interactive 3D-worlds

Constructing interactive 3-D worlds and associated objects.

The main focus of our model-experiment is to support the interaction among scientific and artistic thought and acting. Hereby, the reflection on the relationship between the real (physical) world and the digital (virtual) world plays an important role.
We chose the following tools to construct a virtual 3-D world, which can be entered through the Internet by several persons at the same time.

ATHMOSPHERE: Tool to construct interactive 3D-worlds in the InterNet
TEDDY: Tool to construct 3D-objects
ALICE PANT 3D: Tool to paint 3D-objects
PHOTOMODELER: Tool to create 3D-models photographically
AVATAR LAB: Tool to create Avatars

Involving the 'real' world by copying it into virtual objects and manipulating it using computer technology formed a substantial part of the project ArtDeCom. Our aim was not to just create a world as a communication platform for avatar-chat as in ACTIVE WORLDS, ACTIVE WORLDS EDUCATIONAL UNIVERSE, CYBERTOWN or CITY4ALL, which is mainly used by German-speakers.
The scanning of real objects, textures or sounds into the virtual 3D-worlds and/or the free artistic design of digital 3D-objects and finally their programming interactively into the 3D-world is therefore in the foreground.

The main focus is therefore on

to create drawings, photographs and objects in the 'real' space and then modify them as models in virtual space and/or create fantasy 3D-objects digitally within artistic aspects
to program interaction or animation of 3D-objects and audio through JAVA script.

Examples:

Virtual Gallery of the Bernt-Notke-Realschule in Lübeck

In seven periods of 90 minutes the 9th and 10th grade students build an interactive, virtual gallery in the Internet.

Working in small groups they formed plaster objects, made paintings and photographs.
They created 3D-objects (with TEDDY) and painted some them (with ALICE 3D-paint), recorded spoken txt (Microsoft Audio recorder), designed the architecture of the virtual space (ATMOSPHERE) and created Avatars (AVATAR LAB). Finally all these were imported into and animated in the 3D-world.

The 3D-word can be entered trough the Internet using ADOBE ATMOSPHERE BROWSERS. Here people can meet, look at the exhibition and converse with each other about it, the gallery as whole or altogether different topics.

Welcome through a moving Avatar (a student)

Fantasy-objects in the exhibition

3D-model of a notebook showing the picture of a sculpture of a sheep. The sculpture was made by a student participating in the experiment and then scanned into the virtual gallery.

Avatar of a student in front of a photographically imported wall of the school

VIRTUAL GALLERY OF THE BERNT-NOTKE-REALSCHULE
(ADOBE ATMOSPHERE BROWSERS required)

The foyer of the IMIS

The foyer of the Institute of Multimedia and Interactive Systems at the University of Lübeck which can be entered by several persons at one time.
3D-animation (VIDEO) of the locality.

Thoughts of an Avatar

Working intensively for three days, fife students of the computer scientists department at the University of Lübeck created a virtual ´installation´ in the Internet. Which inspires the viewer to reflect on the upcoming personality of an avatar. The virtual installation was created using POSER® PRO PACK, an extended version of AVATAR LAB. It was submitted to the DIGITAL SPARCS 02 contest (organized by MARS Exploratory Media Lab / NETZSPANNUNG.ORG).

THOUGHT OF AN AVATAR