Caring Cat
Caring Cat is an interactive floor projection designed to give victims of catcalling a sense of safety.
A semester project by Veronika Haidarow, Marina Hardt-Mitidieri, Alexander Korolkov and Marie-Lou Weymann
3rd semester, 2020/2021
Supervisors: Sarah Antes, Katharina Bär, Prof. Claudius Coenen, Sebastian Haase, Prof. Tsune Tanaka and Tomas Zebis
The background
Catcalling. A term that conceals many individual stories. A taboo subject that is finally being discussed openly. Stories and experiences that are being shared and discussed publicly. A term associated with fear and insecurity, and one that can be a reason why people restrict their movements. As a result, they may, for example, avoid certain routes and places or take detours.
A stupid comment, a derogatory remark or someone whistling after you. All of these can constitute catcalling. These verbal assaults happen day in, day out and usually go unnoticed. Often, the incident is over in a matter of seconds, without bystanders even realising it’s happening. For those affected, a feeling of insecurity lingers. We want to change that.
The idea
vision
Victims of catcalling who do not feel confident enough to defend themselves verbally should not have to face the perpetrator alone and be at the mercy of the situation.
Mission
Bystanders help the victim and intervene to break up the interaction between the perpetrator and the victim. This allows the victim to escape from the unpleasant situation.
Strategy
Make the victim’s distress visually apparent so that bystanders take notice and are prompted to help.
How it works
Our system detects people as long as they remain within the field of view of our cameras. To let them know this, we project white circles beneath them. These follow the people like a shadow; if they move, the projection moves with them.
Caring Cat responds to gestures. If a person is in danger or in an unwanted situation, they can alert our system by making a ‘help’ gesture. Users perform these gestures by holding out one or both arms, as if making a stop sign. This also automatically creates a distance between them and the perpetrators and signals to them that they find the situation unpleasant.
The circles are then replaced by a purple circular animation that pulses in all directions. These animations are intended to alert bystanders to the emergency and urge them to come to the victim’s aid. If the interaction between the perpetrators and the victim has been interrupted, the victim can make a gesture to signal the end of the interaction and reset the projection. Users do this by raising both arms above their heads to form a circle.
The Technology
Our system is designed to be accessible to all in public spaces. Our focus has therefore fallen on the floor, on which every person stands and moves. As a result, all present play a role in our system. We use four hardware components: a projector, a camera, a large screen and a computer.
The camera is positioned so that it captures as many users as possible. If they are within the range of our system, they are recognised as people by the computer via object recognition. The projector can then project the white circle beneath the users. Our gestures are registered by image recognition and trigger a change in the projection.
At the location where our system is installed, screens will be placed in clearly visible spots to explain how our system works and the associated gestures, using videos. The videos also feature subtitles.
A QR code can also be scanned here, allowing you to watch the video whilst on the move.
Further links and downloads
CaringCats Podcast – Episode 1
In our podcast, CaringCats talks about catcalling, the semester project and the new insights we’ve gained this semester. Do have a listen.