AUTOMATA STREETCAR

An Interactive Digital Media Art Project

- Now Available -

Automata Streetcar

Automata Streetcar is an interactive, digital-media art project that uses historic streetcars as a metaphor to explore ideas about connection, communication, and community. The project is inspired by the four historic streetcar systems that once operated in British Columba - in Victoria, Vancouver, North Vancouver, and in particular the small, remote mountain community of Nelson.

As mechanical devices, streetcars may be interpreted as a type of automata: self-guided, interactive mechanisms that respond to a sequence of predetermined instructions. They follow a fixed track through city streets, stopping to collect passengers at predetermined locations, operating within a sequential yet highly interactive environment.

An Interactive Digital-Media Art Project

The project will recreate a section of Nelson's historic downtown, as it appeared 100 years ago when streetcars operated there. Buildings, roadways, and streetscape elements will be presented as an interactive digital model, while the streetcar itself will be developed as an interactive, physical installation. Exhibit visitors will be able to explore the community using a combination of digital and physical controls, which will in turn effect the project's digital and physical realms.