Final Project Planning – Microhabitat

 

Final Project planning

what I am interested in nowadays?

Zoom

An invitation into a personal area 

Solitude

Less human interaction

Youtube Open door

The current place I live in NYC is small, therefore considering moving out. I’m watching a lot of Youtube virtual house tours for vicarious pleasure and inspiration on future home interior.

ML5 PostNet

Reading a person’s body movement

I tried to connect the dots between the topics or things I’m interested in and tried to deliver my idea and story.

Final Project Idea

Microhabitat

A microhabitat is a virtual home tour that can be seen through a microscope. It welcomes audiences to a tiny room of a person living in NY.
The tour is not as big and unique as you see in many Youtubers’ open doors. Comparing the size of the room, it may feel like looking into a small cell that can be only visible via a microscope. It’s a tough and expensive life for most of the young people living in NY. However, no matter how small the room may be, there lives a person with one’s own unique story and a big dream. 

The work is inspired by the Korean movie “小公女(small, live, girl)”. The original translation is A Little Princess. However, the movie changed the translation into Microhabitat. The film deals with a woman who is willing to give up her basic necessities of life, home, in order to protect what she treasures the most. The main character, Miso, represents a generation who cannot afford to invest in housing unlike the generation before. 
Reference1, Reference2

The movie is not talking about this little princess

but, whether talks about this woman with a tiny house, which she no longer can live in due to price hikes. 

Implementation plan

Physical Microhabitat

The physical microhabitat uses a microscope designed to take a tour of a person’s room. 

Design 1

  • The audience looks into the eye lens to watch the room tour.
  • On the stage, a smartphone(or small raspberry pie screen) is placed showing the video of the room.
  • Using the stage adjustable knob(knob2 on the screen), the audience can change the angle(position) of the video
  • Fine focus knob(knob1) allows the user to see detail and extra information about the person’s habitat, room

Design 2

  • The user interaction is the same as the design idea1
  • The difference is, the audience does not see the room tour via eye lens, though see the room tour through a screen or monitor which shows a magnified view

Image from the other source, modified for showing the concept

Flow

Plan on how to show video

Play prerecorded 360-degree video

On operating knobs, the user will be looking around the room via recorded video. 
On adjusting coarse adjustment, the system will go and come between plain recorded video and video with details augmented on to it 

Play streaming video

On operating knobs, the user will be looking around the room via streaming video. The phone situated in the center of the room will rotate according to the position of the knob. 
Q. how will I make an augmented graphic to turn it on and off? 

Back up or on screen idea

On-screen idea that simulates the experience

Reference on telescope design

Reference on details shown when zoomed