Audiences at the Killkenny Arts Festival were able to direct the movements of dancer Megan Kennedy through interactive audiovisual elements provided by computer scientists from University College Dublin.
The unique dance show called Lost and Found used location sensing technology to map the movements of Kennedy thorough projected sound and vision.
The project drew on the work of Professor Patrick Nixon and his research team from the Adaptive Information Cluster (AIC) in UCD.
The AIC, which was established in 2004 with funding of €5.6m from Science Foundation Ireland, is a cross-disciplinary research effort that draws on expertise from both UCD and Dublin City University (DCU).
Part of the research carried out at the centre involves adaptive information technologies, in other words, interactive technology such as motion tracking which is what makes the medium of dance so suitable to testing its applications.
AIC technology can be applied to a range of areas including environmental monitoring and home healthcare.
Lost and Found is the second show of its kind at the Kikenny Festival, follwing Jacare Jungle which explored adaptive sensors integrated into the dancers’ clothing.
By Marie Boran
