Timeline of Events of the EMU project
Graphical timeline of events covering the period of research on the EMU project.
Visited the New York University (NYU) Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) as part of my position via Dept of Industry Science and Technology's "National Teaching Company" Scheme. While on this 2 year program I had was employed as a producer at Beam Software International, a Melbourne based Video game development firm.
Nick West was a contact I had made via colleague Bridgit McGrath (who had visited RMIT that year). Nick was the director at NYU's ITP program's experimental television program called "The YORB" . YORB was a television program which is broadcast from the university. The show depicted a 3D computer generated world which can be navigated by people at home by watching television, and navigating and otherwise interacting with the televised world by using the keypad on their telephone. The telephone becomes the interface device for the televised world.
This first (one of 3) visits to the ITP at NYU results in the decision to make 'Electronically Mediated Urban Space' the main theme for my Masters research at the newly formed RMIT centre for animation and interactive multimedia.
I wrote an article for The Age on YORB that year for my then regular column called "Frontier Media".
Professor William J Mitchell's work "City of Bits" is published. During a Melbourne visit, Prof Mitchell articulates the idea that
a) notions of physical, cultural, geographic space are changing radically as the full impact of telecommunications technologies infuses our cities with many layers of added invisible influence.
b) new paradigms are required if multimedia and communications technologies are to realise their full potential in improving daily everyday life rather than reinforcing the often narrow agendas of the both the commercial and government sectors.
c) computers are shrinking, and able to be embedded in ordinary objects and made to communicate with each other to enable the environment itself to be 'intelligent'.
As the EMU project developed, interest in my area of study from Business Victoria led to a successful travel award consultation to the United States and Europe in 1995. Electronically Mediated Urban space and its variants became the central focus of a trip across major sites of innovation in California, New York, Boston, Edinburgh and Amsterdam.
While visiting such sites of innovation as MIT's Media Lab, New York University, Stanford University, UCLA, Edinburgh University, and the Netherlands Design Institute, I gathered valuable research on the ongoing development of research aimed at utilising city planning as the basis for online shared spaces.
A lengthy consultation and interview with the head of the department of urban planning at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor William J Mitchell resulted in the reinforcement of the memorandum of understanding which was enjoyed between RMIT and MIT. In correspondence leading from this meeting, Professor Mitchell invited me to visit MIT as a visiting scholar. This offer was later taken up three later in 1998.
First Visit the MIT Media Lab
Video interviews which included narrated demonstrations work of leaders in the field, such as David Small, Brygg Ulmer, Steve Mann and others was included in a comprehensive video tour of the Media Lab, the basis of which formed the core of my 1996 presentation in the RMIT Radio Theatre.
The 1995 EMU overseas research trip also afforded real, 'on the spot' material for use in my project. The experience of seeing first hand developments in wearable computers, for example helped build a clearer picture of the likelihood of the predominance of untethered, wireless 'augmented reality' devices for everyday civilian use.
Following a proposal upon my return to Melbourne to build an EMU wearable computer based on the types worn by Mann and others, many attempts were made to secure the requisite support from Telstra. A delegation which included VISCOM head of department Robin Williams, John Bird and I met with Telstra Strategic development heads about the use of Telstra's resources in building the wearable computer interface.
Drawings, plans, ideas toward "EMU ON THE RUN" were passed on to Telstra Strategic Development department, who initially promised 'in kind' support, but later withdrew all support due to disagreements about adequate copyright control.
My interest in the overall project of EMU gradually drifted more toward the theoretical. I became interested in the subject of urban planning in general more, tying this interest into an ongoing inquiry into the work of various artists and art movements in the 20th Century who also identified urban planning as key to their work.
Inspired by my visit the the MIT Media Lab and meeting with Thad Starner and Steve Mann, I decide to pursue the development of a wearable computer, with the aim of using the system to create a system of 'augmented reality signage'. The computer would be worn on the body and would utilize a head mounted display to enable the wearer to have information pertinent to his/her environment superimposed over their view of the 'real world'.
Telstra's Strategic Development department in offered me some in-kind sponsorship for this latter approach which I titled "EMU on the Run". This sponsorship proved slow in materialising however, due to institutional delays and uncertainty of issues pertaining to intellectual property.
EMU TAKES SHAPE
The first experiments in developing a city called EMU developed. Post Grad student John Power and I work on prototypes for a city with the view of rendering paths through the city to be later televised. John Power's geometry was based on the idea of buildings as organic, capsicum shaped structures, organised in a foggy and misty atmosphere.
Though seen by the visiting then prime minister, Paul Keating and all members of staff as well as the head of school this work (including the animation showing a 'fly through' of the city) and the geometry and texture map information comprising it was deleted from its hard disk sometime during 1995, and unable to be retrieved. Neither John Power nor myself ever found out what had happened to the original EMU city project.
EMU TV - Using the Telephone to Navigate Through a Broadcast Computer Generated World.
The original interactive television show proposal (early 1995) would have enabled the home user to navigate through a television broadcast 3D computer generated environment by means of the home telephone. The 3D graphics (of which John Power did the original animations) were to have been pre-rendered and stored on laser disk. The phone signals emanating from the viewer at home would then have enabled the viewer to move through that world, as well as perform activities of other phone-in participants.
Optus Local Vision in South Melbourne in 1995 expressed strong interest in helping develop this, and I worked on Macintosh based Infini-D 3D and Autodesk 3D Studio mesh objects to comprise the EMU world itself. These are still stored at the Cinemedia/RMIT Annexe. This material was to be burned onto a CD-ROM or onto a Laser disk for real time interactivity via simple telephone exchange apparatus.
EMUPALACE SITE
EMUPALACE site launched. This was an attempt to build into the Palace (a shared web environment which enabled 'chat' sessions to happen using graphical elements such as smiley faces etc.
The EMUPALACE background. Each of the floating environments (plane, shark etc) were to be separate sub-cities where people could inhabit to enable different themes to find expression as the basis for 'drifts' through the space. Like a theme part EMUPALACE would encourage free play and open communication.
EMUWEB GRID idea develops. With the support of Mr David Atkinson, and Mr Harry Sokol, the EMUWEB GRID idea is implemented. A grid of dots, each representing a person's potential home page is organised numerically like a street directory or a map. The aim is to enable the user to navigate the grid in four directions, so that they can 'drift' through the space. The grid is to be published at the Cinemedia web server and hosted there.
Otherzone - original motion picture and interactive CD-ROM spin-off
Production of OTHERZONE takes place. Filming over 10 days in April, the film is backed by Film Victoria. The film depicts a future city of Melbourne in which characters do battle with each other for control of a global network. Characters wear "Netspex" which enable them to superimpose data over their view of the world, thus augmenting it with information pertinent to where they are geographically and what they are doing. These ideas stem directly from RMIT based formal visits to the Media Lab in Boston, and from discussions there with Thad Starner and Steve Mann who had developed wearable computers.
Also developed alongside the movie is an interactive video game prototype called "Otherzone Interactive" which enables the player to inhabit scenes from the movie, and converse with characters. The process of designing the game involves the assistance of interactive screenplay writer Nick Hagger. The process of designing the layout and architecture of the game is underscored by the particular requirements of video game production, which emphasize engagement and entertainment for the player as the prime objective.
Another idea is the use of fabric as an interface to the OTHERZONE realm itself, as an example of a far future form of wearable computer.
Lectured at Swinburne University in the subject of "Textuality and Discourse" - a subject examining the overlap of language and writing and cyber culture (filling in for Dr Darren Tofts).
Taught myself to use 3D Studio release 4 software in order to complete computer animation for my film OTHERZONE. The process of learning this software enables me to further investigate possibilities of creating VRML shapes for use in Augmented Reality. The process also helps me to visualise ideas for other city related projects.
OTHERZONE INTERACTIVE developed. This video game spin-off from the movie utilizes QuickTime VR and QuickTime movies to enable the player to inhabit and navigate between 'rooms' which represent scenes from the movie, and others never seen in the movie.
The process of designing the game draws upon skills learned at Beam Software in terms of the importance of flowcharting and mapping out designs which enable games to be constructed. This reliance upon architectural floor plans, branching path flowcharts and story boards constitutes a level of abstraction which itself becomes the basis for EMU research.
"Otherzone" completed. Premiers at the 1998 Melbourne Film Festival.
With scholarship from Collaborative Multimedia Centre "eMERGE" I once again visit MIT's Media Lab, this time for an extended period of two months during June and July.
While here, through Thad Starner (pioneer of wearable computers whom I met in 1995), I am introduced to Karrie Karahalios of the Sociable Media Group. With Karrie, I work on DIORAMA - an augmented reality system enabling the superimposition of 3D shapes over a view of the real world. My contribution to DIORAMA is a set of VRML shapes, generated using 3D MAX software. The shapes were then installed into the DIORAMA system. A laptop screen is used to view the world and an SGI computer in wireless contact with the laptop generates the shapes which appear to float over the top of the world.
Upon return to Melbourne, begin research at the I-Cubed research centre, furthering experiments in VRML 3D shapes design, as well as working on a wearable computer based on a macintosh duo230 laptop computer and a pair of Virtua IO glasses on loan from a colleague
Wrote an article for MESH magazine called "The New Abstraction" which examines the trends in intelligent objects, and networked situations of everyday life whereby people's lives are mediated by the flow of information between objects, buildings and people. The article also articulates the newly launched EMUWEBGRID project and publishes the URL.
Article on EMUWEB GRID and wearable computer prototype published in the Melbourne Age and Australian newspapers.
1999
Move to Brisbane to take up position at Griffith University's School of Film Media and Cultural Studies. Purchase a second head-mounted-display (a pair of 'Virtua IO' glasses) for further work on the wearable computer.
Receive sponsorship from Apple Computer Australia in the form of the long term loan of a G3 Powerbook laptop.
EMUWEB GRID moved to the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Melbourne.