Gallery: A Kinect-Powered Animation That Evolves With Your Body Movements
Photos by Lab21201kalia-04
As part of Google's [DevArt project](https://devart.withgoogle.com/) the search giant sponsored the production of an animated project called *[Les métamorphoses de Mr. Kalia](https://devart.withgoogle.com/#/project/16574285?t=commissioned)* that is driven by the Microsoft Kinect's skeleton tracking capabilities and displayed in a Chrome browser window projected in a gallery space.
Photos by Lab21202kalia-01
"Technically speaking, one could say that this project is halfway between traditional animation and video games," says project co-creator Cyril Diagne. "We borrow from the first to tell little poetic stories with graphics and music and from the later to access another layer of storytelling through interactions."
Photos by Lab21203google-code-kinect-07
The experience is more Dalí than Disney and as participants progress through the experience Mr. Kalia's body is covered by locks, his hands turn into gushing fountains, and birds begin flocking to branches that sprout from various parts of his body.
Photos by Lab21204google-code-kinect-04
Mr. Kalia's transformation was brought to life using an impressive toolchain that included the Kinect, C++, Coffeescript, CSS, Google Compute Engine, Nite, Node.js, OpenFrameworks, Openni, Paper.js, Socket.io, and Tween.js, all to be rendered in a Google Chrome browser window.
Photos by Lab21205google-code-kinect-06
*Les métamorphoses de Mr. Kalia* will be on display from July 3rd 2014 to September 14th 2014 at the Barbican Center in London with an international tour to and a web browser-friendly version to follow.
