Student Highlight: Mónica Mendes – RTiVISS Real-Time Video Interactive Systems for Sustainability

1 Sep 2010

RTiVISS comprises a strong dimension on social and natural sciences combined with new media.

Mónica Mendes is a digital media PhD student researching the implementation of real-time video for sustainability and artistic experimentation. Her master's degree is in multimedia educational communication/communication design. She is a multimedia arts educator in the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Lisbon, and she teaches interface design for mobile devices. She developed projects as a designer, and she is also founder of the hackerspace altLab and a CIEAM multimedia research center member.

An activist facet sparks due to the potential in contributing to forest preservation for a more sustainable world through critical research and experimental artistic approaches. Living in a country extremely exposed to forest fires makes the Portuguese very sensitive to an issue which also applies globally. Despite previous measures, an attitude toward prevention seemed pertinent and urgent. Her work addresses the following questions:

• How can we propose constructive approaches to the destructive dynamics of fire that aggravate climate change?
• Can art foster awareness and respect for nature?

Combining physical and virtual worlds, Real-Time Video Interactive Systems for Sustainability (RTiVISS) offers participants a way to remotely monitor natural environments for forest protection. This exploratory research project proposes experimental design methods at the intersection of art and technology. Professors Nuno Correia from Sciences and Technology and Sílvia Chicó from Fine Arts acted as thesis advisors. Collaboratively developed by artists, activists and technologists, these new systems strengthen environmental awareness through “the emotion of real-time”and enable artistic explorations with digital media in interactive experiences, engaging the senses in unconventional ways.

RTiVISS’ outcomes include:

• an online platform displaying open real-time forests videos and correspondent artistic exploration
• interactive installations for public exhibition with real-time video of the forests as raw material.

She is now focused on the design and technology of specific RTiVISS instances, such as the interactive installations “Play with Fire” and “Hug@ree." The collaboration of members of AZ labs developed the interactive installation, “B-wind!” O Espaço do Tempo, the transdisciplinary arts centre, recently exhibited it. Previously, “Treeellucinations” premiered RTiVISS at the Future Places exhibition in 2009. The international conference on digital arts recently distinguished her overall research proposal as the best Portuguese paper at “Artech.” ACM Multimedia also selected it for presentation this year. RTiVISS comprises a strong dimension on social and natural sciences combined with new media with a challenging technological component – for the design of a better world.