Click the icon to view the main video clip of ecosystem (15.2MB, Codec: H.264)
Click the icon to view the main video clip of ecosystem (19.8MB, Codec: mp4)

Click the icon to view the video clip with a user in action (9.4MB, Codec: H.264)
Click the icon to view the main video clip of ecosystem (12.3MB, Codec: mp4)

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Script
Abstract elements and sensitive creatures surround the visitor within an intact ecosystem into which she/he steps in like a foreign body, gets confronted, persecuted, causes reactions but can find a way to integrate her/himself by choosing an adequate position and look-at-direction and by interacting with the physical objects in the room (wardrobe drawers, ventilator, lamps) and in this scenario not with the handheld “Trax”. Elements are sticky particle swarms, inhabited eco zones (liquid, air, ground, etc.), sensitive creatures (shy, aggressive, curious, etc.), etc.
The virtual elements and creatures are in context with the physical objects and associated to physical areas. There is no chronological story development but a system with social structures, with its dependences, hierarchies and symbioses.
The invader can collapse the system as well. If one main element of the ecosystem dies the whole system collapses, since there are defined bounds between the creatures.

CREATURES, THEIR CHARACTERISTICS, THEIR DEPENDENCIES ON OTHER CREATURES AND THEIR BOUNDS TO THE LR-BOX (THEIR HABITAT) AND THE VISITOR:
Ventilator:
- Turns on in the beginning of the scene, particles come out, visualizing the air stream like some kind of fog
- Moves the grass in front
- When stepping inside the stream, the particles deflect form the visitor (tech. particle reflector underneath HMD and on handheld Trax-device)
- Is like the oxygen/life stream for all the other creatures
- When getting too close, all life dies (max. 8 sec.). The ventilator can’t be switched on again - the process is irreversible
Sound: 1. Running: organic sparkling, under water oxygen, 2. Dying (when user comes too close): less bubbles, pitch goes down

Drawers of cupboard:
The cupboard should attract the visitor’s attention audio-visually offering interaction when being looked at (drawers get semi-transparent overlaid coloured fields that pulsate one after another). The drawers can be opened by hand, they close automatically.
Sound: changing colour fields
- DRAWER1: (particle?)-swarm (with bigger particles than the ventilator swarm) comes out and flies around (random speed and closeness) in space like a swarm of flies, goes into the mirror and picture
Sound: 3D-sound attached to swarm, sparkling bright sounds
- DRAWER2: slowly octopus arms are waving in the water, eat particles from ventilator (particle attractor), they disappear again when the drawer closes
Sound: No sound
- DRAWER3 (lower right): heavy slimy colourful mass running out, like ball jumping out and sticking to the user the grass dies (may be just collapsing size) when the slime pours out (converting into the displacement effect, see sketches for creatures)
Sound: 1. slimy ball jumps out, 2. scratching sound (according to user speed or position volume is rising and pitch is going up when in motion, down when still)
- DRAWER 4 (lower left): slow dark cloud creature comes out (pandora’s box) that destroys the system by un-colouring everything and darkening the scene slowly (particles with insect textures), the visitor gets swallowed: dark sight, the real lights turn down too, the room gets darker and darker until checkout of scenario
Sound: deep gurgling plus high sinus tone fading in slowly, all other sounds fading out (max. 10 sec.)
Click the icon to view the video clip

Lamps:
“Light creatures”, very bright glowing shapes move like abstract flames around the three lamps (light bulbs), they are parasites for humans, they just appear when being looked at (view angle during time), they can switch over to the visitor if he gets too close, like a parasite attack: everything turns yellow/red and this process is irreversible (the whole room still works but the yellow/red and dull sound stay for the rest of the session).
Sound: 1. Pulsating sound 2. Sound for jumping over, afterwards everything sounds dull and airless, all other sounds die.
Click the icon to view the video clip

Sofa:
- Some semi-transparent mystically waving shape overlays the appearance of the sofa (see study). The “sofa-soul” is made of its separate volumes in “sine deformation” (see study) and appears only when being looked at and when sitting on the sofa (position).
Sound: dolphin-like whistling fading in and out when appearing/disappearing
Click the icon to view the video clip

Floor:
- The floor reacts to the users position after the slime has been liberated, it excrescences, lifting up the floor like the “roots” of the user (see study)
Sound: see cupboard

Carpet:
- Worm-like fauna, the sea-grass is waving in the “liquid”, receiving streaming motion from the ventilator and reacting to the visitor walking through it (like real grass), appears only when the visitor stands on the carpet, grass disappears when slime poured out.
Sound: just from contact, when walking through the grass (position, speed): bright Windglockenspiel

Picture, mirror:
- Boarder of the frame is the entrance to another space or the mouth of a visible tunnel leading into the nowhere

Investigation topics
ABSTRACT ELEMENTS IN THE LIVING-ROOM (PARTICLE SYSTEMS)
In this scenario the physical living-room stays visible all the time. The lights go down, turn blue and the ventilator starts when entering. The animated 3D-elements have characteristic sounds attached to them - also placed in 3D-space - and seem to live. This scenario explores the potential of credibility of immersive AR-ambients for experience.

BOARDER BETWEEN VIRTUAL AND REAL WORLD
Compared to the scenario living-room2 the virtual elements have no boarder reference to real elements. Therefore no occlusion is needed and the inaccuracy of the tracking is of less importance. Different abstract elements with different amounts of transparency were compared. 

INTERACTION WITH FURNITURE
In this scenario the handheld device has no functionalities and the user can’t make decisions or ask for information. The user freely explores and interacts with the alien habitat by walking around, looking at things for a certain amount of time and by interacting with the furniture of the living-room2.