We all live four dimensional lives, and this got me thinking of the shape of someone’s life. When two people cross paths, they create a story together, a unique shape of their connection. For this project I wish to have two pressure sensor touch points that will create 3D shapes. When both points are pressed, two 3D shapes overlap and create a new, unique shape, representing the connection and the wonder of the relationship with a another human.
To do this, I’d need to investigate raymarching and signed distance fields to see if I can create 3D shapes mathematically and find their intersection points. I still have to nail down the physical portion’s design, and how to best convey the message.
For my artist question, I’m curious if any of you have thoughts about the physical portion of the piece? What represents intersecting paths or meeting one another in our lives? The handshake? Two roads? A wave? Any other ideas are welcome.
Very eye-catching concept!
Neutral question: Every time a user interacts with the piece, is the shape created never the same as before?
I hope so! But I’ll be honest, that one will take a bit of research to get the definitive answer. So we’ll see.
Are the shapes for each individual person randomized for unique combinations, or is it more of a set design?
I would hope to have the shapes randomized, and generated dynamically, but we’ll see how things pan out.
Would you consider having additional input, such as color change or rotation input from the users?
Yes. that type of input is definitely a consideration.
Will the two shapes be randomly generated at the beginning or will they be selected? I sort of like the look of when two 3D shapes surprisingly make a 2D one, such as a square and a pyramid can make multiple triangles.
What about using computer vision to track how physically close the two bodies are to each other?
To answer your artist question, I think it’d be cool if the two shapes started out by looking really irregular and awkward but over time they morph into something more natural looking to represent how over time you get to know someone better and form a natural friendship with them.
Possibly having a 2D overlay with audio to match would help create the idea of crossing paths.