“Plasm: Above the Drome” by Broadwell and Myers

  • ©Peter Broadwell and Rob Myers

Conference:


Title:


    Plasm: Above the Drome

Program Title:


    Demonstrations and Displays

Presenter(s): Presenter(s):


Collaborator(s):


Project Affiliation:


    Silicon Graphics Computer Systems

Description:


    In a cooperative virtual arena, participants engage in a 3D dance with artificial life forms and with each other, shaping a consensual artscape for mutual exploration. Players stand on radical sky boards coupled to personal viewpoints in a common virtual aero-drome. The boards are instrumented as full-body input devices, driving a rich, highly responsive synthetic graphics representation “Out the front window”, using a wide-angle, high-resolution display to get the air-surfers and their local cheering sections involved in the central networked action.

    As players hop on their boards, thrusters hurl their viewports through a vast virtual sky, stretching from horizon to horizon. As they lean, bend, kick back, and nose walk, their sky boards veer tightly through the populated volume, showering sparks and 3D skid marks in their wakes. Radical moves can trigger unexpected reactions from the artificial inhabitants of the aerodrome, in the midst of a constantly unfolding environment. The experience encourages many different pursuits, such as curious exploration, athletic styling, systematic treasure hunting, game creation and play, and cooperative form-making.

    The creators of Plasm: Above the Drome, Peter Broadwell and Rob Myers, have spent a surprising wedge of the last 12 years pursuing their vision of plasm, the primordial stuff out of which artificial ecologies emerge.

Other Information:


    Skyboards (full custom ): Fiberglass by Tonv Mikus of Santa Cruz, Force Sensing resistors by Inter-metrics of San Diego, Real Time Control computer by Motorola

    Hardware: Three Silicon Graphics IRIS, 4D/340’s, Three IRIS Indigos listening, FDDI interconnecting network

    Software: Distributed object management, Behavior by Subscription, Line-of-sight collision detection

    Application: Education, entertainment

    Type of System: Player, multi-user

    Interaction Class: Desktop/vehicle

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