Admit it. You've danced in front of a mirror. You enjoy checking out that 2D twin mimicking your every move. Yahoo! Research understands and is sponsoring an interactive art exhibit here at our headquarters that plays on the narcissistic side of all of us.

Titled "Shadow Mosaic Four by Five," the piece is the creative child of media artist Scott Snibbe of Sona Research. It combines a video projector and a camera to capture and replay people's silhouettes. As you walk in front of the screen, your shadow is captured, with all your motions and gestures, and played back repeatedly in one of 20 (four across, five down) squares on the screen.

The piece is there to remind Yahoos to think about new ways to interact with video and machines. We want the experiences we provide our users to be seamless and magical, just like "Shadow Mosaic." This is not a static picture on the wall. It's interactive, but doesn't involve a mouse, keyboard, or remote control. You control the display by moving your body. You can do the two-step, throw punches at your friends, twirl, walk like an Egyptian, whatever. What could be more natural?

"Shadow Mosaic" emphasizes the social aspect of art. People delight in seeing what others have done, and then creating their own special motions. There is a learning process — people first walk by before realizing that their very motion is captured. They learn they can do more interesting things by watching others. This brings out the child in people. (Oh, where is that hidden camera?)

It's not yet clear how to turn "Shadow Mosaic" into a Yahoo! product. But by learning from artists who explore the limits of interactive art, the smart people here will think of something.

See "Shadow Mosaic" in action with this short video...

Malcolm Slaney
Senior Research Scientist, Yahoo! Research