Microsoft’s Cube debuts at Decibel, creating a one-of-a-kind digital dance party
Imagine a giant three-dimensional object that creates a virtual space, while at the same time encouraging real-life interaction. Outside, it is 4-feet square. Inside, it is powered by five computers and four Kinects working in concert.
Introducing the Cube: Microsoft’s interactive art installation, unveiled this week at Seattle’s Decibel Festival, a celebration of electronic music, visual art and new media.
Born from a brainstorm of how to create something that would uniquely live at the intersection of technology and design, the Cube and its multiple Kinects invites onlookers to become part of the art.
“The Cube is a canvas for a new kind of creative expression,” explains Michael Megalli, senior director of brand strategy at Microsoft. “It’s an appliance that creates public space.”
At Decibel, the Cube will be a vehicle for a uniquely connected digital dance party, on display tonight through Monday in the Seattle Center between the Trimpin sculpture and Sky Church.
Participants stand in front of the giant structure and the Cube reacts, pulsating to music and tracing the movements of those around it. The Kinects can read up to three people on each side, and you can see others through the Cube, which acts as a portal, virtually connecting people who are separated in physical space.
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