IKE : Interactive Kiting Experience

The "Interactive Kiting Experience" is a demonstration of a simple "mixed reality" system embedded in a spatial environment. It exemplifies some of the possibilities in creating interaction patterns and user experiences that arise when connecting people with their environments in a mixed reality setting. By allowing people to fly a virtual kite that is controlled through real ropes that hang from the ceiling and which exert a force when being pulled, we can liberate playfulness in adults and provoke spontaneous movement in public spaces, like the waiting room in an airport. Despite the simplicity of the design, and the trivial nature of the internal kite model, the user can still experience an substantial part of the pleasures of kiting, probably because their whole body is involved in the interaction.