Enode

About

Mediated Spaces - ARTDES 362

December 1, 2025 - December 8, 2025

Enode is a visualization of the emotions that connect people together. In this Touchdesigner network, user emotions are tracked and mapped to each point in the node. As new users join the system, the nodes will connect if any emotion given overlaps with a previous one. So often, digital technology can create isolation within networks of people, but Enode shows exactly how connected we are within a communal space.

Steps

1 Inspiration
2 Building
3 Touchdesigning

4 Setback
5 Installation Day
6 Demo

Brief

In one week, create a project in Touchdesigner for a pop-up installation. This project should contain techniques taught within the class, with additional aspects from individual research. The final should feel like a complete installation or performance that could live in a gallery, theater, or public space.

Inspiration

Space as a medium

Through my years studying digital technology within the School of Information, I have found a focus on the utility of digital technology as a tool to connect people from across the globe. And yet, it cannot make up for the community that occurs when people exist in physical space together. My goal for this interactive exhibition piece was to use technology: this thing that can connect us so easily, to visualize the connections that occur outside of its presence. To visualize the emotional connections that tie people together within a shared community space. Enode would start as a single point in space--a single person, and as community grew around them, thousands of connections would begin to form.

Napkin sketch of mesh network system and display object

Building

Back in the shop

Since this project started just around the time I would be home for a few days, I took that opportunity to begin building my input device first. This is not where I normally begin, as I normally like to make sure the concept will work before spending time building (foreshadowing!) I went through a few concepts that I believed would work for the project, but ended up creating a simple iPad holder to use as a camera and visual feedback device for the user. The design changed from a very tall device to one that could sit on a table, due to the ease of transport and the amount of scrap wood I had. This wooden holder was made entirely of scrap material and finished in a day.

iPad sketches on the counter of a wood shop

Touchdesigning

Stubbing my .toe

Returning to campus, it was time to start developing the network. There are 6 main parts to the algorithm.

Using Media Pipe to analyze face points

From the face points, the network maps the movement to facial expressions

When the camera detects a face and a thumbs up to the camera, a new session begins

When the session increases, the data from the expressed facial expression is saved to a table

With the saved information, nodes are drawn for each session and lines between shared emotions

The points and lines that are replicated get rendered and sent to an external display

Laptop and monitor looking at touchdesigner demo

Media pipe to face point analysis to session incrementer to data storage to replication to render

Setback

Why we prototype first

Turns out, you can't just use an iPad as a input device for Touchdesigner. And, the output of the network would not fit the screen correctly either. While there are ways to get around this, due to the time constraint and the needs of the project, I decided to pivot and find a simpler solution.

Screenshot of touchdesigner with a webcam error

Instalation day

Today is the day!

For the final for the class, we put on a pop-up exhibition to show off all of our work. Each student in the class had a space to share their work, and the space was opened to everyone. As people started to float in and test all of the projects, my network of people began to grow.

Poster design by the wonderful Ellie Lee!

THe final Network

By the end of the pop-up, my system had over 100 users. Each user had multiple emotions saved, and there were over 3,000 connection lines connecting each node. These nodes are representative of each person who walked up to the exhibit.

large network with nodes and lines projected to a screen

close up of the webcam with a note thumbs up to start

Demo

Check it out

In this demo, I show how the network grows with a single person. In the actual exhibit, nodes would be added when new users enter the frame and give a thumbs up to the camera.

Rock on my friend.