The Power to Protect is an interactive visual piece created in TouchDesigner involving rain falling from the sky, creatures roaming around, and the user. The creatures do not like the rain and get upset when they are in it. The user has the power to use their hand as an umbrella to shield the creatures from the rain, pleasing them. This piece is intended for anyone to try, and it will be different for everyone based on how they choose to interact with it. Conceptually, the emotional connection and bond the user forms with the creatures is the crux of this piece. The user is the only being with the power to make these creatures happy, and it is up to them to make it a reality. The creatures react to the user’s heart rate, and the creatures’ feelings affect the user via vibrations on their hand. This piece allows for the user to reflect on how they act when given power, and the nature of human empathy and compassion.

In terms of the technical aspects of The Power to Protect, it combines MediaPipe and Arduino to extend this project beyond the boundaries of a simple computer screen. The use of the user’s camera feed places them directly in the world of this piece and being able to affect it with your hand alone dissolves the barrier between the physical and the digital. To further blur the line, a heart rate sensor and vibration motors are attached to the user’s other hand and are controlled by an Arduino microcontroller. This takes aspects of the digital world and makes them physical. Not only is the user placed in the digital world, but aspects of the digital world are brought into the physical. This melding of two worlds immerses the user and makes their actions feel real and consequential.

Aesthetically, this piece evokes simplicity and childlike cuteness. The environment, clouds, rain, and ground are simple and resemble a child’s artwork. The creatures themselves are small, cute and walk around aimlessly, behaving like clueless children. They are simple blobs with feet and stubby arms, and clearly unable to protect themselves from the rain so they need the user’s help. They have cute, high-pitched voices which further evoke the idea that they are weak and need help. The childlike nature of the creatures and environment evoke the idea of the relationship between parent and child, where the user is the metaphorical parent to the creatures in this scenario. The aesthetics affect the way the user interacts with and feels about the piece.