BMG Online Space

Title: Specialist Project

I originally wanted to develop a website of some sort but after talking to the tutors it became apparent that I had not thought about an idea, what sort of problem I could resolve and that had not been done all ready. I had also not thought about what else could there be, what I could add to the world wide web/internet. As my tutors said I needed to think of something that would benefit, or make things easy that are hard to do on the world wide web.

This was in the early stages of the project and I quickly changed tack, I thought it would be good if I could integrate this specialist project with the investigative study as it would benefit me and mean I did not have to generate twice as much work.

I looked at other areas which had the world wide web/internet at its heart, I mean other products that are using the internet. One of the things I came up with was maybe internet enabled televisions, maybe I could develop a widget on the up and coming televisions of the future. I had recently been watching the BBC Click technology programme on the BBC iPlayer and they had a report on internet enabled televisions and that they worked on a widget based system, similar to the widget’s on the Mac OSX Dashboard. One thing that the BBC report said is that there are hardly any widgets available at the moment as the televisions are relatively new, this got me thinking and what if I could make one. I aired my thoughts at a talk with the class, we were split up into small groups and discussed everyone’s thoughts and ideas. When it came to me I told the others what I was thinking and they thought that I did not really have an idea and that I had been looking into thinking about the technology more. I needed to think about what I was trying to solve, if any problem.

One of my other thoughts was augmented reality as I had also seen a report on the BBC Click technology programme about this new and upcoming technology. I had also seen some augmented reality at the end of my FdA in Interactive Media course last year. This got me thinking and how I could integrate this specialist project with the investigative study and the newest type of augmented reality has moved onto mobile devices. So for my investigative study I would look into how mobiles have changed and how they influence our lives, as some people say they don’t know what they would do without a mobile phone, why can’t we live without them?

The one mobile device that has pushed this new technology is the Apple iPhone and it’s ability to be so intuitive. The simplistic way of using the iPhone has made it a very desirable mobile phone along with it’s look and style. The main reason is the touch interface, and now that it has a video camera you can now use augmented reality on the device. The other components inside the device help with location and how you are holding the device, these are an accelerometer, GPS and compass. The reason I am interested in this is that it can connect to the world wide web/internet via the 3G mobile network and also Wi-Fi where it is available.

The iPhone has applications that third party developers have developed and distributed through the hugely popular Apple iTunes Store either for FREE or for a small fee. I was hoping that I could develop an augmented reality application, app for short for the iPhone but I ran into an obstacle quickly and it was a bit or a major one, I did not have an iPhone, I only had a iPod touch which is similar but missing a video camera which is needed.

I then changed the device I would make it work on, I switched to make a demo work on my laptop web cam instead, this still had the same principles. I was just happy for it to work. With this demo I wanted to produce, the idea behind it was to show information points around the Arts Institute in the 3D augmented reality world. The Flash Augmented Reality Toolkit, FLAR Toolkit for short is the technology I used to make my idea come to life.

I thought about how I would visually present my information points around the Arts Institute and I came up with what I had been driving past everyday to get to university. It was the most simplest and easy to read, getting the right information across when you need it. It was staring me in the face it was the road signs. I then applied the design and layout of the road signs to my ideas and I loved the design. This became the style I wanted, all the research on my sign ideas are on my weblog.

My idea was now to have information points around the Arts Institute showing you where different courses are located from Film to Digital Media. I also showed the directions to the main Bournemouth University (BU for short) SU Show and refectory was located. This all pretty much was done and so I presented what I had done at the critique.

Everyone liked what I had done however the class could see other uses for my information points, so I took all the comments and have now made some adjustments to my information points. One of the things I liked was, what if the information points changed to tell you who was in whatever room and so forth, what the rooms where used for etc. I have now developed these comments further and the ideas work.

I have mocked up examples of the different situations you would use my information points system and uploaded them onto my website. The locations around the Arts Institute where I have produced mock ups are the Enterprise Pavilion for the digital media course rooms, the main entrance University House, the library entrance, the arts bar & refectory entrance and some directional information points around the campus.

This specialist project has been an eye opener into just how much more work is expected of myself, this project has been challenging and with the next project after Christmas I will get my head down to work straight away. On this project I started of on the wrong foot, slow and it took time for me to come up with a strong idea to follow through. I also fell down on my time management, not doing things in the right order and worrying about the wrong things, i.e. thinking about what the tutors would say about my project. I have seemed to struggle on the paperwork side of my project again like not getting things in on time and my writing skills. However besides this I feel I am getting better in time with my writing skills, I just hate the paperwork side.

With the overall project I am pleased with the outcome, I am chuffed to bits that I was able to make a demo of my idea. The demo was a lot of time spent with my head in code trying to make something work.

Since I have started this project, the on site campus has changed a lot with more building work and so what I was trying to get across is how is the best way to find your way around the campus. There is not any diversion signs in place for this job so this is one of the problems I have solved with my work. I now think that the way I have solved my problem with augmented reality was not the best way of getting the information needed across for the average Joe Blogs. However I have tried to make this idea work but I think it is just a gimmick I eventually ended up with.

Where to find my work?
All my work is on my weblog found here…

http://www.benmgiles.co.uk/wordpress/?cat=133

Below are signs for pedestrians and the style are that of road signs. The style of road signs are very familiar now and so we see this style of sign writing across signs for pedestrians. I will admit that some of these signs are both for cyclists as well, so they are in a similar sense of reason, cycling past quick.

However these signs are for just pedestrians, note they are the same style.

This one is a more personal sign yet still of the same style.

What makes these signs work well is the consistency with the type face, keeping to a set of rules general size and being larger for more of an emphasis. Also weather part or all of the sign is in upper or lower case. Primary colours is also a reason why these signs work so well in the design context.

Since I have started this project, the on site campus has changed a lot with more building work and so what I was trying to get across is how is the best way to find your way around the campus. There is not any decent diversion signs in place for this job so this is one of the problems I have solved with my work. There are some signs around the campus but are mainly inside signs on the walls of corridors and stair wells. The problem arises when you are at the obstacle and there is usually no ovious way round, in this I mean the grey retaining walls around the building work.

For my Investigative Study unit I decided to write about mobile phones as at the time it was to integrate with my specialist project. I had decided to use augmented reality with mobile phones notably the Apple iPhone as new applications had just started to become available to the public. So to help with my specialist project I decided to write about how mobile  phones have changed and the influence they now have in everyday life.

How have Mobile Phones changed and the Influence they now have in Everyday Life?

Intro

In my essay for the investigative study unit I have asked myself how have mobile phones changed and the influence they now have in everyday life? As I myself was born in nineteen eighty seven I thought it would be a good idea to look at how the mobile phone has changed in my lifetime. I will look at what made these devices so popular and how the technology has evolved to make them such a ‘must have’. I have explored the evolution of the three main networks that mobile phones are able to function on. First generation, second generation and have had an in depth look into the transition from second to the third more commonly known as 3G…

Download the Investigative Study to read more.

❝ WF Google has just launched a turn-by-turn sat-nav application for the Android 2.0 smartphones. It’s an obvious step to move from mapping with directions to sat-nav, but the amazing thing is that it’s free to use, and by all accounts it’s good. The days of windscreens dominated by dedicated sat-navs are numbered.

FM Don’t be so sure about that. The difference between standalone sat-nav devices and Google’s free offering is that one is dedicated to the task and reliable, and the other is neither. Guess which is which.?

WF How do you know that Google Maps Navigation is any less reliable than the dedicated systems? And even if it is, it’s not as if TomTom, Navigon, Garmin and Navman have never courted controversy themselves. However good the free Google system is, it’s going to get better, which will make life even harder for the paid alternatives.

FM I know it simply because Google Nav relies on having a good network signal or Wi-Fi. Personal navigation devices have pre-loaded maps, not to mention processor and graphics tech dedicated to sat-nav. Plus, TomTom’s Live Traffic data comes partly from actual TomTom users, an infrastructure so complex that TomTom has to charge for it. Google will be forced to buy its live traffic data from the cheapest vendor, with a subsequent loss in quality.

WF Google could easily track the positions of its nav app users. If anything, Google’s system has the potential to be even more accurate. But regardless of whether Google itself slings the death blow, it’ll be slung by smartphones. A phone has considerably more power than your average PND – more memory, more processing power, better screen, better connectivity, and it’s already in your pocket. There’s no physical barrier to preventing a phone from being just as good a sat-nav as a PND is.

FM I don’t think that sat-nav manufacturers will sit back and let Google take their business. TomTom and Navigon already have iPhone apps, a move that shows that they are willing to threaten their own standalone products in order to play the market share game: lose a little in the traditional market, get it back elsewhere. But, don’t underestimate the number of Mrs Smiths that will always buy a proper sat-nav device. Like MP3 players and ebook readers, sat-nav has become a service that you can buy into at many levels.

WF Whether they’re on their laurels or not, PND manufacturers should watch out. Whatever they have up their sleeves to make me want to buy a PND, they’d better pull it out soon. Google likes to own a market and it already has the infrastructure to sew this one up. ❞

When researching for how to display and design my information points I came across this book in the library called Signs: Lettering in the Environment by Phil Baines & Catherine Dixon. This book showed all types of signs there are and how they have evolved into what we know today, it also talked about what works and does not. This book helped me in designing my information points around the university.