Tele Echo Tube: Beyond Cultural and Imaginable Boundaries

Abstract

Tele Echo Tube (TET) is a speaking tube installation that acoustically interacts with a deep mountain echo through the slightly vibrating lampshade like interface. TET allows users to interact with the mountain echo living at 1,200 meter elevation in The University of Tokyo Forests (35°94-N,138°80-E) in real time through an augmented echo sounding experience with the vibration over a satellite data network through the position of Von Uexkull's "Umwelt". This novel interactive system can create an imaginable presence of the mythological creature in the undeveloped natural locations beyond our cultural and imaginable boundaries. In doing so, TET discovers the cultural cognitive processes of our imagination mechanism. Such a discovery would help us design an interactive system that leverages the boundary of the real and virtual worlds by engaging a culturally cognition to perform a nonhuman-centric interaction with a culturally imaginable creature.