I’m happy to report that a working version of the Zooburst 3D pop-up book viewer is now online! This viewer will allow you to experience the kinds of 3D pop-up books that Zooburst v0.1 will be able to create. The viewer currently has the following features:
Multiple pages: Use the arrow buttons at the bottom of the screen to cycle from page to page.
Spatial positioning: Click and hold your mouse on the Zooburst book to orbit around it in 3D space.
Clickable characters: Some characters have more to say than others! Click around to learn more about items on each page.
Augmented reality: Click on the ‘Augmented Reality’ button at the top of the screen to experience the book in AR. Note that you need an active webcam installed as well as access to a printer to print out the necessary marker.
Poll Everywhere: Create your own web-based poll that lets students vote using SMS text messages sent from their mobile phones. Poll Everywhere polls can easily be embedded into your existing PowerPoint slides.
Text Marks: Set up SMS text messaging distribution lists.
PhotoSynth: View and construct rich 3D walk-through scenes using a collection of static photographs (note: you can view a PhotoSynth on any computer, but you need a PC in order to build one yourself)
Qik and Ustream: Live video streaming apps that turn your mobile device into a live video camera that can be broadcast out to anyone watching on the web.
Google Maps: Construct your own geo-referenced maps that can be displayed on the web or on a mobile device.
Next Exit History: A joint project by the Universities of West and South Florida that allows you to discover more about Florida’s history using geo-referenced video and audio clips.
NOAH (Networked Organisms And Habitats): “Noah is a tool that nature lovers can use to explore and document local wildlife and a common technology platform that research groups can use to harness the power of citizen scientists everywhere”
Historic Earth: “Drawing on the world’s largest online collection of geo-coded historic maps, Historic Earth allows you to virtually travel back through time in many locations”
Drop.io: Gives you a free 100mb file sharing space in the cloud. In addition, all drop.io sites come with their own telephone number, allowing you to call your drop from any phone to record an audio message that will instantaneously be converted into an MP3 file. Drops can be subscribed to just like any other RSS feed, allowing you to create ad-hoc podcasts on the fly.
Instapaper: Add a “read later” button to your Firefox toolbar that automatically sends a copy of any website – including images – to your mobile device for later reading.
ChaCha: Text any question to Cha Cha (242-242) and receive a response from a real live human in under 5 minutes!
Pandora: Provides you with a customized Internet “radio” station of music that fits your individual tastes.
Midomi: A music search engine that lets you identify a song by humming or singing
Zooburst is a digital storytelling tool that is designed to let anyone easily create their own customized 3D pop-up books that can be visualized in augmented reality. The Zooburst framework will be available in early April 2010 for public beta use. For more information, and to sign up to be a beta tester, please visit the Zooburst project blog at http://blog.zooburst.com.
Here’s a quick video that describes the project in more detail.
Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve posted an article up here. I’ve been swamped with class, work, and preparing for some upcoming events, including the NJEDge.NET 11th Annual Faculty Best Practices Showcase (I’m the keynote speaker!) – mark your calendars (Friday March 12th) – it’s going to be a great event!
I’ve also been busy on a number of augmented reality projects, including experimenting with the Box2D physics engine and Flash. Here’s a real rough prototype video of how one could use a physics simulator to drive an augmented reality scene – in it I rotate a marker and use its orientation in space to affect the gravitational forces being exerted on a series of virtual objects.
Labryinth-style augmented reality game using Flash+Box2D
To check out a live demo, click here. Use the marker below to give it a try.
Here’s a quick demo shows an experimental AR system that lets people construct their own augmented reality spaces by manipulating a series of printed cards. The screenshot and video below showcase how this kind of system can be used to grow a small virtual garden on your desktop.
Creating a technocolor garden by moving around a series of printed cards
The eventual goal for this project is to create a series of physical manipulatives that can be used in a pediatric rehabilitation setting for recreation & therapy purposes. I’ll be sure to provide more information as we begin testing the AR environment with actual users in the weeks ahead.
