more: Discover the moon! Project

Developing gestures and user interface

After researching state-of-the-art and already existing air gesture-powered museum installations, it was clear to us that Kinect is the most and widely used technological solution. That fact plus its compatibility with Unity 3D decided to go with it. Through a low-fidelity test on a group of potential users, gestures for the application were chosen. These are also supported by and based on Microsoft’s Human Interface Guidelines. Before interacting with the installation, each user is guided through a tutorial explaining how to use the gestures.

When designing the application and GUI, we settled on the marker system that resembles Google Maps’ markers. Each marker is assigned to the Point of Interest (POI), highlighting an important place on the Moon’s surface (e.g. Apollo landing sites). By using markers so it might be reasonably easy for the users to understand the interface. After clicking on a marker, an information window pops-up where users can learn about the specific POI.

Construction of the installation

Initially planning to go with a production model of the DeepFrame holographic display by RealFiction A/S we had to switch to a hand made prototype installation from the previous project DeepSpace. The wooden contraption includes the DeepFrame display, a TV for displaying the content and a mirrored surface called Beam Splitter that reflects the TV's content onto the DeepFrame at a 45 degrees angle. On top of the DeepFrame, there is the Kinect for recognising user gesture input. The installation was covered with black drape to reduce the amount of reflection and make the hologram more sharp and visible, creating an additional curiosity.

User test & evaluation

From the very beginning, this project's goal was to explore how a DeepFrame can be made interactive for a museum installation. We evaluated that by testing users’ engagement through a survey, Microsoft Desirability Toolkit and interviews - data triangulation. The results show that people really liked the experience even though the controls were a little clunky. Overall they described themselves as curious about the structure and that the installation is innovative and visually appealing. This points out the fact that there is a future for interactive and holographic museum installations.

As my bachelor project, this one was graded 12 being the highest possible grade in Denmark.