Short head: Ball State puts a new twist on wireless technology
Summary: Ball State, rated this year's top wireless campus by
Intel, has come up with a new twist on wireless technology, bringing its
network traffic to life via an interactive digital sculpture.
Ball State artists create an
interactive sculpture using wireless technology
MUNCIE, Ind. — Ball State University, rated this year's top wireless campus by Intel, has come up with a new twist on wireless technology by bringing its network traffic to life via an interactive digital sculpture.
From 8 p.m. April 18 to 11 p.m. April 19, as people log onto the network at Ball State their activity will appear as sound, color, a pattern or an image. The outdoor sculpture will be located near Shafer Tower and will consist of four projection screens, speakers and lights, will broadcast interactive sound and video that reacts to the amount of traffic on the campus' 15 wireless zones.
Viewers are encouraged to bring their own wireless devices to help shape the sculpture, said John Fillwalk, professor of electronic art. The sculpture will also be its own wireless access point, controlling local interactions of viewers using wireless devices.
The data captured will be blended together in real time to create a multimedia digital experience for people to watch and hear. The event will also be streamed live at www.bsu.edu/web/jfillwalk/wireless
The digital intermedia artwork will take on a life of its own based upon the campus' network activity, said Fillwalk, who created the sculpture's concept in collaboration with Keith Kothman and Jessie Allison, both professors of music technology.
"We are melding digital art and music with wireless technology, to create an interactive experience that transforms viewers from spectator to active participant," Fillwalk said.
The video imagery will be a combination of 3-D graphics and computer-generated video, both triggered by changes in network activity and made in union with the sound.
The sound will be composed of small bits of recorded audio using granular synthesis, which is a technique of reducing audio (pre-recorded samples) into small bits. These pieces are then reordered randomly to create new sounds. Kothman says this process mimics how wireless data gets split and reassembled before being sent over the network.
"These
types of innovative projects, as well as others involving high-definition
video, interactivity, digital music and 3-D animation, will be part of Ball
State's new Institute for Digital Intermedia," said Fillwalk.
In the event of rain, the event will be rescheduled for April 25-26.
This event is sponsored by Ball
State's Center for Media Design, part of the $20 million Digital Exchange
initiative funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. to enhance Ball State's innovative,
immersive, educational experiences for students in digital technology. Other
contributors include the College of Fine Arts, the Office of Information
Technology and University Computing Services.
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(Note to editors: For more information, contact Fillwalk at jfillwalk@bsu.edu or
(765) 285-2642. For more stories, visit the Ball State News Center at
www.bsu.edu/news.)
Anthony Romano
4/10/06