News

Summer visitors to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) may have found themselves (or the small children accompanying them) in the spotlight—and unable to escape. The "Interactive Space Project" exhibit, created by electrical and computer engineering students at PSU, combined an overhead camera, a "tracking" spotlight, and a hypersonic speaker.

The result was an open space with an overhead spotlight shining down onto the floor. As soon as a person entered the light, the spotlight would begin following that person while beaming directional sound at them which only they could hear. Children (and their larger counterparts) enjoyed trying to sneak up on the light, or "steal" it as it tracked other people in the space, thus making the exhibit interactive.

This popular exhibit, staged in the Earth Science hall from June until the beginning of September, was developed by the students as part of their Senior Capstone requirement"the culminating course in PSU's undergraduate general education curriculum. Students work in teams under the supervision of faculty and community partners on community-based topics or projects. For more information, or video of the exhibit in action, visit www.omsi.edu/interactivespace.