Category: Embodied Interfaces & Responsive Environments
Year: 2023 | After City Limits Silent Disco

Interactive 3D jungle with particle rain system where silent disco attendees controlled rain behavior through hand gestures. Participatory design dissolving artist/viewer boundaries.

Technical Implementation:

• Three.js digital jungle environment, custom GLSL particle shaders

• MediaPipe hand tracking (21 key points per hand)

• Gesture mapping: hand position (XYZ) controls rain direction, velocity, color; specific gestures (open palm, fist, wave) trigger different rain behaviors

• 200+ participants, 60fps with thousands of particles

Key Innovation: Natural gestural interaction in uncontrolled, high-energy social environment. Dancing movements organically incorporated visual control—no instructions needed, immediately intuitive.

Contribution to RNI Research: Demonstrates responsive environments feeling natural rather than demanding conscious control. Technology recedes into background, supporting experience rather than demanding attention—exact principle needed for RAI.

Technologies: Three.js (WebGL), MediaPipe, HLSL/GLSL shaders, JavaScript