Unity at Sea: Crafting a Soundscape of Shared Balance
🌊 Unity at Sea: Crafting a Soundscape of Shared Balance
An immersive installation exploring group interdependence through reactive soundscapes and collective balance
🤝 The Central Question
What does it feel like to be truly dependent on others? Not just in theory, but in a way you can physically sense and hear? This was the central question behind "Unity at Sea," a mini-installation I created to explore the delicate dynamics of group interdependence.
🎯 The Concept: Drowning in Noise or Floating in Harmony?
The concept is simple, yet profound: three participants are invited to step onto a small, virtual "raft" marked on the floor. Their collective challenge is to find and maintain their balance as a single unit. But here, the consequence of their cooperation—or lack thereof—isn't just a feeling of stability. It's an immersive, reactive soundscape that they compose together in real-time.
"Unity at Sea" transforms an abstract idea—group cohesion—into a tangible, auditory experience. The installation aims to make participants hyper-aware of their physical relationship to others in a shared space. As they shift their weight, the room fills with the sound of water. Their goal is to work together, consciously or unconsciously, to keep their collective center of gravity stable.
🏝️ Calm Seas
Perfect balance = peaceful waters
⚠️ Choppy Waters
Slight imbalance = warning sounds
🌪️ The Storm
Critical imbalance = chaotic tempest
⚙️ How It Works: The Technology Behind the Raft
To bring this concept to life, I integrated a combination of creative coding and accessible hardware:
👁️ Sensing with Kinect
A Microsoft Kinect sensor was positioned to view the "raft" area. This powerful sensor tracked the body positions of all three participants simultaneously, providing real-time skeletal tracking data.
Technical Specs:
- • RGB-D sensor for depth and color information
- • 30fps skeleton tracking for up to 6 people
- • Real-time joint position calculation
🧠 Processing with EyesWeb
The raw positional data was fed into EyesWeb, a brilliant open-source platform developed by the Casa Paganini - InfoMus Lab at the University of Genoa. I used EyesWeb to calculate the group's collective equilibrium point in real-time.
Key Calculations:
- • Center of mass calculation for the group
- • Deviation measurement from equilibrium point
- • Real-time balance stability analysis
🎵 A Reactive Auditory World
This is where my sound design came in. I created three distinct types of wave sounds, each mapped to a different state of the group's balance:
Calm Seas
Gentle lapping waves
Choppy Waters
Agitated wave sounds
The Storm
Chaotic crashing waves
🔄 The Closed-Loop System
The result was a closed-loop system where the participants' movements directly controlled their sonic environment. They weren't just listening; they were performing the piece with their bodies. Any deviation from the central equilibrium point was quantified as a measure of imbalance, triggering corresponding changes in the soundscape.
🎭 Reflections from the Installation
📍 Presented at Casa Paganini, Genoa
As seen from its presentation at Casa Paganini in Genoa, the installation immediately sparked interaction and engagement. Participants were smiling and communicating, physically negotiating their space to influence the sound. The embodied nature of the interaction created an immediate understanding of the collaborative challenge.
Immediate Observations:
- • Participants naturally began verbal communication
- • Physical awareness of others increased dramatically
- • Clear understanding of cause-and-effect relationship
- • Emergent strategies for maintaining balance
Deeper Insights:
- • Sound as powerful biofeedback mechanism
- • Physical metaphor for collaboration
- • Embodied cognition in group dynamics
- • Immediate consequences of individual actions
💡 Technical Innovation & Artistic Vision
🔧 Technical Achievements
- Real-time Processing: Sub-100ms latency from movement to sound
- Multi-person Tracking: Simultaneous tracking of 3 participants
- Dynamic Sound Mapping: Continuous audio parameter modulation
- Stable Equilibrium Detection: Robust center-of-mass calculations
🎨 Artistic Innovation
- Embodied Interaction: Physical metaphor for cooperation
- Collective Composition: Group creation of soundscape
- Immediate Feedback: Instant sonic consequences
- Social Awareness: Technology fostering human connection
🌟 Impact & Learning Outcomes
🧠 Embodied Cognition Discovery
"Unity at Sea" was more than a technical demonstration; it was an experiment in embodied cognition. It proved how a carefully designed soundscape can act as a powerful biofeedback mechanism for group dynamics, making the invisible forces between us audible and tangible.
🎵 Audio Design
Three-state dynamic soundscape
👥 Social Interaction
Enhanced group awareness
⚖️ Balance Sensing
Real-time equilibrium detection
🔄 System Architecture
Data Flow Pipeline:
Kinect Sensor
Skeletal Tracking
EyesWeb
Balance Analysis
Audio Engine
Sound Generation
🌊 Project Legacy
This project cemented my passion for creating interactive experiences that bridge the gap between the digital and the deeply human. It demonstrated how technology can make abstract concepts like collaboration physically tangible and emotionally resonant.
Making the Invisible Forces Between Us Audible
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Made with ❤️ in Italy by Amir Seraj.