Assignment: Midterm Project 1: Group project proposal

Collaborators:

Assignment: Midterm Project 1: Group project proposal
Collaborators: Michael Manoochehri, ashley

Message in a Bubble

Group members: Ashley Kayler, Michael Manoochehri, Laura Paajanen

Overview

Our project will hide messages in virtual bubbles, which will be revealed when they are popped. The bubbles will be created using physical "bubble wands" and a computer to animate virtual "bubbles" that can contain messages and be interacted with or popped to reveal the hidden messages. A "bubble wand" TUI is easily accessable for children. It is a metaphor for a plaything that many people have experience with.

Technical Details

The main interfaces will look like bubble-blowing style wands, but slightly larger, with a microphone attached. Users can speak their message into the wands to be embedded in a virtual bubble. Two wands will allow for multiple users to interact with each others' messages; the wands will send sound data to the computer for processing.

The bubbles created by speaking into the wands will be sized in response to the volume of the spoken message: whispered messages will be embedded in small bubbles, and shouted messages will be embedded in large bubbles. A computer connected to a projector will create the bubble animations to be projected on a wall so a large group of people can view the messages.

Speech will be interpreted by the computer as grouped messages based on audio input and separated when there is about a second of delay. The computer will use speech-to-text software to translate the user's message into text hidden in a new bubble, to be revealed when the bubble is popped.

Several "starter buckets" will sense when a wand is dipped in it and generate conversation or game starters on the screen, such as hypothetical questions, famous quotations, or "truth or dare" style challenges that people will want to respond to and start a string of interactions.

Bubble popping options:
• Audio sensor responds to loud noises such as clapping and pops bubbles in response
• Camera pointed at the projected wall senses motion to pop bubbles, maybe hand touching them or laser pointer touching them
• When bubbles run into each other or the edges of the screen

When bubbles are popped, message is revealed:
• Could appear for a few seconds, then dissipate
• Could fall off the bottom of the screen

Why Virtual Bubbles?

What can virtual bubbles do that real bubbles can't?

Physical properties:

Virtual Bubbles can be made to display different colors, textures, and shapes. Virtual Bubbles can have different simulated masses, densities and elastic properties. Virtual Bubbles can be made to instantly change their virtual properties. Some Virtual Bubbles can be made to merge and grow on contact, while some may be designed to pop, or change the characteristics of others.

Ability to carry information:

Virtual bubbles can carry messages, sounds or other meanings. For example, bubbles can represent notes, with the size of the bubble representing the intensity of the sound. Virtual bubbles can be made to exist in a software environment that allows for different games to be created that use the bubbles in interesting, but quickly understandable ways, through the use of the "bubble" as metaphor.