TravisChristian::BLOG
07.31.08
The Last Post
Assuming I don't take time tomorrow to blog, this will be my last post to the wiki. It's hard to believe that it's practically over. Tomorrow we show off our hard work and celebrate the end of our time together. It's been a great 10 weeks with all of you and I regret that I may never see any of you again. So I leave you with this word of advice: wear your ISU NSF VRAC HCI SPIRE-EIT REU 08 t-shirts proudly and don't lose The Game.
07.30.08
The End Is Near!
Well, this just about wraps it up. Tomorrow is our last work day, followed by Friday's symposium. There is still plenty to happen though- program evaluation tomorrow, a research team meeting, another demo practice (which according to SG, Team Gandalf doesn't really need), getting our T-shirts (I just lost the Game and so did you!), setting everything up for the symposium, and the party at Eliot's house afterwards. It should be a busy few days, which will be a nice change from this week's awkward having nothing really to do but feeling like slackers sitting around wasting time not doing anything. Pam suggested that we say something about what we liked and didn't like about the program, so:
- Getting to see all of the cool stuff at the beginning was good.
- If possible, it would be nice to know specifically what kinds of projects are being done when applying to the REU. I don't think any of us had a very clear idea of what we would be doing until we got here. I think we all really enjoyed our projects though.
- There wasn't much interaction between teams on project work until lately, but that's probably just our lack of initiative.
- The programming classes could have been more helpful if they were targeted at each project with applicable assignments instead of grouped into a general course. For example the C++ course was very easy for me, but then when we started working on the project I had no idea how to use OpenSceneGraph and had to figure most of it out myself.
- If I had to pick one thing to completely throw out it would be Journal Club.
- We seem to be the only REU that works in teams, which was a great experience.
- Having lots of organized activities the first few weeks when we weren't busy was really nice.
- It would have been cool to see last year's REU projects at the beginning along with the C6, haptics lab, etc.
- The HCI course was mostly busy work and we didn't learn much. It would have been nice to have more conceptual stuff like how to design interfaces.
- I'm pretty sure now that I want to go to grad school right away, and of course I'm considering ISU.
NizarKhalife - 31 Jul 2008 - 00:52
You guys aren't slackers, you're just efficient!07.29.08
At this point, blogging seems rather superfluous really
We spent most of the afternoon helping Eva put together easels and cut out foam boards for the symposium. I guess that's what happens when you run out of project. Now a little more tweaking the table and the app, added a new button to discard whatever is on the wand (haven't tested it yet) in case you feel the need to trash your space station manually. Lighting is still somewhat of a problem but all of the markers are working most of the time.
SamanthaLevine - 30 Jul 2008 - 10:29
I see how it is, blame it all on the hardware. We are awesome!BrianRussell - 29 Jul 2008 - 23:08
The easel assembly looked like fun.NizarKhalife - 29 Jul 2008 - 21:55
Any plans on improving the 2.5D trashcan?07.28.08
The Last Monday
It's hard to believe that it's almost over already. In 5 days I'll be home. With the application essentially finished, all we have to do is fix the lighting and camera to make the Table easier to use. We're also still experimenting with some animations, and we will need to do some informal test runs with people who haven't been using the application from the beginning, to be sure that it is in fact useful.
NizarKhalife - 29 Jul 2008 - 00:59
It's not as useful as a grill.DesireeVelazquez - 28 Jul 2008 - 17:07
I haven't tried playing with the machine. Maybe sometime later.ThomasNiedzielski - 28 Jul 2008 - 16:20
I don't really know how it works, but it'll be nice to have less jittery images to look at so the seizures stop.07.24.08
Look What We Made!
Long they laboured in the regions of VRAC, which are vast beyond the thought of grad students and interns, until in the time appointed was made the Magic Table. Into it Gandalf poured their skill, their awesomeness, and their will to dominate all teams. There it was made, and only there can it be unmade.
SamanthaLevine - 28 Jul 2008 - 09:25
Most true. How did we get so awesome??NizarKhalife - 24 Jul 2008 - 19:03
Beware the TV in your face!07.23.08
Winding down...
With 8 days left, Gandalf doesn't have much to do aside from putting the new Table together, which Samwise estimates will take about 5 hours. She's making some final changes to the paper now, Matt is adding some finishing touches the models, and I'm mostly cursing the poor lighting conditions and lack of mobility under the old table.
TEAM GANDALF.
Do not take us for some conjurors of cheap tricks.
NizarKhalife - 23 Jul 2008 - 19:39
The game looks really great. It's no farm, but it's still pretty cool.JennaLanger - 23 Jul 2008 - 16:58
Sweet, you guys are up on it. Looks like next week will consist of building lots of space stations for fun!SamanthaLevine - 23 Jul 2008 - 13:28
Go team gandalf! We are awesome!07.22.08
Jim Oliver, RAGBRAI, and Binary Clocks
Apparently there's someone in charge here, and his name is Jim Oliver. He's at least as cool as Stephen Gilbert, which is saying a lot. His inside information on the realities of grad school is good to know. I'm learning that grad school is much more different from undergrad college than I had thought, and it sounds great. Several thousands of cyclists are coming through Ames today on their way across Iowa, which is cool, even though it means bus detours and extra congestion around campus. There are various tents, support crews, and bystanders along the route as the riders go by. One of the special events is the International Food Fest, which turned out to be a complete ripoff. Several of us went to check it out, assuming that the $3 entry fee was for the food- but no. The $3 was to get in the door and see the food, which could then be purchased with tickets costing 50 cents each. Upon discovering that, we all decided to cut our losses and went downstairs to the food court for some prepaid American fast food. Behold the latest version of the GUI/HUD, including an instruction screen that is shown when the program starts, and an unintentionally binary timer! That's not a bug, it's a feature.
NizarKhalife - 22 Jul 2008 - 19:38
Take that, International Food!07.21.08
With apologies to Cole
Sorry to perpetuate the recent fad of posting webcomics instead of blog posts, but this one pretty much sums up my experiences with C++ thus far:
Today's bonus luncheon lecture on the grad school application process was very insightful and useful. I've been thinking a lot about grad school lately, and whether I will continue with school now or come back for a MS later. ISU would definitely be one of my top choices if go on to grad school right away.
Meanwhile back at the Magic Table, we have a cool new HUD full of useful color-coded information. (big image)
TravisChristian - 22 Jul 2008 - 09:39
but T-rex does it all the time?NizarKhalife - 21 Jul 2008 - 22:41
Sorry, I make statements in the form of a question? Nice HUD.CodyGlover - 21 Jul 2008 - 13:47
Sorry, I don't get it?07.18.08
Basic App Complete (w00t)
Our basic application is finished. Stop by to try it out. Team Gandalf is not responsible for any injuries that may occur while using the Magic Table.
Sam and I finally got the rotations to work this morning after she discovered that the rotational components are stored out of alphabetical order in the Matrix. w x y z became x y z w, and suddenly everything snapped into place.
NizarKhalife - 20 Jul 2008 - 22:26
That looks like a mess.07.17.08
The resemblance is uncanny!
update: after some heroic debugging by Andrew, the situation that has plagued me all week is mostly resolved. The parts now snap into place and can be picked up again without anything crazy happening. We've been working on the rotations, to get them to snap to the nearest perpendicular (up/down, left/right, front/back) orientation. Manually manipulating matrices is alliterative but yucky.
NizarKhalife - 17 Jul 2008 - 23:40
Matrices > People ~BKC07.16.08
Today in awesome space history: Apollo 11 launched
Not much to say. Little to no progress on the code, because I can't figure out how to get all the MatrixTransforms to behave properly so that the modules can both snap into place and retain a rotational orientation. The models are coming along nicely, and our poster is looking good. Today's luncheon was an unfortunately applicable lesson in business dinner "edicut". I appreciate the excellent food but regret that I may someday be expected to practice the obscure art of eating in a professional environment.
ThomasNiedzielski - 16 Jul 2008 - 15:29
I found today's etiquette lesson chock full of that fun feeling of terror only standardized tests can provide.07.14.08
Any other day that might seem strange
Magic Table now knows what modules are being added to the station. Next it should store that information, and know when modules are removed, so that the station can react accordingly. So much to code, so little caffeine. 16 awesome points if you understand today's title and why it's important.
NizarKhalife - 16 Jul 2008 - 00:33
I like Con Air!ColeAnagnost - 15 Jul 2008 - 14:40
You need to give out awesome points for things that aren't so easy to find. Quotes for Cameron Poe (Character) from Con Air (1997) [after seeing a Corvette being towed in the air by a plane] Cameron Poe: On any other day, that might seem strange. The only explanation I can come up with is that you are attaching a Corvette to your space station. Awesome.NizarKhalife - 14 Jul 2008 - 19:19
I never get any awesome points. =(SamanthaLevine - 14 Jul 2008 - 13:43
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml88/88049.html I totally figured this one out! And you thought I wouldn't get it.07.11.08
Oh Thank Heaven
So, another field trip. Apparently the stuff we learned in HCI is actually used in the real world. It was interesting to see how a real company like Principal Financial does usability testing, but it wasn't particularly exciting stuff. Still it was good to know, and a nice excuse to visit Des Moines for a day. I can't complain about the free gourmet meal at the top of the historical building either.
MatthewScheinerman - 11 Jul 2008 - 22:55
You know, Catherine's parking. I promised it would make it into my blog.NizarKhalife - 11 Jul 2008 - 17:17
I was also amazed that people actually use this stuff! And the gourmet meal was quite FTW.07.10.08
I'm 21
It's my birthday. PHOTOMONTAGE!!!
NizarKhalife - 10 Jul 2008 - 20:44
BEST BLOG POST IN AT LEAST 42 PARALLEL UNIVERSES!!!DesireeVelazquez - 10 Jul 2008 - 16:39
You managed to assemble something? Good for you! That looks really awesome! And happy birthday again!AllisonWhite - 10 Jul 2008 - 16:20
Very sweet space station. also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!SamanthaLevine - 10 Jul 2008 - 15:58
BEST BLOG POST IN THE UNIVERSE!!!!07.09.08
Push the Red Button
The space station is now equipped with a big red "More Magic" emergency self-destruct button. When pressed, it destroys the entire station (silently of course, because this is in space). The only function left to implement for the basic version is getting the modules to snap to different orientations based on the staff postition.
DavidOluwatimi - 10 Jul 2008 - 08:48
Aha!!!! I was the first to write on your blog. Freakin HAPPY B-DAY!!!!NizarKhalife - 09 Jul 2008 - 20:16
I want explosions! EXPLOSIONS!!!!07.08.08
Kinda like grad school
Besides being there to support Eric's PhD defense this morning, it was interesting to see what it's like. It's a research report, a marketing promotion, and a job interview all at once. I'm glad I don't have to do that yet, but I'll probably be getting a Master's degree so I guess I now know what to look forward to.
Not a lot of progress on the space station code lately, but I did add the ability to remove/relocate pieces, which was only a few lines of code. I'm trying to figure out how to discard pieces, which is tricky because of the way the mouse interaction functions are called; and how to make modules snap to the nearest perpendicular (vertical/horizontal/lateral) orientation from the staff to the station, which is complicated because it involves MatrixTransform manipulation, inverse matrices, and all that fun stuff.
Sam and Marisol apparently got our poster draft looking several shades of awesome but I haven't seen the new version yet.
07.07.08
Tractors and stuff
No visit to Iowa would be complete without some kind of farm related experience, so it's no surprise that a tour the John Deere assembly plant in Ankeny was on the itinerary. Other than a quick look at a stereo projection screen with tracking cameras there wasn't much HCI involved, but it was interesting to see how the machinery is assembled, and how long each station had gone without an OSHA reportable injury. There were also some robots for various tasks but none of them were working at the time. They could have been on strike for poor treatment, or maybe preparing for the Robot War. Eventually there will probably be a huge robotic complex that builds entire machines given nothing but raw materials and CAD specifications, with engineers monitoring the process and preventing robot uprisings. We weren't allowed to take pictures of anything, probably because of the huge cotton baler prototypes that are still in beta testing. It's ironic that out of all the future farmers where I'm from, I'm the one who wants to get out and do something else, and yet I'm the one that goes on a tour of a farming equipment plant. Most of my high school would have probably given their camo overalls for that. On the ride back we saw license plates from Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, the US Government, and various counties of Iowa.
DavidOluwatimi - 07 Jul 2008 - 23:15
Robots have already taken over the world. HELLO, the Matrix, we live in it. Reality CHECK!!!NizarKhalife - 07 Jul 2008 - 21:49
I would have given 2 camo overalls. Suckers! By the way, did you guys see the BMW with the license plate that said "THXMOM"? Darn spoiled preppy rich kids. GRRR!DesireeVelazquez - 07 Jul 2008 - 16:28
Or the mutant cannibal chickens that will eat the population into despair.DesireeVelazquez - 07 Jul 2008 - 16:28
We are going too into the future. And everyone knows it's the penguins that will rule over us.SamanthaLevine - 07 Jul 2008 - 14:31
Camo overalls...LOVE IT!!!! PS-what if the robots and zombies and the US government Population Control Unit teamed up against raptors? Would they still win?MatthewScheinerman - 07 Jul 2008 - 14:23
This is ridiculous. Everyone knows the apocalypse will be the result of a killer plague released by the U.S. government in an attempt at population control.TravisChristian - 07 Jul 2008 - 14:04
That just gave me the best idea EVER (or at least the third great movie concept in the last week): the Robot War and the Zombie Apocalypse are the same thing. The robots are zombie proof, so they will save us from the zombies by learning how to fight them. As a result we become dependent on the killer robots for safety, and when they learn to take advantage of that to their own ends, the result is the Matrix.CodyGlover - 07 Jul 2008 - 13:48
The bad thing is that by the time we have it where the factory is complete robot ran, farming will probably be completey automated. So we will need to look out for the combine death machines as well.07.02.08
More Magic!
More progress on space station G.A.N.D.A.L.F.: a shaded sphere around the build area, and nodes that the modules snap to when placed in the station. The next step is to arbitrarily place nodes on the modules themselves so that they will automatically snap together. I think we should call the new Magic Table upgrade the "More Magic Table". 32 awesome points for anyone who gets THAT reference.
space station modules learn how to stand in formation
EvaTao - 06 Jul 2008 - 22:12
Sounds interesting combination, John.JohnMorales - 03 Jul 2008 - 17:56
lets do something, lets put our projects together and make a AR Meta!Blast. The PodShip and the characters are going to be so microscopic that you wont see a thing in the magic table haha. By the way that shader looks like a force field protecting the station.CodyGlover - 03 Jul 2008 - 13:40
Looking good.DavidOluwatimi - 02 Jul 2008 - 14:05
I am really excited for the gandalf team. I hope it turns out well by the end of the summerSamanthaLevine - 02 Jul 2008 - 13:49
Yay! I get it!!!!!!! Just don't turn it off!!07.01.08
Your topic for the day
Yesterday's error has been found and executed. It turned out I forgot to copy over a few lines of code that initialized some important objects. (I miss Java...) After that we ran into another crash, but it was a quick fix and now we're building space stations! Previously the only interaction was moving the parts around, but now we can copy modules from the parts library and place them into the build area (ie, add them to the station). Just a few more changes and the basic interface will be complete, then we move on to the more complicated features such as tracking the components in the station and snapping them together.
an early specimen, probably of Russian origin
EvaTao - 06 Jul 2008 - 22:01
Fabulous!!DesireeVelazquez - 01 Jul 2008 - 16:03
That looks like an interesting satellite... I don't know, it feels like there's something weird about it. Maybe it's just me. But good luck with your coding!PaulClay - 01 Jul 2008 - 15:40
I'm curious how the code works, is it openCV? I like the idea of symbol recognition using a cheap camera.SamanthaLevine - 01 Jul 2008 - 15:00
That is by far the best Russian Space Station ever!!! I don't know how you do it all Travis06.30.08
Payday!
There's nothing like being handed a $2000 check to make your Monday morning better. Payday should always be on Monday. Andrew gave us a tour of more code today. We're combining the new stuff for moving models around between library and workspace with what we already had. It explodes when it tries to track the magic
NizarKhalife - 01 Jul 2008 - 00:26
Agreed about payday on Monday.JennaLanger - 30 Jun 2008 - 22:58
your table is so cool that it lets you code in AR!!!06.27.08
He's beginning to believe.
I spent this morning wading through some uncommented code that Andrew sent us, trying to get out of it what I could before he walks us through it. I'm starting to understand OSG structure, what the MatrixTransform does and how it affects the objects in the scene. Sunglasses may be required. Also, I
NizarKhalife - 30 Jun 2008 - 00:12
How do I turn off green character vision?06.26.08
Main Screen Turn On!
We're digging into the OSG code, trying to figure out how to display the information we want on the screen. We found some code for creating a HUD layer, and are adapting that for an intro screen and object labels. Once we get the markers figured out we will start creating a library of available models and a build area to assemble the station. w00t:
EvaTao - 06 Jul 2008 - 21:36
You guys are awesome!!SamanthaLevine - 26 Jun 2008 - 16:50
How are you so good at making space stations, sunsets, and everything else that is awesome??ColeAnagnost - 26 Jun 2008 - 16:50
Wait, is it drawing the sunset onto that bottom block or what is up with that. I look forward to your game though, there better be a zombie outbreak in the space station (maybe little random events that hurt whatever resources you have while you are building? "Your scientists accidentally cause a zombie outbreak in the medical facilities, you lose X personnel and Y supplies)MatthewScheinerman - 26 Jun 2008 - 14:50
Sunset...in...space...CodyGlover - 26 Jun 2008 - 13:32
If a raptor attack replaced the blue screen of death I bet there would be a lot less blue screening or a lot less programmers.06.25.08
The Space Race Begins
No screenshots this time, but today we put our first space station module on the Table. We also installed the new webcam (identical to the old one, but without the superfluous headgear) and experimented with the lighting/settings. I have the software more or less mapped out (emphasis on less) so the next step is to start coding. Yay code! Oh, and one other thing: there will at some point be a space station designated Geosynchronous Astronautical National Defense Anthropomorphic Living Facility (G.A.N.D.A.L.F.)
06.24.08
Getting our collective feet wet
SO today we (TG) finally learned (as in, "I'm throwing you into this river, learn how to swim") how to use OSG and ARToolkit, which are combined into the appropriately named OSGART. Andrew walked us through some code and showed us the app he is working on. We have a general idea now how the program does what it does, and how the user interaction is going to work. Also, I found a cool little space station game that's similar to what we want to build in AR. It's incomplete, old, and apparently abandoned, but we got a few ideas from it.
06.23.08
Starting to feel like an engineer again
Now that we have really officially for reals settled on an software application, it's time to start designing that software. There are a lot of conceptual unknowns at this point, such as how the space station will be "physically" constructed, how the player will interact with specific components, and how the game mechanics will work. I've been applying my software analysis experience to a high-level (rough) model of the application layer, which at the moment consists of some sketches and notes in my notebook.
DesireeVelazquez - 24 Jun 2008 - 13:41
yeah, that's real productiveNizarKhalife - 23 Jun 2008 - 23:43
While you guys were "designing" some of us were actually doing real work. Like playing Touch Fighter on our iPod Touches.MatthewScheinerman - 23 Jun 2008 - 21:39
I don't really understand your software designs, but I appreciate what you're doing anyway.SamanthaLevine - 23 Jun 2008 - 13:22
Don't forget the design of our team logo/name/motto!06.19.08
In Space, No One Can Hear You Lose The Game
Just kidding, we're not doing 3D chess. After talking with Eliot we decided to go with our original ambitious idea and make a space station sim. It will be in 2 phases, first a simple building app, then a real-time game. It's going to be (in typical Team Gandalf fashion) pretty awesome.
JennaLanger - 24 Jun 2008 - 14:47
Thanks!!! I just lost the game!!! NOOOO!!!NizarKhalife - 21 Jun 2008 - 22:44
I'm glad you guys got to do the space station you wanted. Beats farm animals!PaulClay - 20 Jun 2008 - 16:33
cool idea, ima excited!JohnMorales - 20 Jun 2008 - 00:16
Seems pretty sweet dude, I can't miss that opportunity, but what do you mean by sim? sim like simulation or sim like the sim's video game?BrianRussell - 19 Jun 2008 - 23:52
I shall miss the opportunity to play 3D chess but this application seems to have more potential.06.18.08
Compiling...
I've discovered firsthand that compiling a project on a flash drive takes much longer than necessary. Although it does make your OpenGL demo feel less trivial.
NizarKhalife - 21 Jun 2008 - 11:39
Haha! I love that excuse! Though I don't see why you would compile on a flash drive.MatthewScheinerman - 18 Jun 2008 - 20:49
I know, our computers were really slow at running our OpenGL project, or at least mine was.AllisonWhite - 18 Jun 2008 - 14:47
i feel like XKCD has just given us a good idea for an extracurricular activity06.17.08
Team Gandalf Progress Report
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[/advertisement] Our OpenGL project has hit a few bumps but we're making progress. It has slowly evolved from simultaneously driving a tank through snow while creating and manipulating falling snowflakes, to an automated tour of a winter wonderland from a bobsled. The trig functions in the camera views were giving us some problems, and now we're trying to figure out how to adapt a 2D snow effect to a 3D world with a movable camera. I'm working on the environment, making such things as a skysphere, sufficiently enormous terrain, and various fun landmarks.
BrianRussell - 17 Jun 2008 - 22:52
An advertisement in a blog. That's a first.06.16.08
Happy Little Trees...
Making billboards is an old cheap trick in the world of 3D graphics but that doesn't make it any easier to do. So far I've had rows of trees stretched, moved, and rotated in every direction, but not stuck in place where they should be.
Team Gandalf has decided on a chess game as our Magic Table application. It will display virtual chess pieces on a real or virtual board, and help teach the user how to play the game by showing legal moves. We may animate the pieces to increase the awesome factor.
EvaTao - 17 Jun 2008 - 05:17
Nice tree! You have to tell me the story "It's ok, You are free!" after "You just won the game."ThomasNiedzielski - 16 Jun 2008 - 22:22
Those trees were tricky buggers. For some reason, Chess is what I thought you guys might do all along. Good luck!NizarKhalife - 16 Jun 2008 - 22:22
Somebody wasn't paying attention at their team meeting.MatthewScheinerman - 16 Jun 2008 - 14:54
You'll figure out those trees at some point. And since when are we animating the chess pieces? That's news to me.06.13.08
Product Demo
What you see below is our first working demonstration of the Magic Table, with my Maya model.
EvaTao - 17 Jun 2008 - 05:15
Sweet!CodyGlover - 16 Jun 2008 - 13:35
Why you... darn I just lost the game.NizarKhalife - 14 Jun 2008 - 19:32
Oh snap, I just lost The Game!JennaLanger - 14 Jun 2008 - 17:37
wow, that is awesome! i can't wait to see what kind of crazy things you guys are going to have for your final project! p.s. - your snow is amazingCatherinePeloquin - 13 Jun 2008 - 20:02
Wow. Well done on the magic table folks!SamanthaLevine - 13 Jun 2008 - 17:26
I am so overwhelmed with you awesome-ness!!! I am really lucky to have you both as teammates!!Friday the 13th: Less bad than Monday the 16th
OpenGL is substantially more fun than Maya. I've been driving an M1A1 Abrams (free model from Turbosquid) around all morning. I'll leave it to the graphic artists to make toys for me to play with.
I don't know how to preserve the textures from the model in OpenGL yet. There's a lot we have to learn in order to make our group project awesome. More on that later. Also, I claim no responsibility for what's about to happen. OBTW, I'm going to a church in Des Moines this Sunday. They're having a big car show/ festival thing involving free food and entertainment. If anyone wants to go, let me know. I'll leave around 9:00 and probably get back by 2:00. more info
TravisChristian - 13 Jun 2008 - 16:19
PS, I just operated the Magic TableThomasNiedzielski - 13 Jun 2008 - 15:18
For some reason, that car just fits in the scene with Al Capone better than the original06.12.08
Why the Maya Are an Extinct Civilization
I'm starting to get the hang of Maya, but it's still frustrating sometimes. By now it's apparent that computer modeling is not something that I would want to do as a career or a hobby, despite my years of meddling. I've had much more success with 2D graphics, which tends to be more WYSIWYG.
ColeAnagnost - 12 Jun 2008 - 21:37
It's looking pretty good, I like the indentations around the hinge. Looks very detailed.06.11.08
A Brief History of Computer Modeling
It occurred to me that in the 4+ years that I've been messing with computer modeling, I've basically been learning to do the same basic tasks with increasingly complex software. 3 years ago, POV-Ray: free open-source, text-based
(It's the Heart of Gold from HHGttG ) 2 1/2 years ago, OpenFX : free open-source, graphical
2 years ago, Poser: commercial, ~$100
today, Maya: professional, $2000+
So instead of actually getting better at modeling I've just been adapting what I know to new interfaces. Sounds like an HCI problem...
EvaTao - 12 Jun 2008 - 02:25
Nice works!!SamanthaLevine - 11 Jun 2008 - 23:29
Travis-- How did you get so awesome? That is the best MAYA photo in the World! Go team!!!!MatthewScheinerman - 11 Jun 2008 - 15:51
So that's the Heart of Gold. I have to admit, I had no idea what you were talking about.BrianRussell - 11 Jun 2008 - 13:45
This is an impressive timeline.06.10.08
HOW TO USE MAYA
http://www.expertrating.com/courseware/mayacourse/MAYA-Tutorial.asp Day 1:
Day 2:
EvaTao - 11 Jun 2008 - 06:40
Good job!CodyGlover - 10 Jun 2008 - 13:19
Nice tutorial. It gives a lot of the basics that the examples don't give.06.09.08
Recurse you, algorithm!
In C++ it's harder to shoot yourself in the foot, but when you do, you blow off your whole leg. — Bjarne Stroustrup, creator of C++ Our C++ project was ready to go on Thursday, according our minimum goals, and finished this morning, but there's one more feature that we had talked about from the start: dynamically generated mazes. It's a common algorithm, readily available on the internet in various languages. The problem is that we represent walls as squares in our mazes, instead of borders between squares. It made the game easier to code at first, but now I can't use the "standard" code on our mazes. I tried all morning to adapt a backtracking recursive algorithm to work with our model, but it's not working (causing Windows error messages). It won't be included in the game demo, but I probably won't sleep until I get it working. At least I had some fun with the logic:
for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++){
for(int j = 0; j < 10; j++){
maze[i][j] = (i%2)*(j%2) ? 42 : 178;
}
}
[...]
void makePath(int i, int j){
[...]
maze[i][j] = ' ';
newi = i + (x%2)*2*(x-1);
newj = j + (x+1)%2)*2*(x);
maze[(i+newi)/2][(j+newj)/2] = ' ';
makePath(newi, newj);
etc.
JasmineJones - 09 Jun 2008 - 20:33
oh yes, at least you had fun with the logic. That's always important. Fun. with Logic.CodyGlover - 09 Jun 2008 - 17:11
Another object oriented phrase: C gives you the bullet to shoot yourself, C++ lets you reuse the bullet.BrianRussell - 09 Jun 2008 - 13:35
Recursive algorithms were always my least favorite algorithms.06.05.08
Team++
Today Team Gandalf became incrementally more awesome. This was for various reasons. including but not limited to: We got a sweet new 46" Samsung LCD TV to
DavidOluwatimi - 09 Jun 2008 - 09:46
lol Travis, I got to admit, you are the only team with an official name and you have a freakin 46'' SAM FREAKIN SUNG LCD TV. Our team will let you have the exclusive rights of being exclusively awesome, for now.EvaTao - 07 Jun 2008 - 00:43
blog today? Could you post your HCI video on the team blog?MatthewScheinerman - 06 Jun 2008 - 10:15
Indeed, Team Gandalf rules. Every other team wishes they had as cool a team name as us.06.04.08
If You Had a Magic Table...
What to do with a Magic Table? That is the question. The possibilities are endless, but choosing one application that is interesting, useful, innovative, and yet practical for us is a hard decision, especially when we do not know much about the technology. I've been watching some videos about AR, and everything I've seen is some variation on the same principle: identify a symbol and render a 3D object or scene on top of it. That's great, but it doesn't really push the possibilites of the technology. The best use I've seen so far is in educational books that have printed information as well as symbols where AR displays 3D models right on the pages. But what can we do to expand on that?
EvaTao - 06 Jun 2008 - 02:04
Very Funny, Nizar
DavidOluwatimi - 05 Jun 2008 - 20:09
I understand your dilemma; what can any of the research team do that is not way out of our league? Maybe you could do AR chess? Sounds cool? You could probably create a board with movable square peices...well...I dont know.PaulClay - 05 Jun 2008 - 18:26
I think AR is one of the coolest parts of HCI. Have you though of using video processing that identifies lines? You could use this to dynamically figure out planes in the view. You could also hook up something to the cammera so that it always knew which way was down(some kind of accelerometer). Though this would be super hard to pull off.NizarKhalife - 04 Jun 2008 - 20:36
If you ever want to see your USB again send $1,000,000 to my account in The Caimans. I think you should make a dancing panda bear that teaches kids how to do their taxes. That really would be magic.DesireeVelazquez - 04 Jun 2008 - 14:09
I think that AR would be the basis of holograms you see in scifi movies, so don't worry about it not having applications right now. At the very least, I think it's cool, and that's basically an important aspect (whether you like it or not).06.03.08
I Don't Have a Life, Why Would I Want a Second Life?
Our guest faculty speaker today was Professor Gut Noel, as he is known in Second Life. He's a business professor who works with the HCI program to teach classes via Second Life. We discussed the role and future of virtual worlds such as SL and other social networking technologies. I've only used SL once, to "test" a project that a friend was working on with a team from Ohio University, but the program was so glitchy I could hardly do anything and never was able to get to the location. The idea of a persistent, user-created virtual world is cool, but I would be more interested in it as a gaming or creative resource rather than a social tool. Now, Team Magic Table is off to film a documentary on a cutting-edge computer technology.
CodyGlover - 04 Jun 2008 - 13:28
I have to agree that having a virtual environment be purely social tool is strange. Most environments have another purpose which then evolves into a more social tool.EvaTao - 04 Jun 2008 - 03:10
Sometimes you do not know you have~ And you need go 2nd life to reflect yourself that you have the 1st life
SamanthaLevine - 03 Jun 2008 - 22:44
I completely agree with you!! Team Gandalf rocks!!BrianRussell - 03 Jun 2008 - 13:55
I look forward to the documentary.CatherinePeloquin - 03 Jun 2008 - 13:44
Ha, points for most amusing blog titles.06.02.08
A-MAZE-ing!
Today we started our crash course in C++ programming. I didn't mention it to him, but I find it ironic that our teacher's name is Foo. If you know why that's funny, props to you. ANYway, we have to come up with a group project. Magic Table, the #1 team project team to date, has come up with the absolutely incredible idea of a maze game. It will convert a text file into a maze that the user must navigate. It's a humble beginning, but will no doubt lead to much more awesomeness in the weeks to come. We debated for a while how we would implement the maze in order to allow easy navigation, and finally settled on a simple 2D boolean array that represents walls and empty spaces. The user will start in one corner and move into any adjacent empty space until arriving in the opposite corner. There may also be peripheral features such as constant annoying music. Stay tuned for progress.
TravisChristian - 03 Jun 2008 - 21:32
It's funny because the term "foo" is traditionally used in programming as a meaningless name to demonstrate how to do something.ColeAnagnost - 03 Jun 2008 - 00:10
Heh, you know... I never noticed that... good catch. Now we need a TA named Fubar...EvaTao - 02 Jun 2008 - 23:56
I would like to know why it is funny.JasmineJones - 02 Jun 2008 - 14:57
will the maze have cheese as you go along? or electric shocks for when you go the wrong way? it would be so cool if the C6 had haptic walls and floors so you could run a maze in there and be like little mousePaulClay - 02 Jun 2008 - 13:59
oh, but how much more fun would a randomly generated maze be? But that would be possibly too complicated.... sadness.MatthewScheinerman - 02 Jun 2008 - 13:58
I know why it's funny! Props to me!!CodyGlover - 02 Jun 2008 - 13:44
I like the idea of the music, a thought may be if you can set up a time to allow you to add sound effects.BrianRussell - 02 Jun 2008 - 13:32
Great title, I scrapped a previous comment in favor of commenting on the title.06.01.08
June!
It's June. Why is it June? It was just May, like... yesterday. I want my May back.
EvaTao - 02 Jun 2008 - 01:08
Me too
05.31.08
Erm.... Saturday?
Today is Saturday. It's been highly unproductive from any standpoint, but I suppose that is to be expected of our first day off. I took the opportunity to explore the campus, which mostly consisted of wandering around semi-aimlessly looking for cool architecture and places to eat. Best news of the day: there is a Taco Bell on Lincoln at the southwest corner of campus, where soft shell tacos are 75 cents on Saturdays. I realized afterwards that the Flying Burrito, which I hear is very good, is right next to it, but I can't be expected to eat at two cheap pseudo-Mexican places in one day.
NizarKhalife - 01 Jun 2008 - 23:52
While in the past studies have indicated that you can't be expected to eat at 2 cheap pseudo-Mexican places in one day, more recent ones have shown 2 to be the ideal amount of cheap pseudo-Mexican places.05.30.08
Augmenting Reality
Our team's project is to create a new Augmented Reality (AR) Magic Table with a well-designed application. Our faculty mentor, Eliot Winer, is giving us a lot of freedom to come up with our own implementations. The question is, what do we do? He suggested something applicable to childhood education, which could be fun. Ken, the iPhone grad student, mentioned the possibility of using the Magic Table to create content for the iPhone application, which sounds really cool and very ambitious. There is also the option of... something entirely different. We've come up with a few ideas, including flash cards, a board game, and something with haptics. One thing is for sure, the new 48" LCD TV will not be hosting HALO tournaments.
ThomasNiedzielski - 01 Jun 2008 - 15:37
I was just thinking about Eric's medical program on the C6 and realized that AR might be an efficient way to store layered 3D medical images. Maybe each of the black squares on a card could create one layer (external, muscle, bone or something.) Then by covering certain squares, one could see whatever layer one wished!AllisonWhite - 30 May 2008 - 16:50
so... joint project with the robot team? we might not smash the tableJohnMorales - 30 May 2008 - 16:46
Hey Travis you should check this out AR toolkit, is a old video that Desiree happens to find like 3 months ago.SamanthaLevine - 30 May 2008 - 16:30
iPhone HALO in C6? So crazy-we could do that
05.29.08
Hello, Blog!
Eva hacked my blog! (artifact from Wiki class) Today we are getting acquainted with the technologies we will be using. We had a lesson on wikis and how to edit pages such as this, and took a pretest for C++ programming. We also had our first Journal Club meeting, where we discussed the possibilities of machines detecting, responding to, and displaying emotion. A few interesting points:
- It rains here.
- Memorial Union is a good place to eat.
- ISU has an enormous bookstore.
- Given enough time, we can figure out how colors work.
EvaTao - 29 May 2008 - 22:10
Sweet
BrianRussell - 29 May 2008 - 16:40
The RSS feed is an excellent feature, thanks for sharing it.MatthewScheinerman - 29 May 2008 - 16:23
Very informative entry, Mithrandir.JennaLanger - 29 May 2008 - 13:31
i like that trick! now I'm going to know when I can read everyone's blogs!CatherinePeloquin - 29 May 2008 - 09:33
Oh no!- code_of_ethics.doc: code_of_ethics.doc
Topic revision: r176 - 2008-08-01 - 02:22:49 - TravisChristian
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