Seven Years with the Traces Vision System
by Simon Penny
Arts Computation Engineering graduate program, University of California, Irvine

Traces Vision System is a unique, flexible and economical real time volumetric machine vision system supporting real time interaction in a variety of contexts, including VR environments, telematics, single user installations, stage productions and public sites. Development began in 1998 by Simon Penny and Andre Bernhardt. Premiered at Ars Electronica in 1999, the system has been in development ever since and has been deployed in numerous projects in Germany, Austria, Canada, USA, UK and Australia. This paper discusses the theoretical and technical dimensions of the system and describes several application projects. The core theoretical issues center on the negotiation of human computer interaction from the perspective of a phenomenological and 'active-sensing approach to embodiment, kinesthesia and proprioception. The hardware and software of the system is described, including the construction of a point cloud representation of the user(s) from camera images. Applications discussed include Traces (1999), Body Electric (2003) and Fugitive II (2004).