BCNETwork News
 
December, 2005

THE VIRTUAL DJ

An interplay of motion, music and light is making cool vibrations over advanced networks these days. Marrying the arts with technology, Dr. Steve Gibson, Canadian, media artist, composer and theorist, is creating responsive, real-time performance art capable of traveling over the Internet to distant locations. This interactive art, know as the “Virtual DJ,” is providing amazing experiences for participants as they interact around the world.

To see a complete video demonstration, click here

Motion-Activated Electronic Music, Virtual Reality, Robotics and High-Performance Networks

The experience is like that of a sci-fi dance party. Robotic lights play around a large, dark 3-D room synchronized to the thumping beat of electronic music. But this is no ordinary dance party. It is interactively and physically controlled by participants who connect in real-time from geographically diverse locations through advanced networking technology. Participants literally wave their arms and, as if by magic, sounds and light come to life simultaneously in distant studios.

The global studio atmosphere is enabled by BCNET’s high performance networks, allowing participants to collaborate internationally. “Often I have audience members that can interact with people around the world - they love this,” says Gibson, speaking of his goal to create an experience in which people become part of the virtual performance.

The possibilities are endless, and this creative endeavour is further enhanced by BCNET’s connection to CANARIE’s CA*net4, which connects to international networks, including its American counterpart, Internet2. Due to these connections, Gibson has had tremendous success collaborating with fellow researchers in the United States.

The Effect of the Virtual DJ is One of a Giant Light Organ

The key technology behind the Virtual DJ is a small tracking device that users carry, allowing them to move about the room freely. This device employs infrared trackers to monitor the precise 3-D positions of the users. One tracker controls melody and the second controls drums, media and effects. When participants move about the room, they trigger sounds and robotic lights that follow the users, creating a feeling that the room is one huge dancing light organ. Certain types of motions are standardized to certain sound effects. For example, raising a hand usually results in a rising melody. Lights are employed to give a physical sense of the location of sound zones in the room.

Duo Performances Over High-Bandwidth Networks

Initially, Gibson began this project as a solo performer, but now leads duo performances over high-bandwidth networks. Working together with Dene Grigar at the University of Texas, they have developed a seamless and interactive, real-time performance over CA*net4 and Internet2. Using Apple’s iChat, Gibson and Grigar are able to see and interact with one another in real-time.

Gibson leads the drum and bass and moves around the room, while Grigar leads the melody tracker. They dance in tandem with the ghostly remote presence of moving sounds and lights. Gibson has taken this technology around the world to showcase in Stockholm, London and Dallas, Texas. His research has focused on exploring motion tracking and how to deliver it interactively using high-bandwidth networks.

“I recently performed at the Victoria International Film Festival and the children loved the interactivity and the effects,” says Gibson. “Some of the kids were saying it was ghostlike and even like magic.’’

“The Moveable Feast”
In 2000, Gibson and his colleague, Will Bauer, received a CANARIE grant that would provide the high-bandwidth network support to transfer positional information. One of Gibson’s first projects, a virtual Pong game, was showcased at a CANARIE conference in 2002. Two participants, one in Montreal and the other in Victoria, each held a tracker and batted a Pong ball in real-time against a large 3-D screen. In relative time, they successfully demonstrated the movement of media and people’s actions.

“When Ghosts Will Die”
Today, Gibson is working on moving images with light and sound. Using multi-sensory elements that include video, light, text and sound controlled by motion tracking technology, he tells interesting stories about the dangers of nuclear proliferation. The story, “When Ghosts Will Die,” is meant to shock participants into a deeper awareness of the horrors of nuclear warfare.

For more information, visit Steve Gibson's website.