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QLD Maritime Museum Assignment.

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Brief: "You work for an interactive media design firm that is preparing a submission for a competitive request for design proposals from the Queensland Maritime Museum, who have called for design agencies to submit high fidelity prototypes of their original and innovative design ideas in response to recommendations from their wireless network occupancy survey, as commissioned by the Museums Board of Directors.

The Museum's Board is calling for design proposals that address " Recommendation 1" - which suggest that the Museum should commission interactive media works that "reveal / make visible, the invisible life of the Museum".

These works can be designed for display in any one of the locations within the Museum space. "

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Prior to users discovering and exploring the exhibit, the oceanarium aquirium remains perfectly still, empty silent and lifeless. Once a user steps into “One More Fish In The Ocean’s” space, a motion sensor detects the movement of the user, as well as how many users step into the space and commences the sequence accordingly. The longer a user stays in the space, the more diverse the species of ocean life becomes.

The users will eventually discover that by placing their hands on the glass of the portals, they can interact with the sea creatures. For example, a jellyfish darting away from a user’s touch, or an angel fish mimicking the user’s movement. The behaviour of each marine creature in reaction to the user educates the user about the temperament of each marine creature. If a creature has an aggressive or defensive reaction, this teaches the children that this animal is not particularly friendly (and perhaps should not be approached in a real life context.) Alternatively, if a sea creature evokes a friendly response, the user is most likely to associate the animal in a ‘safe’ context.

Sounds of each marine creature and other various marine sounds (bouy bells, waves crashing, ship horns) are played during the exhibit. As more and more users enter the space, the ocean sounds eventually get louder, and more modern, a metaphor for the ocean’s diverse ecosystem. For example, when one user is in the space the only sound they will hear are waves gently lapping the shore. When more users enter the space, the sound scape will react accordingly and add more man-made sounds.

Apart from educating small children about different species of marine life and the sounds they make, “One More Fish In the Ocean” subtly rewards patience by introducing more opportunities for children to participate once they have spent more time at the exhibit.

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"The Golden Compass” is a motion sensor pad that detects weight and movement when a user enters the space. For instance, when the user moves his or her feet left, the compass in the centre of the steering wheel points the user in the correct direction to reach his or her favored destination. A camera also tracks the user’s left to right motion (or a ‘hula’ motion with stationary feet as shown in figure 1.) and spins the steering wheel left or right accordingly.

The icons on the compass represent the main attractions of the maritime museum and the important necessities such as the rest room and the café that a user may wish to navigate to.

A free Iphone application mimicking the Golden Compass Installation will be available on the Apple store for free download for all the museum patrons to use during their visit to the museum. The application uses GPS tracking to use the compass to point the user in the right to the particular location they are seeking. The application also displays the current coordinates of the user’s position. When selected, each Maritime Museum icon pops up with the GPS coordinates and a short description of what the exhibit is about. The orienteering challenge for the user is finding out how far they are from their target destination and how to reach their destination using the compass to guide them. The user may choose to do this alone, or with a team to figure out the directional navigation they must set in.