en http://www.sensaa.com/en Ángel Sastre (programmer at Sensaa) and Santiago Abadía (musician and audio producer) got together to give a small talk at the Madrid Complutense University. As part of the "Computational Foundations in Contemporary Art" module they talked about Kinesynth, their latest endeavour. We kept the talk light on the technical details, and instead decided to focus on the high-level design decisions that were made. We went through the whole creative process, explained what worked and what didn't work, and how we ended up with Kinesynth. We had a lot of fun with the students, and they probably had a lot of fun too! We'd like to thank Carlos Molinero for having us for the day, Diego for taking such wonderful pictures and the students themselves, for being so participative and generally interested. We hope we can repeat the experience next year! Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:22:58 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/complutense-university http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/complutense-university At Sensaa we use a realtime 3D graphics engine which we´ve developed internally throughout the last three years. This allows us to make the most out of the newest graphics hardware and implement the latest rendering techniques to achieve the look which best suits each interactive experience. For example, in these videos we´ve chosen to stray from the usual photorealistic look which the graphics community strives for and decided to explore more abstract territories. However, bear in mind that we´re just showing a few video captures here - all the source content is in fact interactive! Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:06:05 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/3d-engine-reel http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/3d-engine-reel This is a musical exploration experience in which multiple participants simultaneously interact with a sound synthesizer by arranging a special set of pieces on top of a multitouch surface. Pieces exhibit different behaviours when placed on the surface - some trigger drums, some behave like a kaoss pad, while others add extra layers of sound to make the performance really come together. Pieces are sensitive to their position and orientation on the table, so users can cycle through different instruments or modulate sound parameters with a simple twisting or sliding motion.   We believe the key here is to design a system which is simple enough for people with little musical ability to enjoy, while providing enough control to allow people with a stronger background to deliver more complex performances. Sun, 30 Oct 2011 02:05:45 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/sekuensaa http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/sekuensaa This video shows an interactive experience in which an on-screen character mimics the movements of the user. Players flap their arms to gain altitude, and tilt the bodies to either side to glide in the desired direction. The goal is to fly the penguin around the course collecting items and then go for the bulls'eye! There are many different possibilities available for customization. We can build different characters and environments into the experience, allowing the user to control a scuba diver under the sea, a butterfly flying over a prairie or a freefalling base jumper. Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:25:35 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/crash-lander http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/crash-lander At Sensaa we've developed various tools and techniques to seamlessly blend together two or more projections into a single screen. Theoretically, this allows us to project onto surfaces of any shape and size! The video shows how our software allows us to deform and align two images originating from different projectors to create a single, seamless, curved screen without any visible artifacts or deformations, in HD!   The pictures show a screen which is in fact composed by images originating from four different projectors, even though you'd probably never be able to tell!   Using these tools we can transform all sorts of surfaces into a seamless screen, regardless of shape and size. This technology comes in really handy when we're asked to project on the floor across a hallway, or onto curved walls. And with a bit more effort we can even incorporate multitouch sensitivity into our screens! Mon, 07 Nov 2011 12:25:35 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/multiscreen-projections http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/multiscreen-projections We used three Laser Graffiti kits for 5 Gum´s presentation event in the very center of Madrid. Two units were installed outdoors projecting onto the face of neighbouring buildings, the remaining one was set up inside the presentation hall for the assistants to use. The area is particularly popular among tourists, so lots of people gathered round trying to figure out how the massive tags were being magically drawn onto the neighbouring buildings. They were taking lots of pictures so our guess is they took some interesting photos back home! Mon, 07 Nov 2011 17:26:15 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/5-chewing-gum http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/5-chewing-gum Suso33 used Laser Graffiti as part of his collaborative performance at the festival. This time we were able to install two 15k lumen projectors to create a 50m screen, so the graffitis looked quite impressive! Tue, 08 Nov 2011 23:02:17 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/almagro-theatre-festival http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/almagro-theatre-festival Those lucky enough to head out to Territorios Festival held in Seville could try out Laser Graffiti for themselves and bring out the artist within. Although levels of success varied, we must say we saw some particularly good tags during the hip-hop concert :) Mon, 07 Nov 2011 17:35:02 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/territorios-festival http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/territorios-festival Performance artist Suso33 used Laser Graffiti in his show as part of the Madrid Theatre Nights.  In the video interview he explains how he likes to get the audience involved in his performances. Which is great, because people are always very willing to try out Laser Graffiti! Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:38:00 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/madrid-theatre-night http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/madrid-theatre-night Eristoff Night Street View conducted several live performances in Madrid, revealing for one night the city's hidden face. We took part in the event by projecting Laser Graffiti onto the wall of a building in the lively Malasaña area, where passers-by could try out the system for themselves. Sun, 30 Oct 2011 16:39:58 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/eristoff-night-street-view http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/eristoff-night-street-view Digital Graffiti is a smaller-scale alternative to Laser Graffiti, which allows users to paint onto a back-projected screen using light sprays and brushes. It's an attractive alternative not only because it allows more detailed designs, but also because it's more cost-effective as it doesn't require a powerful projector. In this way, we can for example have participants paint onto a shop window while standing on the street, drawing a great deal of attention from passers-by.   But it's not all just about painting. We often design what we call Laser Apps, which are bespoke applications such as catalogues, games and much more. It's even possible to interact with already existing software applications using a light spray or brush instead of a mouse.   Sun, 30 Oct 2011 02:54:06 +0200 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/digital-graffiti http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/digital-graffiti This is an interactive experience in which an on-screen character mimics the movements of the user. Players are asked to jog on the spot to reach the checkpoints, where they're asked to stop and hold a specific pose. If the pose is correctly identified, the system will take a picture of the player dressed up as an astronaut, rockstar, ballerina, etc. The application also allows the player to choose between four different characters, which are customized using the player's face.   It's a fun game which can be easily adapted by introducing new characters and costumes. It's also possible to integrate the interactive experience into an online campaign, making the generated pictures accessible via web. Sun, 30 Oct 2011 02:26:58 +0200 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/runner http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/runner This video shows an interactive experience based on augmented reality technology. The basic idea is simple but powerful: open the box, and a new story unfolds. We can have stars and planets appearing from within the box to create a miniature solar system orbiting around you. Or, a climbing plant might appear and start growing towards the clouds. Or, a toy spaceship will lift off the ground and start its journey to the moon.   The possiblities are literally endless! Sat, 05 Nov 2011 12:35:58 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/ar-box http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/ar-box This application positions the user in front of a virtual background and takes pictures which can be shared online. Background images are totally configurable and the application works without the need of a greenscreen, which makes it ideal for all sorts of marketing and communication events. Tue, 13 Mar 2012 19:07:10 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/photobooth http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/photobooth Suso33 travelled all the way to China to perform at the Cervantes Institute in two different cities - Beijing and Shanghai. He made use of Laser Graffiti to draw various illustrations as part of his show.  We hope you enjoy the video and its unique hip-hop flavour :) Mon, 07 Nov 2011 16:22:45 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/beijing-and-shanghai http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/beijing-and-shanghai Jasper is an interactive experience designed for the launch of a new mobile phone, in which an on-screen character mimics the movements of the user. The concept here is to highlight the terminal's capabilities by having the main character buy different items by touching them with a mobile phone. Hence, players are asked to help karate-man buy all his grocieries using his mobile phone before time runs out! Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:53:51 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/jasper http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/jasper We worked in conjunction with art collective Boa Mistura to take Laser Graffiti to Inspirational Festival 2011, a digital marketing event taking part in Madrid, Spain. Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:21:18 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/inspirational-festival http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/inspirational-festival We installed Kinesynth in the LG "Feel Good Space" as part of the Rock In Rio Festival in Madrid. New instruments and background soundtrack were designed to help LG connect with the young audience at the festival.  It looks like they certainly enjoyed themselves! Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:51:09 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/rock-in-rio-festival http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/rock-in-rio-festival We were invited to the third edition of Arquitaxi, a symposium organized by a collective of architecture students. Ángel Sastre (programmer at Sensaa) went there to give a talk on augmented reality and its applications to architecture. Seeing as this was a multidisciplinary event, we talked about many different things, some fairly advanced but always light on the technical details. After the talk, we set up Laser Graffiti and Kinesynth for some hands-on experience. At this point, we´d like to thank everyone at Arquitaxi for having us round and being really nice to us. Thank you! Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:26:37 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/granada-university http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/granada-university Last July we installed a number of interactive experiences in the Telefónica Flagship store, as part of the technology showcase of one of the country's leading telecom providers. Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:13:49 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/telefonica-flagship-store http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/telefonica-flagship-store Our laser tracking system was put to use last March in an event in Berlin as part of the Pokémon Everywhere campaign, where fans gathered to play the game and discover more than 150 brand new Pokémon characters. Our job was to modify our Laser Graffiti system to allow it to communicate with an external Flash application. For that purpose, we worked closely with Perfect Fools in Sweden, who developed the final game which you can see in the video. In fact, it´s now possible to control external applications with a laser wand, without any software modifications.   Agency: Dentsu London Flash application: Perfect Fools Laser tracking system: Sensaa AV equipment: LCI Mon, 07 Nov 2011 23:41:46 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/pokemon-everywhere http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/pokemon-everywhere Last November we travelled to London to take part in the shooting of a commercial for Dentsu London and Green Tomato Cars, an eco-friendly taxi company. The shooting took two nights, during which we installed Laser Graffiti in various locations around the city - even projecting onto Battersea Power Station! The illustrators did remarkably well, and the film is beautifully shot.  So all in all, we´re totally thrilled to have been able to take part in this. Creative Agency: Dentsu London Director: Luc Janin Illustrators: Luc Janin, Edward Shearon and Cecilie Maurud Barstad from gillesandcecilie.com Projectionists: Evan Dilworth and Phil Ward at aliveandsound.co.uk Music: Yppah, "Never mess with Sunday" Production: annexfilms.co.uk Executive Producer: Fred Robinson Green Tomato Cars: greentomatocars.com - Jonny Goldstone, Hamish Phillips and the cast of drivers Mon, 07 Nov 2011 21:21:43 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/laser-murals http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/laser-murals Kinesynth is a musical exploration experience in which one or more simultaneous participants use their bodies to drive a sound and graphics synthesizer. Kinesynth took part in the tour, travelling around the country for three months. Mon, 07 Nov 2011 18:15:35 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/connection-zero-tour http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/connection-zero-tour Kinesynth is a musical exploration experience in which one or more simultaneous participants use their bodies to drive a sound and graphics synthesizer. As part of the experience, Kinesynth provides some basic beats and loops on top of which users can improvise, adding their own melodies and percussive sounds. Performances can be individually recorded and made available for download. We put a lot of care into sound and interface design to make this experience accessible to everyone. We believe it's simple enough for anyone to use, yet packs enough complexity to challenge people with a knack for music. For the graphics side of things, we decided to include a realtime fluid simulation to create some truly mesmerizing visuals! Mon, 07 Nov 2011 17:42:04 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/kinesynth http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/kinesynth We used a modified version of our Digital Graffiti tool to uncover Nike's footprint as part of the race's presentation event. At the beginning of the show the footprint was incomplete, so that various hosts could use the laser pointer to reveal different landmarks of the city of Madrid. By using the laser pointer to uncover portions of an image, we can incorporate Laser Graffiti into all sorts of events, ensuring that the final illustration always looks perfect! Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:34:57 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/san-silvestre-race http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/san-silvestre-race This application places a virtual character on top of a physical object, using Kinect to drive the motion of the character. We can design all sorts of different puppets, and the system supports multiple simultaneous puppets on-screen. Sun, 06 Nov 2011 13:01:41 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/ar-puppets http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/ar-puppets We've built Kinect support into our augmented reality tool to achieve more immersive effects and interactions. We're now able to insert the user into a virtual environment which appears when he opens the box.  Because we extract the user's shape using depth information, we can achieve this effect independently of where the user is standing. We are also able to have the user interact in various ways with the elements that emerge from within the box. The possibilities are literally endless! Sun, 06 Nov 2011 12:46:29 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/ar-box-plus-kinect http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/ar-box-plus-kinect We attended as exhibitors to Total Media, a Mobile Marketing and Digital Signage trade show taking place here in Madrid. We installed for the occasion two Kinect-based experiences as well as our multitouch surface and our Digital Graffiti tool. We were thrilled to find that out that we've been awarded with the price for "Best Interactive Solution". This is actually our first award ever, which makes it even more special! Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:46:31 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/total-media http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/total-media Last November we flew over to Amsterdam to take part in the shooting of a commercial for local internet provider XS4ALL. We took Laser Graffiti out to several locations and worked with local graffiti artists to draw several brand-related concepts.  We think they turned out great! Thu, 03 Nov 2011 23:51:02 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/xs4all-campaign http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/xs4all-campaign At Sensaa we're dedicated to providing innovative and effective tools for street marketing and communication. With Laser Graffiti anyone can draw huge tags and messages on buildings, walls and bridges simply by using a laser pointer - even from hundreds of meters away! But it's not all just about painting. We often design what we call Laser Apps, which are bespoke applications such as catalogues, games and much more. It's even possible to interact with already existing software applications using a laser wand instead of a mouse. Thu, 03 Nov 2011 20:04:57 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/laser-graffiti http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/laser-graffiti Kaiten Master is an interactive experience in which an on-screen character mimics the movements of the user. Players are asked to help the young chef deliver all the customer's ingredients before they get too impatient and leave! It's a fun game which can be easily adapted by introducing new props, characters and environments. Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:22:25 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/kaiten-master http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/kaiten-master The system allows the user to draw a character onto a piece of paper and have it spring to life using Augmented Reality techniques. The possibilities are endless. Monsters can come in any shape or size with any number of appendages, and even exhibit different personalities. After your monster pops out from the piece of paper, you'll be able to interact with it while it runs or flies around the desk putting different behaviours to show. Once you're done you'll then be able visit your monster on the internet to see if it's made new friends, feed it and play with it anytime. Or maybe you'd like to have your monster battle it out against your friend's creations! Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:05:06 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/monsters http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/monsters Here we present a system which enables us to develop bespoke applications which can be controlled with a laser wand as if it were a simple mouse pointer. We can develop all sorts of interactive content such as contests, voting systems, trivia apps, multiuser apps, etc. The key point here is that with this system you can project onto a building and transform it into a giant interactive display! Sun, 30 Oct 2011 17:10:35 +0100 http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/laser-apps http://www.sensaa.com/en/work/laser-apps