About the biometric measurements:
Touchless haptics work by using focused ultrasound from an array of speakers that vibrate on the visitor’s hand. This will create a sensation of touch, and no gloves or special equipment is needed. Touchless haptics use technology developed by the company Ultrahaptics. http://ultrahaptics.comDirectional audio uses ultrasound waves to direct very precise sound waves across distances in a very precise manner. Listeners outside of the audio area will not be able to hear it, while for those inside the channel, the effect is similar to listening to headphones. Directional audio systems will be provided by Hypersound. http://hypersound.comBinaural audio is a technique to create a sense of three-dimensional space when played back through ordinary headphones, so the sound appears to surround the listener. This effect is achieved by recording or creating sound using microphones which are embedded in a specially designed foam ‘head’. This reflects how the ears actually hear, picking up sound through the air, and through the head.
About the technology:
A specialist team led by Make Us Proud, a digital product agency, have built the system that will collate and analyse data collected through visitors’ biometric wristbands. www.make-us-proud.com
Visitors will be given the option to measure their body’s response to the experience using wearable technology devices. These wristbands measure electrodermal activity, a measure of perspiration, which indicates how calm or excited wearers are. Tate Sensorium will be using E4 wristbands, provided by Empatica, who offer medical quality sensing. www.empatica.com
Previous to Flying Object, Tom, Peter, Sarah and Tim have launched projects including YouTube Play, a crowdsourced video exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum; Life in a Day, a feature film about a single day on earth shot by thousands of YouTube users around the world; and Papa Sangre, a binaural audio-only iPhone game. www.weareflyingobject.com
Their work to date includes Mix The City, an interactive experience to create music through the musicians of Tel Aviv for British Council and the Space, and The A-Z of YouTube, summarising ten years of YouTube with 75 references and 18 filmmaking styles in three minutes.
Flying Object are a creative studio based in London comprising Tom Pursey, Peter Law, Sarah Ashley-Cantello and Tim Partridge. They seek to connect cultural organisations and brands to audiences in new and original ways, using technology and the web.
Scent diffusion will be triggered by visitor proximity in the room. Flying Object collaborated with IFF’s olfactory design lab and perfumery team to produce bespoke scents, many created using ‘living naturals’ materials – captured through a Tenax™ trap or through liquefied gas extraction. www.iff.com
Lighting equipment is kindly provided by Rosco. https://www.rosco.com
The Porter Foundation:
Irene Kreitman was a generous philanthropist and longstanding supporter of Tate. She served as a volunteer for more than 25 years and was a voluntary guide at Tate from 1979-1992; she was always interested in helping people to engage with and be inspired by art. She and her husband, Hyman Kreitman, funded a number of acquisitions, especially in the field of modern British art, as well as the creation of the Hyman Kreitman Research Centre at Tate Britain.
Irene Kreitman’s sister, Dame Shirley Porter, and her nephew and niece, John Porter and Linda Streit, continue this tradition of philanthropy and have chosen to extend this legacy of support with a major benefaction to the renovation of the galleries at Tate Britain, as well as the creation of the IK Prize.