Thursday, June 27, 2013

Team 1 - Haptic Technology & Applications

Imagine a world where digital information can be shared between people just by touch or where a person becomes a storage device for gigabytes of digital data.

These were the 2 technology areas our team focused on.

Sound far-fetched? Well, as you'll find out in our presentation, technology giant Ericsson are already working on it!

Applications

With the technology plausible our next task was to work out 2 applications of Haptic Technology that would fit into our assigned research area of: Online Communities, Offline Impact.

Considering our technology base was heavily person and real-world centric, it was just a matter of connecting offline (real world) actions with an online community.

The presentation (link at the foot of this post) demonstrates our approach but here is a very quick summary of the 2 concepts.

Concept 1: Happ - Retrieval of Data stored within a Product

Just by touching a product, data can be sent through you into your smart device for additional information which could be: extra description, educational, marketing/campaign-based or productive.

Concept 2: Haptic Life - Play Games Online by Interacting in the Real World

Online games or any genre could be created that respond to your actions in the real world. Touch a range of products or people to unlock items, battle opponents, explore collaboratively.

Presentation:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B2XDt2GmakgOMXQ5ckJVcmFoN3c/edit?usp=sharing

Thanks for reading.

Please feel free to comment.

Jack, Tom, Yonatan, Zindzi, Aisha & Valts

Friday, June 14, 2013

Evaluation of MC2020 by Alejandra Aramayo and Rosa Pons

The experience has been very enriching due to the diversity background of students and the challenging goals we had.

As professors we consider it was a major opportunity to start a new way of teaching-learning process in a European context. The collaborative work between coordinators, lecturers and managers has proved it is possible to work in a big inter-university team.

We had a good reaction at our University in both students and professors concern about a different way to conceive the new University we wish to have: more opened, able to respond to the constantly society's demands, capable to make linkages and networks allowing the flow of knowledge and innovations.

From UVIC's perspective we have to say that the impact of Media Culture 2020 has been strongly positive, promoting a self-criticism debate about the need to change and to look for new imaginative ways to work.

The students referred to MC 2020 as: "it was the best experience ever as students", or "it was a life experience!". Their feedback generated a "me too" desire atmosphere to participate. The high-level of collaborative work achieved is unique. The results were amazing, even the short time to develop concepts.

On one hand, the result of the students work during the process is a series of very good concepts to be developed next year; and on the other, students have made good documentaries, academic works, reports and Final Thesis out of the contents of MC2020.


The heterogeneous base of knowledge and culture of the students gave them an opportunity to learn fast and quick, to debate and improve ideas day by day, and to be more creative due to the different approaches. The only two students from the business field were amazed by the successful educational methodology.

To work with people from different countries gives to the project an added value because cross-country teams with cultural differences and backgrounds has increased the project attractiveness due to the different perspectives that can appear.

For the next edition in Liepaja we wish we are able to overpass expectations and have even greater results in all aspects!



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Friday, June 7, 2013

Team 3: Non-narrativity is the new storytelling

“A virtual wall, where everyone can add writing, pictures, videos, art and other content in public space.”
People have always had the need to leave something behind of themselves.
With our concept we want to make public space truly public for the people.

Virtuwall™ - The Features

  • A layer of virtual reality added on top of real things.
  • Uses the internet and cloud based services to keep track of added and deleted content and their locations.
  • Virtual wall and it’s content is only visible when using a compatible device and with a special application or command. Otherwise they are invisible to the naked eye.
  • Other users can see, browse and search the content left on the wall. Filters can be added.


Concept 1 –Virtuwall™ Home
Use Case 1

  • Jennifer is a freelance journalist who works from home and has three children.
  • She uses the Virtuwall to see her schedule for the day.
  • She uses it to access reference material for her article. 
  • It is used to access recipes whilst cooking.
  • She can talk to her children about their homework across the Virtuwall.
  • The children can send images and drawings across it.
  • Jennifer reads a book to the children across the Virtuwall. 


Concept 2 - Virtuwall™ Environment
Use Case 2 

  • City of Tampere uses the Virtuwall technology to decorate the city and to make it appealing to residents and visitors.
  • Virtuwall technology is cheap, easy and efficient way of decorating the city.
  • Makes it possible for the city to change their look as often as they wish.
  • Creates jobs for all kinds of artists.
  • Enforces the city’s image as a modern and up-to-date place to visit and live in.


Concept 3- Virtuwall™ Business
Use Case 3

  • Tim, a young, active moviegoer
  • Using the Virtuwall-technology share and access information
  • Tim can see that there are posters of currently showing and upcoming movies on the Virtuwall. 
  • Below them there is a feed of user comments and ratings. 
  • Tim posts a review on the nearest Virtuwall” and the review immediately appears on the feed under the poster of Avengers 4. 
  • He see’s a film poster and tells his device to download the schedule and adds a reminder to his calendar about the movie.

Virtuwall™ - Technology
Where are we now?

EyeTap

  • An EyeTap is a device that is worn in front of the eye that acts as a camera to record the scene available to the eye as well as a display to superimpose a computer-generated imagery on the original scene available to the eye. 
  • In essence, similar to Glass, but functions as a visual overlay, instead of providing a small Heads-up display (HUD) in the corner. 

Contact lenses

  • Contact lenses that display AR imaging are in development. These bionic contact lenses might contain the elements for display embedded into the lens including integrated circuitry, LEDs and an antenna for wireless communication.




Advancements Needed


  • Getting rid of visual markers.
  • A more precise positioning system for storing the location data.
  • Hardware advancements.


Virtuwall™ - Business Plan
Product definition in customer centric view

  • Virtuwall enables the consumer to interact with all kinds of space without damaging it.
  • Virtuwall provides the consumer freedom to express him/herself in public space.
  • Virtuwall makes public space a better place for citizen aesthetically and functionally. 
Virtuwall™ - Marketing Analysis:


Virtuwall™ - Business Model:

Virtuwall™ - Benefits


  • Makes the public space truly public.Reduces the amount of actual graffiti, tags and posters on real walls.
  • Creates a whole new platform of human communication.
  • Teaches about cultures.
  • Stores history in a new way - tied to a location.
  • Gives a new platform for art and installations.
  • It could be helpful as students can interact in the class with their teachers.

Virtuwall™ - Target Groups

  • Our initial target audience is young University students because these people interact every day with technology. 
  • They also could be interested in the Virtuwall as a way to share their ideas, paintings or anything in a virtual environment.
  • As the Virtuwall expands the target audience will change to suit the location and situation it is going to be used in.

Virtuwall™ - Challenges

  • Some people will be scared of the new AR-technology.
  • There will be discussion about "virtual littering".
  • All of the technology needed for making this does not yet exist.
  • A highly sophisticated system for locating virtual objects and content as current GPS technology is not good enough. 
  • The ownership of virtual space.

Team members:
Left to right: Teun Buursema, Eltons Kuns, James Booth, Judith Espert Martí, Veera Rouvinen, Bokyung Kim, Gemma Pass.

Monday, June 3, 2013

Evaluation of MC2020 by James Field

To summarise the whole experience of Media Culture 2020: it has been as enjoyable as it was challenging.


Challenges came in many forms for myself. Firstly, I have never worked on a project with so many co-collaborators. Added to this there were “layers” of co-collaborators with the project layer consisting of 10 academic partners (although only 1 per institution was assigned to the preparations) and an additional 50 students comprising the participants layer - this was an ambitious project considering the amount of participants alone.


When I first realised the enormity of the planning, logistics and organisation my first thoughts were “how are we all going to communicate and stay synchronized?”. This scared me. I find communication sometimes difficult with people in the same building let alone spread across the continent in differing time zones and with different schedules.


Fortunately, Cai introduced me (and probably some of the other academic partners) to a set of tools which made this particular aspect a whole lot easier. There were still problems, but nothing on the scale I was imagining if we hadn’t of had Google+, Docs and Drive at our disposal. Which, although very useful, presented another challenge for me; getting to grips with new technology and a new way of working.


I have to admit however, that despite my initial reservations, I am now converted and can see practical applications of these tools in my everyday professional and personal life.


One of the aforementioned reservations about using collaborative technology is something I feel a number of participants, students included, who were new to this way of working, was being so publicly visible.


This took me awhile to embrace because prior to this project I has always worked in a vacuum until a project was completed and ready to be unleashed on the world. I had always kept blogs for projects as documentation of this nature is perfect evidence for assessment (for whatever outcomes, academic, commercial, etc.) and I have always asked of my students to create blogs to allow the cycle of constant feedback all media projects require to be successful - but all were “behind closed doors”.


During the planning process of this project I was working on documents that were open to all participants - live - and some documents were public facing. This unnerved me slightly because now I was carrying the responsibility of being a team leader and everything I was writing or contributing was up for public scrutiny. I used to take a long time to get something ready for even my peers and here I was creating work live!  


I am so glad I was introduced to working this way as it gave me the confidence to contribute, give feedback and have a voice, all in real-time so collaboration started to become a conversation and documentation became organic as opposed to revisions of static materials.


Managing a group of students with different skills and cultural backgrounds was also something I had never experienced prior to the project, and again, I am very glad to have had this opportunity because it made me realise that differences make for a more interesting and conceptually stronger ideas generation phase. I know this may sound obvious, but it is only when you experience this first-hand that you can really see the benefits.


In terms of evidencing the above, I think it is clear in the range of concepts produced that participant’s experiences prior to the project helped shape the end result and what may not be evident to those reading this who didn’t take part, was the different ways in which students from different institutions approached the same task. Some were very pragmatic and logical, others were slightly more creative and wanted to dive straight in but all, eventually, agreed on a strategy to approach the planning and development stages of their concepts.


Working in such an intensive programme proved another challenge for all of us. Not because any of us are lazy; more because there were so many exciting and useful activities packed into such a tight schedule. It was impossible to see and do everything! This is by no means a negative reflection on the organisers; quite the opposite. The challenge came in understanding how to manage your own time when working under an intensive schedule that included a mix of work and social activities. Most of the participants are used to projects spanning weeks or months. Here, stages of development required completion in hours or days. It certainly made for interesting, and concise, meetings!   


I have many, many fond memories of my 2 weeks in Tampere. TAMK were excellent hosts and their students a credit to the institution because they took us under their wings and showed us a Tampere that we may otherwise have missed.


The country-themed evenings were excellent too. With each night becoming more and more sophisticated so as to not be outdone by the previous country demonstrating pride and passion about the place the hosts were from and willingness to share that with their new friends. I feel honored to have been a part of that.


I feel the work done in the workshops is important on many levels. It demonstrated to me that cultural differences and large groups spread across a continent can work together. Remote working has still some way to go before it becomes as effective as being in a physical place together, but when together, the differences that define us help bring something new to the discussion and some of that is evident in how the groups managed the planning process.


It was also important for the students because not only have they now become part of a continent-wide circle of friends, they also have undergone the same experience as I have complete with apprehensions, expectations and joy of working on such an intensive, creative and above all, fun project.


I feel it also important for the rest of the academic world and indeed the media industry, especially in Europe, because it proves that projects, and the experience behind creating them, becomes far more interesting when people come together from different backgrounds and contribute to a task and shared goal/vision.


I would like to take this opportunity to again thank:


“Uncle” Cai Melakoski for all his hard work writing the bid and organising practicalities in Tampere.


The academic staff of all partner institutions for their contribution to the planning and development of the programme, as well as their vital roles as team leaders and consultants,


And finally, the students who embraced the opportunity to work on this project and share their views, opinions and abilities with us all.

I now look forward to Liepāja!