Interactive Kinect Installation Transforms Kids Into Virtual Puppeteers

Kids are probably your best bet for testing the 2.0 version of your interactive puppetry project. Such is the case with Puppet Parade, an interactive experience designed by Design I/O. Modeled after their Kinect Shadow Puppet that PSFK wrote about previously, and made using two Microsoft Xbox Kinects (with openFrameworks and the ofxKinect addon) to skeleton track arm movements, the smart tech is able to determine where the shoulder, elbow, and wrist are when controlling the puppet.

Premiering last year at Amsterdam’s, Cinekid Festival, Puppet Parade lets children be themselves, by having them flail their arms around, as colorful, digital puppets are projected onto a wall. Taking the interactive aspect one step further, kids can actually step into the virtual environment and interact with these larger-than-life creatures directly, by patting their heads or making food for them to eat. According to the designers, the dual interactive set-up,

allows children to perform alongside the puppets, blurring the line between the ‘audience’ and the puppeteers and creating an endlessly playful dialogue between the children in the space and the children puppeteering the creatures.

Be wowed by the two installation videos below, the second providing a non-edited version of Puppet Parade so you can hear the sound and see how the hand translates to the creatures movements.

Unedited Version (below):

Design I/O