Tangible Media | Haptic Heart
For course How to Make (Almost) Anything, taught by Neil Gershenfeld at the MIT Media Lab (2018)
The proscenium framing of concert dance tends to present the art form as a visual one despite dance’s temporal, spatial, and kinetic qualities. Haptic Heart seeks to amplify the dancing body and augment the viewer’s experience of it by using tangible media in performance. As the dancer moves, her heart rate is transmitted to a pulsating silicone heart that is held by the viewer. In providing the viewer with haptic feedback, the hope is that they will not only see the dance but feel it too.
Actuator PCB
Electronics Design
Designed two printed circuit boards, one for the heart rate sensor and the other for the vibration motor. Programmed them to execute specific tasks in relationship to one another.
(Eagle, Arduino, SRP milling machine)
Silicone rubber heart
Digital Fabrication
Designed and digitally fabricated a heart mold out of machinable wax, then cast a silicone rubber heart with an embedded vibration motor inside.
(Rhino, CNC ShopBot)
Me wearing the sensor PCB
Choreographic Design
Choreographed an interactive performance between the dancer and viewer using the haptic heart to mediate the viewer’s experience.
(Contemporary Dance)