DeepDream Vision Quest, science fiction cave painting with machine learning
My Role
Creator & Developer
Product Type
Art Installation
DeepDream Vision Quest was an interactive generative AI art installation exhibited at festivals, galleries, and events from 2016–2019. After debuting at The Game Developers Conference, I became interested by how easily participants ascribed intention to the technology. Through a mix of outreach and word-of-mouth, it reached the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts, the California Academy of Sciences, the Stanford Linear Accelerator, and other notable art and technology events.
The challenge was turning DeepDream from a slow generative process into a magic mirror people could step in front of and instantly grasp.
Partners
Lifecycle
Exhibition Period 2016–2019
Key Skills & Tools
In-house Game Tooling, Front-end Scripting, Photoshop, Illustrator, Prototyping
Credits
Creator & Developer Gary Boodhoo
DeepDream Vision Quest, science fiction cave painting with machine learning
My Role
Creator & Developer
Product Type
Art Installation
DeepDream Vision Quest was an interactive generative AI art installation exhibited at festivals, galleries, and events from 2016–2019. After debuting at The Game Developers Conference, I became interested by how easily participants ascribed intention to the technology. Through a mix of outreach and word-of-mouth, it reached the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts, the California Academy of Sciences, the Stanford Linear Accelerator, and other notable art and technology events.
The challenge was turning DeepDream from a slow generative process into a magic mirror people could step in front of and instantly grasp.
Partners
Lifecycle
Exhibition Period 2016–2019
Key Skills & Tools
In-house Game Tooling, Front-end Scripting, Photoshop, Illustrator, Prototyping
Credits
Creator & Developer Gary Boodhoo
DeepDream Vision Quest, science fiction cave painting with machine learning
My Role
Creator & Developer
Product Type
Art Installation
DeepDream Vision Quest was an interactive generative AI art installation exhibited at festivals, galleries, and events from 2016–2019. After debuting at The Game Developers Conference, I became interested by how easily participants ascribed intention to the technology. Through a mix of outreach and word-of-mouth, it reached the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts, the California Academy of Sciences, the Stanford Linear Accelerator, and other notable art and technology events.
The challenge was turning DeepDream from a slow generative process into a magic mirror people could step in front of and instantly grasp.
Partners
Lifecycle
Exhibition Period 2016–2019
Key Skills & Tools
In-house Game Tooling, Front-end Scripting, Photoshop, Illustrator, Prototyping
Credits
Creator & Developer Gary Boodhoo
DeepDream Vision Quest, science fiction cave painting with machine learning
My Role
Creator & Developer
Product Type
Art Installation
DeepDream Vision Quest was an interactive generative AI art installation exhibited at festivals, galleries, and events from 2016–2019. After debuting at The Game Developers Conference, I became interested by how easily participants ascribed intention to the technology. Through a mix of outreach and word-of-mouth, it reached the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts, the California Academy of Sciences, the Stanford Linear Accelerator, and other notable art and technology events.
The challenge was turning DeepDream from a slow generative process into a magic mirror people could step in front of and instantly grasp.
Partners
Lifecycle
Exhibition Period 2016–2019
Key Skills & Tools
In-house Game Tooling, Front-end Scripting, Photoshop, Illustrator, Prototyping
Credits
Creator & Developer Gary Boodhoo
Process
Contemporary mechanical hallucinations
Process
Contemporary mechanical hallucinations
Process
Contemporary mechanical hallucinations
Process
Contemporary mechanical hallucinations
From the start there was a mismatch. Live video runs at 30 frames per second, while DeepDream hallucinations emerge slowly. A completed image might take 20 seconds to fully resolve, so I didn't wait for them to do so. It was more important to watch the dream emerge in real time than to see it perfectly sharp right away.
From the start there was a mismatch. Live video runs at 30 frames per second, while DeepDream hallucinations emerge slowly. A completed image might take 20 seconds to fully resolve, so I didn't wait for them to do so. It was more important to watch the dream emerge in real time than to see it perfectly sharp right away.
From the start there was a mismatch. Live video runs at 30 frames per second, while DeepDream hallucinations emerge slowly. A completed image might take 20 seconds to fully resolve, so I didn't wait for them to do so. It was more important to watch the dream emerge in real time than to see it perfectly sharp right away.
From the start there was a mismatch. Live video runs at 30 frames per second, while DeepDream hallucinations emerge slowly. A completed image might take 20 seconds to fully resolve, so I didn't wait for them to do so. It was more important to watch the dream emerge in real time than to see it perfectly sharp right away.
Multi-scale image processing with DeepDream
DeepDream operates in successive stages, each yielding a sharper, higher-resolution output. Showing intermediate steps kept the system visually responsive.
Reference image Stackademic via Medium
Multi-scale image processing with DeepDream
DeepDream operates in successive stages, each yielding a sharper, higher-resolution output. Showing intermediate steps kept the system visually responsive.
Reference image Stackademic via Medium
Multi-scale image processing with DeepDream
DeepDream operates in successive stages, each yielding a sharper, higher-resolution output. Showing intermediate steps kept the system visually responsive.
Reference image Stackademic via Medium
Multi-scale image processing with DeepDream
DeepDream operates in successive stages, each yielding a sharper, higher-resolution output. Showing intermediate steps kept the system visually responsive.
Reference image Stackademic via Medium
A game of hide-and-seek
Stillness triggers dreaming, motion returns to live video. Refreshing the screen with partial dream updates kept the interaction feeling responsive.
Runtime Video Development
A game of hide-and-seek
Stillness triggers dreaming, motion returns to live video. Refreshing the screen with partial dream updates kept the interaction feeling responsive.
Runtime Video Development
A game of hide-and-seek
Stillness triggers dreaming, motion returns to live video. Refreshing the screen with partial dream updates kept the interaction feeling responsive.
Runtime Video Development
A game of hide-and-seek
Stillness triggers dreaming, motion returns to live video. Refreshing the screen with partial dream updates kept the interaction feeling responsive.
Runtime Video Development
Hardware
The physical pipeline
Hardware
The physical pipeline
Hardware
The physical pipeline
Hardware
The physical pipeline
For every exhibition, my hardware rig was disassembled, transported, and reassembled onsite. Then broken down, packed, and stored again. Interesting how this physical pipeline mirrored the image generation pipeline. Over time, my logistics became rigorously simple, with labeled components tracked at every stage, including:For every exhibition, my hardware rig was disassembled, transported, and reassembled onsite. Then broken down, packed, and stored again. Interesting how this physical pipeline mirrored the image generation pipeline. Over time, my logistics became rigorously simple, with labeled components tracked at every stage, including:
Small form factor Core i7 workstation 16GB
NVIDIA Titan X (Pascal) GPU
30" 4K monitor
Logitech C920 webcam (2)
65" HDTV
Mobile flat panel AV cart
Mobile computer cart
TV backlighting
USB control keypad
C-stands and mounts
Mobile computer cart
Venue-specific lighting
Cabling
Power adaptors and strips
DeepDream Vision Quest installation rig
Photograph Gary Boodhoo
DeepDream Vision Quest installation rig
Photograph Gary Boodhoo
DeepDream Vision Quest installation rig
Photograph Gary Boodhoo
DeepDream Vision Quest installation rig
Photograph Gary Boodhoo
Software
Hide and seek
Software
Hide and seek
Software
Hide and seek
Software
Hide and seek
As I mentioned, the system dreamed only when the video feed was nearly still. I counted differences between frames and when this value fell below a threshold, the system began hallucinating. When motion picked up again, the live feed smoothly faded back in. The experience was a game of hide-and-seek. Transitioning smoothly between the live and dreaming states became the key driver of my development efforts.
As I mentioned, the system dreamed only when the video feed was nearly still. I counted differences between frames and when this value fell below a threshold, the system began hallucinating. When motion picked up again, the live feed smoothly faded back in. The experience was a game of hide-and-seek. Transitioning smoothly between the live and dreaming states became the key driver of my development efforts.
As I mentioned, the system dreamed only when the video feed was nearly still. I counted differences between frames and when this value fell below a threshold, the system began hallucinating. When motion picked up again, the live feed smoothly faded back in. The experience was a game of hide-and-seek. Transitioning smoothly between the live and dreaming states became the key driver of my development efforts.
As I mentioned, the system dreamed only when the video feed was nearly still. I counted differences between frames and when this value fell below a threshold, the system began hallucinating. When motion picked up again, the live feed smoothly faded back in. The experience was a game of hide-and-seek. Transitioning smoothly between the live and dreaming states became the key driver of my development efforts.
Motion detection monitor screen
This debug view visualized the motion-detection frame buffer and became an audience-friendly “how it works” display that sparked conversations.
Runtime Video Live Event
Motion detection monitor screen
This debug view visualized the motion-detection frame buffer and became an audience-friendly “how it works” display that sparked conversations.
Runtime Video Live Event
Motion detection monitor screen
This debug view visualized the motion-detection frame buffer and became an audience-friendly “how it works” display that sparked conversations.
Runtime Video Live Event
Motion detection monitor screen
This debug view visualized the motion-detection frame buffer and became an audience-friendly “how it works” display that sparked conversations.
Runtime Video Live Event
Motion detection telemetry for tuning
I logged frame difference pixel counts over time in Python and plotted them to see how parameter changes affected motion classification. This made tuning measurable, optimizing for responsive switching without false triggers.
Data Visualization Gary Boodhoo, Skinjester Studio
Motion detection telemetry for tuning
I logged frame difference pixel counts over time in Python and plotted them to see how parameter changes affected motion classification. This made tuning measurable, optimizing for responsive switching without false triggers.
Data Visualization Gary Boodhoo, Skinjester Studio
Motion detection telemetry for tuning
I logged frame difference pixel counts over time in Python and plotted them to see how parameter changes affected motion classification. This made tuning measurable, optimizing for responsive switching without false triggers.
Data Visualization Gary Boodhoo, Skinjester Studio
Motion detection telemetry for tuning
I logged frame difference pixel counts over time in Python and plotted them to see how parameter changes affected motion classification. This made tuning measurable, optimizing for responsive switching without false triggers.
Data Visualization Gary Boodhoo, Skinjester Studio
Events
Exhibition history
Events
Exhibition history
Events
Exhibition history
Events
Exhibition history
2019
Beyond Human Nightlife Event, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA, August 23
2018
The 5th Last Festival, Stanford Linear Accelerator, Stanford, CA, April 26–29
If So, What? (ISW) Festival, Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA, April 26–29
Lost Chord Awards for the Ritual, Sacred and Folk Arts, Qal’bu Maryam Women’s Mosque, Berkeley, CA, June 2
CODAME Art + Tech Festival, The Midway, San Francisco, CA, June 6–7
Noise Floor 2, Red Victorian, San Francisco, CA, August 25
2017
The 4th Last Festival, Hammer Theater, San Jose, CA, April 7–8
living.room, Soma Grand, San Francisco, CA, October 7
Noise Floor 1, The East Cut, San Francisco, CA, December 9
2016
CODAME Art + Tech Festival, Hotel Zetta, San Francisco, CA, November 11
Living Room, Soma Grand, San Francisco
Runtime Video Live Event
Living Room, Soma Grand, San Francisco
Runtime Video Live Event
Living Room, Soma Grand, San Francisco
Runtime Video Live Event
Living Room, Soma Grand, San Francisco
Runtime Video Live Event
CODAME Art + Tech Festival, Hotel Zetta, San Francisco
Runtime Video Live Event
CODAME Art + Tech Festival, Hotel Zetta, San Francisco
Runtime Video Live Event
CODAME Art + Tech Festival, Hotel Zetta, San Francisco
Runtime Video Live Event
CODAME Art + Tech Festival, Hotel Zetta, San Francisco
Runtime Video Live Event
DeepDream Vision Quest projected into a domestic interior, turning an everyday kitchen into an immersive, responsive visual environment.
Runtime Video Development
DeepDream Vision Quest projected into a domestic interior, turning an everyday kitchen into an immersive, responsive visual environment.
Runtime Video Development
DeepDream Vision Quest projected into a domestic interior, turning an everyday kitchen into an immersive, responsive visual environment.
Runtime Video Development
DeepDream Vision Quest projected into a domestic interior, turning an everyday kitchen into an immersive, responsive visual environment.
Runtime Video Development
Noise Floor, The East Cut, San Francisco
Runtime Video Live Event
Noise Floor, The East Cut, San Francisco
Runtime Video Live Event
Noise Floor, The East Cut, San Francisco
Runtime Video Live Event
Noise Floor, The East Cut, San Francisco
Runtime Video Live Event
CODAME Art + Tech Festival, The Midway, San Francisco
Photograph Gary Boodhoo
CODAME Art + Tech Festival, The Midway, San Francisco
Photograph Gary Boodhoo
CODAME Art + Tech Festival, The Midway, San Francisco
Photograph Gary Boodhoo
CODAME Art + Tech Festival, The Midway, San Francisco
Photograph Gary Boodhoo
Beyond Human Nightlife Event, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco
Photograph Gary Boodhoo
Beyond Human Nightlife Event, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco
Photograph Gary Boodhoo
Beyond Human Nightlife Event, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco
Photograph Gary Boodhoo
Beyond Human Nightlife Event, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco
Photograph Gary Boodhoo
Outcome
This project’s success opened doors to new professional opportunities, including a profitable creative AI workshop series and invitations to speak on prominent stages.
Partners
Lifecycle
Exhibition Period 2017–2019
Key Skills & Tools
In-house Game Tooling, Front-end Scripting, Photoshop, Illustrator, Prototyping
In-house Game Tooling, Front-end Scripting, Photoshop, Illustrator, Prototyping
In-house Game Tooling, Front-end Scripting, Photoshop, Illustrator, Prototyping
Credits
Creator & Developer Gary Boodhoo
Creator & Developer Gary Boodhoo
Creator & Developer Gary Boodhoo
