Although it might be more accurate to say that this chair dances because no one is watching, the result is still a clever project that [Igor], a maker-in-residence at the National Museum of Decorative Arts and Design in Norway, created recently. Blurring the lines between art, hack, and the ghosts from Super Mario, this chair uses an impressive array of features to “dance”, but only if no one is looking at it.
In order to get the chair to appear to dance, [Igor] added servo motors in all four legs to allow them to bend. A small non-moving dowel was placed on the inside of the leg to keep the chair from falling over during all of the action. It’s small enough that it’s not immediately noticeable from a distance, which helps maintain the illusion of a dancing chair.
From there, a Raspberry Pi 3 serves as the control center for the chair. It’s programmed in Python and runs OpenCV for face detection and uses pigpio for controlling the leg servos. There’s also a web interface for watching the camera’s output and viewing its facial recognition abilities. The web interface also allows a user to debug the program. [Igor]’s chair can process up to 3 frames per second at 800×600 pixels.
Be sure to check out the video after the break to see the chair in action. It’s an interesting piece of art, and if those dowels can support the weight of a person it would be a great addition to any home as well. If it’s not enough chair for you, though, there are some other more dangerous options out there.
Isn’t anyone reminded of that joke from Borat? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfOVV7iUp10
Reminds me of these lyrics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEGQQXVAEDU
Dance like no one’s watching because they’re probably not. And if they are, assume it is with best human intentions. The way bodies move genuinely to beats, is after-all, gorgeous and affecting. Dance until you’re sweating. And beads of perspiration remind you of life’s best things. Down your back, like a book of blessings. Go to the woods alone, and the trees and squirrels will watch for you. Go to an unfamiliar city, roam the streets, they are always statues to talk to, and benches made for sitting gives strangers a shared existence if only for a minute, and these moments can be so uplifting and the conversation you get in by sitting alone on benches, might have never happened had you not been there by yourself. Society is afraid of alone though. Like lonely hearts are wasting away in basements. Like people must have problems if after awhile nobody is dating them. But lonely is a freedom that breathes easy and weightless, and lonely is healing if you make it.
I can’t be the only one who wants to make Weeping Angel furniture after watching this. ;)
I suspect the link in “some other more dangerous options” is either the wrong link or several other awesome builds were supposed to be included.
Unless the crazy manned multicopter was what you were going for! :O
It was fun clicking through the ‘chair’ tag; I missed quite a few interesting pieces.
This project was one of the outputs of a “Maker-Museum Residency” produced by Creative Museums. We’re inviting makers into European museums to re-imagine the collection, teach creative hands-on skills, and find connections between traditional cultural practices and modern making. We want to make museums more welcoming for makers, so we’d love to hear from you. If you dig this project, what would YOU like to do with your local museum’s collection? What’s stopping you?
Stay tuned for 5 more residencies like this in the coming year, and open calls for the next round (hopefully!).
http://creative-museum.net/