This week we’ve been focusing on finding new ways to push our designs even further.

Our design for this installation won’t be implemented for a number of years still. In that time, technology will be growing, changing, and evolving. We can’t just sit satisfied with the now. We have to think big and push the boundaries of what’s possible now to consider what will be possible then.

Some technologies we’ve been looking at will be smaller changes as far as the design goes, but bigger in terms of our hardware recommendations. For instance, we’ve been looking at OLED displays as a way to make our project more energy efficient, to give it a thinner profile, and even use their flexibility to enhance our media wall with more interesting shapes. This would also help the installation to still look interesting even if the displays are down.

Other technologies will add newer dimensions to what we’ve developed so far. We’ve been looking at new areas of research including touch sensitive fabric (possibly for sitting areas?) and 3D hologram-like displays (possibly for synthetic interviews with Andrew Carnegie and others?).

We’ve also been re-considering the use of sound in our experience. Part of what we love about the nighttime display is the potential to immerse the guest. Through the use of sound, we can immerse people further even during the day. Since it is a large public area, and generally persistent sounds would quickly become a nuisance to the people who work there on a regular basis, we’re trying to incorporate localized directional audio alongside our touchable panels and other specific components. A marked out region on the floor would naturally indicate a space for a guest to stand while interacting with content that would allow them to hear the sound.

Additional work done this week has included fleshing out our personas and polishing our VR building space. The project videos we’ll be needing to turn in at the end of the semester are also on our minds, so we’ve set up some time next week to tape some interviews with our client Lisa and other members of the committee.

In other news, CMU has finalized their contract with Second Story, and design meetings will take place in a few weeks. We’ll be attending to hear what they have to say and to present our own work so far.