The Five Weirdest Pieces from MoMA’s New Tech Exhibit

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THE AVATAR MACHINE

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_CjjAvNEW4]
This is the ultimate in gamer fetish pieces: a bodysuit that lets the user morph into a full-fledged video game avatar in real life. Designed by British artist Marc Owens, Avatar Machine is a muscle-suit that bears a passing resemblance to Cloud Strife, the poker-faced, spike-haired hero from Final Fantasy VII. Extending from the rear of the suit is a camera, which feeds into a pair of virtual reality glasses in the headpiece. This allows the wearer to see himself from behind as he moves around in real time — in the same way a gamer might see his third-person avatar on screen.

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The visual trickery has a transformative effect on behavior, says MoMA curator Paola Antonelli. “When people wear the suit, they start making exaggerated movements,” she says. “They start acting like avatars.”

They also look seriously badass (see the above video).

Owens’ pieces are one-offs, so you won’t find them at a mall near you any time soon. But if someone could figure out how to rig one of these puppies to a Kinect — two words: gold mine.

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