How to Pay Attention to the End of Our Life: An Interactive Installation in Cultural Computing

This paper contributes a novel research in cultural computing, by presenting an interactive installation which creates a unique experience for visitors to contemplate and conceptualize their own end of life, death resp. Our final goal is creating societal transformation and awareness through individual reflections. Death is ubiquities, but its conception is one of the deeply rooted cultural heritages, which varies dramatically among people and cultures. This paper describes different factors forming our notion of death and how we used scientific and engineered methods to make an experience for each individual regardless of his/her believes and religious point of view. Based on a theoretical framing we built an interactive installation to enable the visitor to get aware about his/her own death. Our focus is on inter-connectedness in cultural and sensorial personal experiences.