Emily's AAR Studio Project

5th December, Simplification

For the 30th January, I realised I needed to simplify the idea, in order to be able to have a high quality of work. As I am most interested in the Tiki theme and already have a lot of material and ideas, I decided to reduce the meal down to an augmented Tiki apero.
The idea is to have a Mai Tai cocktail recipe identifier as the main interactive element. Guests have one of two Mai Tai recipes each in a different glass. There are two holes by the screen and only the right glass fits in the right hole. When the right glass is put in the right hole, the recipe is revealed on the screen. Around the machine will be objects and images including posters, books, menus etc. Each one has augmented content (viewed with a communal tablet) that tells part of a non-linear narrative telling the story of Tiki Culture. In addition, a top level of information that requires no interaction, with little printed snippets, will be stuck in each drink and maybe on the rumaki nibbles.

I first thought about how to make the recipe-identifying machine, doing some tests with Arduino and Unity, to see any possible complications that could come up. At the same time, I noted down all the content I wanted to include and how it would be displayed. I was inspired a bit for the facts by this documentary. I also illustrated this with a mock-up of the space.

PS I want this font family

26th November, Planning of information and augmentation

For the three stages of the meal I wanted to map out different ways I could show the content. This would involve using objects, images, flags, maps, bottles books etc.. I still think that I am missing a unifying motif throughout the meal.

13th November, Ideas for not being all through a screen

I’m interested in finding solutions to augment the experience without it all being through the limiting frame of a smartphone screen.
I found this augmented dining experience called Le Petit Chef. It is a projection mapped story of a chef character which travels around the world. While it is not terrible, and mainly avoids all interaction being through a screen, the dining experience feels slightly unnatural as the story takes over and seemingly interrupts communication between guests. It is also a slightly strange character both visually and conceptually.

Therefore, I have been brainstorming other methods of augmentation. However, I realised that to give a story / historical information, I am a bit limited to visual and auditory outputs.

Deconstructed Ruben
Make your own?
Talking objects where you discover audio information through an object (cf project by Salomé Chatriot)
Tasting focus (cf raisin meditation, where you listen, and feel a raisin in different ways before eating it)
Use different spaces throughout the meal
Multiple bits of the story so people have to share their experiences
Necessity to share information with other guests

8th November, Planning structure

Idea: A themed dinner with historical and contextual augmentations
Location: EPFL+ECAL Lab
Guests: All staff invited
Order of Events
Introduction
Welcome – Tiki

Standing
Music – TIKIIIIII
Mai Tai served
- People float their own dark rum? Choose their own rum?
- Trader Vics / Don the Beachcomber menus
- Meaning of Mai Tai
Rumaki Served as canapes

First course – Cyprus

Guests sit down
Music – Cypriot
Brandy Sour served
- Cypriot brandy bottle – listen to the object (Kleanthis)
- Postcard of hotel – written? AR
Cypriot sandwich tbd (lasandwich with yog?)
Clear away material

Second course – Manhattan

Music – New York
Manhattan cocktail served
- Maraschino cherry info?
Ruben Sandwich
- Map of Fohr island
- Hotel

Other content available throughout the meal

Menu
Island history / art / food and drink
- ynys
- Abberfraw biscuit
- Iceland puffin, gammeldansk

Other Island Ice Tea – Non alcoholic

5th October, Island themed meal

Cocktails and Sandwiches with links to Islands
Manhattan: Manhattan and Ruben
Polynesia / US: Mai Tai and Rumaki
Cyprus: Brandy Sour and Souvlaki
UK: Gin & Tonic and Cucmber Sandwich
Iceland: Gammeldansk and Lamb Hotdog

4th October, Idea and its framework

Cocktail Sandwich Museum of Cocktails and Sandwiches

an augmented dinner
three courses – paired cocktails and sandwiches
for a group of diners – social
all five senses are augmented
- taste – focusing on taste through utensils, presentation, focusing of senses
- smell – (same as taste)
- touch – texture, utensils, chairs, clothes
- sight – information, storytelling (digital), lighting (must be light), photographs, projection
- sound – music, storytelling, anecdotes
meaningful content – history, anecdotes, storytelling
different theme for each dinner. For example:
- tiki
- new york
- india
- after dinner
- 1930s
- wine
should it be “creative”?

3rd October, Idea devleopment

After reading and researching references on line, I decided to map how an eating experience could be augmented.

Aims

Bridging the gap between real and digital content
Involving all the senses (thinking about the real defininision of immersion and experience)

Ideas

Group experience (as opposed to individual VR experiences)
Using space to find clues/ give different information
Gestures / expressions that trigger something
A whole choreographed dinner augmented with digital content
Food talking to you
Sandwich museum – with meaningful content

3rd October, Investigations on mixed reality and food

Imminent future of food report – predictions on how mixed reality will influence dining by Bompas & Parr.

Southern Food and Beverage Museum – A museum about food which is not an Instagram stage.

VR dining – a terrible, nonsensical VR dining gaming experience.

27th September, Initial investigations on “Experience”

The Existential Void of the Pop-Up ‘Experience’

“By classifying these places as experiences, their creators seem to imply that something happens there. But what? Most human experiences don’t have to announce themselves as such. They just do what they do.”

I was interested by this critical article on “pop-up experiences” having been to one myself and having come away with similar feelings. They are often centred around the notion of food and drink (there has been one for tea, cereal, rosé, candy and pizza), but are often underwhelming, or missing something. The author notes that this is because they claim to provoke creativity, curiosity and discovery in the visitors, but in fact they do not. The only creativity they give is an opportunity to take photos, curiosity is systematically directed around a system, and are exectued without enthusiasm or attention to detail. She also notes that they lack meaningful interaction (this is mainly transactional and directed) and themes (there is nothing meaningful to take away, and exhibits are only loosely based on the theme).

This sparked several ideas for the AAR project, which I am keen to centre around the theme of food.