Research Update

This week I met with:

Todd Bryant
Margaret Smith
James George

I scheduled meetings with:

Matt Romein
Kat Sullivan
Andrew Lazarow

Things I need to watch and read:

More of the readings from Margaret
Watch videos from James
Watch Oculus videos recommended by Todd — tried to do this over weekend by Rift wouldn’t work with my MSI 🙁

The highlights of my meetings were:
Todd — really interesting discussion about volumetric video v. puppeteering and the possibility of combining the two. Create feedback on the need for story to demonstrate Kinectron’s utility.
Margaret Smith — great resources for reading about the current state of the industry.
James George — Great resources for what’s already out there. Helpful perspectives on story and possible connection to someone being denied access to the country. Possible collaboration when their capture studio is complete in a few weeks, and possible advisement on thesis.

I’ve updated my answers to the questions presented on the TJ:

What else is out there like it?
Depth Kit
8i
PerceptiveIO / Holoportation
Mimesys

How is yours different?
I don’t know the answer yet, but my hope is that it’s different because it is real time, cheap, and open source.

How does it improve what exists?
I don’t know the answer to this yet.

What audience is it for?
It is for artists and activists. It will require some technical knowledge to use, but not too much, and it will be relatively inexpensive.

What is the world/context/ market that your project lives in?
It is used by students, artists and activists to make live installations and performances.

In your initial research, have you found something you didn’t expect? Is it an interesting path to follow?
I’m really enjoying reading “Artificial Reality” and getting a historical and theoretical view to supplement my practical knowledge of the subject.

I’m surprised by what seems to be an ideological divide between puppeteering and volumetric video. I wonder if there isn’t a place in the middle where they connect to make a better overall solution?

Todd’s comments on the importance of story really rang true with me. I’ve felt that the story was important for this project, but it was really helpful to have external validation.

What do you need to know about the content/story?
Not sure yet…

What do you need from a tech standpoint?
More Kinects!
Better knowledge of C++ ?
Time!

Who are your influences?
Kinect to OSC, Kinect2, Kinectron—R. Luke DuBois, Surya Mattu, Wouter Verweirder, Shawn Van Every
People Staring at computers—Kyle Mcdonald
Moon
The Elastic Self—Tricia Wang