SURVIVAL STRATEGIES

TOUCHDESIGNER / GESTURAL INTERACTIONS / AI IMAGE GENERATION

Signify is Singapore's archive of the nation's rich biodiversity history, with thousands of detailed images of the country's unique specimens. To extend the outreach of Signify beyond enthusiasts of biodiversity, my team and I developed a interactive exhibition through TouchDesigner making use of simple gestures to create a interactive experience to rope people into the wonders of biodiversity. The experience centers around 3 different themes: Camouflage, Mimicry and Aposematism. These are techniques which animals and insects use to escape predators and survive out in the wild. The visuals were created using images from the Signify archive, reintepreted visually with creative coding and interaction design.

Chiang Wen Soon - Video and Mimicry Interaction
Syafiq Shukor - 3D Spatial Design and Aposematism Interaction
Janessa Aw - Branding and Camouflage Interaction.

USING CREATIVE TECH TO ENCOURAGE INTEREST IN

SINGAPORE'S BIODIVERSITY

Image generation with StreamDiffusion
Interaction example

THE TECHNOLOGY

By integrating both MediaPipe (Interactive Plugin) and StreamDiffusion (AI Generation) into TouchDesigner, I was able to use hand gestures to adjust the prompt intensity from StreamDiffusion. Pinching collects the particles to form a image, while sliding adjust the AI prompt's intensity. To further strengthen the visual outcome, the generated image was then put through particle systems, where it takes on a particle look which also helps to smooth out the otherwise laggy framerate from the AI image generation.

Eyespot Pattern to Owl
White Leaf Pattern to Cabbage
Tree Colored Wings to Tree Bark

MIMICRY - THE FUNCTION OF BUTTERFLY'S WINGS

Through this project, we get to understand how different patterns on a butterfly wing help them mimic different environments and animals to escape predators. For example, the eyespot patterned wings on the Lemon Pansy butterfly are typically meant to mimic the head of an owl while the white leaf pattern on the Indian Cabbage White butterfly is to mimic the leaves of white cabbages in the agricultural fields.