uncollected thoughts
Our guests next time are Joe Paradiso and Bill Mitchell. I think this gives us a great opportunity to get some more feedback on the projects and if possible take them a step further. I’d like to put down my thoughts on the different projects and what I think could be the next step. If it helps anyone figure out some things then that’s great and if anyone would like to further talk about their ideas just drop me an email.
My general idea of what’s next is very straightforward:
- Develop your own project proposal based on your experience and knowledge of Copenhagen/ Scottish H&I. There are no guideline for this only that your proposal is based on something “real”. When I say real I mean a problem, a need, something in need of tweaking, a service or anything of that sort that exists or is missing in your respective site (Copenhagen/ Scottish H&I). You should paint a clear picture of how you identified this “real” issue, the benefits of correcting it or basically proposing your project. All the rest of your proposal should try and elaborate on how your proposal works.
- “Demo or Die” is the Media Lab’s motto…we’d like to keep you all alive…call us crazy but we like you guys…Anyway, the demo is NOT a must, in fact it would be a great idea if every team works together on demoing 1-2 projects from within the group. If you need any technological help come and talk to us about it and we’ll try and do whatever we can to accommodate you.
- Taking into account the last two sections each team MUST produce a document outlining its overall vision of the site (CPH/ H&I). Ideally, this document will bring together all your individual proposals and serve as an introduction to the work you did.
I hope these three remarks help put in order some of the confusion that’s been going around. One more thing, in terms of the future prospects of this workshop…once the semester ends and you’ve all handed in your project proposals, group document and demo (optional), certain possibilities could be considered such as further development of the project as a research assistant, collaborating with Distance Lab and other groups etc. Just to keep that in mind…
Ok, so about the projects..here are some thoughts…
Aydin:
I think the proposal is very implementable. In terms of concept I would try to elaborate more on how the system works, narrow it down to one type of potential user/ client and focus the scope of interaction. Because the proposal is so applicable there’s a risk of getting carried away in order to show the full potential of the system. As I was saying I would try and narrow things down and just briefly mention some of the other applications/ users/ content you had in mind. I would define the content…is it vacancy/no vacancy? Open/ close? I would also try to define what’s on the other end, i.e. what displays the information and how? Pick potential places of intervention like on Fort William’s High Street. Start to design both ends of the system - the sign and the information post. Create scenarios of using the system for example a tourist using the system as opposed to a local. If you decide to demo, put together a technical plan of how to do it.
Cici:
We’ve already talked about the project and I’m curious to see the revised version. Let me know how it goes with Elena and try to lay down some work schedule with her.
Christine:
I like the idea of thinking about the tourist as a pollinator/ agent. Issues like: methods of data collection, what data to collect and how to visualize it are what I would work on. I think you’re talking about those traces a tourist leaves behind after his vacation is over and specifically in relation to eco-tourism. I’m thinking about what do people do when they come back from vacation? They usually download a shit-load of pictures they took from their camera and possibly organize them in a digital album. Maybe there’s a way or working with that? What sort of information could they take with them? Their ecological foot-print? An analysis of the places they’ve been and what they did visualized in a different way other than pictures? How is that helpful for the people of Copenhagen? Maybe it’s a tool for city planners and local service providers which helps to analyze tourist behavior/ resource consumption/ impact on the city? Here’s a wild idea…the Copenhagen municipality originally wanted the “Real-Time Rome” project duplicated during their culture night, maybe you could use the already existing material + outcome of that project to propose changes to the the Copenhagen version? I think some of the things you brought up in your proposal could nicely tie in to that.
Rebecca:
I think Calum’s enthusiasm today was spot on. I would try and break the proposal apart, elaborate on each component, show how they are used. How does the system work? The key issue here are the interaction, content and ambiance. Your trying to sell an experience, the experience of being outdoor. I like what Calum said about doing stupid things in the Highlands…that could be a branding mark “Feel like doing something stupid? Come to the Highlands and Islands!”…you know what I mean…Like you mentioned picking potential places if intervention are crucial. Do you remember that huge square we went through in Glasgow just before we took the shuttle to the airport? Right around there is the heart of Glasgow if I’m not mistaken, there’s a very nice commercial street right around there called Buchanan street…it could be an interesting place to think about displaying screens and such. There’s also the Queen street train station right there where we came off the train…Also, the connection to Distance Lab and their “Remote Impact” project is something I think could help in terms of brainstorming and possibly taking the project to a more interactive place…punching someone in Fort William from a local pub in Glasgow…give bar fighting a whole new dimension. 
Lena:
The idea of growth and ecological impact makes perfect sense to me. I think I would try and figure out the medium…is it a digital installation? How does the visualization work? What is the content, i.e. what sort of data is visualized and who benefits from it? You pitched the idea of a Tamaguchi and I think that’s a very evocative object which could help you extract some basic concepts like the parameters of survival…what does the city need in order to survive? Is there a certain city spirit or image we’re trying to save by engaging people in this process of growth? I’m sure scenarios would be very helpful and give a better idea of what you’re trying to accomplish. I would also suggest something completely different…like taking a look at your idea of smart wearable material and soldier nanotechnology and perhaps thinking of joining Cici who’s also working on textile and wearables. It could be interesting to work on one project and apply it to two very different sites….or maybe your idea of a public screen could be broken down and distributed between people’s cloths?
B & B (Ben and Brian):
I just had an idea of opening this new kind of business called B & B = Beer and Breakfast. I think it could work! Donald Trump here I come!
Anyway, I think you guys are also in a very good position to implement a demo. I would try and develop the idea o visualization using the bicycle wheel. Elaborate on the way the system works, how is everything integrated into the bicycle? What’s the potential of this method your developing? I would try and create different visualizations with it and just document that…maybe use simple animation…!? Create a catalog of visual effects and appropriate them to your own interpretation of the city…perhaps offer a new map of the city based on your catalog…
Sangwook:
You’re trying to do something with bicycles. It sounds simplistic, I know, but you’re taking on a difficult task in a city like Copenhagen. I think you should definitely try and narrow the scope of your proposal to one thing. I like the idea of using the bicycle for collecting information that could be used by different communities. If this is what you’re into I would think what sort of data are you trying to collect? How would you integrate the technology into the bicycle? How is the information distributed and visualized? I’ve always been curious about how much energy could be produced by paddling? If you have 60% of the population riding bikes and paddling then harnessing that energy should account for something, right? Maybe that’s something to look into…
Wen:
I’m trying to think of a way to take your proposal a step further…I like the idea of stories and travel and I’m thinking why constrain that to a desktop computer? Why not think about a mobile method of collecting these stories? On my first trip to Scotland we came up with an idea about a personal diary…a kit for students going into the outdoor who would like to record their experience. This might be something to collaborate on with Andrew(?) I think that creating another website for people to post their stories might be just like building a blog and there’s no real added value. A search engine that goes through the internet and collects bits and pieces of data about Lochaber and puts them together in different ways to become sort of like a trip planner might be an improvement to the original idea. I would decide on one of these directions and start drawing up some scenarios, as well as a description of how the system works. Oh! I just remembered something…when I was going through my commander training back in the army we had to pass a few navigation tests. One of the tests included navigating from point A to point B by memory. We had to create a “story” for the path between the points to help us memorize where to go. This again I think ties in to what Andrew is doing and might be a way to link your idea of stories to his project.
Andrew:
Look at the last comment I wrote Wen. I would try and establish a working connection with Jon and Gerry from the Lochaber College to make the project more grounded and use their input to better describe your proposal. Who is the potential user? What does he need? How does the system work? Try to sketch out some scenarios…I still think that connection to machine learning and the group at the media lab that used the tag cloud is something worth looking into. They use clustering and I know that SENSEable has done a lot of clustering work on the iSpot project. Plus if you hook up with Wen I’m sure he eats K-Means Clusters for breakfast…and possibly lunch and dinner. I would also address the question Calum raised today about the economical model for your proposal….it will make it stronger if its feasible.
Start working on these comments and bring what you have to our next meeting. You don’t need to make a formal presentation but have something to show while you discuss your project with the group.
I think that’s about everyone…If I’ve missed someone of something please don’t hold it against me and just send me an email…or a chopped finger if you’d like to go “Sopranos” on me…
Junno