Tag Archives: Study

Virtual Candles

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Another project I did for the New Media New Technology course at the Media Technology MSc Programme had the main goal of getting to know openFrameworks. The theme that my project had to connect to was “Space”. This time, I came up with the Virtual Candles project.

As a small exercise in augmented virtualy, I developed a setup where it was possible to use a real-life candle to light up a virtual object. By placing a WiiMote above a computer monitor, it was possible to track candles (or other infrared sources) placed around the monitor. These lightsources were then mapped into a virtual 3D space (using OpenGL) to shine a light on a virtual object displayed on the computer monitor. A video is posted below to see this effect in action. The full description and the software sourcecode can be found on the project page.

Random Piece of History

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For the New Media New Technology course at the Media Technology MSc Programme I had to come up with a project that payed tribute to an old new media. I had the freedom to do whatever I want, and I came up with the Random Piece of History project.

My project payed tribute to GeoCities. The inspiration for the project comes from the GeoCities archive from the Archiveteam. Whilst browsing the nostalgic pages, I couldn’t help but notice how these pages were mainly random pieces of text and images cobbled together. Which is why I asked myself: Is it possible to randomly generate a GeoCities page?

The project uses the GeoCities archive by scanning the entire archive looking for HTML pages. It then cuts up the HTML pages in small bite-sized pieces, which are stored in a database. When the users tries to access the project website, this database is queried and a completely random page is put together. The end result was a website that from the first look really seemed like a random GeoCities page, but actually wasn’t.

To make everthing feel genuine, the project was presented on a low-color and low-resolution CRT monitor with a virtual machine running Windows 98 Second Edition and Netscape Communicator 4.60 to make everything periodically correct. There also was an algorithm that tried to guess the age of the HTML page in the archive in order to eliminate newer pages from the building process.

Unfortunally, because of the size of the project, and because the hardware / software setup added a lot to the experience of browsing the pages, it is not available online. Screenshots are posted below to get a feel for the project. The full description and the software sourcecode can be found on the project page.

Make your own damn HCI!

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I am currently doing a group project for the Human Computer Interaction course at the Media Technology MSc Programme, where we’re exploring the possibilities of interaction with paper and computers. The key part of the project is to figure out a way to get non-technical users to develop their own (game) controllers that can be build solely using paper. The controller has to control a game or application on the computer.

The project is still in a very early and experimental/explorational phase, but here is a demonstration video of one of the prototypes. In this prototype, it was possible to use AR markers to build a virtual dashboard where the users could create and control certain input devices (knobs, sliders, switches) by moving AR markers around.

Media Technology MSc Programme

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Two months ago, I enrolled in the Media Technology MSc Programme at Leiden University. This is a two year research master of Leiden University’s computer science institute (LIACS).

I’m currently busy with a couple of very interesting projects in the field of human-computer interaction and perceptualization. One of the projects is a continuation of the disposable game-controller project I did back in 2010 during the Interactive Media Products minor.

I’ll devote some posts about these projects after I’ve finished them.

OSIRIS Email script

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As it’s still not possible to receive an email when new grades are published on OSIRIS, I wrote a script that periodically retrieves my grades. When a change in my grade-list occurs, I automatically get an email with a list of my last fifteen grades.

I am using this script with full satisfaction for some time now, which is why I’m publishing it.

Download OSIRIS Email script v0.1

Notes:

  • A (web)server with PHP and cron is required
  • Use at your own risk
  • Read the comments in each file

31-05-2011 update: The latest OSIRIS upgrade breaks compatibility with this script. You’ll have to modify the source code in order to get it to work again. I might look into this myself.

19-02-2012 update: OSIRIS has implemented email functionality in the latest release. I will no longer support this script.

PIC Thermostat controlled by SMS – Final assignment

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I didn’t succeed in getting the SMS communication to work. The compiler had various problems, and due to the time constraints we decided to simplify the task.

When a text-message with the word “Temperature” arrives on the Wavecom modem, the sender received an SMS with the current temperature.

Below are some pictures of the setup with the DB038 PIC board and the Wavecom modem (and RS232 to TTL conversion). On the photographs, the setup is connected to a computer for debugging purposes, it can also operate stand-alone. It is a completely embedded system.

PIC Thermostat controlled by SMS – Preview

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After a short discussion with the teacher, we decided to use the thermostat I developed earlier in a new project that requires an embedded system to interact using SMS.

Meanwhile, all hardware is ready, and the thermostat that was previously written in assembly is rewritten in C. In addition, the thermostat also sends textual messages containing the current status. The only part that has to be developed is the SMS communication.

Below is a short demonstration video, using a computer to communicate. Ultimately, the messages displayed on the computer-screen will be sent using SMS.

PIC Thermostat

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A short demonstration of my final assignment:

A thermostat written in assembly, capable of maintaining a pre-set temperature (using a 150 watt infrared light connected through a relay).

It also communicates with a computer where the temperature readout is displayed using a neat GUI.

Final grade for this project: 8.8

Computer Engineering

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At the moment I’m studying Computer Engineering at the University of Applied Science Utrecht. Two days ago I officially got my positive study advice, meaning that I can continue to the second year.

Unfortunatly, I haven’t got my propaedeutic diploma yet, for that I must retake three mathematics courses. I suspect that this will be no problem.

As for my grades, the jewels of this school year:

Web technology – 10.0
Introduction to Java – 9.6
Java Programming 1 – 9.4
Java Programming 2 – 9.3
Java Programming 3 – 10.0
Databases 1 – 8.5
Databases 2 – 8.6
Object Oriented Analysis and Design – 8.5
Computer Engineering Project 3 – 9.0
Computer Engineering Project 4 – 9.0