Newest Concept Based on Feedback & Critique (Same Theme/Diff Output)
Concept: I plan on capturing campus students who use their cellphones while walking. I will primarily be using the CUT, standing on both the CUC to Doherty pathway and the CFA to Drama pathway. I will act as a stationary collision piece, waiting to see if the individual notices that I am in front of them. A camera strapped to my shirt, will capture their reaction. I will then ask the following question: “I’m doing a research experiment, can I ask what were you doing on your phone?” I’m receiving their reaction in real time for the question of what was so important on your phone that you couldn’t properly walk or pay attention? If I can get more qualitative insights and interviews with the individual as they walk to class that would be wonderful.
The final output will have an image that memorializes their realization of looking up from their phone, and right at me. Their interview answers will be typed out in quotations on the bottom of the image.
OLD CONCEPT BELOW:
Concept:
I plan on capturing campus students who use their cellphones while walking, and recording the imagery from a Surveillance/Rooftop Angle. As I walk to class, I notice an enormous number of people who walk to class, completely consumed by their phones, and they often bump into random people as they walk. I want to show just how embedded phones have become in our lives, specifically the lives of young college students, that we can’t even put the phone down as we walk. I’ve seen so many individuals walking down on the stairs with their phone, hunched over on their phones. TLDR: Exploration of human behavior, and our relationship with technology, especially individuals who grew up with the evolution of the iPhone/handheld phone.
Collection of Individuals Walking on their Phone
Capture Method:
1. Set up high-resolution camera on a tripod from a single rooftop overlooking the CUT OR with a drone. (Camera areas listed further below)
2. Capture time-lapse footage over from 8 am to 6pm of rush hour.
3. Use computer vision algorithms to identify and track individuals using cell phones.
A. I would need to develop a system that classifies specific behaviors:
* Walking while texting
* Stationary phone use
* Phone calls on the move
* Group interactions involving phones
2. Have lines that follow each individual, so as you watch every individual go past the timelapse screen, a line follows them as they walk and stays. You see the build up of phones throughout the days and the paths they take!
Final Output:
1. The final time-lapse should have so many lines that map out the direction and length at time at which individuals had their phones out. A line would become dotted if an individual picked up and put down their phone.
2. A large image that shows all captured images of every individual tracked by the algorithm.
Where are my possible camera locations?
Since I need a high surveillance angle, I think a drone during the busiest hours/rush hours may prove to have the most merit. I think I could use the corner of Shatz Dining Room, so I can get a clear overhead view of the CUT from 3 different directions. The rest of the test images I captured, didn’t seem high enough. Other areas encounter more obstruction. There is also the 3rd Floor study area with a perfect view of the cut but have a few trees., where I can position the camera, without needing explicit permission. I know there are also surveillance cameras on campus, it would be SO interesting, if I could use the security cameras to capture and analyze from different angles. Not sure if CMU police would let me, but it could certainly be worth a try if I am allowed to use footage from weeks before!
Most Promising View: Shatz, but I want more of an aerial view of the cut!!
Closer Hope of Capturing on the Cut, but more of an aerial, birds eye view.
Even more an aerial, birds eye view, but this would be the hope of clear view of individuals when they walk.
What tools do I need?
Most likely a drone because I need more aerial footage. Camera, Tripod, Battery, Signs that say “Do Not Touch – Work in Progress, questions please call [my number here]”, Signed document or confirmation that I could use a specific area or that it is cleared by whoever is in charge of that specific room (ie. Shatz)
Ethical Considerations
1. I’ll blur faces if it’s too obvious who it is, however the phones do a great job of hiding individuals since most people are looking down, not up!
2. Obtain necessary permissions for window surveillance or provided video tapes