seidesein is an interactive environment, which explores communication in virtual 3D space.
Two users are embedded into virtual space each via an "avatar", which is a virtual veil-like mirror, i.e. a mirror which feels like a silky veil floating in a water-like substance. The veil-like mirror of each user is controlled via an input device called gametrak of the company In2Games.
This works in the following way:
The position of the two hands of a user can be tracked via the gametrak by means of two straps which are pulled out of the gametrak-box. The physical resistance which is experienced when pulling the straps feels like lifting something. This "lifting" corresponds to the virtual lifting of the veil-like mirror in virtual space. A movement of the two hands of a user corresponds thus to a movement of the upper two corners of his/her virtual veil, which is subject to a virtual gravitational force, or - in other words - such a movement changes the position and shape of the virtual veil, just as if you would move around a real veil (in a substance) by holding it at two corners.
The videoimage of the users is read in via two webcams (one for each user) and streamed onto their corresponding veils in such a way that each video image is distorted according to the movement of the corresponding veil (the distortion is similar to the distortion of one's mirror image on a nonplanar mirror). Hence each user sees oneself and the other on a "fluid mirror" in virtual space.
Colours and specular highlights emphazise the associations of silk and water, however we didnt intend to model real water.
seidesein is - amongst others - a study on the concept of (nonhaptic) "touch" in virtual environments. Two users can dance together in virtual space and "touch" each other by their movements and glances.

-> see seidesein teaser.

seidesein was to be experienced on a home computer as well as in bigger setups like a virtual reality theatre. This was due to the platform independency of the underlying software called jReality.jreality is an opensource project.
seidesein worked in principle also via a network, in particular via the internet. The quality of seideseins remote dance depends on the quality of the transmission of the videosignal only. The veil performance is computed locally on the respective home computer.