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Undergrad Innovation

  March 22, 2015 , , ,

This week I was asked a question when coming up with elements for a project proposal for 3D Atlanta along with Krisna, Alex, Robert, and Dylan: “What has the 3D Atlanta project done for your undergraduate experience?” And while I tried to keep it short (not really) for the proposal, I realized just what this question was asking me. You see, I tend to think of my progress in certain year frames. In 11th grade, I started learning Photoshop and basic design principles of drawing and illustrating. By 12th grade, I had a good knowledge of html. By last year, I had good knowledge of css and started working on Javascript stuff, as well as had a great knowledge of Python through my 2310 class. And now this year is all about execution and applying what I know, especially within 3D modal contexts for the 3D Atlanta project. I find myself looking back and realizing how fast and far everything went. It seems like an exponential curve of innovation. I went from making boxes move on a screen to dealing with dynamic layers of interactive material. And now, thanks to 3D Atlanta and my math classes, I’m starting to look into stuff I thought I wouldn’t touch until the end of days as a college student. Things like projection matrices, raytracing, and other 3D concepts. I find myself reading papers from Disney research in zurich about complicated algorithms and equations that I can start to understand now. For pete’s sake, … Continue reading

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3D Atlanta Updates & Other Tidbits

  March 1, 2015 , , , ,

Hey Guys! Couple of new updates to share with everyone about the 3D Atlanta Project! First off–in two weeks we should have 3 completed models of architecture to show off! Which is pretty exciting! Wasfi, Nathan, and I are hard at work getting them ready! The other SIFs are currently working on compiling their historical research into interactive pieces. What I mean by that is this: If they find something on Coca-Cola from the 1920s that is relevant but maybe we don’t have enough information to fill up,say an entire booklet, we can simply hang up a flier on a building’s wall that a player can interact with. So the question then–is what is this interactivity supposed to look like? After Discussing a lot of different options, we came up with the simplified point-and-click idea. The point-and-click paradigm is well known and intuitive. We aren’t trying to create a new paradigm of interactivity–rather utilize pre-existing paradigms of interactivity to change a paradigm of educational interest and engagement. So–“Point-and-click”–which some of you might be familiar with from the ubiquitous mystery search games that are all over app stores and Steam, or from certain classics from Sierra or Lucas Arts in the 90s (Secret of Monkey Island, Quest for Glory, etc.) and perhaps the more well-known Myst series. In our environment–although it is a full 3D environment from a first-person perspective–the point-and-click interface simply means than when the player’s cursor,(which can be controlled from a mouse, or if the object is simply … Continue reading

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#nicehashtag – Building a data-driven sculpture

  March 1, 2015 , ,

Since early fall 2014 I’ve been working on a data-driven sculpture for HLN called “#nicehashtag” that is now installed in the CNN World Headquarters in here in Atlanta (if you take the Inside CNN tour you’ll see it outside Studio 7). Programmable Hue bulbs change color to reflect realtime sentiment analysis of Twitter. The algorithm accesses Twitter every few seconds and pulls the most recent tweet into its program, determines whether the tweet is positive, neutral, or negative, then compares it to previous tweets and converts it into a percentage that it stores in memory. When that percentage reaches a certain threshold, the color changes. My goal with this project was to consider how we use technology to interact with each other, and how that affects our emotional connections. Screens have enhanced and expanded our communication capabilities enormously, but there are still concerns about what it does to our ability to empathize with others. #nicehashtag is a physical representation of internet emotion, at least within the Twitterverse. The challenge with any technologically-enhanced artwork is that the novelty of the tech will overpower the concept that (hopefully) supports it. Using tech in art just because it’s there is seductive but also dangerous for the above reason.

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Deliberation map is born!

  March 1, 2015 , ,

Project: Online Deliberation Mapping Tool Development As planned, version 1.0 of deliberation map was completed. It includes following features: 1. There can be only one seed for the deliberation map. When the map starts, it will look like this. 2. Any body can post and reply, without logging in. So, it is open to public. When deliberation map is running on a server, whosoever gets access to the URL of the deliberation map, can add posts to it. As a consequence, two users, probably from two different computers, can view and edit the map at the same time. Changes made by one user will be reflected to all others when the map is refreshed at the viewer’s end. 3. Currently map refreshes at a particular client computer when a new post is added by a user at the client computer, it is NOT refreshed at all other clients viewing the map. 4. The view is in a tree like fashion. Reply to a post is in the next level. Within a level posts will be in chronological order with earliest on the left and the latest on the right. 5. When a post is added, the map rearranges and scales dynamically to adjust the display to show all the posts on the map. The nodes, representing the post, decreases in size automatically to fit into the display. For example, the map changes to look as follows:   Technical Details The deliberation map has been implemented using ASP.NET technology. It has been … Continue reading

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Microgranting

  March 1, 2015

As a task for Justin, Amber and I went on an expedition to find out what sort of opportunities there are for academics that would like to collect money outside of grant services for research, experiments, projects and other academic related material (what Justin termed as “microgranting”).  We were unsure if platforms like kickstarter would be suitable for projects not explicitly “innovative” or “creative” that’s end goal did not necessarily have a monetary value.   Also whether schools endorsed and approved this sort of funding, outside of institutional channels. Through my google searches, read it, sub read its and blog hunts I was pleasantly surprised to find a ton of websites devoted to just this topic.  Exceedingly so was the concentration in the scientific fields, supporting costly experiments that would not be understood or easily marketed to the average novice.  In addition to these explicit academic funding sites were the typical kickstarter and crowd funding platforms we have become accustomed to seeing advertised for new start ups, indie films, and techno-savy inventions. It was through this exploration that I realized how connected much of academia is now with those outside of it.  I am sure we have all had the debate on whether research for research sake is really as important over something perhaps more functional – ie: whether doing a study on the effects of breast cancer without talking to a single patient is grounded in reality and  can be applicable in the real world.  What I like about … Continue reading