I have been reading Wired magazine lately as I noticed there was an article about digital ideas for the city.
The article and section is called The Digital City, I am finding it a bit time consuming as the magazine is written in a very design and ideas driven way, well there are quite a few big words, its I suppose is in a style I am not used to. It is very interesting and is relevant to my uni work at the moment.
This is what I have been brainstorming on the Information Point idea.
Check out my crazy jeep safari I went on in Turkey, we got given water pistols and got soaked and dust blasted, was a lot of fun.
I found this cool augmented reality video on Vimeo, it is augmented reality mixed in with everyday stationary items. This is a nice neat way of expanding the digital world, the video has a business card with a fiducial marker on the back side of the card that makes this cool effect work. Below you can try it your self by downloading the marker and printing it from here.
AR Business Card from James Alliban on Vimeo.
Extract from Vimeo:
❝Have a look at http://jamesalliban.wordpress.com/2009/06/03/ar-business-card/ for more info.
If you are interested in purchasing an AR business card or any other AR application, email me at me@jamesalliban.co.uk❞
This seems a cool technology to work with, I would like to try and use the same technology behind the workings of the business card in my own work. The fiducial markers seem the best way into getting something to work for myself.
Title: Specialist Project
Ref: IMD610
Level: 6
Credit Points: 30
Weighting: 2.0
Study Time: 300 hours
Tutor(s): Phil Beards, Liam Birtles, Bob Cotton
Description:
After completing my FdA in Interactive Media course and during the last year I decided that I would look into and concentrate in the web/internet field. So now I am on my BA/third and final year I will work on different aspects of the web/internet. I will be looking into the mobile web market and the one thing that stands out above all else is the Apple iPhone in recent years. The Apple iPhone has grown to be a massive impact on the mobile phone market and most noticeable is making the web/internet appeal, ease of use and simplicity. The iPhone has done this by letting third party developers develop applications and distribute them through the hugely popular Apple iTunes Store either for FREE or for a small fee. The one thing that makes all these applications work great on the iPhone is that the device itself is a touch screen device and has some impressive components inside. These include an accelerometer, GPS, compass, video camera, Wi-Fi and the 3G mobile network as it is a phone after all.
I will be looking into a relatively new way of accessing information and is called Augmented Reality, it involves using a video camera, recently a new feature to the iPhone. Augmented reality seems to be springing up all over the show lately, it is not just confined to the iPhone. You can use it on any mobile device that supports the correct hardware, often just needing a video camera or web cam on laptops and computers. Augmented Reality can be enhanced by using extra hardware like microphones and the accelerometer that is found in many mobile devices now a days.
I will use Augmented reality in my project but I hope just to use the web cam on my laptop to demonstrate a prototype. If I have time I would like to develop a demo application on the iPhone. In my idea I hope to produce information points around maybe the Arts Institute or other places of interest. I think I will develop directional arrows pointing to helpful places like; for example departments, shop, cafe around the Arts Institute or other places of interest. In my idea I want to use the use of 3D so maybe having 3D arrows pointing towards whatever, these information points will be like there own 3D little world.
The ideas I have come up with are where I have been looking at the different technologies that control and basically make augmented reality work. Some of the technologies are the Flash Augmented Reality Toolkit, FLAR Toolkit for short and uses Adobe Flash. Paper Vision is also used for 3D elements in augmented reality often. These technologies are what I might use to how I develop my idea, I may have to look into other methods.
Aims:
A1 To confirm and develop your systematic understanding of key aspects of digital media, previously acquired in Level 5.
A2 To encourage the acquisition of detailed knowledge, some of which is at or informed by the forefront of developments within the subject including aspects of current research, or equivalent scholarship.
A3 To develop your critical awareness and understanding of historical, contemporary and personal practice within the broad context of the field.
Learning Outcomes:
On completion of this unit you will be able to demonstrate:
LO1 That you have transferred your systematic understanding of key aspects of digital media, previously acquired in Level 5.
LO2 The acquisition of detailed knowledge, some of which is at or informed by the forefront of developments within the subject including aspects of current research, or equivalent scholarship.
LO3 Through written work demonstrate that you developed your critical awareness and understanding of historical, contemporary and personal practice within the broad context of the field.
Assessment Requirements:
A prototype design as defined in your Learning Agreement.
Finished Design 75% (Tutor Assessed)
A written report for one of the projects (Maximum 1500 words) supporting the conceptual, contextual and production issues involved in the completion of practical work. 25% (Tutor Assessed)
Assessment Criteria (specific criteria related to the learning outcomes and linked to the statement of generic assessment criteria matrix):
Evidence of knowledge of key contextual and theoretical issues – Knowledge concerned with contemporary practice acquired from Level 5 and applied and developed to a higher level (LO1)
Evidence of critical concepts represented in the breadth and depth of subject knowledge – The contexts of production (LO2, LO3)
Evidence of realisation through the application of technical knowledge and skills – Documentation of the project, its planning and execution (LO1)
Evidence of understanding through critical evaluation and reflection – Relevance of research and relationship of theory to practice (LO3)
Reference Material:
Augmented Reality, FLAR Toolkit, Paper Vision, 3D, 3D worlds, mobile devices, Apple iPhone
Google.com
The Library
Magazines
Action plan/time plan:
After looking into the web and other activities, I have become interested in the augmented experience. The talking point of the moment seems to be the iPhone again, with the new technology in the new iPhone 3GS has meant that augmented has become a reality. The new 3GS has a compass, GPS to help with direction based apps on the iPhone and with the new video camera has also meant that the Nearest Tube App works brilliantly on the device.
The directional information aspect has made me think that I would like to maybe look into developing a similar type of experience my own way.
Augmented reality is now starting to becoming main stream and has caught my attention. The main thing everyone is talking about is the Nearest Tube App for the iPhone.
Extract from acrossair.com the makers of Nearest Tube App:
You can easily download the Nearest Tube App from here (http://itunes.apple.com/uk/app/nearest-tube/id322436683?mt=8) to see what all the fuss is about.
❝One of the first augmented reality apps to go live in the iPhone AppStore. Forget boring 2D tube maps! Try this amazing new application that tells Londoners where their nearest tube station is via their iPhones video function.❞
Title: Specialist Project
Ref:
Level: 6
Credit Points: 30
Weighting: 2.0
Study Time: 300 hours
Description:
The specialist project allows you to further develop your conception of digital media production. The intention is for you create adventurous forward looking body of work that shows the industry or audience your vision of a future for some aspect of digital media.
You are encouraged to take concept driven approach to learning rather than resource led practice and to build from themes explored in the Investigative Study unit.
Through research this project will be critically and theoretically informed and culturally engaged. You will evidence a depth of critical, contextual and theoretical understanding both through the work itself and through a learning journal/weblog.
Your work is negotiated through and defined by a Learning Agreement.
Learning Agreement Template
Learning Agreement Guide
Outline Syllabus:
(An indicative guide to the content covered by this unit.)
The programme of study will vary according to the academic needs and interests of individual students, and will be defined in a Learning Agreement.
Method of Delivery:
Practical studies, productions, independent learning and research, tutorials, viewings and critiques.
Aims
A1 To confirm and develop your systematic understanding of key aspects of digital media, previously acquired in Level 5.
A2 To encourage the acquisition of detailed knowledge, some of which is at or informed by the forefront of developments within the subject including aspects of current research, or equivalent scholarship.
A3 To develop your critical awareness and understanding of historical, contemporary and personal practice within the broad context of the field.
Learning Outcomes:
On completion of this unit you will be able to demonstrate:
LO1 that you have transferred your systematic understanding of key aspects of digital media, previously acquired in Level 5.
LO2 the acquisition of detailed knowledge, some of which is at or informed by the forefront of developments within the subject including aspects of current research, or equivalent scholarship.
LO3 Through written work demonstrate that you developed your critical awareness and understanding of historical, contemporary and personal practice within the broad context of the field.
Assessment Requirements:
A prototype design as defined in your Learning Agreement.
Finished Design 75% (Tutor Assessed)
A written report for one of the projects (Maximum 1500 words) supporting the conceptual, contextual and production issues involved in the completion of practical work. 25% (Tutor Assessed)
Assessment Criteria (specific criteria related to the learning outcomes and linked to the statement of generic assessment criteria matrix):
Evidence of knowledge of key contextual and theoretical issues – Knowledge concerned with contemporary practice acquired from Level 5 and applied and developed to a higher level (LO1)
Evidence of critical concepts represented in the breadth and depth of subject knowledge – The contexts of production (LO2, LO3)
Evidence of realisation through the application of technical knowledge and skills – Documentation of the project, its planning and execution (LO1)
Evidence of understanding through critical evaluation and reflection – Relevance of research and relationship of theory to practice (LO3)
Reference Material:
This will vary according to the needs of individual students. You will define Reference Material through negotiation with your tutor(s) and list it in your Learning Agreement.
Assignment Brief
In this unit, you will produce a piece of work that will help consolidate, refine and extend the previous knowledge you have acquired to this point. It is an opportunity to create a finished project to professional standards, in an area that suits your skills and interests.
Preferably, but not essentially, this project will form part of a structured exploration of your chosen area that will complement your Investigative Study and form a research basis for your Final Major Project.
The final deliverable should aim to be innovative yet intuitive and easily understandable, and to develop on themes in the area under investigation.
The project submission will be of a standard that, if appropriate, it can be exhibited or submitted to national or international competitions.
All project submissions will comprise of a fully working prototype; i.e. a usable piece of work that an uninitiated user can explore and interact with in full, a weblog that documents your process of development, and a 1,500 essay that analyses the strengths, weaknesses and achievements of the project.
You will need to use a concept driven approach to the project development, rather than technology driven – focus on the idea, and solving the problems that the idea brings up, rather than finding a new or augmented use for an existing system or product.
The exact framework of your project will be detailed in a Learning Agreement that will be negotiated with the teaching team.
A key part of the project deliverables is a 1500 word essay that describes in detail the creative processes you have undergone to arrive at the final piece. Use it to justify your design strategy and explain your research procedures and methods, sources and references. It should also include an evaluation of your project, and how it resolved the issues that arose during its development.
Scheme of Work
This is an approximate guide to the content of a session, be aware this is subject to change in response to external influences and your own pace of development.
TBC
Whilst I was using the Mind Meister web site I noticed that you could search through the site of other peoples mind maps, this proved helpful and came up with related mind maps for the subject I was looking into.
The first mind map is collection of collaboration website’s and services across the web just like the Mind Meister web site it’s self.
The second mind map is a collection of social media web sites
http://www.mindmeister.com/2529908/social-media-web-sites
The third is a collection of web publishing tools I thought might come in handy for this project.
http://www.mindmeister.com/18314275/rss-to-html-web-publishing-tools
The forth is a collection of visual search engines, these all seem to be a really cool way of searching the web.
http://www.mindmeister.com/18864642/visual-search-engines
The fifth is looking into the future of blogging
http://www.mindmeister.com/14900322/the-future-of-blogging-simplified
One of the first things I thought about after the summer break is; What should I do for my EMP?
After looking into the Apple iPhone software developer kit, SDK for short I started brainstorming into what other possible options I had for the upcoming project. Last year I found a very helpful website called Mind Meister and I use it for online brainstorming, mind mapping software free to use.
Available here (http://www.mindmeister.com/)
However I have used this online resource to brainstorm into what web design has been integrated into in this day and age along with possibilities into how I can expand web design and other technology’s.
Feel free to browse around the mind map below – just click and drag to navigate around.
Today I went on a trip out to Wareham with the rest of the 3rd, 2nd and some 1st years from the Digital Media Production course. We all went to the Rex Cinema in Wareham to watch some early film/cinema that Bob had sorted for us lot, it ranged from 1895 through to the 1980’s. This started of as black & white moving towards colour as well as different ways early cinema was filmed. As part of this trip we also got the chance to watch the latest Quentin Tarantino film Inglourious Basterds as well.
Inglourious Basterds Trailer