Caring Cat is an interactive floor projection to give a sense of security to those affected by catcalling.
A dumb comment, a snide remark or a whistle. All this can be catcalling. These verbal assaults happen every day and usually go unseen. Often the assault is over in seconds. Without bystanders noticing. For those affected, a feeling of insecurity remains. We want to change that.
Our system recognises the users as long as they are in the field of vision of our cameras. To tell them this, we project white circles under the persons. These follow the user like a shadow; if they move, the projection moves with them. Caring Cat reacts to gestures. If a person is in danger or in an unwanted situation, they can address our system with a “help” gesture. Users perform this by extending one or two arms, like a stop sign. This also automatically keeps them at a distance from the offender and signals to them that they find the situation unpleasant. The circles are then replaced by a purple circle animation pulsating in all directions. These animations are intended to alert bystanders to the distress situation and urge them to come to the victim’s aid. If the interaction between offender and victim has been interrupted, the victim can perform an “end” gesture to reset the projection. The users perform this by forming both arms into a circle above their head.
| University | Hochschule Darmstadt, University of Applied Sciences |
| Type of project | Semester project in Interactive Media Design |
| Makers | Marina Hardt-Mitidieri, Veronika Haidarow, Alexander Korolkov, Marie-Lou Weymann |