A physical participation art installation that instantly transforms human drawings into a live, data-driven visual galaxy and soundscape. Built to bring engaging interaction to any large space or festival crowd.
We have spent the last few months developing Spheres of Influence, a project that sits right at the intersection of LotteZ and Immersive-IT.
The idea started with a simple question about social interaction: how do we teach adults and kids in a simple and playful way that their actions influence the atmosphere of an environment?
To find out, we built a participative audiovisual installation that bridges physical making and digital stability.
Visitors sit down with a blank piece of paper and draw or write whatever they want within the boundary of a simple circle. They place that paper into a custom scanner-column David built. They hit a big button and their art piece directly is sent as a sphere into the surrounding space, joining the collective galaxy of already made spheres and influencing the aniamtion, colors and sounds in the space.
While the concept focuses on human connection, the technical backbone is where Immersive-IT comes in.
David wrote 3 pieces of custom software from scratch to handle the scanning and warping logic.
Using a combination of TouchDesigner and Ableton, the system digitizes the physical drawing in real time and throws it onto the wall as part of a moving galaxy via Resolume.
At the same time, the visual characteristics of the drawing act as data points that modulate a live, techno-infused soundscape in Ableton.
Every single scan alters the music and the visuals, meaning the crowd directly dictates the energy of the space.
We tested it live with a crowd of kids and adults, and the system held up perfectly under continuous interaction.
For us, this is the goal: creating interactive logic that is stable enough for heavy festival use but simple enough for a child to understand instantly.
We now have the entire setup packed, scalable and ready for new locations.
If you are an organizer or curator with a large wall or an empty hall that needs a functional, engaging experience, we do not mind much if you get in touch 😉 !
