Howdy y'all. I know some of you (including myself actually) are interested in ways in which we can add a bit of interactivity to our digital media projects. This doesn't have to be extremely expensive. In most cases we can take a solution meant for a practical application and mold it into something that suits our needs. Thankfully, there is a lot of open source software on the net that can help us with this.
For motion sensing, it's possible to use a standard webcam in combination with free motion sensing software. For Windows I suggested Yawcam if you're doing something very simple - http://www.yawcam.com/
Yawcam is a simple but feature-rich program that is normally used as a security tool. But what's great about it is you can specify the program to execute an .exe file or play a sound. This could potentially be used to start up program that YOU created as someone passes by. How you write that program (or which program you use) is up to you.
If you're interested in a solution that gives you a little more creative freedom, you may want to try out Zone Trigger - http://www.zonetrigger.com/interactive-digital-signage/
The interactivity features in Zone Trigger were created with interactive advertising in mind. This is an expensive program at $250 (clearly meant for commercial use) but you're allowed to use the program free for 30 days. From the Zone Trigger site:
Simply connect a camera and put motion hot spots on the video image. These hot spots are bound to scripts that will be called when motion is detected. Each spot is independent and can call a different script. Advanced features allow even more complex navigation to create interactive applications.
Wooooow.
As with Yawcam, Zone Trigger can use a standard USB webcam as its input. A good quality webcam can be found at Amazon, Newegg, or pretty much anywhere that sells computer electronics. You shouldn't need to spend more than $30 on a webcam. Here's a Logitech cam that can record in 720p and take 5mp photos for under $30:
http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Webcam-C310-Video-Photos/dp/B003LVZO8S/ref=dp_cp_ob_pc_title_3
And if you haven't already, JOIN AMAZON STUDENT! With your SOU email you'll have free two-day shipping and $4 overnight shipping on nearly any Amazon product for a year. It's perfect for this sort of thing.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/student/signup/info
Motion sensing is not the only form of interactivity you can provide an audience. You may also want to consider the numerous amounts of voice-command software out there as well as more physical devices like a keypad. Even a Dance Dance Revolution floor pad can be used to interact with your own program. Don't like the ugly DDR pad design? Just cover it up with your own work.
http://www.amazon.com/Multi-Platform-PS-PS2-Xbox-PC-Mac/dp/9752892698/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1296246108&sr=1-1
You can then use a keymapping program such as Total Game Control to map the dance pad inputs into mouse or keyboard strokes. You can even map an input to an event or complex string of keyboard inputs.
http://www.digitaltransforms.com/
Hopefully this post is insightful for some. I for one will be trying out Zone Trigger for my project. See everyone on Monday!
Good research, Austin. Think we should add Kinect 360 to our wishlist?
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