Humphrey’s Balloon AR Experience
Art Academy of Cincinnati: SITE1212
Exhibition Dates: September 27, 2024 – November 1, 2024
Exhibition Dates: September 27, 2024 – November 1, 2024
Project Overview
I collaborated with artist Michael Coppage to develop an augmented reality (AR) experience as part of the Humphrey Gets His Flowers exhibition. This immersive project reimagines Humphrey Humpkick, a character from Coppage’s performance collective, Mute-N-Heard, exploring themes of perception, vulnerability, and social commentary. The AR component plays on the idea of a child interacting with Humphrey as a toy, eventually triggering an unexpected emotional shift.
The experience was built using WebXR technologies and featured an interactive, physics-based animation system, complemented by spatial audio to enhance immersion.
Technical Development
Developing this AR experience posed several challenges, particularly in optimizing for WebXR. After evaluating various XR packages, I selected Zapworks AR SDK for Unity, which provided the flexibility needed for deployment. However, the SDK presented several technical constraints that required creative problem-solving.
Character & Asset Optimization
To ensure smooth real-time performance in WebXR:
• A pre-made child character was sourced from Reallusion’s suite and optimized by reducing polygon count and texture resolution (baked into a single 512px material).
• Due to WebXR limitations, blendshapes for facial expressions were minimized, prioritizing essential expressions to maintain performance efficiency.
Balloon Animation & Interaction Logic
The central interaction involved a child inflating a balloon featuring Humphrey’s face until it bursts. The initial plan included physics-based string animation, but real-time constraints led to a pre-animated looping motion for the balloon with a static mesh for the string.
Key interactive elements included:
• A start button to initiate the experience.
• A pump button that, when repeatedly pressed, inflates the balloon.
• Dynamic character reactions:
• The child smiles while pumping.
• Upon reaching max inflation, the balloon bursts, triggering a crying animation.
• The experience ends with a ‘Game Over’ audio cue.
🔊 Audio Implementation
Michael Coppage provided a looping musical score to reinforce the emotional tone. Additional sound effects included:
• A balloon pumping sequence.
• A balloon pop synchronized with particle effects.
• A crying child post-explosion.
Deployment & Exhibition Integration
The AR experience was accessible via a custom QR code, enabling users to launch it instantly on mobile devices. The experience utilized World Tracking, allowing it to anchor naturally to any ground plane within the exhibition space.
Challenges Overcome:
Debugging Zapworks SDK limitations, requiring multiple iterations for stable performance.Adjusting the balloon inflation mechanics to maintain realism while ensuring seamless interaction.
Final Outcome
Despite WebXR constraints, the final AR experience successfully captured the emotional and conceptual depth envisioned by Coppage. By blending archival themes with interactive technology, this project demonstrated how AR can expand traditional art installations into immersive storytelling.
