Other video documentation:

I settled on a concept for the user to go back and forth between the digital screen and the physical books involved in the set-up.

The screen will prompt the user to solve a riddle. The riddle will include the name of a book or object, a chapter or page, etc.

Once the user turns to that page, they will see nothing until they reveal the symbol. It will be written with liquid detergent. Once dried, the symbol will not be visible until revealed under UV light.

Testing:

We looked at using another method to execute the touch screen that involved CCV communication with Flash via Flosc. Flosc is the TUIO-to-Flash server. A TUIO simulator allows me to simulate touch events that get sent to Flosc for testing purposes.

Eventually, after hours and hours and days of testing, prototyping, and trying…WE GOT IT TO WORK!!!

The point where it was ALMOST working:

The point where it was finally working:

Many things were hard to deal with: First, trying to position the webcam and the projector. Second, getting CCV to read the IR pen and ID it as a single blob. There was a lot of testing, trial and error to get it to work correctly.

Apparently, at this stage, we are a couple of steps away from making this a finger-touch screen. Too bad we don’t have the time to execute it!!

With the help of a classmate who had already hacked a webcam to read IR light, we began to test a new way of calibrating the hidden book screen.

We finally succeeded in getting it to work, however it was quite glitchy and involved using an IR led pen with two led’s on it in order for TUIO to read it as a mouse point-and-click.

While researching the process and methods of cryptology, I came across the use of a cipher to crack codes within secret messages.

Once a connection has been determined, you turn the wheel in order to decode letters and messages, and the meaning is revealed.

I made a connection between this and a need to give the user a sense of achievement as they progress through the book. I began to sketch a wheel cipher that doubles as a blinking eye – Both creepy and appropriate.

I began to create symbols that would represent different themes or thoughts about the future revolution, as a way for the user to learn about and/or contextualize.

The idea is that the user will be prompted to use the materials, books, papers, etc around them on the desk to help them find these symbols. They will be decoding phrases or statements, interacting in both a digital and analog fashion.

I then began to animate the cipher eye.

I also went shopping for books to consider using for the experience.

What has yet to be determined is how the user will find the symbols within these materials.

I began sketching out some very basic wireframes for the process of decoding the book and entering the symbols into the interface – How the gestures will cause a reaction in the interface.

We had also considered a method of security for the book that would require instant self-destruction upon interacting with a user that does not enter the correct symbol.

What must be considered is a way for the user to keep track of their progress as they continue through the book – A pay off at each point of decoding. And what will be the payoff at the end?

We first began with trying to calibrate the touch screen with the Wiimote and an IR LED pen that Courtney made.

There were a number of things standing in our way to get this to work – The most important was that it was proving to be incredibly difficult to project in such a small, enclosed space. The projection was cut off around the edges because the walls of the box were too close together. This meant that we were not able to calibrate the screen so that the Wiimote would be able to recognize the IR pen.

Back to the drawing board.

We first began with the idea to use a monitor inside of a desk, on top of white a hollowed book would sit. When you open the book, the screen behind/under the surface of the desk would be what the user would interact with.

This soon changed to using a mirrored projection which reflected back up to the surface of the box.

Mark constructed the box and made various alterations – His first attempt was questionable, but he started over from scratch and the end result was much better.

Courtney hollowed out the book that will be hiding the screen inside.

The Hidden Book.

We are proposing the idea that our freedom of speech will be tested in the future, as will our right to privacy. Due to the extension of the Patriot Act and growing fears surrounding
the infiltration of domestic terrorism, the government will have greater control over the way American citizens communicate.

So our goal was to create a way of communicating between groups of people that is hidden,
encrypted, and undetectable. In the future, these groups of people would be those against the government who need a secure method of communication. In this case, we are creating an experience in which the user goes through the process of cryptology.

We are creating a hidden book that requires the user to unlock, decode, and utilize a symbolic language based around one-stroke directional movements. Once the user has sufficiently cracked a series of codes, they will gain access to a communication/message board where they can leave their mark and/or communicate with other users who have made their way into the hidden book.

We will be simulating more advanced technologies in our installation set-up, constructing
a makeshift touch screen inside of a hollowed book. The book will be inconspicuous, placed upon a table with other items strewn around it: other books, papers, photos, pens, highlighters, etc. We may even incorporate another shelf in front of the desk which has other items and books on it.

The user opens the hollowed book to find a touch screen inside which prompts them to decode a line of symbols, a message, etc. The user must use the materials around them in order to crack the codes – Clues will be hidden among the pages of books, photos, etc. The experience will be based around this process of interacting with both analog and digital
interfaces/experiences.

The touch screen will be assembled using a monitor underneath a table that the hollowed book with be fixed to. The user will interact with the book using IR LED pens.