city were transformed into living interactive installations. The overall theme of the installation “echoes of the city” was the library’s role in relation to the surrounding community, exemplified through three sub-themes: “everybody in the library”, “The city in the library” and “The world in the library”. The three works illustrated how the library actively relates to the surrounding world, repre-sented by “The Middle”, “The Local” and “The global”. It was very important that the visitors had a chance to be involved in the dialogue with the installations as this contrib-uted to making the library more attractive. The installations worked in the interface be-tween indoor and outdoor spaces – i.e. the world outside the library and the library itself. This created a dual experience of the same surface, depending on whether the visitor was inside or outside. Figuratively speaking, the doors and windows of the library served as a membrane which actively filtered the knowledge of the world and let an appropriate amount seep through. In this way the installations contributed at several levels to the dialogue about the li-brary’s role in relation to the public space, the city and the surroundings.

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target audIencecustomers of all ages

tecHnology Fiducial markers, which are 2d patterns that make it possible to identify the contents and position of each box. standard reacTIVision software and 3d engine Virtools were used as a platform for the development of software for presenting on-screen animations

PerIodFebruary – March 2007, during which period the digital box was set up in salling department store in aarhus

PartnerscaVI, the alexandra Institute and LegO a/s

FundIngLegO and the danish agency for science, Tech-nology and Innovation

contactprofessor and director Kim Halskovemail: halskov@cavi.dk phone: +45 8942 9241

target audIenceparticipants at business-to-business trade fairs

tecHnologyTwo installations. an interactive information system and an interactive experience installation

PerIod2004-2005

Partnersgumlink, caVI

FundIngIcT research funds

contactprofessor and director Kim Halskovemail: halskov@cavi.dkphone: +45 8942 9241

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lego – out oF tHe Box – interactive marketing

purpOse: tO further develOp legO’s cOncept fOr incOrpOrating digital 3d mOd-els intO the entire business prOcess and tO investigate hOw digital technOlO-gies and marketing can jOin fOrces.

The interactive LegO table is an example of future digital product presentation in the retail business. The table was developed when LegO launched the Bionicle figurines in 2007. When placing the Bionicle boxes on a glass surface in the store, a computer and a camera register the contents and position of the boxes and then immediately show the models in-side on a screen in a real Bionicle universe known from the animation films.

When moving the boxes around on the glass surface, the animations on the screen start to walk, crawl or fly. By moving the different boxes close to one another, the animated models will even begin to interact – for instance fight or jump on each other’s backs – depending on the models. Up to four children at a time can play with a box and with each other.

The interactive LegO table consists of a frosted glass plate and a 35” screen. each of the LegO boxes are equipped with Fiducial markers, which are 2d patterns that make it possible to identify and locate the identity and position of each box. standard reacTIVi-sion software and 3d engine Virtools are used as a platform for the development of

software for presenting animations on the screen that are dependent on the position and movements of the boxes in relation to each other.

In 2007 the interactive LegO table was tested in salling department store for about a month. In terms of marketing val-ue, LegO reckons that the interactive table might generate additional sales in the long term. Both grown-ups, boys and girls have played at the table – either together or individually – most often for a few minutes but some up to half an hour.

gumlink is a business-tO-business chewing gum manufacturer and develOper based in sOuthern denmark. chewing gum manufactured at gumlink is sOld under a range Of brands. in additiOn, gumlink manufactures chewing gum fOr the hOme brands Of a number Of fOOd shOp chains wOrldwide. gumlink is a wOrld-leader in the develOpment Of new prOducts fOr the market.

gumlink has two main channels for promoting their products to the customers: at a number of international trade fairs of varying sizes, and in direct sales contact. This project focused on the trade fair context, while at the same time bearing in mind that ideas and possibilities should be applicable in a direct sales situation.

gumlink sees a potential in deploying digital technologies at trade exhibitions for two reasons: partly because it is crucial to be able to attract attention at a busy trade fair, partly because there is a need for explaining the function of gumlink chewing gum – which often involves complex explanations about chemistry and user perceptions.

With this project both elements of sales promotion were enhanced. The project inves-tigated and tested whether the deployment of digital technologies in a trade fair con-

text really attracts potential buyers to the stand. It was also investigated and tested whether digital technologies can help ex-plain the function of new products.

The project was realised at the world’s largest candy fair in cologne in 2005 where both installations were part of gumlink’s general sales promotion activi-ties. The results of the work look promis-ing.

guMlInk – deployment of digital technologies for knowledge dissemination and marketing

Digital technologies in use at a trade stand.

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target audIencecitizens with a desire learn about the national exhibition in 1909

tecHnologynet-based 3dVersion in 3d stereo can be seen at caVI

PerIod2009

Partnersdansk center for Byhistorie (national centre for urban history); caVI

FundIngKulturnet danmark; danish Ministry of culture

contactdansk center for Byhistorie phone: +45 2338 2073Mail: mail@byhistorie.dk

caVIcentre for avanced Visualisation and Interaction, aarhus Universityemail: info@cavi.dkphone: +45 8942 5638

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The model can be seen as a spatial browser where one can explore a variety of themes that tell the story about the national exhibition and the early industrial city through text, images, sound and a few films.

tWo PurPosesOn the one hand the purpose is to give visitors the opportunity to experience the splendour and beauty of the exhibition in 1909. go for a walk through the exhibition and absorb yourself into its unique archi-tecture and design.

On the other hand the purpose is to pro-vide information about the contents of the exhibition itself and to put this into perspective with the development of the modern industrial city around 1909.

click on the interactive icons to explore history.

lIFe In tHe natIonal exHIBItIonThe national exhibition is well-documented in photos and text, and the Virtual national exhibition provides an insight into the visual expression, proportions and history of the exhibition. There are, however, no film or sound recordings from the national exhibition, which has made it difficult to visualise the hustle and bustle that took place. so in order to reproduce the life at the exhibition, different types of sources have been made available in various places in the Virtual national exhibition.

IMagesall around the virtual exhibition visitors will see figures cut out of photos from the real exhibition to illustrate that one could actu-ally have met one of those persons back in 1909. The figures also show how people were dressed at the national exhibition.

In addition, a number of photos are on display in the Virtual national exhibition. By clicking on them, they will be shown from precisely the same angle in which they were taken in 1909. In this way the life as it took place at the real exhibition is reproduced in the virtual exhibition.

Finally, each subtopic is supplemented with photo galleries. These galleries show what the buildings looked like in reality – and not just on the drawing board. There are also photos of the exhibits inside the buildings.

soundeach subtopic is accompanied by an audio story that visitors can listen to while ex-ploring the virtual exhibition or the photo

tHe VIrtual natIonal exHIBItIon – 3d model of the national exhibition 1909

the virtual natiOnal exhibitiOn is a landscape Of infOrmatiOn. visitOrs can embark On a virtual tOur intO the sOurce representatiOn Of the 3d mOdel and get a realistic view Of the histOrical landscape, its enOrmOus prOpOrtiOns and the sOurce material.

galleries. The stories are based on news-paper reports or features from technical journals, speeches or personal accounts written down later by people who had vis-ited the national exhibition.The purpose of it all is to reproduce the national exhibition and give present-day people an impression of the events that took place in 1909. The stories are read by Ingrid dahl and Henning Lindberg from The Old Town in aarhus and recorded and edited by emil Thomsen, audio visual club.

FIlMHalf of the subtopics are supplemented with film clips from 1909 or the time around 1909. The films illustrate city life

and different phenomena relating to the subtopics. In 1909 filmmaking was an emerging technology and it has not been possible to find films for all subtop-ics. There are no films from the national exhibition.

Images from the 3D model of the National Exhibition in 1909.

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tHree PrIMary constItuentsThe three primary constituents of the cross Media initiative are:1. a cross Media network with focus on innovation

and knowledge dissemination2. strategic development activities3. a cross Media pool of venture capital to fund

relevant innovation projects

cross MedIa consortIuMcross Media is managed by a strong consor-tium consisting of Filmby aarhus, The animation Workshop, Bretteville Hotspot and the alexandra Institute. The consortium has set up a cross Media secretariat that – among other assignments – op-erates an interdisciplinary network, initiates innova-tion projects and administers the funds set aside for innovation projects and strategic development.

cross MedIa Poolan eU funded innovation pool will be established and is expected to be ready by the second half of 2010. The criteria have not yet been defined but in order for an application to be considered, the project must be innovative and interdisciplinary, and the applicant must co-fund 50% of the total project amount. The pool amounts to dKK 3.75 million per year.

contactresearch and Innovation specialistKristian Krämeremail: kristian.kramer@alexandra.dkphone: +45 8942 5683

PartnersThe project is conducted in collaboration with these partners in the Baltic sea region:

– Filmförderung Hamburg schleswig-Holstein gmbH, germany– Municipality of Kristiansand, norway– Baltic Film and Media school, estonia– national Film centre of Latvia, Latvia– estonian Film Foundation, estonia– High-Tech accelerator of the University of Lodz, poland– Lodz city council, poland– Filmby aarhus, denmark– alexandra Institute, denmark– University of agder, norway– Boost Hbg in skane, sweden

The danish part of the project involves relevant institutions such as the animation Workshop, Bretteville, the alexandra Institute and the IT city Katrinebjerg, Filmby aarhus and other relevant organisations interested in film and new media.

contactresearch and Innovation specialistKristian Krämeremail: kristian.kramer@alexandra.dkphone: +45 8942 5683

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The development in media all over the world has resulted in many new formats and technological platforms. This means that media products can now be exploited in many combinations and for a variety of purposes. cross media is a new field that merges media formats, genres and platforms and leaves ample opportunity to create and share knowledge and collaborate on new products, services, business models and technolo-gies. cross media will thus pave the way for the development of new forms of expres-sion, communication and experiences.

Ten years ago there were simple, functional business models for each type of creative product such as movies, television series, teaching resources, computer games, books or a work of art. Today, consumer patterns, technology and funding possibilities are changing so rapidly that we need to devise new collaboration structures, funding mod-els, distribution platforms, marketing strategies, etc.

cross MedIaThe regional cross Media Initiative aims to boost job creation in the creative industry through enhanced collaboration and partnerships with knowledge institutions.

The background for the cross Media Initiative is the digital revolution in the media in-dustry. The mobile phone is a good example of a medium that is undergoing a techno-logical revolution. Things develop so rapidly that new applications almost trip over one another. The development in the media industry requires collaboration across industries, and the cross Media Initiative aims to motivate businesses in the creative sector to co-operate with each other and with technology- and knowledge-intensive industries.

neW MedIa – crossmedia entertainment

FIrst MotIonFirst Motion is an Interreg 4B eU project that deals with the opportunities and inno-vation barriers that businesses in the audio-visual sector are facing as a result of the technological developments within cross media.

PurPoseThe purpose of First Motion is to assist companies in the necessary process of rede-signing strategies, business models, product development, production, distribution, sale, competence profiles, etc. for a cross-media digital market.

The project supports research, dissemination and development of new knowledge around these topics in a new digitised world: • creative processes• Business models• Funding models• distribution platforms• sales promotion strategies• development of new models for handling Iprs (immaterial property rights) • production of pilot projects and prototypes within new media products• development of Master’s level programmes• research and development in relation to business clusters and synergies • establishment of new digitised distribution platforms for niche-oriented sale of cross-

medial audio-visual products in the Baltic sea region

target audIenceThe initiative is aimed at:• Micro-enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises working with contents

production in the audio-visual sector that holds a potential for cross-mediality. • Knowledge institutions with focus on information science, media and aesthetic disci-

plines, and business studies.• University colleges and technical colleges offering media studies.• Institutions working with funding, development of creative audio-visual projects, eco-

nomic development and business cluster formation. • Talent development institutions focusing on creative processes and cross-medial con-

tents production.

at least 50 enterprises within game production, animation and films will be involved in intensive consultancy and innovation processes aiming at preparing them to tackle the challenges of cross media.

The project will contribute considerably to knowledge and competence build-up within digital contents production in a cross-medial context.

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target audIenceenterprises who wish to use special effects on facades or indoor glass walls to attract atten-tion. May be supplemented with conventional or interactive projection.

tecHnologya material that can appear in both transpar-ent and non-transparent form is fitted with a system that allows spectators to interact with the surface to affect its transparency.

PerIod2005-2009

Partnerssalling a/s; aarhus University; caVI; phi-Invention

FundIngIcT research funds

contactHead of department Morten LervigcaVI, aarhus Universityemail: lervig@cavi.dkphone: +45 8942 5638

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the technOlOgy behind the transparent windOws is a f0il, the surface Of which can be bOth transparent and nOn-transparent. in the latter state, it lOOks almOst like sandblasted glass. the material’s transparent/nOn-transparent state Occurs when vOltage is added tO the fOil which cOnsists Of multiple layers. when the vOltage is abOve a certain value, the material becOmes transparent.

The idea is to cover for example a shop window with a number of fields of this material and then control the transparency of each field dynamically by means of e.g. cam-era tracking that registers people who pass by or stand in front of the window. When a person is present, the window becomes transparent and enables the person to see the mannequins and other items on display in the shop. a person passing by creates a moving transparency, which gives people at a distance the opportunity to get a glimpse of the array of goods.

The idea was developed in a research project in collaboration with the department store salling a/s and was tested in their B&O exhibition facing the main pedestrian street in midtown aarhus.

The setup aroused much attention – both in the pedestrian street itself and internation-ally. aarhus University is seeking to obtain a patent, and a number of market surveys are being conducted.

dynaMIc transParent WIndoWs– interactive facades

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The Alexandra Institute is a not-for-profit company that works with application-oriented computer science. We activate the business potential of our customers trough research-based userdriven innovation.