The Carrousel, created by Philip Ross, is an interface that allows people to dynamically ‘sculpt’ a desired atmosphere at home, managing coloured lights, audio and wall projected video art.

Three atmosphere can be created: Activity level, Warmth level and Attention level. By arranging video-art (created especially for this purpose), light and music content along the 3D atmospheres were created.

To create the mood, the users moves the flags of the Carrousel interface. The way a person acts on the flags and the stage and the resulting pattern determine the expression of the “sculpting”. This expressive behaviour is interpreted by the system by mapping parameters describing expressive properties of the flag patterns and movements (e.g., uprightness of the pattern, smoothness of the pattern, interaction time) to the 3D atmosphere model (Activity, Warmth and Attention).

PDF of presentation.

A few years ago, Philips designed Nebula, a system that creates atmosphere in the bedroom, to encourage rest, reflection, conversation, intimacy, imagination and play.

A ceiling projector is linked via the Internet to a database of content. Users select the content, then they can manipulate it by adjusting their sleeping positions and interacting with their partner while in bed. One algorithm translates body positions and movements into moving imagery and text. In general, the ceiling projection becomes livelier as participants become more active.

Video.