Dreams
Camera Engineer, Writer
2006 — 2007
Description
Dreams is an interactive project that uses that uses the metaphor of human sleep and dreaming to visualize the processes behind adaptive user interfaces. The current approach to adaptive user interfaces is problematic; these interfaces adapt when the users do not wish it and the changes made to these interfaces confuse the users. The Dreams interface solves these issues in 2 ways. First, the Dreams agent only changes the interface if the users allow it to sleep. Second, the Dreams agent visualizes its thought process so users are aware of the changes. By using sleep and dreaming as a metaphor for describing adaptive user interfaces, these interfaces become more usable and effective.
Dreams was featured at CHI 2007 – Interactivity.
The Dreams agent changes its mental model of the world as it explores the space.
Roles and Responsibilities
My primary responsibility on the Dreams project was designing the camera system. The camera can be assigned shots tied to time intervals. When executing a shot cue, it moves to the new position based on a sine curve, keeping the Dreams agent visible at all times. I also assisted with in creating a system for managing the agent's memories. Lastly, I contributed to the writing and editing of the CHI publication.
Users can interfere with the agent's sleep, which stops it from changing the interface.
Technologies
Dreams was based on a proprietary codebase developed in Java.
Downloads
A public version of Dreams is not available, but please view the video below for a demonstration of the project: