Information
Technology
Material
The excess foam that I carved with knives away until I had the desired shape. For the electronic components and batteries, I've milled out with a small cutter cavities.Contents of the helmet:
1: coil
2: Antenna
3: Video signal receiver
4: power and video signal gain for the video glasses
5: Video Glasses
6: telescopic rods with eyelets for cord management
7: Bike Helmet
Descriptions & Essays
Apparatus for seeing your self from above
In computergames you can see your game character from different perspectives. In the first parts of the game GTA (Grand Theft Auto) you lead your character from the bird’s eye view from above. In real life you have to be close to death or on drugs to see yourself from a distance.
The system is an extension as well as a constraint to the senses. The view from above makes you see only things in short distance. The sound isolating helmet limits your spatial hearing. For instance you have to close your eyes to recognise if it’s yourself that is shaking or just the balloon, because your sense of orientation relies more on your view than on your sense of balance.
It’s only after the first tiny steps you start to trust your new vision and try bigger steps and moves.
Design:
The object is made out of a ball-shaped helmet with a helium balloon attached to it. The captive balloon wears a little wireless video camera with a wide angle which is directed vertically down. Its picture is projected to a pair of video glasses through a receiver inside the helmet. The video glasses are fixed inside the helmet in a way that your orientation relies on their pictures.
Due to the four beams which lead to the balloon along the strings, the balloon can be moved and turned by the movements of your head.
The strings are wound up on a coil inside the helmet and can be coiled and uncoiled from outside to regulate the camera’s position and height.
The helmet in exhibition:
The helmet is self-explanatory, the visitors only have to take it on. As soon as they wear it and see themselves from above they understand the principle and try to look about with this extension of sense. Assistance is not required, because according to experience the visitors hand it over by themselves.
Technical details:
Helmet:
Diameter: 30cm
The helmet is made of styrofoam, polyurethane foam and epoxide and is adjustable to different head sizes.
The four beams on the helmet are made of extendable telescopic sticks (5-50cm)
The coil takes 100m string, this allows a maximum heighth of 25cm (only in still air or indoors).
The helmet and the balloon together have a height of 2m when coiled.
The wireless camera system (1,2 or 1,4 GHz) and the video glasses work with colour and a definition of 320 x 240 pixel.
Balloon:
Diameter: 80cm
Content: 1m³ helium (outdoors hydrogen can be used)
The gas must be refilled once a week because it escapes slowly from the rubber case.
(http://www.juliusvonbismarck.com/topshot-helmet)
Literature
Exhibitions & Events