Archive for March, 2012

Realtime – Data

I had originally planned on using data from the FTSE 100 but I was quite surpised at how difficult it was to access a feed from this. So instead I have decided to use the excahnge rate between the pound and the dollar as a way of showing the current trends of the stock market. While I was developing the prototype of my project I worked on a tutorial which used twitter to access information. With this in mind, I discovered this twitter page currencywatch which provides the exact data I need. For this I will need to use the exact same sub-string method to extract the required figures.

This is how the RSS feed looks:

2012
03/28
CATEGORY
DAT301
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Realtime – The Prototype

After deciding to that I would use Processing for my Realtime project I have finally developed a working prototype. For this I have just used an RSS of weather data and used a sub-string method to extract the temperature figure. This feed only shows the temperature from the last five days which were 10, 13, 12, 14 and 11. So to test the programme I set up if statements to determine which one of the two videos is played. If the temperature is below 12 the white video is displayed and if the temperature is above 12 the black video is displayed.

if (temperature <= 12) {

playing = Movie1;

println(temperature);

}

if (temperature > 12) {

playing = Movie2;

println(temperature);

The video below shows this initial prototype version of my project. Depending on how I decide to use the stock market data the programme is likely to include a number of videos. The resolution of these videos would also need to change to fit the dome. The next step is to experiment with the stock market data.

2012
03/23
CATEGORY
DAT301
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Realtime – Project Development

This week I spend most of my time experimenting with how I can actually implement my realtime project. I was originally looking into two options. The first option involves using Unity to manipulate the animation according to the stock market data. The second option involved using Processing to retrieve the data and trigger a set of animations. After having real difficulty getting anywhere with Unity I decided that it was best to use the second option of Processing.

I also thought this would be the better option as I had recently began learning Processing following one of the workshops in the module. ‘Processing is an open source programming language and environment for people who want to create images, animations, and interactions. Initially developed to serve as a software sketchbook and to teach fundamentals of computer programming within a visual context, Processing also has evolved into a tool for generating finished professional work. Today, there are tens of thousands of students, artists, designers, researchers, and hobbyists who use Processing for learning, prototyping, and production.’

2012
03/12
CATEGORY
DAT301
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Real Time – Project Proposal

1. Title

Economy Run

2. Project Summary

For my realtime project, I am going to create an immersive data visualisation that helps people understand the current trends of the stock market. I will use market data from the BBC News website and create an animation that visually represents this data. This animation will be used within a dome environment and will be designed to induce vection. Vection refers to the perception on self-motion induced by visual stimuli. This will give the viewer the feeling that they are on a ride through the data in real time.

3. Development

I plan to get my data from the BBC News website as it provides a range of different market data which is regularly updated on a day-to-day basis. I am currently thinking about using data from the FTSE 100. This is a share index composed of the 100 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. This should give a good overview of the state of the economy for my visualisation.

To create the animation for the project I will use Blender. This is because I know the programme quite well and have previously created an animation for the dome using this software. To develop the real time aspect of the project I am currently looking at two options. The first option will involve using Unity to manipulate the animation in real time according to the stock market data. The second option will involve using Processing to read the data and trigger different animations.

4. Plan of Work

Before I start developing the project, I will do some research on current immersive experiences to help me fully utilise the environment for what I want to do. This will also include research into vection.

From this I will work on creating a basic prototype of the project. This will essentially be a fully functioning version of my idea without any of the graphical elements. This will involve me experimenting with the stock market data the help me discover the best way to go about implementing my idea.

I will then start to create the animation for the project in Blender. Once the animation is complete, I then intend to test it within the dome environment. Time remaining after this will be used to combine the different elements of the project together and for further testing.

Below is a Gantt chart to show my plan of work for this project.

5. Output

The aim of this project is to create an immersive data visualisation that represents the current state of the economy through real time data from the stock market. By making use of Plymouth University’s  Immersive Vision Theatre,  the visualisation will take the form of a simulation to give viewers a greater understanding of the data that it presents.

One of the main sources of inspiration I found for the project was Uniview. Uniview is educational software that uses data from the universe to create immersive visualisations as shown in the image below.

6. Criteria

The project matches up with the module assessment criteria by using a range of different technologies to transform our view of information through an immersive visualisation.

7. References

BBC News market data http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business/market_data/overview/

Uniview http://www.scalingtheuniverse.com

2012
03/01
CATEGORY
DAT301
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