Atmo

This half-year project focused on building an interactive environment for patients in the princes Maxima children hospital. At the end of the minor, we build an interactive installation to bring children-books to life.

About the concept

After a kid read one of the special selected books with their parents, Atmo can bring the story to life! Place the book on the magical table and the characters will leave the book and take place in the magical spheres. Walk over the floor and you’ll hear the bubbles around you. Various characters react different on you presence. When you come close to one of the little red-light-up spheres, you’ll hear the song Sebastian sings and when you touch him he will move to another sphere.  Get closer to the purple sphere and you’ll hear an evil laugh coming from it. Ursula from “The little mermaid” must be hiding in this one! Touch it and she can even create a thunderstorm in the light up spheres above your head…

To get a better image of the installation, watch the enclosed video about Atmo below, or visit the page about Atmo at the official website of the minor Interactive Environments

My contribution

This project was created in a multidisciplinary group of eight students. The concept was created as a group. During the embodiment phase of the interactive environment, I was highly involved in the creation off the magical scanning table. This included the design, interaction and production by laser-cutting of the object. 

The scanning table is the place where the interaction between the user and the installation starts. Therefore it has to draw attention towards it when the installation isn’t activated yet, so users feel invited to interact with it. Do achieve this, lights in the table and blinks when there is no book present to ask for attention. When you complete the incomplete cirkel on the table by placing on of the books on the table, the lights of the table change into one certain color. This color is depending on the book. The table is now satisfied and stops blinking. The lights on the ceiling start to fade in out to draw you attention to the rest of the installation.