Ongoing project as part of the BA in Design Communication level 3 programme at LASALLE. Also see Hello, I’m Here Proposal (2022), Affective Communication Research (2021-2022, Ongoing Project) and A Series of Explorations and Technical Challenges (2021) in relation to this project.

Visit helloimhere.info for more and watch the Concept Reel here and the Exhibition View here.
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The global pandemic has made lasting changes in how we work, learn and play, making virtual communication the primary form of human interaction. People spend more time socially interacting digitally through screens, or when physically present, their facial expressions are covered by masks. This has led to people losing touch with how they look and feel when emoting. As emotions are at the core of human wellbeing, they are critical in social interactions and relationships, influencing perception and impacting how people interact intelligently.

As even the slightest conveyance of emotion can change how people interact and are essential for communication serving as indicators that communication is reciprocated (Picard 1-2, 5, 15). The project's objective is to use open-source hardware and software to design interfaces and interactions that help audiences get back in touch with and communicate their emotions.

So, how might creatives in the intersection of design and technology leverage Affective Computing and Affective Presence concepts to design interfaces and interactions capable of integrating the recognition, interpretation and communication of affective states through open-source hardware and software to communicate the perceptions of sense and emotion through the extension of the human faculty?

Hello, I'm Here explores creative technology applications through an interactive and immersive installation. Utilising machine learning-based facial expression recognition as a means of a future interface that encourages audiences to recognise, interpret, and communicate their emotions. Audiences non-verbally communicate their feelings, which are then abstracted into a series of coloured LEDs, putting them in touch with their emotions as well as understanding the affective state of others, reflecting their collective emotional state allowing invisible, non-tangible feelings of emotions to be visualised and felt.

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