an interactive AI dance installation
made in Unity, using the Microsoft Kinect and Rokoko Smartsuit
at Expressive Machinery Lab @ Georgia Tech
2018 – present

LuminAI is an interactive art installation in which participants can engage in collaborative movement improvisation with an artificially intelligent virtual dance partner. The line between human and non-human is blurred, spurring participants to examine their relationship with AI-based technology and how it can be expressive, social, and playful.

The LuminAI installation ultimately examines how humans and machines can co-create experiences together as equals. By observing users and dancers with the Azure Kinect and Motion Capture, participants are able to creatively explore movement while having fun. LuminAI’s virtual agent analyzes participant movements through procedural representations of the Viewpoints & Laban movement theories (from theater and dance) and improvises responses from transformed memories of past interactions with people. In other words, the agent learns how to dance by dancing with us.

LuminAI was recently showcased at Kennesaw State University’s dance performance : “LuminAI” in May 2024.

Publications:

2024. Chengzhi Zhang, Chelsi Cocking, Milka Trajkova, Zoe Mock, Gemma Tate, Cassandra Naomi Monden, and Brian Magerko. Fostering AI Literacy with LuminAI through Embodiment and Creativity in Informal Learning Spaces. In Creativity and Cognition (C&C 2024).

2023. Milka Trajkova, Manoj Deshpande, Andrea Knowlton, Cassandra Monden, Duri Long, and Brian Magerko. “AI Meets Holographic Pepper’s Ghost: A Co-Creative Public Dance Experience.” In Companion Publication of the 2023 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS 2023)

2020. Duri Long, Lucas Liu, Swar Gujrania, Cassandra Naomi, and Brian Magerko. “Visualizing Improvisation in LuminAI, an AI Partner for Co-Creative Dance.” In Proceedings of the 2020 ACM Conference on Movement and Computing (MOCO).