WITH: Mudit Gupta, James Hallam, Emily Keen, & Alison McKenna
RESPONSIBILITIES: Prior research, user research, analysis, ideation, storyboarding, prototyping
BACKGROUND
Experienced dancers have rehearsed their motions so thoroughly that they know the sequences that lead one to the other, and can recognize the feeling of them seamlessly linking together. Novices, on the other hand, find this concept challenging – they have no embodied knowledge of these movements, and have no idea what it will feel like should they ever perform them correctly.
A teacher, therefore, is trying to communicate to a new student what it feels like to dance correctly. We have no method for communicating this data directly, from one brain and body to another, so decades of dance training have built up abstracted ways of tackling the problem.
However, with all of the recent advances brought by placing technology on the body, is there no way to improve this process?
USER RESEARCH: WORKSHOP
Our team consisted of one member, Emily, who had 14 years of ballet training, and four members who were complete novices. To better understand the learning process in conventionally-taught lessons, Emily led the whole team in a staged beginner ballet session. She used teaching techniques that her own instructors had used. Needless to say, we were flawless students! …Just kidding.
As the lesson progressed, two key elements to learning became clear:
Chunking - The lesson used repeated versions of this, breaking complex movements into simple parts, and then recombining them back together till they could be performed as a unit.
Mirroring - Symmetrical mapping is one of the ways in which we are able to mimic other people’s movement, and we saw this in play during our lesson, as each of us would attempt to match the cadence and position of our instructor.
CHUNKING
In response to the visual complexity of the motions, we referenced animation techniques of keyframing and tweening to highlight key movements and simplify the process.
A still from Norman McLaren’s “Pas de Deux”
New dancers would see and focus on each individual element of the move below (left), while experienced dancers would think of the movement in a single chunked progression (right).
During our lesson, we found that it mattered more that the students started and stopped in the correct places, than the exact nature of how they moved between those spaces. Highlighting the keyframes of a movement would simplify it, and encourage chunking.
MIRRORING
To aid a student in following the movements, we again took inspiration from the lighting in Norman McLaren’s “Pas de Deux” that clearly drew the contours of the performers’ bodies and movement in three-dimensional space, simplifying and amplifying their positions.
We recognized the potential of visual simplification, and began to envision a set of high-contrast markings over the body to partially reproduce this effect in the real world.
IDEATION
The team focused on creating augmented training tools that could help students learn faster. Mirrored synchronous movements enhanced with live feedback could decrease the initial complexity of learning ballet and provide earlier access to a feeling of embodiment.
REFINEMENT
The team narrowed our concepts into a garment intended to be worn by an instructor teaching a student. We sketched out a system that would light up the instructor’s limbs, breaking each basic movement down into starting and stopping positions. By allowing the student to focus on the key frames, we hoped to reduce the complexity of the individual elements, and encourage them to see the movement as one continuous chunk.
We also intended to use an assistant to observe the lesson and watch for errors in synchronicity. The assistant would use a remote to trigger error lights on the limb of the instructor, indicating to the student the limb they should focus on.
The garment included:
LED strips along each limb
Accelerometers on each limb to trigger the LEDs
Bluetooth module
SCENARIO STORYBOARD
BODYSTORMING
Bodystorming with tape helped us figure out the best placements for the LED strips and other circuitry on a real body rather than a mannequin.
Key Findings:
For best student visibility, the outer thigh/arm LED strips needed to be placed behind the side seam while the inner thigh/arm LED strips needed to be placed in front of the side seam
When the jacket was pulled up in stretching positions, it was best for the student to have an additional light (rather than a gap) implemented in the area where the jacket and pants overlapped
The LEDs on the inner thigh didn’t need to start until further down the leg than we initially planned
PROTOTYPING
The prototyping phase was a huge learning process. The team had to tackle many challenges with the complicated collection of circuitry that was necessary to power Ballet Hero.
Conductive Thread Bus Lines
Each limb featured a set of sewn bus lines, providing power and I2C data, while leaving room for the LED data lines. The conductive thread was doubled to reduce resistance. Patches were used to attach components.
Circuit Layout
Each microcontroller was attached by using a custom breakout patch, distributing the pins to different connections. We used a free motion quilting foot to be able to easily route the circuits.
Flexible connectivity
To gain flexibility and modularity with the circuit design, we use nickel snaps to make junctions which allowed us to re-route data lines, and bypass problem areas during development.
Central controller
The central microcontroller provided power and I2C data connections to each of the four limbs. The circular design allowed us to attach components simply by tacking new snaps onto the appropriate bus lines.
FINAL PROTOTYPE
Ballet Hero’s design was dominated by a high-contrast stripe running up the legs, torso, and arms of the instructor. Each stripe was lit from underneath with a set of individually addressable RGB LEDs, and could be controlled independently. Each limb was controlled by its own microcontroller paired with an accelerometer, which sensed changes in movement, and used this data to trigger the LEDs.
The four microcontrollers were each connected to a central microcontroller placed on the back, which was capable of reading and sending data from each of the limbs. We used this central controller with a bluetooth module to receive wireless control signals and send the error messages to individual microcontrollers, which flashed patterns visible to the user.
All of the technical components across Ballet Hero were connected together by a network sewn out of conductive thread, with the ability to modify and upgrade the garment as the requirements of the garment changed.
TUNING AND TESTING
Each individual limb was calibrated, so that the sensors accurately detected the start and end of a movement and flash keyframes on the appropriate LED strip.
CONCLUSION
The prototype was functional and performed well under many of the informal tests we conducted. Durability of the circuit connections posed occasional problems for us over the development of the project, since the circuits were hand-sewn and tied. The full range of motion from a dance instructor led to some unexpected flashes from the LEDs as the fabric stretched and twisted underneath them.
FUTURE STEPS
The team intended to stabilize the circuits enough to conduct formal tests in a dance studio setting. Part of Ballet Hero’s functionality relied on an assistant to send error signals to the student, which provided a mechanism for feedback while avoiding the complexities of automating the system for the time being, Eventually, however, we wanted to remove the need for a third party outside of the instructor and student.