Concept
FanRows investigates interaction as a problem of regulation rather than control.
Most digital systems are structured around discrete operations:
- an input is detected,
- a command is executed,
- an output is produced.
This model assumes that interaction consists of separable events.
FanRows explores a different assumption: interaction as continuous state modulation within a feedback system.
From Operations to State Spaces
Instead of treating interaction as a sequence of actions,
FanRows models it as navigation within a continuous state space.
The system does not execute commands.
It evolves conditions over time.
Bodily dynamics do not trigger events.
They continuously reshape parameters within a bounded regulatory field.
Interaction becomes the gradual reconfiguration of system states.
Continuous Regulation
Regulation differs from control.
Control implies discrete intervention.
Regulation implies ongoing adjustment within constraints.
In FanRows, change accumulates over time.
Transitions emerge from persistence, stability, and spatial configuration rather than isolated gestures.
This makes it possible to observe:
- gradual stabilization
- drift and reorganization
- threshold sensitivity
- non-linear state transitions
The emphasis lies on continuity rather than interruption.
Closed-Loop Dynamics
FanRows is structured as a cybernetic feedback loop:
- movement influences sound
- sound reshapes perception
- perception alters movement
The user is not positioned outside the system but becomes structurally coupled to it. The loop is not goal-oriented and does not optimize for task completion. Instead, it provides a minimal environment for examining how systems stabilize, destabilize, and reorganize under sustained embodied interaction.
State-Based Organization
Interaction unfolds within bounded regulatory state spaces rather than scripted sequences. Each scene defines a coherent set of parameters that shapes a specific interaction context. When spatial configurations remain stable over time, the system gradually transitions into a new state. These changes do not follow a timeline but emerge from sustained conditions, allowing contextual shifts without predefined sequencing.
Investigative Orientation
FanRows is conceived as an experimental framework. It creates structured conditions for examining:
- continuous vs event-based interaction models
- embodied regulation within feedback systems
- perceptual adaptation over time
- threshold sensitivity in state-based systems
- non-symbolic interaction dynamics
The framework does not propose a finished theory. It offers a controlled environment for investigating embodied state dynamics in real time.
Conceptual and Technical Context
FanRows is informed by theoretical and technical developments in cybernetics, embodied cognition, and interactive media systems.
Conceptual Influences
- Norbert Wiener – Cybernetics and feedback systems
- Heinz von Foerster – Second-order cybernetics
- Francisco Varela – Enactive cognition and structural coupling
- Humberto Maturana – Autopoiesis
- Research in embodied cognition and human–computer interaction
Technical Foundations
- Real-time browser-based audio systems (Web Audio API, Tone.js)
- Webcam-based pose estimation (MediaPipe Holistic - Google Research)
- Continuous feature extraction and parameter mapping
- Scene-based configuration architectures
These references provide orientation and conceptual grounding. FanRows functions as an applied experimental framework rather than an implementation of any single theory.
FanRows — Continuous Embodied Audio Interaction