Futurelab

The Ars Electronica Futurelab was recently commissioned by Radio FRO to develop a mixing console that’s operated strictly by push-buttons and thus provides substantially more barrier-free operation of a radio station by people with handicaps.
Radio FRO 105.0, Free Radio for Linz (Radio FRO), has been organizing workshops since 2006 at which people with – as well as without – handicaps/impairments can learn the basics of broadcasting. One of the major challenges in a studio is posed by the mixing console and its faders, knobs and switches, some of which have to be operated simultaneously and with great precision. This is a substantial hurdle to master, and one even more daunting for people whose motor skills are limited.

openAIR – Accessibility in Radio Production, is the name of the software & hardware solution the Ars Electronica Futurelab developed. Its 10 push-buttons can carry out a wide array of commands, and the user-friendly software designed without submenus shifts a variety of important functions to push-button operation – for instance, fade in/fade out, muting a microphone and returning it to normal pick-up, and toggling between audio sources. This enables the operator, for example, to fade in four microphones at the push of a button while simultaneously fading out the music, a procedure that would call for handling at least five controllers on a conventional mixing console.

The entire sequence of a live broadcast can also be prepared in advance. You can arrange playlists of the songs you’d like to air, insert slots for live conversations, and determine which functions you’ll need, which means that you can prepare for a lot of the operations called for during the live broadcast of a show and thereby make these production steps much less stressful than when they have to be performed while you’re on the air. In addition to the push-buttons, there’s a joystick instead of a mouse. And like the push-buttons, the joystick is controlled by an Arduino board and allows for very precise manipulation of the computer cursor. This mixing console is already in use in Radio FRO workshops. The system architecture is conceived as open hardware and can thus be copied, modified or expanded by anybody interested in doing so.

This installation—based on “The Sancho Plan” by the prizewinning British art collective of the same name—is an adventurous combination of animation, sound, music and performance. Installation visitors can use an electronic percussion instrument in real-time interaction between the music and the video to bring extraordinary animated figures to life. “Linz Makes Music” produces audiovisual musical animation and interactive musical toys.

Exhibition tent LINZ CHANGES

Linz has developed from a purely industrial town to a capital of culture over the last few decades. On the occasion of the opening of the new Music Theater, “Linz Changes” features a visualization of this trend.
Various formats present the wealth and diversity of cultural life in Linz. Accompanying the camera, we wander through state-of-the-art facilities and get a behind-the-scenes look at cultural life. And all of it backed by superb music: Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 1 in C minor—the version named after Linz, to be precise!
Meanwhile, photos of exhibitions, festivals, concerts, plays, dance performances and many other events are displayed on other screens to get across the great wealth of cultural life in Linz.
Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 1 in C minor, WAB 101, The Linz Version, Scherzo – Trio; live recording of a June 7, 2005 performance by the Bruckner Orchestra in Brucknerhaus Linz

Exhibition tent LINZ CHANGES

Special thanks to:
Ars Electronica GmbH Linz, afo architekturforum, Atelierhaus Salzamt, Bruckner Orchester Linz, Crossing Europe Filmfestival Linz, Design Center Linz, Flipt! Österreichisches Daumenkino Festival, Galerie Maerz, Kinderkulturzentrum Kuddelmuddel, Kunstuniversität Linz, Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz, Linz Kultur, LIVA Linzer Veranstaltungsgesellschaft, Musiktheater Linz, Musikschule Linz, OÖ Kulturquartier / OK Zentrum für Gegenwartskunst, Posthof. Zeitkultur am Hafen, Stadt Linz, Stadtmuseum Nordico, Stadtwerkstatt Linz, Tabakfabrik Linz, Wissensturm

What makes the quality of life in Linz so good? What does this city offer its inhabitants? What does it have in store for guests? And what and who are indispensible to keeping Linz running on a daily basis and to making certain developments remain on a successful course? LINZ CHANGES addresses these questions and looks behind the scenes at what makes the city tick. Eleven interactive installations provide fascinating facts about what goes into this city and what comes out. The focal-point themes are social life, culture, residential living, leisure, health, sports, nature, infrastructure, the future and international relations.

To celebrate the opening of the new Music Theater in particular and, in general, to highlight this city’s immense cultural diversity, the focus is on Linz as a cultural center.

12 interactive scenarios on 700 m2 exhibition space
…constitute a unique parcours through Linz. The setting of this presentation of Linz is a 20×37-meter pavilion, a striking venue designed by ANY:TIME. On the exterior, a 6½-meter-tall cube is completely surrounded by a strip of artificial turf, a green band meant to symbolize the successful environmental protection measures that have so tremendously enhanced the quality of life in Linz. On both sides of the entrance, this façade seems to have been rolled away to open up a view of the mirrored metal interior. This material transition from green artificial turf to polished metal alludes to the numerous layers on which the so-called “Linz System” is based. Plus, it reflects each individual visitor, who thus becomes a part of the whole.

Linz from Above

As soon as visitors step inside, they get a one-of-a-kind look at Linz – a high-definition, 150-m2 print spread out across the floor showing the entire city from a bird’s-eye view.

1. We Are Linz – We Are Culture

“We Are Linz” was inspired by a beloved children’s book. A picture is taken of every visitor inside an illuminated photography cube. Then a computer divides each image into three horizontal segments – head, trunk and legs – and displays them on a projection screen. But here, they’re randomly combined with segments from other installation visitors to create a seemingly infinite series of variations. (More)

2. Insights

This installation takes visitors on a fascinating excursion into Linz’s past. Postcards featuring pictures of Linz in bygone days are arrayed on an interactive table that also displays the contemporary view corresponding to each historical image. Old and new perspectives create interesting contrasts and bring out the city’s tremendously dynamic development. Some older guests will recall the Linz of their childhood; the city’s younger residents will be able to discover elements of the cityscape that seem familiar and strange at the same time. (More)

3. Finger Marathon

The Finger Marathon invites visitors to test their sports abilities. 1 to 4 perople can run a section of the marathon distance with their fingers. (More)

4. Linz in Numbers

“Linz in Numbers” addresses topics such as education, the future, social welfare and everyday life in terms of interesting facts & figures, and provides insights into the results of the 2011 citizen survey. Informative components about Linz’s cultural institutions have also been added to the installation. (More)

5. Panorama

An extremely high-definition panorama wall measuring about 16 meters in length invites visitors to embark on a most extraordinary tour of Linz. This trip around town literally takes in the entire area within the city limits. At every destination you choose, you can zoom right in and examine the minutest details. (More)

6. Linz as a City of Culture

Linz used to be strictly an industrial town, but it’s made quite a name for itself as a capital of culture in recent decades. “Linz as a City of Culture” is a visualization of this trend. Installation visitors get an overview of this town’s cultural diversity and enjoy a few behind-the-scenes glimpses as well. (More)

7. Linz Makes Music

“Linz Makes Music” is another installation spotlighting cultural life here. The featured attraction is real-time interaction between music and video. “Linz Makes Music” produces audiovisual musical animation and interactive musical toys. (More)

8. SimLinz

SimLinz is a simulation & visualization tool to explore the City of Linz’s infrastructure. It highlights the services provided by LINZ AG (public utility), GWG (not-for-profit residential real estate developer & manager) and the Magistrat (municipal agencies). This is a spinoff of the Ars Electronica Center’s GeoPulse installation that was recently upgraded and enhanced to provide even more profound insights into the complex and multifaceted nature of life in a major metropolitan area. (More)

9. Energy Missions

A responsible handling and an efficient use of our available energy is a key factor for our future quality of life. The installation “Energy Missions” at the “Linz Changes” tent conveys in a playful way how each one of us can save energy and money in addition to reducing environmental impact. Energy saving tips are communicated in the form of energy missions connected to power saving, heating, and mobility, which are carried out by the participants. (More)

10. 24 Hours of Linz. Together. Life.

The project IMPORT/EXPORT introduces employees of the City of Linz and its municipal services and enterprises with a migration background in the form of video portraits. (http://importundexport.at/linz/)

11. Futuristic Linz – Shadowgram

There is probably no other city in Austria where a focus on the future exerts a more powerful influence on political and cultural life than in Linz. “Shadowgram” spotlights Linzers’ plans, hopes and aspirations for the future. First of all, each visitor poses behind a wall of light and is photographed – the result is a shadow image showing a human silhouette. This shot is then printed out as a miniature sticker that is applied to a map of Linz. There, it is augmented by a speech balloon in which the individual depicted can make a statement expressing what’s on his/her mind. (More)

12. Workshop
At first glance, “SWITCH” seems to be a conventional picture rendered on an array of parallel slats. But a tiny sensor inside its frame registers any sounds or movements in the vicinity and, as if by magic, flips the slats to reveal a different image on their reverse side. Installation visitors can also attend a workshop to learn how to make these pictures themselves.

The LINZ CHANGES exhibition is being produced jointly by the City of Linz and its municipal services & enterprises: local government agencies, the utilities, the general hospital, the senior center, the concert hall, Ars Electronica, the real estate development corporation, the information & communications technology provider, the Tobacco Processing Plant development corporation, the security patrol, the municipal housing authority, the Design Center management company, the local light railway and the airport. The exhibition’s interactive installations were created by the Ars Electronica Futurelab; the exhibition architecture is the work of ANY:TIME, a Linz firm; Messemanagement Linz GmbH set up the exhibition tent.

Photos: rubra, Florian Voggeneder, Martin Hieslmair, ANY:TIME Architekten

The Ars Electronica Futurelab has sent the emblem of the Star Fleet Academy into the nightsky of London after being contacted by Paramount Pictures to create a unique way to promote the upcoming Star Trek – Movie, “Into Darkness”. The technology behind the stunt were the Spaxels which have created quite a buzz during the voestalpine Klangwolke 2012.

Check out our website for more information on the Spaxels and head to the Ars Electronica Blog to find videos, photos and an in-depth-diary of the trip to London.

In the foyer of the General Hospital Linz, visitors can now experience the interactive installation “Vital Signs” which has already been a popular attraction at the Linz Changes exhibition tent. As the most recent example of the productive cooperation between the General Hospital Linz and Ars Electronica Linz GmbH, “Vital Signs” conveys exciting insights to the hospital’s wide range of services in a playful-aesthetic manner.

The simulated pulse frequency, which is triggered by the visitors by putting their hands on the interface, visualizes a beating heart on the screen. Statistical data from the daily routine at the hospital is connected to this. This data is used for generating person-related information, for instance, “While your heart beats 80.000 times a day, 200 bypass surgeries take place at the AKH Linz.”

Hospital visitors are invited to try out “Vital Signs” in order to get to know the multitude of hospital services which may not be known to everybody.

Yesterday, Dr. Claudia Schmied, Federal Minister for Education, the Arts and Culture, opened the exhibition “Robot. Machine and Human?” at the Museum of Technology Vienna. For this exhibition, the Ars Electronica Futurelab developed a new RoboLab which provides a hand-on experience of programming and navigating robots in a playful way. (More info)

The Ars Electronica Futurelab developed a new RoboLab for the exhibition „Robots: Machine and Human?“ at the Museum of Technology. In this part of the exhibition, the visitors are invited to get to know and experiment with a variety of robots. In this context, programming and navigating robots can be explored in a playful way.

CodedMaze

A simple computer game provides the platform to experience different ways of programming robots. It is the aim to navigate through the maze and collect objects with a fixed number of steps. The robot can be programmed in two ways, either through punch cards – the predecessors of modern storage media – or through visual programming.

Sensor Brix

Sensors are the “sensory organs” of computers, enabling them to perceive their environment. This installation shows how they function and allows the visitors to modify the robot landscape accordingly.

RobotMe!

People’s  heads, bodies and legs can be combined with robot parts. Each visitor is photographed in a lightbox, then a computer divides each picture into horizontal stripes – head, body, legs.  The individual body parts are projected onto a projection wall. Via an interface, the visitors can combine them with body parts from other visitors or robots, create a new body and send this picture via e-mail to their friends.

RoboZoo

In this arena, humanoid robots, spider robots and cycle robots can be moved via remote control or tablet. The seal robot “Paro” perceives its environment through five computer-controlled sensors.

Behind the Eye

On the displays, individual steps of image processing are shown. On the left, the initial data is shown – the original camera image. Then follow form recognition and transformation into a binary black & white picture.

Catch Me If You Can!

The visitors can remote-control a small robot on wheels to escape an industrial robot which is on its track and wants to catch it with a magnetic arm. If the visitor is too slow, the robot is put back to the starting point.

Nyoro Nyoro

Based on real-time analysis, this robot reacts to the visitors. For instance, if they hold up a yellow ball in front of Nyoro Nyoro’s camera eye, it expresses what it sees via motion and acoustics.

The exhibition “Robots: Machine and Human?” opens on December 14, 2012 at the Museum of Technology in Vienna.  Further information: http://www.technischesmuseum.at/ausstellung/roboter