This is big, and I just found out about it today. The UK government, one of the first governments worldwide to put open government data on the agenda, has released the Combined Online INformation System, or Coins. Basically this is a huge online dataset in which the government shows every aspect, to the tiniest of details, of their expenditure. [Read more →]
This edition of Test_lab, a bi-monthly event by our friends at V2_ featured a selection of freshly graduated artists, architects, and designers from European art and design academies whose projects explore the invisible aspects of our contemporary urban environments. This sounded interesting enough to travel to Rotterdam, where I found out that the event had grabbed a lot of peoples attention: the room was packed.
Let me start of by saying that it was hot. So hot in fact that none of the participants got what they deserved: interaction with the audience. We were simply unable to think.
With that out of the way I let’s see what the event was like. The opening speaker, Theo Deutinger is known for his data-visualizations. He learned from the best: he was trained at Rem Koolhaas’ OMA, who besides architecture make wonderfully evoking visualizations. OMAs style was recognizable in Deutingers presentation, however only one part actually made sense to me. With a beautiful animation, Deutinger showed us that the world actually goes to sleep everyday at 24:00 GMT+1. I always figured that when we went to sleep, people were at work on the other side of the world, and this would balance out over the day, keeping a stable amount of people who were at work. However, in his Work around the world project Deutinger shows the opposite. Play around with it. It looks beautiful. [Read more →]
Another company promising real AR-vision: Laster Technologies has started promoting their SmartVision technology, and it has got me excited. This is the first time I see AR goggles with transparent glasses. The goggles themselves are starting to look like normal glasses. The company says they expect to have a consumer product in the next two years. This is one I would love to try.
The ‘Nederlands Architecuurinstituut’ or NAi [transl: Dutch Architecture Institute] faces the possibilities of Augmented Reality head on. Earlier this year they showcased SARA (urban augmented reality application) and now they stepped their game up with UAR1 (pronounced “you are”). UAR2 gives us the possibility to experience alternate realities of Rotterdam: What has been, what will be and what might have been the architectural appearance of the city? Just pick up your (smart)phone, look through the camera and see buildings of the past or future in 3D in scale at their location.
Right now we can experience Rotterdam through Layar. Later on this year several other dutch cities will be added, including Amsterdam. I can’t wait!
As ‘mayor’ of ‘De Digitale Stad’ (the ‘Digital City’; DDS) in Amsterdam, Marleen Stikker developed the first free gateway and virtual community on the internet in 1994.
In the same year as the DDS opened, she founded Waag Society: aa medialab developing creative technological applications for societal innovation. Amongst others, Waag Society creates mobile citygames for the youth, develops storytables for the elderly and researches the possibilities for networked performances. Marleen was also at the basis of many organisation, including the Media Guild,PICNIC, and IT Innovation Platform Creative Industries.
Marleen Stikker studied Philosophy at the University of Amsterdam. Earlier she started the theatre magazine Alligator, the newspaper Daily Alligator, was director of media-performance festival Zomerfestijn, and chief editor of Live Magazine at De Balie.
On a sunny afternoon I got the chance to interview Marleen in her peaceful backyard in the heart of Amsterdam.
In the interview with Claire Boonstra from Layar the idea of Augmented Reality glasses or even contact-lenses was proposed as a certain future. According to Claire the question is not whether we will see immersive AR vision, the question is how soon. It seems she might be right.
While we might still have to wait a little for the contact-lenses, Gizmodo shows us some stuff from ARE 2010, the big Augmented Reality Event in the U.S. where Tanagram Partners showed the world their army Goggles. This is just one example (using transparent OLED screens, pricy stuff) but my guess is we will start seeing alternatives that target the consumermarket soon. By the way, Tanagram Partners have announced that the iPhone version of their product will be ready in 2011. Consumer war supplies? Only in America.
Claire Boonstra studied civil engineering at the Technical University of Delft. After her studies she soon left the building industry for the engaging world of New Media. After working at KPN mobile, Unilever and Talpa Digital eventually she started Layar with co-founders Raimo van der Klein & Maarten Lens-FitzGerald, with whom she had also been a part of the team that founded Mobile Mondays Amsterdam. Layar is based in Amsterdam.
Video mapping is an exciting use of technology that brings video projection on 3D-objects (like buildings) to the next level. The difference between normal and video mapped projections is that the projection itself is 3-Dimensional, instead of a 2-Dimensional layer that is projected onto a 3-Dimensional surface. This is done by creating a 3D model of the object on which is being projected, and using this model to add reality to the projection. The video below is the first one I saw that really blew my mind.
This is one good example of AR, which really uses the immersive experience it can cause. The video addresses several social problems in the Netherlands. In a lot of cases of streetviolence a lack of action by bystanders has caused the situation to escalate further then needed. Also, we have seen an increase of violence directed to healthworkers.
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