The deliverables of the course are installation to be exhibited as work of art. The emphasis is on delivering a message which has impact, within the boundaries of theme provided by the course supervisors, using the element introduced during the first year of creative technology.

Technical design

Globe
The globe consists of touch sensitive plastic plates that are attached to a continuously rotating core. Each of the plastic plates has the shape of a continent and they are connected to the core via poles. Users interact with the installation by touching one of the continents. The electronics are controlled with an Arduino microcontroller.

Each plate holds touch sensors and rgb LED lights. Upon user interaction, data is transmitted via USB serial connection to a processing sketch. The currently selected plate will be lit in a different color to make it stand out from the rest of the plates. The wiring will be left visible (yet untouchable) to the viewers.

The core is located in the center of the imaginary sphere. All of the plates and
their cabling are connected to the core. A dc motor is slowly rotating the core.
The core itself is connected to the frame of the globe.

Processing sketch
The sketch is responsible for displaying the multimedia. A file structure is created in the data folder, which can be found in the root folder of the sketch. For example, Asia related pictures are stored in /data/asia/. The user input from the globe dictates which sub-folder is used for fetching the multimedia. The corresponding multimedia is displayed and animated on the screen (basic translations for position). Flocking can be used to arrange the data in the shape of a certain continent.

Output
Multimedia will be projected on a panel with dimensions of min. 2 x 3 meters. The projection panel will be positioned near the globe and high enough so it can be visible for the interacting users. Country related music will be played when a continent has been selected.

Artistic design
The installation consists of 3 main parts. A ‘sphere’ representing the globe, a projector and a projection surface displaying the output media.

Globe
The sphere has to be visually appealing to attract attention and guide people to
the installation. This will be achieved by the use of light, colors, movement, impressive projections and unexpected shapes. The globe wont be a full sphere. Only the continents are actually build and the oceans are left out. The continents will be attached with solid sticks to a small sphere in the center point. This illustration of the globe is unexpected and will attract people’s attention.

The sphere also is the interactive part of the installation. The continents will be lit with ultra bright back-light LEDs to make people aware of the installation when they walk by. The User selects a continent by touching it. The chosen continent will change color to highlight it and make a connection to the projection. The globe will rotate slowly to make the installation even more interesting. Wires necessary for the lightning and the sensing will be visible and form a connection between the continents. Due to the visible technical components and their connective functionality the globe can be interpreted to be a representation of the Internet.

Projection
Dependent on the users choice different media will be displayed. The data will be projected on a big panel. The projection panel will be positioned near the globe and high enough so it is visible from the interacting users. For the projection the motto ‘the bigger, the better’ holds. On a huge surface the images/movies/memes will be extremely impressive supporting the impact of the installation. Additionally the projection includes movement to make the visualization more interesting. Moving images forming the shape of the continent are one possibility to stress their cultural background.

Country related music will be played when a continent has been selected.
Together with the images/media a unique mood will be created for each
continent.