Dans le blanc des yeux: telepresence binoculars for urban intimacy
A capstone project that reimagined coin-operated binoculars as a city-scale telepresence instrument. What looked like a distant-view machine became a live, face-to-face encounter between strangers in different parts of Montreal.
dans le blanc des yeux
The Premise
The project started from a contradiction: public spaces are full of people, yet many social encounters still feel distant. We wanted telepresence as a physical ritual, something that sparks curiosity from afar, then shifts into intimacy up close.
We designed two devices inspired by coin-operated lookout binoculars. Instead of optical lenses, each unit held a screen and sensors. In exploratory mode, one user could physically move their binoculars and control the remote unit elsewhere. Once a second person stepped onto the remote pressure plate, both units locked movement and transitioned into a private one-to-one mode focused on eye-level exchange.
The planned long-term vision was city deployment in contrasted social contexts: nightlife vs quiet neighborhoods, leisure zones vs study zones, and scenic outlooks vs everyday streets.
prototype closeup
Concept Development
Before committing to a build we rendered the device into real streets to test whether it read as public infrastructure. A viewfinder people already recognize invites use without a sign explaining it, so the silhouette mattered more than the finish.
Two enclosure directions came out of that. The first exposed the rotation column and its slip-ring stack, making the mechanism part of the object. The second wrapped the column in a fabric skirt, hiding the hardware and reading softer at street level. The exposed column is what we built.
exposed column
fabric skirt
Interaction Logic
Mode 1: Remote Exploration
- User A approaches Unit 1 and starts moving it using the handles.
- Unit 1 sends orientation + pressure state to Unit 2 over OSC, and Unit 2 mirrors the motion.
- User A sees the remote location feed, while local speech can attract people near Unit 2 through outward-facing audio.
Mode 2: Eye-to-Eye Connection
- User B steps onto Unit 2 pressure plate.
- Movement is disabled to stabilize the encounter on both ends.
- The system switches camera/audio routing so both users enter a quiet, intimate two-way exchange inside the viewfinder.
Team
Alexander Terziyski
Server coding for video/audio feed
Lucien Cusson-Fradet
Physical design, electronics, floating build support
Maxime-Alexandre Gosselin
Physical design, electronics, floating build support
Michael Hemingway
Industrial design, fabrication, floating build support
Shayne Larocque
Programming, electronics wiring/setup, 3D printing support
Thomas Rompré
Server coding for video/audio feed
User Journey
I mapped the experience as an emotional arc rather than a feature list, because the whole project rests on a single transition: the moment a curious stranger stops looking at a place and starts looking at a person. Charting that told us where the hardware had to disappear and where it had to announce itself.
The arc runs from confusion at first sight through curiosity, surprise, engagement, and a deliberate exit. Splitting it into two mode-specific journeys exposed the handoff problem in the middle, which is the hardest part of the interaction to get right and the one we kept returning to in the build.
the full arc
watching mode
one-on-one mode
Mechanical Design
Each unit had to pan and tilt under motor control, carry a screen, two cameras, speakers, and a Pi 5, and survive being shoved around by strangers. The team worked the assembly out in CAD before cutting anything, which is what let us find the packaging conflicts on screen instead of at the bandsaw.
Continuous rotation drove the hardest decision. A cable running up a spinning column twists and eventually tears, so the column carries a slip-ring stack that passes power and signal across the joint while the head turns without limit.
Team artifact. The mechanical modelling was led by teammates credited above for industrial design and fabrication; my work on this side was electronics integration, wiring, and 3D-printing support.
full assembly
front orthographic
wireframe through the shell
packaging study
gimbal detail
Electronics
The circuit splits across two Arduinos. One reads the pressure plate and the IMU; the other drives the steppers. An enable signal runs the length of the assembly between them, and the upper board relays state to the Pi over serial, which is what turns a footstep on a plate into a mode change on both devices.
Twelve volts feeds the steppers directly and drops through two regulators before it reaches the Pi and the screen, with a separate amplifier stage for the speaker. Splitting the rails that way keeps stepper current off the logic supply, which is what stops a motor kick from resetting the Pi mid-stream.
Team artifact. The circuit was designed collectively and I took part in that work; a teammate drew the schematic sheet.
pressure / kinetic system
System Architecture
The software stack was built around mode switching and resilient synchronization. We used Raspberry Pi 5 units with 5G connectivity, Python services for orchestration, Arduino for motor/sensor control, and UDP-based media pipelines for low-latency exchange.
Runtime stack
- Python controller process coordinating subsystems on each Pi.
- OSC over UDP for orientation, pressure, heartbeat, and connection state.
- GStreamer pipelines for bidirectional video and audio with persistent pipeline switching.
- Serial bridge between Pi and Arduino for motor + pressure control.
Hardware integration
- Pi 5 + 5G hat + SIM card per unit for mobile deployment.
- Internal IR camera for eye-level view, external camera for environment view.
- Two audio channels: outward attractor + inward intimate playback.
- Pressure plates around the pedestal to disable motor motion and enter private mode.
visual mode testing
Prototyping Journey
Concept Framing
Early Fall 2024We framed the project around post-pandemic social disconnection and asked how telepresence could create a meaningful encounter in public space rather than a plain livestream.
Mechanical + Electronic Prototyping
Mid Fall 2024We built two coin-operated-style binocular shells with motors, pressure plates, cameras, microphones, speakers, Pi 5s, and a 5G setup. Fabrication iterated quickly between wood structure, 3D-printed parts, and wiring revisions.
Realtime Sync Integration
Late Fall 2024The key challenge was synchronizing motion, audio routing, and camera switching across two remote units while keeping latency low enough for a believable one-to-one interaction.
Exhibition Demo
End of semesterWe presented the prototype in exhibition conditions on campus, validating the interaction design with dozens of users and documenting what held up and what still needed a production-grade v2.
the plywood mule
exhibition prototype
Exhibition Learnings
What worked
- The concept was immediately legible and surprising to new users.
- Dozens of participants engaged during exhibitions and recognized the intended social tension between distance and intimacy.
- Pressure-gated mode switching gave the installation a clear dramaturgy rather than a flat, always-on interaction.
What constrained us
- Budget pressure as hardware scope expanded (~CA$1,500 total).
- Power and thermal load on Pi 5 units under concurrent media + sensors.
- Prototype-level physical robustness, not yet ready for unattended public city deployment.
Reflection and v2 Direction
This project is the clearest representation of how I like to work: concept to system, digital to physical, and art framing to technical execution. It was collaborative, messy, and ambitious in the way capstone work should be.
The next version would move from prototype materiality to durable urban hardware: metal enclosure, hardened mounting, environmental sealing, and maintenance-friendly electronics. The goal is a reliable inter-city public instrument for spontaneous encounters, sturdy enough to live outside a gallery.
If v1 proved the interaction can move people, v2 is about proving it can live in the wild.