The Ambient Sole: A Digital Engagement Project

Jessica Handloff, Geoffrey Luurs, and Sarah Beth Evans

doi:10.20415/hyp/013.s01

Hyperrhiz 13

The Ambient Sole: A Digital Engagement Project

Jessica Handloff
North Carolina State University

Geoffrey Luurs
North Carolina State University

Sarah Beth Evans
North Carolina State University

Citation: Handloff, Jessica, Geoffrey Luurs and Sarah Beth Evans. “The Ambient Sole: A Digital Engagement Project.” Hyperrhiz: New Media Cultures, no. 13, 2015. doi:10.20415/hyp/013.s01

Abstract: "The Ambient Sole" is a digital project that invites users to engage with the world that surrounds them. As human lives become busier and busier, the simple mechanical processes of our ambient environment fade into the subconscious only to be recalled during a disrupting or uncanny experience. "The Ambient Sole" seeks to cause these disruptions by adding sound to the footstep, taking away its quotidian properties and calling one's surroundings into the forefront of consciousness. As users step onto this mat, they are entering into a rhetoric of spaces where they are allowed to shape their environment just as much as their environment shapes them. Using this simple kit, users will be able to create a nondescript floor mat that is programmable with up to 12 MP3s to create unique and fun experiences for all who walk past.