Remote Furniture
Computer Controlled Chairs – Interactive Installation in Public Space

2004

Noriyuki Fujimura (JP)

In these parts, rocking chairs are associated with comfortableness, gemütlichkeit and rest. But what happens when the chairs become independent? The rocking chairs in the SKY Media Loft are interlinked to each other as well as to the people who occupy them!

The idea behind “Remote Furniture” is to bring about unexpected interpersonal encounters in public spaces. Noriyuki Fujimura confronted the problem of how to utilize interactive art and digital interfaces as a means to get pedestrians passing through public spaces to establish contact with one another.

He outfitted each of two rocking chairs with a sensor and a motor and interlinked them via computer. When someone rocks in one of the chairs, the sensor reads the angle of inclination and transmits the data to the other chair, which then begins to rock in coordination with the first one.

In Japan, “Remote Furniture” was installed in various public spaces like subway stations and shopping centers. They induced curiosity on the part of passers-by, who ultimately sat down and began to rock and play. When they realized that there was interaction between the chairs, they began to communicate with one another. Conventional communication was made easier because the chairs enabled people to encounter each other in a familiar situation.

A version of “Remote Furniture” created in 2000 received a Global Winner award in an international art competition sponsored by the Deutsche Bank AG.

Deutsche Bank Collection