This document summarizes a master's thesis project on designing adaptive interactive public art installations that can accommodate both individuals and crowds. The project explored how to create experiences that can gracefully transition between individual and group specific engagements based on environmental conditions like audience size. It involved testing prototypes with different interaction styles and aesthetic techniques like auras, halos and sound/mist to connect evolving scenarios. The goal was to foster a sense of connectedness whether people interact alone or as a group.

1. Designing Adaptive Interaction For
Individuals and Crowds in the Public Space

2. Luke Hespanhol. 2011.
Master of Interaction Design and Electronic Arts
Design Lab. University of Sydney
Based on short paper:
Elastic Experiences: Designing Adaptive Interaction for
Individuals and Crowds in the Public Space
Luke Hespanhol
Maria Carmela Sogono
Goldy Wu
Martin Tomitsch
Rob Saunders
Proceedings from OzCHI 2011
Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

5.  Very wide display (15 x 1 m)
 Narrow interaction area (approx. 15 x 2 m wide)
 Partial view of interaction
 Targeted audience: passers-by (office workers, families).

6.  Narrower display (3 x 1 m)
 Broader interaction area (approx. 5 x 5 m)
 Full view of interaction
 Targeted audience: students, faculty staff.

7. Catalyst to
self reflection
Foster a sense of connectedness

9. Aarhus By Light
Aarhus University.
2007.

12. Vivid Sydney
MCA Interactive Lighting
Spinifex Group. 2011.

13. The Red Nose Game
BBC Big Screens. 2007.
Birmingham Bradford

14. Body Movies, Relational Architecture 6
Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. Rotterdam. 2001.

18. storytelling platform manifested through
A participative
interactions of different nature
– though aesthetically coherent –
Individual
in
which come to the fore or recede to the back
specific
response environmental
engagementon
to change
conditions (e.g. audience size).

19. More than just Dynamically
scalable adaptable
Individual
graceful specific graceful
Group transition transition Group
engagement
specific specific
engagement engagement

22. Auras and halos, making collective energy visible

23. Sound
speakers
Screen
Water mist
Interactive
zone
Sound and mist surrounding the interactive space

25.  People act differently when they are alone versus when
they are in a group EVALUATION APPREHENSION
 Evolutionary approach based on user testing.

26.  Regular test sessions: 3 to 5 users
 Dry run to final exhibition: about 20 users
 Final exhibition: 50 plus
Different sized Tuning for
audiences elasticity

28. V-shaped interaction
triangular-shaped interaction

29. CROWD
• Socialize while immersed in the
experience
• Interaction THROUGH the work
INDIVIDUAL
• Focused interaction flow
• Interaction WITH the work

30. Aesthetic aspects
connecting
the evolving interactive
scenarios

31.  Connecting each two people in
the audience
Halos in an early prototype

32.  Virtual harp (audience plays it by moving around)
 Ambient sound (always playing)
Kinect

33.  Falling regularly at the back of
the interaction zone

35. Crowd specific engagement
Mist
Sound
Auras/Halos
Individual
specific
engagement
Auras/Halos
Sound
Mist
Crowd specific engagement

36. Luke Hespanhol
Email: luke.hespanhol@gmail.com
Website: www.nanoluke.com
Twitter: @nanoluke

38.  Vivid Sydney Tumblr, after photo from christianocious on
Flickr. (2011). Spinifex Group – Interactive Paint Projection.
Retrieved 19-Nov-2011 from
http://vividsydney.tumblr.com/page/4
 O’Hara, K, Glancy, M, Robertshaw, S. (2008).
Understanding Collective Play in a Urban Screen Game.
Proceeding of ACM conference on Computer Supported
Cooperative Work CSCW 2008.
 Lozano-Hemmer, R. (2001). Body Movies, Relational
Architecture 6. Retrieved 19-Nov-2011 from
http://www.lozano-hemmer.com/body_movies.php
 Intel Research Laboratory @ Berkeley. (2002). Familiar
Stranger Project. Retrieved 19-Nov-2011 from
http://www.paulos.net/research/intel/familiarstranger/inde
x.htm