I set up an installation test here in the Pervasive Media Studio last week as part of my work in progress presentation. It actually went pretty well, although it wasn't a comprehensive test, due to time restrictions I only asked for one volunteer, I was really pleased to get the exact feedback I wanted and some completely unexpected and useful results.

I created a 'living room' atmosphere in our small 'dark room', which has black out curtains (put up for the Punch Drunk Theatre installation). Basically from behind the curtain I operated a lap top with Skype Chat and iTunes with one hand and puppeted a teddy bear with the other hand! Only the teddy was visible, sitting on a chair as if it was 'alive' with a chair for the user/participant next to it. In front of them was a laptop with Skype Chat ready and a larger monitor and speakers with iTunes playing.

 The experience with my volunteer, Amy (in her 20s), began before she entered the room. My intention was that the user would receive a text message telling her that her Daemon/Teddy is waiting for her and asking her to text back, give her name and her greatest secret wish. The text would add that only she and her Daemon would know this wish.  Actually Amy didn't have her phone with her so I asked her to write it on a piece of paper and give it to me before the experience began. My reason for asking for this information was so that I could gauge her mood and something about her and also to give her the feeling that the Daemon shared one of her intimate desires, therefore giving the relationship a head start.

I set it up so that when the user entered the room the only light was the glow coming from the laptop and monitor and music was already playing. I chose to play a track by Icelandic band Sigur Ros, whose music is emotional, melancholy and soothing and which also has lyrics in a fictional language. The bear turned to look at Amy when she entered and she instinctively sat down, touched its paw and stroked its head. The bear responded by moving closer to her and nodding. Amy then received a chat message on the lap top from the bear and she answered it by typing. I had prepared a script before hand, designed to give the user an emotional and intimate exchange with the bear, helped by its movement and the music. I knew that I would have to improvise some of the chat as the user would not always reply as expected and may also say yes or no to any question. There was also a small delay in chat appearing at times. The first part of the chat went as follows:

imyourdaemon: hello amy

[05/19/10] test account:  hello oops iwasn't quick enough

[05/19/10]  test account: and I can't punctuate

[05/19/10] imyourdaemon: I’m just listening to some music. Aband from Iceland called Sigur Ros. Do you like it?

[05/19/10]  test account: oooo yes I'm going to see theguy from them in Barcelona in 4 weeks!

[05/19/10] imyourdaemon: thatss wonderful. how does themusic make you feel

[05/19/10]  test account: dreamy

[05/19/10] imyourdaemon: I worry sometimes that I feel coldwhen people touch me. Do I feel warm?

[05/19/10]  test account: you don't feel warm but youdon't feel cold either

[05/19/10] test account: I feel cold quite a lot so don'tworry about it

[05/19/10] test account: Thanks.

[05/19/10]  test account: oh no you've got stuffing comingout of you

[05/19/10] imyourdaemon: That’s very honest of you. I likeit.

 

I had then planned to direct attention to the larger monitor and to use iTunes Visualiser so the user and the Daemon could watch the abstract and ambiguous images created by the music. 

 [05/19/10]  test account: Does your leg need fixing?

[05/19/10] imyourdaemon: no its fine I’m no good atdescribing feelings.

I can show you some of my feelings as pictures on thescreen. Want to do it?

[05/19/10]  test account: ok it's sounds a bit wierd butif that's how you express yourself

[05/19/10]  test account: oh and how do I do it?

[05/19/10] imyourdaemon: great . Squeeze my paw tight.

[05/19/10]  test account: i'm squeezing

[05/19/10]  test account: it looks like a bjork video

[05/19/10] test account: do you like things from iceland

[05/19/10] imyourdaemon: ok hoe did that fell

[05/19/10] imyourdaemon: how did that feel

 Amy watched the images but meanwhile she had been distracted by what she interpreted as the Daemon/bear nodding its head towards a chest of drawers in the room. In fact this was just my puppeting the bear without being able to see properly, it was meant to be looking at the screen and nodding but Amy felt it was indicating something on the chest of drawers (which was actually part of the Punch Drunk set up poking through the curtain). Amy found a book on wild flowers on the chest and looked at it for clues, so I had to improvise my reply.

[05/19/10]  test account:is the stuff on the table yours?

[05/19/10]  test account: you keep looking at it

[05/19/10] imyourdaemon: no its your stuff this is your roomin icelandic dreams

[05/19/10]  test account: something about wild flowers?

[05/19/10] imyourdaemon: yes. I’m going to have a little napnow. Will you come back and see me again sometime?

[05/19/10]  test account: can you feel when i touch yourleg

[05/19/10] imyourdaemon: yes

[05/19/10]  test account: ok i'll leave you to it - yesi'll come back abd see you

[05/19/10]  test account: ta ra

[05/19/10] imyourdaemon: bye amy

 Amy then left the room. In the feedback session afterwards Amy told the rest of the people attending my talk about the experience. I was pleased to hear that she said, unprompted, that she felt at home in the room, as if it was her living room and she felt comfortable being with the 'living' teddy bear. She said she felt OK talking to it and touching it because no one else was there. We discussed whether the Daemon/bear should have spoken to her with some kind of audible voice, she didn't think she would have liked that. We all then discussed generally where this could go. The accident in which Amy had thought the bear was pointing her towards the book actually led to some really useful ideas coming out around the Daemon leading the user to other media, either physically pointing it's arm or whatever and/or giving clues/suggestions as to where the user could go next to find parts of a narrative, game or whatever.

This then lead to other really useful suggestions about the Daemon technology and more about its voice: perhaps Smart phone/iPhone technology might be enough to deliver many of the things needed with or without added sensors or robotics. For instance the voice could use something like Google voice recognition and the Daemon could perhaps speak in a whisper, if you put it to your ear. This would be also using the proximity sensors phones have. I'd suggested that it speaks with your own voice but this was thought to be too creepy by the audience, however it was then suggested that it could take your voice and change it somehow, so that without it being exactly your own voice it would remind you of a family member.

So my investigations and conversations with technologists, game designers and psychologists continue along these veins. Next week I am being shown some examples of the sensors, servos and Arduino bits and bobs that might be useful. I'm also hoping to go back to Bristol Uni. to look at a project being done there using the Neursky Brain Computer interaction kit. The residency is due to finish on June 9th.