Tag: cw12

Thomas Verbeek, University of Otago Part of CW12

“The Octagon” is both an exhibit and an experiment in cooperation and user interface design. Eight computers provide eight ‘artists’ with a view into a shared virtual room. In the center of the room is a platform on which sculpture may be built. Each participant can add to the sculpture using a very intuitive interface. It ‘feels’ as though you just draw what you want and it appears in 3D. Most users need no instruction. Each user’s 2D view is inherently ambiguous, yet artists do not seem to ask how their 2D gestures are translated. They discover the rules by experimentation and usually don’t even realize that there are rules.

The Octagon can be presented in various forms. The simplest is to set up eight computers in a ring so they surround a real space. But it is possible to put the computers anywhere. Activity can be shared across the room or across the world.
The application was developed in Graphics Research Group at the University of Otago in New Zealand. It was featured in the “Emerging Technologies” exhibition at SIGGRAPH ASIA 2011 Hong Kong.

Richard Stals, Edith Cowan University Part of CW12

How can we leverage the devices that staff and students are bringing onto campus, their own iPod, iPhones, iPads? How can we enable anytime, anywhere access to learning content, information and expertise? What applications do we need to develop to allow our community to take control of their own learning journey with us?

This presentation will explore the open-source framework, ‘Kurogo’ – a Mobile Middleware for developing content-rich mobile websites and iOS and Android apps. The core of Kurogo is a lightweight PHP framework that aggregates and organizes raw, decentralized data sources from your enterprise systems and delivers them through a mobile web experience and native companion applications.

We will explore how to get the framework up and running and connect some of the more common University data sources. We will briefly look at the iOS application project in Xcode as a first step in releasing your own University iPhone app.
I will also introduce you to the newest Kurogo module, which I have developed, that connects to your Learning Management System (we will be using Blackboard).

Richard Stals, Edith Cowan University Part of CW12

In a recent project, I developed a series of prototype 3D Serious Games using the Unity3D game engine.

One of the prototypes sparked a great deal of interest from both academics as well as students and has been further developed into a pre-release version of the game.
The game/simulation is a real-world disaster scenario that is designed to train Paramedic students in Mass Casualty Incident Triage.

Initially it was developed as a SCORM compliant module that can be loaded into the school’s Learning Management System like Moodle or Blackboard. In order to explore the utility of the game further, I have developed a version for the iPad.

In this session you will learn how you can begin your creative journey into 3D serious games using a combination of free and low cost tools and resources.

Kerry Wilkinson, University of Adelaide Part of CW12

Our presentation will describe the development and evaluation of an iPad application as an e-learning tool for training winemaking and wine marketing students in the technical evaluation of wine. We will demonstrate features of the App designed specifically to facilitate student learning. For example, the objective assessment of wine colour using slide-bars; a glossary of wine aroma and flavour descriptors; and the ability to compare tasting notes over time (i.e. as both wine and students evolve).

The potential for the App to be used both in and out of the classroom will be discussed, in particular, the use of the App to engage shy and quiet students during class discussions about wine.

The presentation will cover digital media (i.e. mobile applications) as a tool with which to improve student learning.

Sebastian Beswick, University of Tasmania Part of CW12

I’m currently studying for a Bachelor of Computing with Honours at Utas, and as a keen amateur musician, I have a special interest in Computer Sound – after all, most modern music relies heavily on computer generated synthesised sounds.

Now, Wouldn’t it be cool if you could sit down in front of a computer and, after showing it what you liked, have it intelligently generate you unique works of art, (in this case synthesised sounds), based on your own personal aesthetic preferences?

My honours project Gene-synth leverages the incredible power of modern evolutionary computing and artificial intelligence techniques to deliver a solution that would allow all composers – regardless of their level of technical ability – to create beautiful original sounds. Gene-Synth works by automatically learning and modelling the musician’s sound preferences, and using Darwinian techniques (such as survival of the fittest) to breed generations of high-quality sounds for immediate use in their production.

Dylan Turney, Auckland University of Technology Part of CW12

Creative Coding (or Sometimes It’s Alright to Write Rubbish Code) looks at the role of coding within in the emerging field of experiential advertising and interactive installations, using examples from projects I have been involved in (including work for international tech start-up company Makelight Limited).

Topics:

• Why a high-tech approach is needed to engage the public
• The relationship between creative and commercial coding and how the two are often intertwined within a project
• The importance of code quality and scalability for one-off installations and large commercial creative products
• The challenges of a 24-hour work cycle (New Zealand/London) and tight deadlines
• The art of quick code iteration for prototyping

Adrian Stagg & Dr Helen Farley, University of Southern Queensland Part of CW12

Religious and spiritual communities have leveraged the enormous potential of the internet to provide information to worshippers but also bring them together as a faith community. They have used chat rooms, discussion boards and podcasting to create or augment that sense of community generally only experienced at a service or religious festival. Virtual worlds, however, offer a step beyond what is traditionally seen as ‘supplementary’ religious information by creating online sacred spaces. It is within these spaces (be they churches, mosques or henges) that worshippers – through motional avatars –come together and worship. Adherents and participants claim that their worship experience in this space is genuine, yet this raises numerous issues around legitimacy, authority and authenticity.

The virtual world of Second Life is home to many religious buildings and spaces. Communities sometimes overtly, sometimes less so, come together to discuss religion, study scripture and often to participate in rituals, festivals or religious services. While many are undoubtedly genuine in their involvement (using it to augment or replace their real life religious activities), many more are experimenting with new faiths or roleplaying as an intellectual curiosity. This paper will explore the diversity of religious activity in Second Life, while pre-empting how religious practice in this space may evolve with the advent of new technologies such as Microsoft Kinect.

Hohepa Spooner, Auckland University of Technology Part of CW12

Teachers in tertiary education need strategies to communicate directly and individually with students and engage them with technology advances like iBooks Author to shape and entice educational experiences for them. The Apple iPad with the iBooks Author application and the iPad iBooks app has the potential to make what was previously the preserve of technology-savvy educators, access to effective and efficient pedagogy in an easy and intuitive way. My presentation will cover how the use of the iPad and Apple applications in teaching over the last 10 months is used to enhance engagement with learning for tertiary teaching.

Andrew Bennett, University of Tasmania Part of CW12

This presentation is targeted at artists, it will give a brief overview of Apple’s devices, how an artist and a developer is impacted by supporting each display, and how artists and developers can make things easier for each other.

The presentation will outline some of Apple’s technologies, introduce some apps, and blend in composition technique. All of this aims to make life easier for both art and dev while maintaining a consistent and usable design.

The presentation will then go into real-world challenges of resolution independent art in shipping apps, and as a solution presents a simple art/design workflow.

Jimmy Ti, Queensland University of Technology Part of CW12

Scene Kit is a 3D-rendering Objective-C framework that combines a high-performance rendering engine with a high-level, descriptive API. Scene Kit supports the import, manipulation, and rendering of 3D assets without requiring the exact steps to render a scene the way OpenGL does.

Because Scene Kit integrates with Image Kit and Core Animation, you do not need advanced 3D graphical programming skills. For example, you can embed a 3D scene into a layer and then use Core Animation compositing capabilities to add overlays and backgrounds. You can also use Core Animation layers as textures for your 3D objects in 3D scenes.

– Introduction to SceneKit
– Key Features of SceneKit
– Demo of SceneKit