pulsepool

Museum of Science, Boston
April 23 - 29, 2007
9am - 5pm

Place a finger to your neck or wrist. Find your pulse. How does it alter your awareness of your body? Imagine if you could simultaneously see and
experience another person's pulse the way you feel your own.

Pulse Pool is a collaborative multimedia installation created by the Symbiotic Computer Laboratory at the University of Oklahoma. The interconnected components of the Pulse Pool project explore how access to otherwise unavailable corporal information affects human interaction.

Wearable electronic units measure individuals’ heart rates and transmit this data
to other participants through physical stimulation created by small, vibrating
motors incorporated within the devices. This allows participants to feel the
pulse of individuals who are in close proximity to them. Additionally, a visual representation of this information is created by droplets of water falling and
making ripples in a pool. These droplets are synchronized with live pulse and relative location data that is collected using wireless communication and RFID positioning technology. An internet connection and custom software allows
real-time and archived transmissions of information about the localized Pulse
Pool community to be shared with the global community on the World Wide
Web. This makes it possible to create interaction between Pulse Pool
communities in remote locations.

Pulse Pool is a 2006 commission of New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc. for its Turbulence website made possible with funding from mediaThe Foundation. Additional funding was provided by the University of Oklahoma College of Engineering, School of Computer Science, the Museum of Science, Boston, the National Endowment for the Arts, Rhizome.org, the University of Oklahoma Symbiotic Computer Laboratory, and the OU School of Art.

Dimensions Top array is 8' diameter and requires about 1'8" height allowance. Bottom pool is 10' diameter and slightly less than 6" tall.

Weight The array is made of two 4' x 8' pieces of plywood with droplet emitters, circuit board, reservoir, computer [server], and wiring. All of this can be easily lifted by four people.

Hardware Pulse Pool requires an internet connection and power outlet to the top array. It is suspended using airline cable which we screwed/hooked directly into wooden beams in the ceiling. Depending on the construction of the gallery's ceiling, some sort of scaffolding or other structure might be necessary. Components listed above.

Depth and distances Water depth is approximately 3". Distance between disk and pool is roughly 9' but this is flexible as long as we change the depth of the pool accordingly to prevent splashing.