| Out | Thursday, November 14, 2013 |
| Plans Due | Tuesday, November 19, 2013 |
| Milestone | Tuesday, December 3, 2013 |
| Final Presentation | Tuesday and Thursday, December 10-12, 2013 |
Our final project for this class is, in effect, a summary of the many topics we have covered. Your goal is to design an interactive virtual reality model for analyzing some aspect of the flight of bats, with an emphasis on efficiency of design. Concentrate on a part of the problem that you find particularly interesting, involving both an anatomical feature and an aspect of aerodynamics (at least one of each). You should plan to complete within 3½ weeks (or so) a fully developed interactive visualization, with an optimally functional interface/toolset and visual variables (icons/gradients/drawn forms) that effectively show the forces and forms under study in isolation and in layered comparison. Consider the various visualization/study options we have talked about in class to date: selection, notation, info probes, animation features, and innovative arrangement within VR space.
One aspect of design efficiency is, of course, ease of use. Your model should include a clear and intuitively accessible tool set, a menu system and navigation tools that are easy to activate, visually unobtrusive, pared down to essential functions and tailored to the characteristics and requirements of your model and its underlying hypothesis.
A second aspect of efficiency that is important to us is scientific cogency. This project should be pointedly directed toward a cause and effect relationship between aspects of the surrounding air, the physical properties and actions of the bat's wing and body, and the outcome in terms of aerodynamics. You may need to do deeper research in order to substantiate a hypothesis for your project, and you should be ready to defend the logic behind your plan. Since we are designing investigative tools, you might think of your model as showing a relationships between variables; you can begin your planning with a particular "moment" of interaction between wing and flow, but then nest that moment in a larger context that includes a number of other moments before and after in the wing cycle as points of comparison.
All models should include roles for kinematic depiction of wingbeat, aspects of the physical form of the wing, and one or more aspects of surrounding flow.
Another aspect of a well-designed VR model, different from other forms of scientific visualization, is immersion: the experiential engagement of the viewer user in the "world" created by you in the Cave. These final projects should have, as an added feature, an environmental and navigational model that facilitates the user's personal orientation in VR space and their understanding of the 4-D space the bat is flying in. You might consider some of the interface models from the slide show for Assignment #5: room space (a museum, a flight deck); planar grids that clarify the 3-D activity in the model; color scheme or "weather" effects that provide a tranquil or expressive context for the user's experience, while facilitating the visual clarity of the colors and forms used in the model itself. It might be best to approach the assignment by thinking of a linkage between toolset, menus and environment, perhaps in the context of a real-world metaphor such as a forest, cloudscape, laboratory etc. The environment need not be a logical one in relation to the environment of bats; "baseball diamond" could work, for example. This aspect of the assignment can and should be highly personal; what kind of world or workshop makes you feel at home? You can proceed from a basic idea of this environment to particulars of the assignment such as menus, tools etc, linking them in to your central design metaphor. Try to maintain a standard of useful efficiency and legibility even as you personalize your model.
Your final project can certainly proceed from one or more of the assignment responses you have already submitted. You can also incorporate features you have admired in other peoples projects (although you might want to give them some credit or check to make sure it's okay to use their idea.) Of course you can use anything that has been presented in the slide shows or that you have seen elsewhere.
We will have several milestones along the way to allow for group input in refining your plan, and to make sure you are on track to complete the project in time.
The final presentation will be a Cave demo using the Wizard of Oz technique to simulate kinematic animation, supplemented by a written or illustrated "libretto" or brochure detailing all features and their use, in handout or poster form. The demo should feature a smoothly choreographed performance, with a clear interaction of the imagined user with the interface, and an enacted script tracing a path of exploration and discovery in relation to your hypothesis. You will have to find a partner to perform your keystrokes, rehearsing ahead of time for maximum precision. Music, sound effects etc. can also be part of the performance.
Your first hand in for the project is a full fledged plan with the following elements:
After the initial review of your project ideas, adjust your hypotheses and strategies, and begin construction of the components in CavePainting. You should have one full frame complete by this milestone, and ready to be reviewed. All visual elements should be assembled in a way that allows Sharon and the class to gauge the validity and interest of the essential design. In addition, prepare a simple storyboard detailing the frames of your scripted demo. This storyboard should include references to wingbeat cycle steps, freeze-frames, split-frames or other animation particulars, menu/interface location and usage.
You need to present and try to "sell" your design to Sharon (and the rest of us) during your presentation. Prepare your brochure/libretto for distribution on the day of the demo, and practice your presentation. We will try to extend the class period on this day, but time will still be tight, and efficiency important. There will be no opportunity for late hand-ins of the project. Note that the main evaluation criteria will be: