Chance We Meet starts from my thoughts on communication in this digital age.
Even though people easily get connected to anyone in anywhere via overflowing SNS, truthful communication is hard to find, and this paradox has made people even more lonely.
In my perspective, real communication needs a lot of efforts. Sometimes people physically have to face each other, spend considerable time to grasp others’ character trying to understand the other party by trials and errors. All these endeavors make the relationship strong and tangible. We all have to try hard to meet the true person.
Therefore, this project tries to deliver the concept of true communication. As we may expect from the title, "Chance We Meet" is about the probability of encounter.
Chance We Meet
Plan for installation, 3D renderign, 2012
Chance We Meet may seem at first nothing but an empty, white cube.
However, this room actually is divided into two smaller rooms by PDLC (Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystals aka Smart Glass).
PDLC is the electrically switchable glass, which chances light transmission properties when voltage is applied.
With no applied voltage, the liquid crystals are randomly arranged in the droplets, resulting in scattering of lights and results in the translucent appearance. When a voltage is applied to the electrodes, the electric fields cause the liquid crystals to align, allowing light to pass through the droplets, resulting in a transparent state.
By voltage control, the translucent wall in the middle of the room becomes transparent and then switched back to translucent.
Chance We Meet
simulation animation, 2012
Two sensors from each side of the room are attached to the glass wall. With one sensor activated, the glass stays translucent. However, if two sensors on the each side are activated at the same time, the glass becomes transparent so that people can see the room on the opposite side. Those connected sensor is photoelectric sensor that is used to detect the distance, absence, or presence of an object by using a light transmitter.
This means that one person cannot trigger this interactive installation. In this way, this project essentially necessitates two people at least. When two persons (or more) stand face to face across the center glass, and activate the sensors, they can make the glass transparent, thus finally face each other.
Chance We Meet
motion detect sensor design, 2012
Chance We Meet
simulation animation, 2012
Chance We Meet
construction process, 2012