Final Update

FINALLY COMPLETED!

I have colourised al the surfaces, re-arranged the furnishing in some places and made some final minor tweaks. I tink this is as best as it will be for now but will deffinately be worked on in the future.

I have provided some screenshots below to show how the finished artifact looks:

Above you can view screen shots from the front of the office, a raised 3/4 in to the front room and a raised 3/4 from the front room in to the middle room.

Above here you can view a 3/4 view from out back in to the office, a 3/4 in to the outside back area and also a birds eye view of the whole virtual office.

To make it possible to view the whole office from one point of view, I have applied an x0ray filter to the office so that you can see see through the walls right to the back. This way the walla are still partially visible and you are able to get a semi realistic view of how the whole virtual office looks with/without the walls.

I've also created a small video of how it may look to someone as they walked through the whole virtual office. The camera point has been raised in some places to give a better anggle of how things look. (This video requires you to have flash player installed before viewing.)

Conclusion

I am very happy that I was able to complete the office in time, maybe not in the photorealistic way that I intended to in the begining but it has been completed none the less. I would've liked to have attempted the real timem sound being streamed in to the virtual office but it is somethig that I am still experimenting in interating in to the Sketchup software.

I am 100% sure that this is somekhting that I will continue working on in the coming future, that means getting the textures to work seamlessly as well as the real time audio being streamed. I'm sure I'll need to buy some kinda third party software in order to enable the audio to be streamed but if it helps me to move forward then it is only a small price to pay.

I've learnt that I can apply and adjust the skills I already know (regarding other software) and have them applied to many other types of softwares in order to get similar or even some interesting effects. Google Sketchup is something that I can see myself using for many years to come before getting bored of it as it is something that I have enjoyed using over teh last few weeks. The watered down gui, tutorials and even teh quick responske from tyhe Google Sketchup help desk was a reasonable speed. I think my next step will also be to try an combine this software with some kind of traditonal art (e.g. painting) and see if it will be possible for two people to be painting of one surface at the same time - but from two different parts of the world. I think this will be a good challenge for me as I have bever attempted this before and will force me out of my comfort zone and divulge me in to something new and strange to my mind.

Update 6

Had some slight problems today, I tried to apply the photographs of all the textures I took from the office today but it just wasn't looking as seamless as I wanted it to be. The photo tetures would look shoppy and a little jarring.

So I tried to Photoshop a fewj of them and give it a go but then I met another problem. All the textures had a dark edge, this meantk that when the etxture was repeated on a plane you can easily tell where it was repeated because of the dark edge that seperated them. This didn't look very appealing and I was not ready to let the quality of my work drop because of the funny texture maps.

With no other option, I woas forced to subsiture these for simple colours. All I could do now was choose the closest colour to the original one in the photo and substitue it with that.

Here is an example of how this made it look:

The textures replaced by the basic colours version

Although I'm not very pleased with it, I think it still holds some clarity - even though the photo realism has been taken away.

I think my next update may be the final one where I complete the colouring of the model have the screenshots and videoclip ready .

I feel so bummed out right now :( .

Update 4

Finally the whole place has been modelled completely. The front, middle, back, toilets and even the out back area - the whole lot.

A 3/4 raised view of the office, completed literally 20mins ago!

At the moment the model is still in its grey form, so my next job is to apply the matching colours from the office to this model. I've not got much left now, I think a full days more work and I should be done.

Update 3

Small update here. The front room has been completed, middle room almost ready, all the furniture has been assembled and just need to be possitioned.

This also goes for the bathroom and toilets.

The middle room waiting for everything to beduplicated, grouped and then furnished throughout the room.

Should all be ready soon and waiting to be textured.

Update 2

Ok, I've been working day and night (and all day today) on this and have learnt how to create tables and chairs. After messing about with the basic forms of these objects I managed to take it a step further and apply the actual design to them which was actually a little more complex for me when I first started.

The more realistic looking office table than the first basic one I created

After this I moved on to using my basic chairs and added what looked like foam padding meshes to them in order to have them looking similar to the computer chairs that have wheels on. It was at this point that I noticed that all of the objects can be easily made to have round corners and by adding a few more shapes to a single mesh I can have it resemble whatever it is I was aiming for - even if it was vague it was a starting point for me none the less.

Following this line of thought I was able to create a monitor, mouse and keyboard set. From this point on I began duplicating the necessary obejects and placing them in their required locations, kind of sculpting out the main parts. Then I grouped all the similar objects that were in the same room. This will allow me to manipulate them all at the same tie if there was a need - rather than doing them each one by one.

My desk with a monitor, keyboard and mouse set

Next up I'll need to create a glass table and some basic chairs and the front of the office should be done. For the back (middle) room I'll need to be creating smaller tables and chairs with their own smaller computer desks.

That's all for now.

Project Update

So finally I have an update worth showing to people. I have been experimenting with Google Sketchup and its parameters in order to familiarise myself with it before I begin with anything to complex. It was a little complicated at first since I didn't have any classmates around to request help from therefore I had to do a lot of trial and error experiments before getting a lot of things right.

After familiaringmyself with the many components I began preparing for the actual project. I went to my office and started taking measurements of every single plane and wall which I will be creating in Sketchup. I took measurements of teh tables and the table legs, the chairs and windows, doors... and the list just goes on. I knew all this information was going to come in handy when I was crating them as it would alolow me to create it as close to its original size as possible. Once all that was done I created a floor plan, I marked out where all the walls and doors intersect each other. This helped me immensly as from this I had some idea if any of the objects were in need of being resized or if they maybe should be re-settled somewhere else - for aesthetic reasons of course.

My floor plan sketch, you may not understand it but it's all there

Birds eye view of the floor plan

Above you can see a screen shot of what I have created so far. It is a screen shot of the floor plan all measured correctly with the walls intersecting each other perfectly. It took a lot of time for me to perfect this bit for reasons which I have already stated above, so I hope it pays off.

My next step is to select all the walls and extrude them horizontally, this will allo wmel to create all the walls simultanously rather than one by one.

This is all for now.

Note: Youtube has some great video tutorials on how to use Sketchup, so much easier than following text tutorials since you actually get to see what the instructor is talking about.

Links

Youtube users who have Sketchup tutorials:
http://www.youtube.com/user/architectionary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-Le8FChLz8

http://www.youtube.com/user/hhhnzw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEiCkaUuM1I

Concept Proposal and Contextual Analysis

Using the sendspace links below, both my Concept Proposal and Contextual Analysis pdf documents can be downloaded and viewed. the links for both the documents are the following:

Concept Proposal:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/f7h9iw


Contextual Analysis:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/km4g55

Software for Architecture

Google Sketchup
Picked up on a really good software a few days ago - Google sketcher. Apparently they bought the software from a third party company and then worked on it to meet their requirements. This software is meant to resemble something like a watered down version of 3d Studio Max or Maya - just have everything 'simplified and easier' to use. I've used it a couple of times already and beliee me it's so much less overwhelming than the other two, you don't get overloaded with options but have a limited choice to stop you from going crazy.

(example of what can be done in sketchup)

What they have also cleverly done is integrate it in with their other software Google World. This allows people to draw up architectural landmarks and place in it's correct geographical possition - as if you were really looking at it when you look at the map on you screen. I do like analysing other peoples 3d artwork but never have the time to actually pick up the skill myself, so I think I'll actually give this a go. And since I like the sound of this software I'm thinking of using it to create my final piece for this module. What I have in mind is to recreate something obviusly visible in reality within the Google Sketchup software and then play some real time sounds within it to add that lil something extra. Betta get down to it and see how it goes.

NOTE: IF YOU DIDN'T VISIT THE WATERMANS GALLERY FOR THE RE-POSSESSED EXHIBITION BASED ON VERTIGO (1957) (IN EALING BROADWAY), YOU MISSED OUT ON QUITE A BIT. AND IF YOU LIKE HITCHCOCK, WELL YOU MISSED OUT EVEN MORE. IF YOU WANNA READ UP VISIT HERE - http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/news/latest-news/repossessed-an-exhibition-on-vertigo.cfm . THEY SAY THEY HAVE THE INFO UP BY THE 22nd APRIL (END OF EXHIBITION), BUT IF IT'S NOT UP CHECK ON IT THE NEXT DAY.

Links
Google Sketchup
http://sketchup.google.com/

Hitchcock Repossessed (Vertigo, 1957)

http://www.watermans.org.uk/exhibitions/archive/repossessed/
http://www.vertigomagazine.co.uk/showarticle.php?sel=bac&siz=1&id=599

Artifcial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence, is this anything to do with the movie with the same title created in 2001? Is this like android stuff from Dragonball Z when the machines came and beat everyone up? Is this anything like the Sunny character in the movie iRobot (2004)?

What???? Back the fuck up man. You need to first of all distinguish the difference between cinema cg advancements and scientific advancements. Jus cos some special effect studio made the character Sunny (iRobot, 2004), T100 (The Terminator 2, 1991), the Short Circuit (1986) robot with an actual personality or some little boy look, act and feel extra human but really be a Robocop thingy under the skin (Artificial Intelligence, 2001) doesn't mean scientists can really make that stuff happen. Given a few minutes, the cg artists can put your eyes and nose on your butt cheeks and make it talk - that dont mean that scientists can necessarily do that.

Let's back it up a little bit. When it was first used by John McCarthy, he meant "the science and engineering of making intelligent machines". As time went by, people (naturally) changed the words meaning to whatever they wish to believe in right now. For me, it still means to make an intelligent machine/compute program, to have a computer understand human intelligence. I also believe that AI doesn't have to be confinced to methods that are biologically observable to
qualify. Research for AI started a little bit after WWII (so a good sixty years haas passed since we have started), people are already aiming to upload their minds in to machines - load of bollocks man we still got GENERATIONS to go before that kicks in. I will put money down some crazy clown will upload his brain in to a machine/robot and rename himself Robocop - u just know it.

(human/machine humane interaction)

Scientists are currently aiming to make computer programs that can solve problems and achieve goals in the world as well as humans. I think it was in Digit magazie or something - something about scientists taking a new approach to this for some reason. After spending their millions and billions they change methods...I think they think that money grows on trees. I have this somewhat crazy thought though. Say for example someone created something like a child machine that improves/updates itself (something like the character Ergo in the book Ergo by Helen Fox (ISBN: 0340875836) WELL RECOMMENDED) by reading and also by learning from experience. I know that AI programs haven't yet reached the level of being able to learn much of what a child learns from physical experience. Nor do present programs understand language well enoughto learn much just by reading. But hopefully in the coming future - just a thought.

The best example in my opinion, of the greatest advancement in AI would be The Deep Blue chess machine built by IBM to play chess. I heard about it - couldn't believe it. I saw it - I still couldn't believe it. They actually programmed a machines to play out the possible moves in it's memory to see which is the most favourable before playing it. And then it actually beat the world chess champion Garry Kasparv, you can get the commentry here -
http://www.research.ibm.com/deepblue/watch/html/c.shtml . Examples of tasks that have been given for these AI driven machines to be able to execute include control, planning and scheduling, the ability to answer diagnostic and consumer questions, handwriting, speech... and so on. High hopes. They currently would like to discipline these skills and focus them in providint solutions to real life problems, knowledge mining, strategy games etc...

(deep blue - super comp above - beat chess champ Garry Kaparv in chess)

I remember quite a few where AI machines have been portrayed as 'beings' that try to overthrow/overpower humans and release themselves from human authority to become individuals and no longer slaves. Like the Daleks in Dr Who (1963), or the Agents in The Matrix (1999). And sometimes you get the AI machines helping you out instead to trying to kill you,
examples of this would be KITT from Kinght Rider, or Robin Williams in Bicentennial Man (1999) or even the character Sunny in iRobot (2004).

(Sunny from iRobot (2004))

I know for deffo that Japan are trying to stay ahead in this market by spending more and experimenting more frequently. I guess they're being funded by Honda or something, whatever it is they're making some progress cos that machine can walk up and down stairs, reply back to humansand recognise simple emotions from the voice pitch. To look at though, it looks comething like an astronaut wearking a backpack (which is its powerpack). The top speed for this machine to walk at is 3.7-ish mph. Honda celebrated its 20 year anniversary last year and since it's process had begun back in 1986, it is the eleventh in line to be created.

(Asimov line up from last ten years)

NOTE: READ UP SOME ON ISSAC ASMOV (sci-fi writer, critic...)


Links
http://www.a-i.com/

Asimo
http://www.oblingo.com/date/2006/05/

Book
Ergo - Helen Fox (ISBN: 0340875836)

Relative Movies
Artificial Intelligence (2001)
iRobot (2004)
Matrix (1999)
Short Circuit (1986)
Terminator 2 (1991)

Multi-User Dimensions, Gaming and Virtual Communities

MUD
Some new ground for me here, so I'm going to be picking up some new data here. In this post I'm gonna start of with Multi User Dimensions (aka MUD). I don't know what other topics this term is used in, but in relation to computer gaming it supposedly combines elements of hack and slash2d shooting, role playing game style computer games and also (and mainly) a chat room (a seperate place where you can just interact with others) or the possibility to be able to chat to
other players while you are playing (both at the same time). On some sites/server/bulletin boards you get the possibility of both of them.

I've been out of the MUD lop for quite a while now, so I don't know what's going on with everything and what new stuff has been implemented. But I can tell you this much, traditional MUDs use to be located within some fantasy setting be populated by dwarves, goblins, wizards, hobbits, knights (mythical 'creatures')...so on. Something like a cross between Lord of the Rings and World of Warcraft. There would be a variety of races for the players to choose from, each with it's own field of speciality. For example there were warriors (speciality in strenth and combat), priests (speciality in healing), mages (speciality in sorcery) and so on and on and on...(in order to reach and aquire certain skills and powers a certain skill level must be reached through combat and various other tasks). Your epic object of the game now would be to slay monsters (be it living or dead), explore fantasy worlds on foot or through teleportation (some methods I still wonder about...). You would also complete adventures in story mode, and in some create your own story in role play mode.

(old and new versions of D&D)

I hate to admit this, but I'm pretty sure that many MUDs were fashioned around the dice rolling rules of Dungeons and Dragons (D&D as it's better known). I don't know why but I have uch hate for this game from the deepest corners of my heart. This thing had a whole franchise going on, board games, costumes, cartoon and even a movie, Dungeons and Dragons (2002) (ingeniously named).

(new version of D&D)

I have this image in my head of D&D players where they dress up like their avatars (merlin, goblin...) and play in their basement for days on end till someone comes out victorious. And during this their mummy brings down milk and cookies for her little wizard and his friends - I wonder if that's real somewhere.

The one online multi-user dimension thats the most well known to me is (was) http://www.jippii.com/, I remember I used to go on this nearly everyday some five years back. Now that I check it after 'years' I see that they have made some changes like adding logon screen (when I used to play on it it used to allow any person to just go in and playwith any username). Once you are inside the game room (as it used to be called) you would be able to send messages to other users openly or privately and also block others from messaging you; not forgetting the main aspect which is to be able to challenge other players (you could choose to not have anyone challenge you, but still be able to challenge them).

(www.jippii.com home page)

Now since this wasn't an RPG (role playing game) you wouldn't be able to represent yourself with an avatar, so your name would pretty much be what you would use to help you go along in the world. You wouldn't get the choice of playing a NPC (non-player character) in here as the only way you can play is if you play another player. There were also different rooms you could go in to, so you would have to read the discription of each room before entering to know what domain you about to place youself in to. The games on this board are pretty much sports related - oh yeh, important thing. if you type in any swear words in the chatrooms they get turned in to funny astrix/star characters -, the one I rememer that used to be the most populated was the poolroom, which later on went to have three more rooms to help accomodate a large number of player. There was also the drawing room to play out artistic games, the mini golf game room, cannon ball room and so on. All of these game tookplace on a large rectangular area in the middle on your screen, therefore you will have no characters or images to represent you at anytime, other than your name.

I remember often that there would be beef among some of the more hardcore players about who's the best player, who's elite, who's a noob and so on, so what they used to do is hold a tournament for the best player on a private server and have a playoff. That means people on both sides of the world would be awake at the same time (4am in the morning to prove one is better than than the other - fukin' crazy) and playing till all but one gets knocked out. That's too
hardcore for me, I wouldn't care realli who thot who was better. All I gave a shit bout at that time was if there was someone good enough in there to give me a good game - years down the things haven't changed much, except I don't play much.

I remember reading somewhere that there was a well known RPG known as Avatar (1979) which was made on the PLATO system and was the most played game at that time. And just to have a feel for how RPG games looked at that time, heres a screen shot. It's obvious that it is dos based wouldn't be very appealing to any one player at this age.

(first PLATO dos based rpg)

I'm personally not a fan these type of games, I don't have time on my hands to talk to strangers about how I'm going to kill them or something. But I will say this though, when I do get in the mood and some of my mates have some time on their hands, we play World of Warcraft together on our own server. Hands down, it is the best MUD gaming experience one will find out there. The best thing I like about this game (disregarding the obvious attention the graphics hae been given) is the fact that the goal is not to just go hack-and-slash your enemies and even if you do this the objective cannot be reached by going solo. The only way to win here is if you collaborate with your fellow players to create multiple diversions and attacks. And once you have your full force going down on your enemy everything kinda goes hectic.

(first ever MUD logon and todays logon)

The AI (artificial intelligence) in this game is pretty far from stupid. Everything the computer does has been well strategised by it's developers, the game doesn't miss a beat. It still has marks of the traditional MUD, for example you've still gotta reach certain levels to be able to create certain characters, it still has the different races of characters (you still get the half-lings, the orcs, night elvs, humans etc.). You can also chat to each other, consider this really important on a platform like this coz communication between team members is realli important in creating and advancing your strategies here - if you don't your team will be playing solo (blind) and be overthrown before the peak of every round. Regardless of the multiplayer part of this game, playing the story mde or your own solo missions on this game is almost just as fun. The thing about this game is that the choices you make right in the begining will help in deciding your outcome. As soon as the level is created, you've to decide if you are an attacking or a defensive player. You can be both, but production will be slower. And as always, in this game if you don't take the fight to the enemy, the enemy will bring the fight to you. And when their clouds gather above your head, they make sure that it doesn't just rain but pours downright.

(second life and gaia online - you virtually live online)

Virtual Community
I don't really belong to any virtual community or even a gaming community, well actually that's a lie. I do belong to a virtual community, kinda (I became a member of DeviantArt recently). A virtual community is exactly just that, no more and no less. They basically are a group of people who primarily communicate with each other - through the internet rather than face to face. It has pretty much become an extra (a second) form of communication between people, even those who know each other in life, e.g. Microsoft chat, MSN chat and a million other forums and chat rooms out there that people use as a gathering point.

(microsoft chat)

I did join ONE online community (DeviantArt) recently, and this is only because it was only focused on what I liked to do while I'm even in my sleep. It's an art based community where people discuss nothing but art majorly, my account can be found under - http://washedfire.deviantart.com/ - (shameless publicity). The reason that I joined here is firstly so that I can throw my digital work up there and get feedback on how to improve on them, secondly (and mainly) is so that I can observe other artists work and ask questions on their methods and learn how to improve in this field.

(fron page of deviantart and shot of my work)

I this type of thing, you will be able to represent yourself with and avatar, have your own profile page, gallery and favourites and even use it for commisions on other art pieces. I would recommended this site to any art enthusiast as there is something for everyone. People make friends here and exchange contact details to get to know each other a little better, but the best bit is when two artists who know each other well collaborate to create their own piece. You
are able to see what each artist has offered on the table comment on their art work. There is another bit to this though, there is also the forums facility where topics of a variety matters cn be taken up (from politics to personal problems), though I have hardly engaged in these, it is nice to know that some of these artists are still human and not aliens that sleep, eat and crap artwork.

NOTE: Download Soldat.exe. Great multiplayer game. Hours of fun, well recommended

Links
Really good piece on virtual communities
http://www.inst.at/trans/15Nr/01_2/mascio15.htm

Good D&D link
http://www.cale.com/paper.htm

Massive Massive MMRPG
http://secondlife.com/http://www.gaiaonline.com/
http://www.deviantart.com/

Immersive Environments

OK this time we're looking at Immersive Environments and Ubiquitious Computing.

Immersive Digital Environmets

An Immersive Environment is an artificial, interactive, computer-created scene or "world" within which a user can immerse themselves - bit like a virtual realm - a bit like the same bottle of milk as virtual reality; just without the milk.

Immersive Digital Environments (as they are betta known) can be seen as a rendering of of the meaning of virtual reality, without any reference to 'reality' being simulated. An IDE 'could' be a replica of reality, it can also be completely abstact or fantasy based - it doesn't matter. As long as the users of that environment can engage themselves within it and become absorbed in its context. The user has to feel as though they are a part of this simulated 'universe'.

Whether or not the IDE absorbs the user or not relies on a few obvious factors, for example the detail of the 3d graphics (if it's not 3d...what the hell are they thinking), the quality of the surround sound (it's gotta sound like you're actually there), it's simplicity (you don't wanna go somewhere where your overloaded with choices, and have to press multiple keys to execute a simple job), and the main factor by far is to have potential for enjoyment (that shoudl be on every game creators list, who wants someone to play their game for only a couple hours before getting bored?).

It is well known news to surfers of the bragging that is currently being done by large companies about how they have new technology under development that claim to multiply the realism factors ten fold by bringing realistic environmental effects to the players' environments - effects like wind, seat vibration and ambient lighting. I can't realisticly even consider how they are going to go about completing these missions unless they end up supplying big ass barber like chairs with them big hairdryers attatched on top to every player. And Sony are also going to attempt to do some Dr. Who stuff by aiming ultrasound waves at their players' brains to help stimulate their senses to make everything just that much more realistic. Like that old
saying "those who have some always want more, those who have more always want plenty."


Ubiquious Computing
How to start here, First there were mainframes (one computer shared by many people). Now we are in the personal computing era (person and computer staring uneasily at each other over the desktop). Next comes long awaited ubiquitous computing, or the age of calm technology (one person many computers). This is where technology recedes in to the background of our lives.

These people just want to live in The Jetson's era, where they eat, live and crap computer micro chips. They just can't leave pc's as pc's. They want to bring out the computers from their hibernation and in to our lives where they will reside as subtly as possible (so that we dont know they are there) but end up using them for pretty much everything we do. Pretty soon we're going to be talking to our house and saying "computer, open my bedroom door" walk in "computer, close my bedroom door."

Ubiquitous computing is pretty much the opposite of virtual reality I guess. Where in virtual rality we more or less go in to the computers world and live there, in ubicomputing the computers comes out and lives in our world. This is a very difficult integration of human factors, computer science, engineering and social sciences.

What scientists basically want to do is the way electric motors dissappeared to the background of everyday life, they want to make a future where mobile computational devices will be similarly transparent. Scientists are working on integrating computer functions in to everyday life, loften in an invisible way - I hope. They plan on using small/big, expensive/inexpensive, wired.wireless computer devices and connect them to a huge computer. They want to have screens built in to our walls, sofas, fridges and even sprinklers. Personally I don't like this, they've reached so far pass the limit that they've bought Big Brother in to our homes to spy on us implicitly.

Moving away from household ubicomps, we can realise that there are other forms of this being created (which I think can benifit every artist our there...in due time). Though there are many ubicomp devices being created out there, my most favoured one is being built by Xerox Parc scientists called a Tab which is 1"-6" in length.

These people think that they hold the remote control which controls evolution. They jes can't leave it on play, there always gotta be a group that presses fast forward because they jes can't wait.

NOTE: MPK is an application programming interface (API) designed to help software developers meet the demands of these new immersive environments. This product enables the application to take advantage of the scalability provided by additional pipes and other scalable graphics hardware, as well as to support immersive environments.

Tabs are created to function as a terminal rather than a PDA. It also has a stylus for human/computer interface, scientists are currently working on a script called Unistroke to help understand all methods & forms of human character input (it uses infra red networks for communication). I think it's design emphasises communication for two reason; first of all wireless communication, which is critical for mobile computing. It allows you to connect seamlessly to info infrastructures which are built from existing WAN. And secondly (more importantly) the physical size of this device. It's idea was to enable researchers to carry it with them throughout the day - this places a slight complication on network covering & battery life.
Since the Tab has constant connectivity, it's where abouts will always be known.

The way this Tab thing works is it connects to a remote host (e.g. your pc), then you just work on your pc via the Tab (using the Parc Tab IR pocket network communication). Once an app has started running, it takes cntrol of the Tab. Any pen or button events on the Tab are sent to the active app via the agent. AND ONLY ONE APP IN USE AT A TIME.

Virtual Reality

virtual reality – noun a realistic simulation of an environment, including three-dimensional graphics, by a computer system using interactive software and hardware.

Ok now realistically speaking - all fantasies aside - we are no where near achieving the realism of virtual reality as depicted in the "past media" as we are to living in Euphoria. One of my favourite exmaples that I can thing up of is the cartoon Johnny Quest (1964). This was basically about a teenage boy who would aide his father in adventures in a cyberspace realm known as "Questworld", which was depicted using 3-D computer animation.

In the cartoon, the characters would simply jump in to their special chairs, slide special glasses to the front of their eyes and "plug in" to their world. Or like in The Matrix (1999) where their characters would also "plug in" to their virtual world and instantly be transported there. Regardless of the method, what both of these examples dhow is that in the virtual world everything "looks, feels, smells, sounds and tastes" ultra real.

I mean we are led to believe that this age where this is possible is already here. I'm not sayin that this isn't possible (when this barrier is broken people will begin uploading their minds in to virtual worlds and "immigrate" there, the age where all hell will break loose), just that that age still is a little way off still. That's not to say that there haven't been any developments in that field. I admit that this intrigues me to find out more on the developments, but what pisses me off is that the only facility that is using it principally is the army - and this isn't even for world peace.

Now the virtual reality technology that the army use allows their users to interact with a computer-simulated environment, be it a real or imagined one. The current VR environments are primarily visual experiences displayed either ona computer screen on special goggles, and where needed extra sensory outputs are supplied, e.g. speakers/headphones for audio. Users can interact with the virtual environment through the standard keyboard/joypad, or through multimoda devices such as a wired glove, the polhemus boom arm or the omnidirectional treadmill.

Wired Glove
A wired glove which is used for virtual reality interaction looks exactly like a normal glove...with loadsa wires runing through it. Various sensor technologies are implanted within it to capture physical data such as the motion or the bending of the fingers. To track the motion of the glove, something like a magnetic tracking device or inertial device is attatched to capture the global position/rotation data of the glove. This input data is then translated into what ever language the accompanying software understands, so then any no. of mvements can mean anything. This can be used for many things, e.g. the different gestures used for sign language.

Something I am still amazed by is the haptic feedback enabled wire glove. This glove doesn't only allow it to be used as an input source but also an out put source, it simulates to the user teh sense of touch. You can tell this is oviously going to be a really over priced high end item. I had one such game accessory (pretty sure it qualifies here) called the nintendo Power Glove. This was pretty expensive when bought at that time, and trust me it was the shiit. Even though the motion tracker and the finger bending sensors weren't all that (compared to today), having that on made me feel something like Johnny Quest - it had buttons on the back and everything.

NOTE: WIRED GLOVES ARE OFTEN ALELD DATAGLOVES OR CYBERGLOVES, THESE TWO NAMES ARE A TRADEMARK AND RESPECTIVLY BELONG TO "SUN MICROSYSTEMS".

Omnidirectional Tread Mill
This is a device that allows a person to perform locomotive motion in any direction. Like the image above shows, you just stand on the treadmill and strap in, and then once the game/simulation starts your movement motions are translated in to the game and allow you to navigate within the virtual environment as if your really there. There are many advantages to this that are forseen when people start thinking that it can nly be used for gaming purposes, for example - it can be used for physical rehabilitation, post traumatic stress disorder treatment, training or even for motion capture in movies or even for real time virtual actor input.

Currently Head Mounted Displays (HMD) are used as the visual aid for the graphics, and if they can somehow match the quality of the Playstation 3 graphics (since this has already been created), then I think pretty soon we will be able to reach a opint of near realism. After some light research, I find that currently work is being done on improving the sound enhancements so that it outputs 3-d sound along with the the sight - since these are the senses which best lend themselves to high quality simulation. But I still think they should focus (even if a little bit) on the touch sensors as this is what can make everything that much more real.

NOTE: SONY HAS FILES FOR AND RECIEVED A PATIENT (APR 7, 2005) TO EXPERIMENT WITH BEAMING DIFF. FREQUENCIES AND PATTERNS OF ULTRA SONIC WAVES DIRECTLY IN TO THE BRAIN TO RECREATE ALL FIVE SENSES.

I SAID SO: REGARDING ABOVE, HUMAN BRAIN INTEGRITY WILL COME CRASHING DOWN AFTER MULTIPLE USE OF THAT TECHNOLOGY

NOTE TO SELF: All we've gotta do is think a little back inside the box and we could use these equipmentsand devices in other areas for development.

Links:
http://www-vrl.umich.edu/intro/index.html
http://vrlab.epfl.ch/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonny_Quest
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/3512/jqra.html

Geoffrey Batchen

Geoffrey BatchenHe is the authour of Forget Me Not: Photography and Rememberancel; Each Wild Idea: Writing, Photography, History; and Burning with Desire: The Conception of Photography. Other than being an expert in the general theory and histiography of photography, he has helped lead the study of vernacular photography (photographs not intended as art, such as snapshots, commericial photos, etc) and has published extensivley on this and other topics within this field.

Ranging over the past twelve years, he has taken part in the international art world as a guardian and editor (I guess that best describes it), working on exhibitions world wide from Australia to the United Kingdom to New York.

As we is all about photography, and after examining some of his work I say hes really good at it. By far my favourite (and this may be considered stupid by some) is the design and layout of the photo on his book cover of "Each Wild Idea". It's just the way the image has been cropped, the colour tone, the way it has been split in to boxes all just brings its beauty together. What just puts the icing on the piece is the contrasting yellow and the subtle grey used on the font, minimalism at its best.

Links to him for further study:

(this was a paper written on him)
http://www.dutch-eyes.nl/stw/01ABatchenLecture.pdf

(a lecture video)
http://www.brown.edu/Departments/MCM/amm/Videos/BatchenMov.html

(his books)
http://www.amazon.com/Burning-Desire-Photography-Geoffrey-Batchen/dp/0262522594

(personal email address)
gbatchen@gc.cuny.edu

History of Art & Technology

Sixteen years ago, in 1991, I would never have imagined that in the year 2000 I would be able to use something called the WorldWibe Web to show you digital images and text that actually exist on a computer in another location. I can safely assume therefore, that it is impossible for me (or anyone else) to imagine what it will be like in ten years time from now, in 2017.
As far as the present era appears to be portrayed in itself, we appear to have just cracked the ice on a major technological revolution. We are at this possition in time like John Ruskin
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ruskin) excitedly holding up a Daguerreotype - a really really early form of photograph (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daguerreotype). For him it was "the most spectacular innovation of his century", but he could never have dreamed that
ahead of his time lay Magic Lantern projectors and glass slides, colour glass/35mm slides, cinematic filems, IMAX movies, or even 3-D IMAX movies.

So what is it that we shoudl look forward to? This new technology has already provided us with such enhanced abilities to be able to conduct research and to study artworks. Almost 83% of the worlds popuklation has ready access through the WWW to catalogues and databases full of data (e.g. encyclopedia, wikipedia), to huge image resources (e.g.deviantart, flikr), and even after all this we still have access to all kinds of information on many hundreds and thousands of websites.
For example, lets look at art historians.

To meet the "special needs" of art historians, digital technology offers a much more accurate way to record visual images. It can be used to achieve a degree of exact mathematical specification impossible to recreate through analogue chemistry.

If you have been unimpressed by digital images so far, be aware that most of the images that you have been seeing are most probably not the original digital images; most likely they were scanned from slides that in turn were photographs and then digitally enhanced using photo enhancing software. With the help of these new softwares, we are also permitted to being able to
manipulate images to the extent that it becomes unnoticable, e.g. the colour, lighting, scale, context. But whom are we kidding? These same factors have also changed in the hallowed "original". The colours of the Renaissance alterpiece in the museum have detiorated over the years, the lighting has varied, and much of the context has gone.

Yet the only thing that survives is it's scale. Moreover, slides and digital images reproduce the original as it looks now, or more precisely, as it looked at the time the photograph was taken. Until a few years ago, this is what Masaccio's Expulsion of Adam & Eve looked like (left), now it looks liek the image on the right. Which is the original, can you tell? Personally I wouldn't care, as long as I have an image that is clear and good enough looking to analyse without having too much depression. With the aid of new technology, we are permitted to experience things before that we couldn't do with books or photosho's, such as turninga piece of sculpture around with our mouse and be able to get a full 360degree view on our screens as if we are really there with it. I'm really proud I found this link, following this link you will find a page with an Egyptian statuette which you can revolve in a full 360degree motion with the control of your mouse. Other little fiddles permit us to flip images to let us see the other side of something - say a stautue, or even permit the addition of a movie clip in the Quicktime format.

These examples are slightly crude and ancient, but they supply us with some idea of what we may expect in the coming future. Imagine what it will be like teaching art history in 2017. Predictably the next major phase in tech revolution will be in compmuter hardware, as the shrinks discover some greater potential within the WWW and computers. In the coming future, when we re-discover what computers are really are, monitors that still look like tv screens, and where material is still organized on "pages" will be seen as a thing of another ancient era.

I suppose there will deffinately be changes in pixel sizes/numbers that will enable the creation of large digital surfaces, such as walls and ceilings. So for example, we could expect to see a classroom with digital walls and floors that no longer has the need for projectors or white boards. Talking about this reminds me of Ubicomputers - this will deff. have to be discussed another time.

The Beginning - Summary

So what's comin' up in this blog...

This blog will be used to note my research and analysis on the philosophy of virtual spaces towards the construction/creation of a piece of artwork that imaginatively communicates the artists idea. It will also contain notes relative to theory and technology of different kinds of virtual spaces. There will also be further notes made on virtual realities, immersive environments, multi-user environments... well you get the idea.

At the end of my research, I'll use it all to develop a critically and contextually informed artifact - which will hopefully be linked to this area of the web.