Center of Motion

Center of Motion, 2023

Center of Motion is a conceptual proposal for an interactive, sensor-augmented environment that examines how human movement, proximity, and collective behavior could shape an adaptive audiovisual space. The project imagines a modular wall-mounted system equipped with contactless proximity sensing, where light and sound respond directly to a visitor's bodily movement—turning spatial navigation into a form of embodied music-making.

Concept

The proposed modules attach magnetically, allowing their arrangement to be reconfigured daily. This fluid physical structure reflects a core idea: spaces can adapt to human behavior just as humans adapt to space.

Spatial Memory System

Central to the concept is the environment's ability to record and reinterpret behavioral traces. Throughout an exhibition period, motion and proximity data would be captured and later replayed whenever visitors are absent. Over time, the installation becomes a kind of spatial memory system, replaying echoes of past interactions and revealing patterns of collective movement, fading with each passing day.

Research Questions

This piece was imagined as a focal point for communal activity, and anthropomorphizing the room that spectates human activity:

• How would it remember us?
• How would its space evolve to accommodate activity, and how would this change affect its memories?
• How will we respond to this enormous entity that seems to breathe and dream?

Technical Approach

• Modular wall-mounted system with magnetic attachments
• Contactless proximity sensing
• Adaptive audiovisual responses
• Data capture and replay system for behavioral traces

Credits

3D renderings by Jenny Liu

Tags

Speculative Fiction, Prototyping and Fabrication, Interactive Installation, Spatial Computing