Sanghwa Hong, Hyunchul Kim, Seonghyeon Kim, Byungjoo Lee: The Skin
Artist(s):
Title:
- The Skin
Exhibition:
Creation Year:
- 2019
Medium:
- A desktop computer, a projector or a TV screen, a monophonic speaker, a custom-built touch surface
Size:
- 300mm x 600mm x 90mm
Category:
Artist Statement:
“The Skin” uses an extremely sensitive touch surface that allows real-time measurements of eight properties for the object being contacted (stiffness, Young’s modulus, static friction coefficient, kinetic friction coefficient, contact area, contact location, tangential force, normal force), and when the audience touches the surface, the computer’s visual and auditory response gradually evolves in a way that maximizes the amount of interaction with the audience through Karl Sims’ artificial evolution process.
Extended Summary:
Today, computers interact with humans through their own mechanical skin, such as touch pads and touch screens. However, existing computer skin was only able to measure very limited information, such as contact location and contact pressure, from external contact. The Skin is an interactive art work with a specially constructed touch surface that can measure a total of eight characteristics related to the object in contact with high precision, including four new kinetic properties (static friction coefficient, kinetic friction coefficient, Young’s modulus, stiffness). The special touch surface consists of six load cells with cross-roller guides attached to the aluminum base that allows computers to perceive the outside world similar to human skin. When the audience touches their body or any object on the surface, the computer generates moving images and sounds from those eight measured properties. In this process, the connection between the parameters of the output generated by the computer and the values measured from the touch surface changes in a way that maximizes the duration of interaction with the audience based on Karl Sims’ artificial evolution process. This process is similar to a baby born with very sensitive skin gradually forming a solidarity connection with the outside world through repeated contact.
Other Information:
According to the concept of embodied intelligence, our bodies are intelligent by themselves. Today, with the hype of software-based artificial perception, this work, on the contrary, imagines the most advanced mechanical skin a computer can have. The Skin is an interactive art work that uses a special touch surface that allows computers to perceive various kinetic properties, such as friction and stiffness, as humans perceive the outside world through their skin. In the exhibition, the audience can freely touch the computer with the most sensitive skin in the world, and the computer gradually outputs images and sounds in a way that strengthens the connection with the audience.
