Maelstrom. Augmented Reality virtual installation
2017
MaelStrom AR is an augmented reality installation designed by artist John Fillwalk in collaboration with IDIA Lab (Neil Zehr, Aaron Anderson, and David Rodriguez). This work visualizes live weather data from Washington DC to inform virtual wind direction and speed. This data affects the creation of virtual paper airplanes/messages that fall from above onto the ground, enveloping the viewer within a swirling circular mass of objects. In this multi-user networked mobile artwork, participants are assigned a unique color upon launching, through which they can paint nearby airplanes and also physically move them through walking and collision. The surrounding environment of the user is scanned by the software and is used to create physical interactions with the AR objects. In addition to hue, participants in MaelStrom AR are also assigned a unique tone that blends to form a chorus of sound in the space. In this work, the viewer becomes a participant in a constant stream of messaging and data – playfully affecting its design while collaborating with other users.
