Brief notes from Gary Priestnall's presentation (Dec 09)


 * Mapping performance Culture in Nottingham:Gary Priestnell, University of Nottingham

Geographer – main interest in landscape digitalisation. AHRC-funded project.

Video introducing the project.

Original idea – to have some kind of front-ended interface on the database; to act as a tool to help researchers to explore spatiotemporal elements that couldn’t necessarily be predicted through space and time.

Screen-shots used to illustrates overarching structure of web interface.

Notion of timeline – ability to step through time easily, and reveal patterns in space – either interactively, or by doing a database query – creating a subset (e.g. searching for performers etc). Press play - theory that this would reveal patterns relating to seasons, patterns of a spatial and temporal scale etc. Still a work in progress – may need to use a different type of dataset for that technique.

Also ability to query from the map or go via the database – classic GIS concept stripped down to bare minimum.

Can click on results further to gain further levels of detail.

Some of 1861 Population census digitised and mapped on street level.

Want to be able to walk up the street, have lists like that read out to you etc. Via a mobile phone of one of the intentions.

Lots of graphically rich info – needs to be geo-referenced, to be used in relation to the mobile application being planned – idea of different hotspots.

Would like to pursue time-line concept.

Want to take it out in the field – Teaching and learning initiative – opportunity to take interest in visualisation out into the field (in a teaching context etc.). Research agenda coming out of this, to be brought to the project.

Application example – based in Cumbria – augmented reality in field trips. PDA working on mobile phones too. E.g. certain hotspots – geometry map draped over the landscape, sketch facility, 3d views.

Exploring the relationship between geology and landscape, whilst giving an idea of what a past environment might have looked like as you are standing out there in the field.

Want to move on to recreate historical reconstructions of the city etc.

Explored the notion of creating a visibility map for areas of interest around the landscape, so that the device could predict what you could see when walking around the field – would serve up information about what was visible, rather than just what you were near. Also to be explored in more detail in a city environment.

Cliffton, Nottingham – explored an application with school children etc. Application using Endscape platform. Gary involved in a project creating a system called Hyperplace with Nottingham computer scientists, which does a similar thing.

Idea that you are presented with a map on a desktop – can digitise an area which becomes a trigger-zone. If you walked into the area it would serve up some media (e.g. a music sample etc).

Easy to use – students created own media landscapes with no prior knowledge of the system.

Geography students Cumbria fieldtrip example used.

Interest in way media is used in the field – replacing expert pointing something out in the field. Gary showed a video demonstrating the use of this.

Also asked students to test a gadget with a gaming helmet, inertial device, laptop rucksack, GPS etc. Supported by a demonstration video – showing how the landscape was reconstructed, using consistent coordinate system so the GPS tells you where you are.

Interactive Mapping project with the Wordsworth Trust – to create an interactive virtual tour to complement a painting exhibition – interactive mapping. Virtual billboards created on Google earth, to place a subset of the drawings into their landscape context, showing the geographical extent of the virtual tour and encouraging people to go out and experience it themselves in the landscape. Also interested in creating a similar idea available online.