Giving expression to multimedia performance

Abstract

In this paper we describe the experience of researchers and artists involved in the activities of the “computer ART lab” (cART lab) of the italian National Council of Research (C.N.R.) in Pisa, regarding the “wireless technology” developed for controlling in real-time and giving expression to interactive multimedia performances. Due to the daily increase in computers power and electronics systems able to sense the presence, the shape, the distance and the position of objects, a new field of investigation and implementation has been started in the last few years: computer recognition of human gesture [1][2]. As a result, the human body itself can now be considered as a natural and powerful expressive “interface” to give feeling to performances based on computer generated electro-acoustic music and computer generated visual-art. Modern human computer interfaces are extremely rich, incorporating traditional interface devices such as keyboard and mouse and a wealth of advanced media types: sound, video, animated graphics. The term multi-modal is often associated with such interfaces to emphasize that the combined use of multiple modes of perception is relevant to the user's interface [3][4]. The most relevant devices and systems developed at cART lab for gesture recognition to be used in interactive multimedia performances are here reported.