Forgot to add this...
So it was a really good trip - I learned a lot that will be useful for when our own Virtual Reality visualisation equipment arrives, and a couple of the German students that will be here on exchange in Semester 1 2007/08 have already been in touch to say that they are keen to help me. I learned more about stereoscopic filming, rather than just using 3D modelling software for outputting 3D content, and this is something I will be working on. Finally, it was interesting to see a university in a different country, and to talk to some of the students, who all had excellent English. It put my German to shame...
Monday, 23 July 2007
Wednesday, 18 July 2007
Wednesday 4th July
Wednesday was another busy day. After checking out etc, we were all back at the university. I went with Penny to see a demo of some software that had been developed for designing bespoke shirts (info here: http://www.intexma.info/index.php?show=&lang=eng&). It was impressive - it is already in use in some stores and had been presented at a trade show
After that, me and Penny met with 2 undergraduate students who will be arriving in Sheffield in September to spend the first semester of 2007/08 here on exchange. I introduced the games simulation project which CDT have done with Bob Steele over the last 2 years, which they may be doing in Semester 1, modules permitting.
And then I met with some more students who are coming over - postgrad this time - and who had been involved in the Reutlingen VR Lab. They have since emailled me and they are keen to help with the setting-up of our facilities whilst they are here
After lunch (see image below - a huge cafeteria when staff and students mix), Gabriela had arranged for me, Penny and Jeff to visit the Fraunhofer Institute in Stuttart to see a 6-sided immersive environment. Bob did brilliantly navigating the busy Autobahns to get us there. I'd seen a similar facility at Duke University earlier in the year, but this was presented in a more useful way, with more convincing examples.
After that, it was time to catch the train to the airport, and head home.
After that, me and Penny met with 2 undergraduate students who will be arriving in Sheffield in September to spend the first semester of 2007/08 here on exchange. I introduced the games simulation project which CDT have done with Bob Steele over the last 2 years, which they may be doing in Semester 1, modules permitting.
And then I met with some more students who are coming over - postgrad this time - and who had been involved in the Reutlingen VR Lab. They have since emailled me and they are keen to help with the setting-up of our facilities whilst they are here
After lunch (see image below - a huge cafeteria when staff and students mix), Gabriela had arranged for me, Penny and Jeff to visit the Fraunhofer Institute in Stuttart to see a 6-sided immersive environment. Bob did brilliantly navigating the busy Autobahns to get us there. I'd seen a similar facility at Duke University earlier in the year, but this was presented in a more useful way, with more convincing examples.
After that, it was time to catch the train to the airport, and head home.
Tuesday 3rd July
Tuesday was a much quieter day than Monday. Penny and Bob were away visiting SHU students on the exchange programme and on placement, but me and Jeff went back to the University for a bit more of a tour. Boris, one of the University staff, picked us up from the hotel and looked showed us around for the morning. We had a tour of the facilities, including recording studios, TV studio etc, and watched some films that had been made by students
I spent some time chatting with one of the students who will be on exchange at SHU starting Semester 1 2008/09, and he was kind enough to take me and Jeff back to the hotel.
I had some free time on Tuesday afternoon, and after a bit of a sleep, got very lost walking around in Reutlingen. Managed to order some lunch in a shopping mall - I must learn some German
In the evening, the four SHU staff and Bob's partner had a meal at a Mongolian BBQ/Chinese restaurant, and went for a drink afterwards.
I spent some time chatting with one of the students who will be on exchange at SHU starting Semester 1 2008/09, and he was kind enough to take me and Jeff back to the hotel.
I had some free time on Tuesday afternoon, and after a bit of a sleep, got very lost walking around in Reutlingen. Managed to order some lunch in a shopping mall - I must learn some German
In the evening, the four SHU staff and Bob's partner had a meal at a Mongolian BBQ/Chinese restaurant, and went for a drink afterwards.
Monday 2nd July
Started the day with breakfast in the hotel with Bob, Penny and Jeff, then we were at the university for about 10, where the first port of call was the VR Lab http://www.vrlab.reutlingen-university.de/ (the website is all in German)
The main part of the VR Lab is a rear projected (the projectors are behind the screen, so you can walk right up to the screen and not have any shadow problems) stereoscopic display, which from memory was about 12 feet wide and 8 feet high. When we first walked in and put the special polarized glasses on we were greeted by the sight of ourselves in 3D - thanks to a pair of digital video cameras on a tripod, with their images outputted live onto the screen. It looked very strange. The VR Lab at Reutlingen has very much been set up and used by students - which is how we are hoping to operate similar facilities here at SHU - and I was interested to hear that the special twin-camera tripod mounting had been made as a student project. I was also impressed to see that the students could operate the computer display from a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) over the wireless network.
The students went on to demonstrate some stereoscopic content, which was a mixture of filmed, 3d-modelled, and composited (3d modelling work combined with filmed content), which was impressive stuff. The final part of the demonstration was that computer games that use the OpenGL technology (which I know nothing about) can be outputted stereoscopically, which led to me playing a stage of Colin McRae Rally in 3D. My time was awful, but I haven't played it for a while!! But this feeds into the simulation/games for learning area. Second Life in stereo anyone? It is possible
Next, I sat in on a session where students were presenting some work they'd done on audio and sound effects. With my appalling knowledge of German, I didn't understand a word! but it was interesting.
The building we were in for most of the visit had some really interesting spaces, including this area that we saw used for fashion showcases, tutorials, and students with laptops working wirelessly:
There was also a courtyard area that was used for meetings, tutorials, fashion shows etc, shown below:
Later on, I spent some time talking with Jeff about stuff in general - I'd never met him before the trip but had heard about him because of his work on the This Little Life film.
We had lunch in an outdoor picnic area with many students around, and then in the afternoon, Gabriela had arranged a visit to a visualization company in Stuttgart called IC:IDO. It was intersting and useful, especially a demo of some very powerful (and expensive) looking software on another rear-projected screen - see image below.
After returning to the hotel for a while, there was a meal in the evening at a restaurant in Reutlingen. I had already been warned by Bob and Penny about the local speciality of noodles in cheese (I forget the local name for it), but was railroaded into it by one of the staff from the university...
The main part of the VR Lab is a rear projected (the projectors are behind the screen, so you can walk right up to the screen and not have any shadow problems) stereoscopic display, which from memory was about 12 feet wide and 8 feet high. When we first walked in and put the special polarized glasses on we were greeted by the sight of ourselves in 3D - thanks to a pair of digital video cameras on a tripod, with their images outputted live onto the screen. It looked very strange. The VR Lab at Reutlingen has very much been set up and used by students - which is how we are hoping to operate similar facilities here at SHU - and I was interested to hear that the special twin-camera tripod mounting had been made as a student project. I was also impressed to see that the students could operate the computer display from a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) over the wireless network.
The students went on to demonstrate some stereoscopic content, which was a mixture of filmed, 3d-modelled, and composited (3d modelling work combined with filmed content), which was impressive stuff. The final part of the demonstration was that computer games that use the OpenGL technology (which I know nothing about) can be outputted stereoscopically, which led to me playing a stage of Colin McRae Rally in 3D. My time was awful, but I haven't played it for a while!! But this feeds into the simulation/games for learning area. Second Life in stereo anyone? It is possible
Next, I sat in on a session where students were presenting some work they'd done on audio and sound effects. With my appalling knowledge of German, I didn't understand a word! but it was interesting.
The building we were in for most of the visit had some really interesting spaces, including this area that we saw used for fashion showcases, tutorials, and students with laptops working wirelessly:
There was also a courtyard area that was used for meetings, tutorials, fashion shows etc, shown below:
Later on, I spent some time talking with Jeff about stuff in general - I'd never met him before the trip but had heard about him because of his work on the This Little Life film.
We had lunch in an outdoor picnic area with many students around, and then in the afternoon, Gabriela had arranged a visit to a visualization company in Stuttgart called IC:IDO. It was intersting and useful, especially a demo of some very powerful (and expensive) looking software on another rear-projected screen - see image below.
After returning to the hotel for a while, there was a meal in the evening at a restaurant in Reutlingen. I had already been warned by Bob and Penny about the local speciality of noodles in cheese (I forget the local name for it), but was railroaded into it by one of the staff from the university...
Sunday 1st July
The Sunday part of the trip was just about the travelling to Germany. Why, at the airport check-in, when 2 desks are open and the other is not working because of a broken printer, do they not call some people from the none-moving queue to the desks that are working, instead of letting people get angry watching as the other 2 queues moving as normal...
...but finally got checked in when the printer was fixed. Noticed a long line of expensive-looking projectors providing the (rear projected) images on the screens above the check-in desks as I waited - I've started to notice such things because of my work on visualisation equipment! Penny and Jeff checked in a little later than me, so I was sat next to two guys who didn't seem to understand what switching off your mobile phone before take off meant...
Arrived in Stuttgart at about 11pm, then a taxi-ride with a taxi-driver-who-got-lost later arrived at the hotel.
...but finally got checked in when the printer was fixed. Noticed a long line of expensive-looking projectors providing the (rear projected) images on the screens above the check-in desks as I waited - I've started to notice such things because of my work on visualisation equipment! Penny and Jeff checked in a little later than me, so I was sat next to two guys who didn't seem to understand what switching off your mobile phone before take off meant...
Arrived in Stuttgart at about 11pm, then a taxi-ride with a taxi-driver-who-got-lost later arrived at the hotel.
Introduction
This should be the last of my retro-blogs, as I'm going to come up with another way of reporting on events etc in future - which will probably be more conventional blogging, rather than doing it weeks later!
I went on a visit to Reutlingen University with Bob Steele, Penny Collier, and Jeff Baggott from the faculty of ACES. A former member of SHU staff, Gabriela Tullius, now works at Reutlingen, and ACES have an exchange programme with them. Some of you may remember me working with Michael and Janina last summer - they were here on exchange from Reutlingen. The main purpose of my trip was to see the VR Lab at Reutlingen, but Gabriela had arranged visits to visualisation company and the Fraunhofer Institute in Stuttgart. The trip was Sunday 1st to Wednesday 4th July, and I'll be dealing with it day by day.
I went on a visit to Reutlingen University with Bob Steele, Penny Collier, and Jeff Baggott from the faculty of ACES. A former member of SHU staff, Gabriela Tullius, now works at Reutlingen, and ACES have an exchange programme with them. Some of you may remember me working with Michael and Janina last summer - they were here on exchange from Reutlingen. The main purpose of my trip was to see the VR Lab at Reutlingen, but Gabriela had arranged visits to visualisation company and the Fraunhofer Institute in Stuttgart. The trip was Sunday 1st to Wednesday 4th July, and I'll be dealing with it day by day.
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