The Object
A standard paint respirator mask, modified into a functional wearable device. Built for an art exhibition at the Arvada Center in Arvada, Colorado, during the COVID pandemic.
How It Worked
Proximity sensors mounted on the front of the mask were calibrated to a six-foot threshold. The public health distance recommendation of the moment. The sensors fed a small motorized squirt-gun mechanism. Stay six feet back: nothing happens. Get closer: the squirt-gun activates and sprays the offender, like spraying a cat off a counter. At the same moment, a bright LED on the front of the mask flashes. A visual rebuke synchronized with the water.
The whole thing functions like a theremin tuned to social distance. Approach is the input. Spray is the output.
The Voice Mod
Wearing the mask, I tried to talk to a hard-of-hearing older gentleman through the muffled fabric and couldn't be understood. So I added a microphone embedded inside the mask and a small speaker on the outside, with a voice changer in the signal path. Now the mask amplified and modulated whatever I said, audible at the distance the proximity sensors were enforcing.
The Premise
A wearable training device. Positive and negative reinforcement, applied to a species. Humans. That struggled with the abstract six-foot rule. The mask is half PPE, half pet trainer. The voice changer is a little extra: communication preserved, social warmth slightly distorted, novelty included.
Status
Built. Exhibited at the Arvada Center.