It’s 4-feet square, with custom acrylic screens, powered by five computers and four Kinect sensors. Microsoft calls it “the Cube.”
The interactive art installation captures the movement and shapes of people in front of the screens, letting them interact with virtual objects and see digital representations of others standing on different sides.
The Cube is making its debut this week at Seattle’s Decibel Festival as a “digital dance party.” Collaborators on the project include Stimulant, the Seattle-based digital design firm.
In a post about the project, Microsoft describes the Cube as part of a broader effort to encourage a culture of prototyping and collaboration at the company. The company says the initial Cube could lead to bigger versions, possibly connected to one another.
So what’s next beyond dancing? “It could be a stage for performance, a blackboard for education, a display case for museum artifacts,” says Michael Megalli, senior director of brand strategy at Microsoft, in the post. “It could be a communications device to bring people together in unexpected ways.”
Here’s a Microsoft video with more details. The Cube will be on display at Decibel Festival at Seattle Center between the Trimpin sculpture and Sky Church.
