Ankitha Vasudev – Looking Outwards – 11

Reactive Canopy is a project by Caitlin Morris, made in 2011. Caitlin Morris is a designer, researcher and educator who uses various software and digital fabrication techniques to create projects relating to the theme of perception and the human-environment relationship. She is currently a research assistant at the MIT Media Lab and has previously taught at NYU and Parsons. As a student she studied Design and Technology, Architectural Building Sciences and Cognitive Psychology.

Reactive Canopy interests me because it combines traditional architectural modelling using Rhino with algorithmic computer vision using openFrameworks (and Grasshopper – parametric design).

This project consists of a canopy (modeled in Rhino and Grasshopper) situated overhead that people pass under as they walk past. Cameras track motion below the canopy that causes the apertures of the canopy to open, which creates areas of light on those passing by. The motion data of pedestrians is collected using openFrameworks and passed onto Rhino and Grasshopper.

Click here to watch a video that shows how amount of motion from frame to frame in openFrameworks is translated to aperture size in a Grasshopper model.