ACM-UIST'22 Adjunct, Oct-Nov, 2022
ShadowAstro:
Levitating Constellation Silhouette for Spatial Exploration and Learning
Role /
UX & poster design
Scenario planning
Data filtering
Category /
HCI, Data Physicalization
ShadowAstro is a system that uses the levitating particles’ casted shadow to produce a constellation pattern. In contrast to the traditional approach of making astronomical observations via AR, planetarium, and computer screens, we intend to use the shadows created by each levitated bead to construct the silhouette of constellations - a natural geometrical pattern that can be represented by a set of particles.
Ideation & Interaction Design
In order to design an interactive experience with the given altrosound device, we proposed a rotation machinism to realize switching contellation patterns in the real time. In this way, users can not only interact with the product to explore the 3D shapes of different 12 Zodiac Signs, but also understand the relative distances between stars.
Prototype
First, we collected all the Cartesian coordinates of the stars we needed from the online star map. Based on the limited size of the levitation device, we manually chose at most 7 stars that could express the shapes of constellations we know in 2D images.
Secondly, we used Unity to process the position and rotation data, including clamping the x,y, and z coordinates within our scope, defined as 10cm*10cm*16cm space, and rotating each constellation to match the 2D shape so that we could get the final positions for rendering.
Lastly, with the provided Unity SDK, we could control the 7 physical beads to translate to the required positions when rotating the device, where we used a compass sensor to let the program know where we were pointing at. The projector will play the Unity scene simultaneously to render the connection lines between stars so that the projected shadow will draw the shape of the displaying constellation on the canvas. The beads, which are not responsible for forming the shape, will be moved to the bottom area, which is out of the projected view.
Poster for UIST SIC Exhibition
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