Verkehrsfluss, an interactive installation by Malte Steiner (2009)

Shared spaces is a rather new concept for traffic engineering which is currently under evaluation in several countries. The idea is to take away traffic signs and lights and make the road users, particular the motorized ones, more aware of their responsibility.

The Hamburg gallery Einstellungsraum specialised itself showing art which is related to traffic. 2009 is the topic shared spaces, hence the inspiration for this installation which will be shown there in November.

This interactive installation provides an Augmented Reality environment. The interface is a table with either a big screen laying flat or a projection onto it showing an urban area from above. People can rearrange the architecture via objects with optical markers. These are captured and analysed by an computer which also renders the changing map on the table and a third person view which is projected on the wall. The audience influence a graphical simulated trafic with their rearrangement. The third person camera is controlled by an special marker.

Verkehrsfluss Konzept

The software for this installation is programmed in C/C++ with the free open source librarys ARToolkit, OpenSceneGraph and as bridge osgArt, all running on one Linux computer. Its a followup of the multitouch installation CityGenerator, which is programmed with the help of the floss librarys openCV and QT, allowing a rearranging of architecture in 2D space.

this is the control screen with the markers and a stylized view of the buildings besides them. The location and rotation can be controlled with the markers and computer vision.

On the projection the virtual shared space is shown. The buildings emitting vehicles which are driving and interacting with each other in the traffic simulation.

First prototype works, Augmented Reality with custom 3D models

Augmented Reality at block 4 medialab