<nettime> vectorial elevation up until january 6 (please post now)

[Rafael.Lozano-Hemmer@bbs.thing.net (rafael@csi.com)]

Dear All,

This is a small note to remind you that my piece "Vectorial Elevation" will
be up for only three more nights, until the 6th of January. I would be
delighted if you would check it out and tell me what you think. Here is the
tiny description:

"Vectorial Elevation", a net.art installation that allows participants to
see and transform Mexico City's Historic Centre with 18 robotic
searchlights. It features a VR interface, webcams, telerobotics and 126,000
watts of power. Operates until the 6th of January. http://www.alzado.net

So far we have received over 650,000 hits with 95 per cent participation
from Mexico. The comments section in the archives is by far the most
interesting aspect of the project, as we imagined.

All the best,

Rafael

----

Vectorial elevation is an interactive artwork designed to transform the
Zocalo square in Mexico City. This web site allows you to control eighteen
robotic searchlights that are placed around the plaza. Using a three
dimensional interface you may design a light sculpture that will cover the
National Palace, City Hall, the Cathedral and the Templo Mayor Aztec ruins.
Three webcams allow you to see the designs in real time.

Vectorial Elevation consists of a network of computers that process user
requests in a first-come first-serve basis. Here are the different
technologies involved:
The user reaches www.alzado.net via an IP address given to us by Telmex
company Centec, who have provided the connectivity and the mirror
infrastructure for the project. Telmex is the largest telecommunications
company in Mexico and the premier internet service provider through its
Prodigy operations.

The web server is a kyx.net Linux/Apache box filtered through Dragon
security sensors donated to the project by Network Security Wizards in
addition to Snort IDS using Max Vision's ruleset, Trinux video reflectors,
and other firewalls programmed by dragostech.com. This Edmonton-based
company has also provided the customized solutions for security, routing,
load balancing and video streaming. Some of these tools are available for
download here.

To make a design, the user downloads a Java applet created by Relational
Art, an R&D company directed by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. This applet contains
Shout3D code which allows for real time 3D visualization of vrml files
without the need for browser plug-ins. Shout Interactive in San Francisco
has also provided a frame for the development of an application to extract
jpegs from the vrml world. The actual 3D modelling was designed by architect
Emilio Lopez-Galiacho from Arquimedia in Madrid.

When the participant submits a request the applet sends the exact x, y and z
coordinates of each of the 18 virtual searchlights, as well as user
information such as name, location and comments. The server queues this
request and estimates a time for completion which is reported back to the
user. A "proximity engine", searches the database of previous participants
and reports back the five closest matches to the participant's design.

When a request reaches the head of the queue, the data is sent to a 3D DMX
application built by APR Inc of Canada. This application knows the exact 3D
position of each searchlight thanks to a calibration performed with
differential GPS units from Trimble in Sunnyvale, California. The APR
application sends appropriate DMX commands to the 18 Syncrolite SS7K
searchlights to place them in the desired location. The SS7Ks are 7kW xenon
robotic fixtures that produce a collimated lightbeam that can be seen from a
20Km radius. Vectorial Elevation allows user control of 126,000 watts of
power.

When the searchlights produce the participant's design three Axis webcams
take digital pictures from the skyscraper, the National Palace and the Gran
Hotel. The images are watermarked with the participant's information using a
custom application built by Relational Art. This application uses two
ActiveX components from Pegasus Imaging. As soon as the pictures are taken,
a web page is built for the participant and an email is sent to him or her
with its URL.

A user may view his or her web page by entering the personal code or by
typing the URL in a web browser. The personal page contains the real and
virtual images of the user's design as well as their name, location, date,
time and comments.

The piece will be running for 10 days and it is estimated that 60,000 people
will be able to create their own design. Hundreds of thousands will also be
able to see the streaming video coming from the 3 webcams via Dragostech's
custom java applet and server kyxpyx, an open source package.



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