OperaBooth: an Installation for Intimate Remote Communication through Music

This paper describes the development and evaluation of an installation that explores intimate connections between remote strangers. The conceptual intension of the installation considers that music can be used as a universal language through which strangers can communicate. For that, several approaches have been taken to enhance the feeling of intimacy between the users of the installation. The paper describes related work within the field of mediated intimacy and musical interaction forming the initial goals of the system. It then describes the iterative development process, which includes two smaller prototype tests. The resulting installation implements two large human size boxes with a hole in each for inserting one’s head. Inside the box users can view the face of the remote stranger. A special setup enables users to appear very close to each other while being able to look each other in the eye for an enhanced feeling of intimacy. Finally, a face-tracking algorithm detects when users open their mouth, which results in them triggering the voice of an opera singer. Thus, strangers (who are not musically skilled) are able to explore an opera-duet in a form of musical exploration and communication.