SimSnails
About the Project
SimSnails is an interactive visualization and teaching tool that helps visitors learn about and experiment with the concept of natural selection. Using a technique called “Augmented Reality,” SimSnails uses a set of printed symbols and a video camera to create an immersive 3D world that seamlessly coexists with our own.
Visitors can watch as they wave cards in front of the camera to bring life to a colony of 3D snails that live, breed and get eaten by predators right in front of their eyes. The experience is designed to be flexible and playful, allowing you to modify aspects of the environment to see how the population adapts. Visitors can affect the landscape, reproduction cycle and even the rate of mutation in the snail population by simply holding up a printed card in the air. The inner workings of the simulation can be inspected by using similar symbols that cause dynamic 3D data visualization tools to pop up right in the palm of your hand.
Special Thanks
Special thanks to Dan O’Sullivan for his support and guidance while I explored the nuances of developing Augmented Reality simulations in Flash, and to Gretchen Gano for opening my eyes to the exciting world of scientific visualization. I am also indebted to the Flash Augmented Reality community, including Jon Reiling (squidder.com), Eric Socolofsky (transmote.com) and Saqoosha (saqoosha.net)
Snails @ Home
Did you see SimSnails at the ITP Spring Show? If you picked up a postcard, go grab it and click here to check out your very own snail garden! Note that you need a webcam installed to view the demonstration. If you lost your postcard feel free to print out the symbol below.
A key into your very own snail garden!
just me, holding a snail garden
May 13th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Loved the demo today. The card you handed out was fun, but after waiting for a while, no birds–shucks. I guess I have to buy the real version for that. Or maybe, download the cards onto my Kindle!
Becky is so excited. She wanted to start buying books now. I’ve got to grade a few more papers and I will be done.
Don
May 14th, 2009 at 12:00 am
[...] SimSnails by Craig Kapp [...]
May 20th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Hi. I gotta say I loved this project… it will be nicer if would be able to save sessions, upload other card designs, and take care of the garden. It could be a facebook app!!!
June 10th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
Oh, Honey. I just can’t do it
I’m guess I’m just not tech savvy enough. I don’t have a right button on my wireless mouse. Any ideas? I really wanted to make this work for the kids. I hope you don’t think I never tried it.
Your site is amazing, of course. You’re a genius!
Love,
juju
June 28th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
Great presentation on the snails. I think AR can really help education when the concepts may be difficult to grasp for students. A run an AR blog, so stop by if you want to see some other AR stuff.
But again, great job.
July 2nd, 2009 at 8:36 am
[...] getting a lot of mileage out of the frame I built for the SimSnails [...]
October 1st, 2009 at 2:24 pm
[...] world, which is an extension of my Sim Snails project from back in the Spring, puts you in the drivers seat of your very own virtual snail. I [...]
December 30th, 2010 at 9:12 pm
[...] sim snails 3 Image by ugotrade "SimSnails is an interactive visualization and teaching tool that helps visitors learn about and experiment with the concept of natural selection. Using a technique called “Augmented Reality,” SimSnails uses a set of printed symbols and a video camera to create an immersive 3D world that seamlessly coexists with our own." see blog.craigkapp.com/?p=691 [...]
December 31st, 2010 at 7:09 am
[...] Sim Snails 2 Image by ugotrade "SimSnails is an interactive visualization and teaching tool that helps visitors learn about and experiment with the concept of natural selection. Using a technique called “Augmented Reality,” SimSnails uses a set of printed symbols and a video camera to create an immersive 3D world that seamlessly coexists with our own." see blog.craigkapp.com/?p=691 [...]
December 31st, 2010 at 11:58 am
[...] Sim Snails Image by ugotrade "SimSnails is an interactive visualization and teaching tool that helps visitors learn about and experiment with the concept of natural selection. Using a technique called “Augmented Reality,” SimSnails uses a set of printed symbols and a video camera to create an immersive 3D world that seamlessly coexists with our own." see blog.craigkapp.com/?p=691 [...]