Richard The's Playground Parasites, 2007

Designer Richard The's 'playful parasites' are digital extensions to existing playgrounds, targeted to tech-savvy 'tweens. Here's what he says:

"Everybody knows how to use the “interfaces” for example a swing, a seasaw or a slide. On the other hand the actual time spent with these playground props, even by kids, usually does not last very long, their functionality does not bear a lot to discover, once the sensomotoric sensation has been experienced. Also a playground in urban space is not used by night time, and usually they are not even illuminated. The only audience which might attend a playground at night are so called gap-kids (age 10-17, too old for playgrounds but too young for anything else.).The system is designed to occupy an existing playground and its props, and to create a new, temporary identity for this heterotopical space in the city [with]...the possibility of a multi-user interaction with different input devices."

Basically, bluetooth equipped devices clip onto a swing, slide, or spring playground element, and recognize the presence and position of the user.

They would allow, for example, the creation of a musical playground in which "Each augmented playground device is connected to a specific track of a song. Each device can be played like a musical instrument, and each interaction would be different. Whenever there are more than two persons playing, the sound itself develops. New sounds appear, which are not controlled by the persons, or the sounds change during the time of playing together."

Or by using a DMX light source, the movement of swings and rockers can be translated into roving spots of light: "Once a person swings higher the light still moves according to the swing but swings much further, and eventually even crosses the borders of the playground space and moves around on the street. Additional interactions with the other equipped devices could be possible, for example a rocking device could control the second axis of the light spot’s movement. So together one would would control a light spot moving around on the playground and its surrounding environment."

In urban areas, with surrounding blank walls, this could lead to the projection of windows for shadow play: "Each playground device controls one window, and triggers other actions in the windows next to it, which cannot be controlled by the players.The different players on the playground can create micro-narratives happening in this Trompe-l’œil facade."

Fascinating concepts that currently exist only in prototype form.