Litmus is the monthly newsletter of ACID, the
Australasian CRC for Interaction Design
1. RESEARCH AND PROJECT UPDATES
:: V-Jam trials at Caboolture
ACID is researching V-Jam video jamming software as a tool for creative engagement with young people at the KYC Trust in Caboolture.
Dr Steve Dillon said this V-Jam project is giving young people, who might be disengaged from traditional schooling, opportunities for creative engagement in music performance.
�V-Jam is unique because it enables live DJ/VJ performance, rather than recorded production,� Steve said. �Participants collaborate with one another to generate and compose in real time, planning the performance in the same way as a live band.�
�Our research looks at both the use of the system, and the way collaborative projects enable social engagement, cultural recognition, and a sense of achievement among participants. We hope that the young people involved in this trial will build the confidence to go on to become mentors for other kids in the community.�
The workshops are being held once a week to prepare for a performance at the Caboolture Learning Expo on 8 September, during Adult Learning Week.
:: Ian Gwilt�s /Mundane Traces/ exhibition opens at Powerhouse Museum Sydney
Photographs � Deborah Turnbull
ACID Researcher Ian Gwilt of Creativity and Cognition Studios at UTS opened his /Mundane Traces/ exhibition in Beta_space in the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, last week, with the opening hosted by Head Curator Matthew Connell.
The event, sponsored by ACID, started with a demonstration in Beta_space of six of Ian�s recent artworks featuring desktop iconography such as scroll bars, folders and document pages. This iconography is displaced from its recognizable domain of screen, keyboard, and mouse interaction, and is instead displayed in a museum context where audiences can navigate and contemplate a mixed media discourse of vividly recognizable iconography. The representational media ranged from rapid image prototyping to sculpture, film and sound installations, and augmented reality displays.
A focal point of the exhibition is the developing AR toolkit software, emerging out of collaboration with the HitLab, New Zealand. Overseen by Ian and ACID Research Leader Mark Billinghurst, Sun Kyoo Hwang of HitLabNZ developed an image recognition software that is triggered by a small camera atop a hand-held mobile device. This trigger produces a random selection of words, a mixture of computer commands and personal pronouns, to bring the analogy of human computer interaction into the realm of augmented reality.
After the opening, guests convened in the Level 2 Education Rooms to participate in an artist�s discussion by Ian about his practice and PhD studies.
Dr Zafer Bilda is currently evaluating the effectiveness of a sculptural exhibit in Beta_space and the robustness and viability of the AR software.
For further information on the Beta_space process, please visit www.betaspace.net.au.
Calling all ACID Researchers: If you�d like to let others at ACID know when and where you�re publishing, just send the details to Litmus. But don�t forget the publication process requires all ACID publications to be approved � the guidelines are available from Education Program Manager Michael Docherty.
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2. ACID PEOPLE
:: Deb Polson presents SCOOT at RiverFestival in Brisbane
ACID Researcher Deb Polson and the team at Newish Media are bringing SCOOT to the world again, this time at the RiverFestival in Brisbane from 7�9 September.
Teams of families, friends and trusted contacts sign up as SCOOT agents for this high-tech interactive treasure hunt to find clues and games hidden throughout the South Bank precinct. With the help of the S�Avatars on SMS, SCOOT Agents aim to stop the Pesky Ones taking over our world with their dodgy carnival games.
To solve interactive puzzles and complete the mission, SCOOT Agents are directed to both hidden and familiar South Bank landmarks including those in the South Bank Parklands, Grey Street area, the State Library of Queensland, the Maritime Museum, and Hands On Art.
Deb said this version of SCOOT has been well supported by the South Bank precinct.
�RiverFestival and the South Bank Corporation have been terrific; they�ve really gotten behind SCOOT,� she said.
�In addition to space, infrastructure and volunteers to help us run the event, they�ve provided access to market stall space, Picnic Island, Piazza displays and other extra ways to add depth to the experience for the players. Groups of players will encounter all kinds of surprises like after-hours �Tent4Rent� displays on the Ray White Real Estate rental screens, scrolling LED messages hidden in company letterboxes, fake movie screenings at the South Bank Cinemas and other little touches that make it so much more involving.�
Night missions will run on Friday 7 and Saturday 8 September, and day missions on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 September.
To help save the world from the Pesky Ones, just register online at the official SCOOT Agency site and show up at South Bank.
:: Colleen Morgan presents Figmentum at Electrofringe in Newcastle
Photographs � Colleen Morgan
ACID Research Associate Colleen Morgan will present theFigmentum project at the Electrofringe festival in Newcastle NSW on 29 September.
Figmentum was Colleen's Honours project, exploring how we may design located information and communication technologies (ICTs) to foster community sentiment. Figmentum is a situated generative art application that was developed for and installed in a new urban development. Through a generative artwork, the work aims to trigger emotional and representational imagined communities.
2007 is the tenth anniversary of Electrofringe, the festival of experimental electronic arts and culture dedicated to skills development and artistic exchange. The festival will present workshops, panel discussions, masterclasses, presentations, exhibitions and screenings. Visit the Electrofringe website for more information.
4. DATE CLAIMERS: Mark Your Diary Now!
:: Fun Stuff
GAME ON: Theory meets the real world, presentation by Peter Jarrett of Gridwerx
5pm, 4 September 2007, Kelvin Grove QLD.
Visit the IGDA site for more info.
R U Game: Hellboy � The Science of Evil, presented by Krome Studios and QUT
10am�2pm, 8 September 2007, The Block, Kelvin Grove QLD.
Free public program.
Colleen Morgan�s Figmentum at Electrofringe
6pm, 29 September 2007, Newcastle NSW.
Visit the Electrofringe site
Next Level Festival, featuring 48-hour game making competition and ACID�s i-Wall
26�27 October 2007, Kelvin Grove QLD.
:: Awards and Residencies
Civil Society Practitioners Programme, Oxford Internet Institute
Two spaces available on the CSPP visitor program (six weeks between Feb and Dec 08)
Submissions due: 26 September 2007
visit the CSPP website for more info.
:: Professional Workshops
Creating Your Future in the Digital World: why the digital community matters to you and your business
Presented by the Creative Leadership Forum
2 October 2007, Sydney
5 October 2007, Melbourne
9 October 2007, Brisbane
17 October 2007, Canberra
visit the CLF website for more info.
:: Calls for Papers
OzCHI Doctoral Consortium, 28 November 2007, Adelaide SA.
Submissions due: 7 September 2007
visit the OzCHI website for more info.
visual:design:scholarship, Research Journal of the Australian Graphic Design Association
Special Issue: Graduate education and the design industries
Guest editor: Dr Laurene Vaughan (ACID Researcher)
Full submissions due: 21 September 2007 by e-mail to Laurene
visit the journal website for more info.
Imagining Business: Reflecting on the visual power of management, organising and governine practices, First EIASM Workshop, 26�27 June 2008, Sa�d Business School, Oxford UK.
Submissions due: 28 February 2008
visit the EIASM website for more info.
:: Conferences
*Last chance to register
VSMM07: 13th international conference on Virtual Systems and Multimedia
Exchange and Experience in Space and Place
23�26 September 2007, Brisbane, QLD.
visit the VSMM07 website for more info.
WikiSym 2007: International Symposium on Wikis
Wikis at work in the world: open, organic, participatory media for the 21st Century.
21�23 October 2007, Montreal Canada.
visit the WikiSym website for more info.
Making Links 2007: Emerging Technology � new opportunities for the community sector
30�31 October 2007, Sydney NSW
visit the Making Links website for more info.
Blog World Expo
8�9 November 2007, Las Vegas USA.
visit the expo website for more info.
First International Workshop on Semantic Web and Web 2.0 in Architectural, Product and Engineering Design in conjunction with ISWC 2007
11 November 2007, Busan KOREA.
visit the ISWC website for more info.
Defining the Scientific Evolution of Technology Enhanced Learning: the Kaleidoscope 2007 Symposium
Impact, Excellence, Value, Synergy
26�27 November 2007, Berlin Germany.
visit the Kaleidoscope website for more info.
ISEA2007: International Symposium on Electronic Art, 25�30 July 2008, Singapore.
visit the ISEA website for more info.
:: Calendar Call
The ACID calendar function is temporarily unavailable. If you have an event, meeting or conference date to share with ACID colleagues, just click here to e-mail the info.
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