>We are trying to replace an audio messaging unit that we have at the
>Museum. It is cube shaped with a flat button on top of the cube and
>it allows us to record a 2-3 minute message that can be replayed by
>the visitor when they touch the button.
Jamie, I'm going for the long-winded, but hopefully pleasantly
detailed answer in this. I'm also happy to share any of our technical
designs or developed software if it helps out. I'm also going to
describe some alternate interfaces which may be more appealing than a
traditional button.
We've done a variety of installations like this here at the museum.
Like others, almost all of our experiences run on mac minis --
they're incredibly capable at delivering audio/video, can accept
inputs from a variety of user interfaces, and can always be
repurposed into a desktop machine whenever needed. I'd never run
anything off a dvd player again.
It sounds like the important thing here is that the user has some
control over selecting which video is being watched rather than just
playing constantly looping video that cycles through the individual
pieces over time. (That's a statement that's worth revisiting --
believe me, I love user choice, but if the overall length isn't very
long, and each individual video is relatively short, you may not be
gaining all that much by creating a user driven interface)
We've done it two different ways here, one using a tangible object
interface, the other using RFID. You could just as easily use a
button, but we've tried to push the user experience a bit further.
The first was using a series of magnetic sensors embedded in a table.
The top of the table has a printed graphic showing the user the array
of video choices and they slide around a metal 'X' (with an embedded
rare earth magnet) to trigger the individual sensors. We have 25
videos -- 5 different artists being interviewed about 5 different
topics -- and the interface is easily described, 'X' marks the spot.
Each of magnetic sensors have a USB interface and are individually
wired up under the table. They all run to a few USB hubs and one
cable runs back to the mini which then just runs a long VGA cable to
a projector mounted above to give a fairly large image.
There's a video of the experience on youtube:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJOWTQZ61Ck>
The other way we're doing it is through RFID. For an exhibition in a
few months, we're capturing time-lapse photography - we'll have 7 or
8 videos as part of a large projection. Mounted next to the
projection will be a short picture rail with an angled back as part
of the wall mounting. Next to that will be a set of large chunky
postcards (think 5" x 7" ish) each with an embedded RFID tag which,
when placed on the short picture rail, trigger the RFID sensor in the
angled back. We're only trying to detect a single postcard at a time
(we've done another exhibit where we detect multiple items at the
same time) so it's a pretty straightforward exercise. The RFID sensor
has a single usb interface which in turn runs back to a mini and
outputs to a projector.
In this example, we're using the RFID sensor and tags from Phidgets -
<http://www.phidgets.com/products.php?category=14>. Cost here is
fairly low, ignoring the computer and projector, the sensor is $65
and the tags are $2-$3 individually, lower in bulk.
The multi-rfid rig I alluded to above was in creating a soundscape.
Users would add multiple instruments to a platform and to turn on|off
part of an audio track to a musical ensemble. It's abstractly the
same idea as above but with video rather than audio. There's a
youtube for that bit at <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbItb6sxxT8>.
In the same light, if you really do like buttons, we'd simply modify
the inputs above to our core software to make use of an alternate
phidget control, available for $11 -
<http://www.phidgets.com/products.php?category=4>.
The compelling part of having developed our own software (well, we
heavily leverage the built-in capabilities of OS X and quicktime, to
be fair ;) is that we have a fair amount of control of different
things -- we can loop video (and variations, like randomize these 20
vids, but don't have one repeat for at least x times), we can trigger
the video (buttons, rfid, motion sensing, etc), and, best yet, if
anything acts weird, we can remotely access the machines from around
the world and reset everything to get it working again.
-bw.
--
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Bruce Wyman, Director of Technology
Denver Art Museum / 100 W 14th Ave. Pkwy, Denver, CO 80204
office: 720.913.0159 / fax: 720.913.0002
<[log in to unmask]>
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