For my final project for Interactive Exhibit Design, I wanted to move away from repurposing video game controllers, and make life itself into a video game. I decided to do this by creating a third person camera rig (for more details about the rig, read this post).
In short, the rig uses a behind-the-back-mounted camera to stream video to a display that blocks the viewer’s vision, replacing their normal first person view, with a third person representation of their body. This camera makes the wearer an avatar in their own lives, replicating a common video gaming perspective.
I created the rig by attaching Velcro to the back of a vest which then allows me to mount what is essentially a camera tripod onto the user’s back. The tripod is made from lightweight and inexpensive tubing used to house golf clubs.
I used a GoPro camera that I borrowed from William J. Turkel (and subsequently destroyed, but will replace) to stream video to an Android tablet that was mounted on inside of the box that the wearer mounts on their head. Since the GoPro is streaming the video over wifi to the tablet, there is approximately a 1 second lag between the wearer’s movement and it being shown on the screen. While a single second doesn’t sound like much time, when it comes to moving through an unfamiliar environment, it makes moving quite challenging.
I wore my third person camera in the MAKE London Made Clothing and Wearable Technology Fashion Show. In the show I had to walk down a runway, make a 360 degree turn in the middle of the runway, and then walk to the end of the runway. Accomplishing this relatively simple navigation while receiving visual data one second after I moved, made walking down the runway extremely challenging. Upon reaching the end of the runway, I nearly walked into a bench that suddenly appeared in my vision moments before colliding with it.
In preparation for a 3rd Person Camera Mk II, I’ve purchased a USB monitor. This extremely light-weight monitor is powered entirely from a USB connection. My revised camera will include a backpack mounted laptop will be connect a webcam to the USB monitor. This new setup will eliminate the video lag that made navigation so challenging, with adding only a small amount of extra weight to the overall rig.
Since the monitor arrived last week I haven’t had a chance to test it yet, but will share the results on this blog after further testing.
Ryan Hunt
@Ryan__Hunt
