November 1, 2009
594 - Hands On Wednesday
This Wednesday, from 1pm to 5pm, the 594 class is open for 'walk-arounds' by the IMD community. Students will have their projects running, and would love to have you come and try their projects and give feedback. This is a chance to go a little deeper than is possible in standard presentations. Come one, Come all! Location is the Flower Street Colab.
Posted by mbolas at 5:55 PM | Comments (0)
October 29, 2009
Chaging World Views from a Balloon
The challenge is to be the first to submit the locations of ten moored, 8 foot, red weather balloons located at ten fixed locations in the continental United States. Balloons will be in readily accessible locations and visible from nearby roadways.
Posted by mbolas at 11:10 PM | Comments (1)
October 22, 2009
The Big Three are Dead, Long Live the Big Three
What do you think?
Microsoft = GM
Google = Ford
Apple = Chrysler
The all make pretty much the same stuff these days, give or take a model year or two.
Posted by mbolas at 11:34 AM | Comments (0)
August 4, 2009
Realtime Graphics at the Film Show
Getting into the Computer Animation Fesitival at Siggraph is a big deal. I have been involved with projects that made it in 3 times over the past 20 years - each time I held my breath while the clip played. I found it strange to be so nervous as the clips were pre-recorded and I must have watched them 50 times before.
Imagine the rush when the film show started with a special emphasis on realtime computer graphics, and the first example was. . .. Flower! Yeah! Way to go thatgamecompany! I have no idea how John Edwards managed to breathe while playing the game - live of course - on stage in front of thousands.
Posted by mbolas at 10:54 PM | Comments (1)
August 2, 2009
Siggraph 2009!
IMD has multiple papers and exhibits at this year's Siggraph. Here are a few I know about:
Tracy Fullerton, Nahil Sharkasi, and Jesse Vigil of the Interactive Media Division, and Laird Malamed of Activision Blizzard, Inc. are presenting:
Designing History: The Path to Participation Nation
Andrew Jones, Magnus Lang, Graham Fyffe, Xeuming Yu, Jay Busch and Paul Debevec of USC's ICT, and Mark Bolas of IMD, and Ian McDowall of Fakespace Labs, Inc. are presenting:
Achieving Eye Contact in a One-to-Many 3D Video Teleconferencing System
In addition, the 3D Video Teleconferencing System was packed in a rental truck on Wednesday, and is being set-up in New Orleans right now. There is a very rough/early video of it in operation here.
(Thanks Paul Debevec for the photo)
Posted by mbolas at 3:27 PM | Comments (1)
May 4, 2009
The subway-fold
Columns work.
Thin, quick,
easy to read,
back and forth,
left and right,
columns.
e-paper,
designed in a nice,
1/4 size newsprint form -
buttons on the back,
maybe sides,
heck maybe a dismissive
accelerometer-sensed shake.
Skimmed with a glance,
while standing
shoulder to shoulder
in a crowded subway.
Not a big kindle, but
a blast from the past .
Posted by mbolas at 6:41 PM | Comments (0)
March 10, 2009
National Ignition Facility
Getting closer. National Ignition Facility.
Posted by mbolas at 10:55 PM | Comments (0)
March 8, 2009
Machine Shop Class, Evenings, Venice
The Venice Community Adult School has a Machine Shop class meeting every Monday night from 6:00 - 9:15. The next term begins March 9, and goes until June 20. Details here.
Unlike most machine shop courses, which are lecture based, the VCAS program allows students to work independently on their own projects. The number of projects taking place is as varied as the students taking advantage of the program, ranging from mechanics and hobbyists to engineers, entrepreneurs and inventors.
Note - the very close LA Trade Tech also offers courses, go here for more details.
Posted by mbolas at 8:24 PM | Comments (0)
February 28, 2009
ICT Interships - Summer 2009
File this in the short notice category - ICT has paid interships this summer. Apply here.
Not all will get funded, however the four positions that are posted for the lab I work in are:
3D Environment Artist Intern 0918
Mixed Reality Redirected Walking
Virtual Human Artist Intern 0919
Mixed Reality Virtual Humans
Data Collection Software Developer Intern 0920
Mixed Reality Redirected Walking
Gesture Markup Software Developer Intern 0921
Mixed Reality Virtual Humans
The ICT offers select interdisciplinary paid internships for creative and technical students wishing to pursue careers in simulation, interactive media, and virtual reality fields. ICT’s mission is to create compelling immersive and engaging systems for effective learning for the military, entertainment, and educational purposes.
Posted by mbolas at 3:39 PM | Comments (0)
February 14, 2009
Hear, shock, flinch, wow.
"IBM has filed a patent (US 7484451) for Bionic Body Armor, that could essentially allow us to dodge bullets like Neo in The Matrix. The armor would scan areas for incoming projectiles and when one is detected the system would deliver a shock to the muscles causing a swift reflexive action away from the projectile."
I find this idea significant on two levels. 1) The inventor's courage to continue a train of thought that crossed paths with 'hey, I know, let's Taser the user!". 2) The nod to our augmented-human future: building a set of ears, a reptillian reflex brain, and inducing nerve signals for muscular action.
A world-class example of using the absurd, of "making the familiar strange, and then the strange familiar"
(IBM patent application and Synectics quoted above)
Posted by mbolas at 1:33 PM | Comments (0)