The Question Table was a prototype design that I created, along with Mike Cobb, as a test to see how information could be saved to your skin.

Based on similar technology that I developed in the Butterfly Garden project, the Question Table was an entirely new concept.

The big idea

The ultimate aim is to allow people of different ages and with different interests experience a museum exhibit in a totally new and interesting way. At the start of your museum visit, you would be given a small personal armband. Each armband containing its own unique RFID chip. The RFID chip would save all your personal preferences on it, so as you approached another interactive experience throughout the museum the information presented to you would be able to change and adapt, based on your chosen options.

Choose your own path

At the start of any museum experience could be 3 different question tables, set at different heights, so that children could select a lower table, with child friendly topics, and adults could try a larger table with more advanced, challenging topics.

The table used special infra-red motion sensors that allow you to physically “scoop up” a question, and drag it off the table. Each circular table had an overspill projection, so that the data you selected would be projected onto your skin.

Around the edge of the table would be a wide range of RFID readers, that would then save the data to your bracelet.

If you were to approach another table, or another side of the table, your data would be loaded off of your bracelet onto your skin, and you could throw it around and manipulate it on the question table.

Cost

This cutting edge and unusual technology is actually very cost effective to implement. The RFID bracelets are cheap enough to be able to be used as a replacement to traditional printed tickets. The benefits are huge too. Each visitor gets their own personalised learning experience, so no two visits are the same, encouraging repeat visits. Also, custom settings can be saved onto the bracelet, so that, for example, teachers could check just how long their students were using each exhibit in a museum, allowing them to review any areas that may have been missed on a school trip.

From dream to reality

The question table is a great example of some of the prototype technology I helped to deign, that went from a dreamsheet concept to full scale mockup. Hopefully you will see this in a museum of the future!

I created a new software program called Visual Voice Pro that turns any kind of sound from a microphone into beautiful colours and light. Famous musician and broadcaster Jools Holland got in touch about developing this software for his live shows, and of course I said “yes”!

Software that can improvise?

Because of the nature of a live music show, anything can happen, especially with Jools Holland’s big band, that love to improvise and have fun with the audience. Its never the same show twice, so using pre-prepared visuals just wouldn’t be enough.

I was able to design and modify my software so that it would be responsive enough to project huge vibrant visual effects across the stage, and have the different instruments mapped via an audio mixer to different visual effects.

Going on the road

I worked with Jools Holland’s live events team and they were really great fun to work with. They were so positive and helpful, they really liked Visual Voice Pro. I collaborated with them to make sure that the software could withstand the heavy demands of an “on-the-road” schedule.

I was very pleased to see my dynamic and interactive graphics used on the UK live tours. Jools Holland and his team are now looking at new ways to incorporate dynamic visuals into live music.

I programmed the software from start to finish, and came up with the initial concept and design. The wonderful Izaskun Arandia-Richards helped get the ball rolling with the project management, and Jools Holland’s visual effects and tour team also had a huge impact in getting it all to work smoothly with the live shows. Darren Perry provided hands on technical support once the show started its tour.

I had the wonderful privelidge of being involved with an amazing art show at top London Gallery Tate Briatin, in a collaboartion with the amazing Martin Sextin. In March 2006 Martin Sexton presented New Gothic which combines music, digital art and performance. Featuring  ‘Heraldic Unicorn Lion Grace System’ by Truth Machine, described variously as ‘the high-concept band to end all high-concept bands’ and as a cult religious group by others.

The varying members of this arts collective reportedly all work to a set of instructions cut from the text of books that vary from hermetic works, theological mediations to pulp fiction, erotica and maps. Steve Severin conducts and provides the sonic soundscape.

Ride up with the Magical Lock-down Dark Pegasus: a Harley-Davidson XL53 custom motorcycle resplendent with blue-black Scottish crow wings and ‘pimped’ with a DVD monitor as tail-plate, that echoes TE Lawrence’s quote that “A motorcycle with a touch of blood in it is better than all the riding animals on earth, because of its logical extension of our faculties, and the hint, the provocations, to excess.”

Rattus Norvegicus

Meanwhile, I was working with Korash Sanjideh, Andy Early and Mike Cobb to create new visual experiences. We unleashed  chthonic forces with atechnological multimedia film noir Rattus Norvegicus as part of New Gothic at Tate Britain.

Rattus Norvegicus is a dark digital artwork shown for the first time at “Late at Tate Britain” as part of the “Gothic Nightmares” exhibition.