In an effort to dive deeper into HCI (Human Computer Interaction) by hacking together parts easily acquired, Digital Tiger set out to build something especially "non-computer" - introducing the Interactive Mirror. On paper, this construction looked like it'd be novel and fun. I was pleasantly surprised to see it was way more fun than expected.
The cognitive machine that is your brain automatically deals with things like size and distance and perspective, a job it hopefully does fairly well, you don't have to give a mirror's reflection much thought. However, interacting with buttons and animation layered on your reflection and the world behind you is unlike any other touch screen experience. This unexpectedness, to me, is precisely the allure of HCI and all things touch-capable.
Digital Tiger thought to build this version of the Interactive Mirror after we saw some dielectric glass mirrors with LCD panels built into them. They're meant to be the bathroom of the future, complete with news and weather to accompany your toothpaste in the morning. Sounds nifty, but it looked completely un-fun. It lacked a human touch.
There are some tricks built into this installation: like internal mirror bounces for greater projection throw (wide angle lenses are expensive) and a projection running at an aspect ratio of 9:16 rather than 16:9.Digital Tiger also using mouse emulation, which is key in my opinion. Much like the lasergames set up, we're able to repurpose some of my previously created flash work or set up any game on the installation for instant action, making it a very dynamic system.
• The sensitive mirror system is firstly capturing the images of the participator by the motion capture device, the computer will manipulate the images and output with the reaction of the object in the mirror screen, the reaction is integrated with the real time interaction, which produced the effect of the interaction between participator and mirror screen.
 

Tags:interactive,mirror,window