Automata Streetcar

Automata Streetcar is an interactive, digital-media art project that uses historic streetcars as a metaphor to explore ideas about connection, communication, and community. The project is inspired by the four historic streetcar systems that once operated in British Columba - in Victoria, Vancouver, North Vancouver, and in particular the small, remote mountain community of Nelson.

As mechanical devices, streetcars may be interpreted as a type of automata: self-guided, interactive mechanisms that respond to a sequence of predetermined instructions. They follow a fixed track through city streets, stopping to collect passengers at predetermined locations, operating within a sequential yet highly interactive environment.

The project is primarily intended for installation in a museum or gallery setting, featuring a composition of large-scale physical objects with digital projections onto adjacent walls or screens. Interacting with the physical art objects (as custom-made game controllers) allows exhibit visitors to explore a digital recreation of Nelson's main street as it was 100 years ago when streetcars operated there. Players take on the roles of the conductor and driver to operate a streetcar, collect passengers, and build community confidence. A version of the project can also be downloaded to experience at home using a standard keyboard and mouse arrangement.

Home Play Version

This Early-Access edition of Automata Streetcar is a simplified version of the art project that presents the interactive, digital-media components in a format for personal, non-commercial home-use. It is not intended for public exhibition or display, or to generate images for public or commercial purposes.