It was now time to test and understand LiDAR in its full capacity. For the group’s first interactions with LiDAR we decided to experiment with Leica BLK360 on a larger scale, the ECA Sculpture Court.

Described as “the neo-classical heart of the Main Building”, ECA Sculpture Court is a large room commonly used for exhibitions and other events. It presents a second floor with a balcony-gallery layout, which provides the opportunity to experiment scan-alignment at different heights. And, whenever not used for exhibitions, it presents a large clear out area, with lot of surface for experimentation, the ideal set-up to get to know LiDAR technology better.

Across this experimentation four scans were performed, each by a different member of the group. The first, positioned in the center of the room, the
group suggested to get creative. During the entire scan of 6 minutes 50 seconds , we, about 8 people, moved together in circles around the scanner,
sometimes inverting direction. The intention behind was to understand how the scan copes with the presence of human movement. Once the scan
revealed itself, the results were receiver as a wonderful surprise to all. It
showed an undefined circular pattern around its blind-spot, something that look somewhat ritual of the spirit world, around a void . Thus, it was an important practice to understand how this technology, commonly used for technical purposes, could also be used as some sort of a creative tool.

The following to scans were performed in the gallery areas, with the intent of both further understand the scan alignment procedures, and compare how the scan performs under more inclosed spaces. As expected we concluded that, more enclosed spaces lead to more concentrated point clouds, and therefore a more detailed representation of the surfaces. We got also to understand, that the “automatic prei-alignement” feature (Cyclone 360 app) can only be effective within lines of sight between two different scan positions.

Lastly, we moved to the second floor balcony, with direct sight over the first central scanned position. This scan was performed with the intent of understanding if the scan alignment could be performed at various height levels. Although we managed to make it happen through manual alignment, it seemed that this specific device is not designed for such without the help of external software.

Summing up. After testing the LiDAR scanner, at a larger scale, we can now understand how effective it can be for capturing large infrastructures, and the right techniques to do so. We also found that this technical device can be used as a creative tool, through more unconventional and experimental practices, that could enrich the project greatly. We also understood, how the device has its own limitations, and how this come be overcome through the use of external software.

More interesting findings and explorations will soon come, and so we’ll keep you posted.

Interactive storytelling video

I got the idea of the theme since Chenyu mentioned the place “Mary King’s Close” and here is the background of this place:

Mary King’s Close is a historic close (a type of alleyway) located in Edinburgh, Scotland. The close dates back to the 17th century and was named after Mary King, a prominent merchant, and member of the town council.

For centuries, the close was used as a bustling center of commerce, with numerous merchants and tradespeople residing and working there. However, in the 17th century, the terrible plague reached Scotland from the continent and in 1645 this narrow cobbled street was completely blocked off and six hundred people were abandoned in the homes of this lane with the Black Death, their daily food, drink, and coal being brought in through the window. Legend has it that some of the families infected with the plague were bricked up and starved to death, all of whom eventually died in their homes. Since then, ghosts have surfaced here, making it one of the most haunted places in the world.

In the late 19th century, the close was covered over and incorporated into a new building, the Royal Exchange, and remained forgotten and inaccessible for many years. In 2003, the close was rediscovered and opened to the public as a tourist attraction. Today, Mary King’s Close is one of Edinburgh’s most popular tourist destinations, offering visitors a unique glimpse into the city’s rich history and the lives of its residents from centuries past.

https://www.wanderingcrystal.com/marykingsclose/

https://www.realmarykingsclose.com/about-the-close/

Implementation

Mary King’s Close goes from a bustling commercial center to a plague infested hellhole and finally to a horrific haunted house. My idea is to create a video to present the changes and tell the story.

In the video, we can render the atmosphere of the place at different times through scenes&point cloud color changes, different lens transportation, various sound effects(e.g. the busy streets, the screams of people suffering from illness, ghosts, etc.), and background music. (If we have time, we can also add some effects to the video content to add richness)

In prep, we can scan as much material as possible from different times and places. This scanned material from reality does not necessarily have to correspond strictly to the scenes in the story. We can use material from suitable scenes to fill out the story, just as we would with a camera for a short dramatic film.

For the final, I like Molly’s idea of three projection screens. I would probably prefer to use one main screen to show the video content and the remaining screens to show the sound visualization in conjunction with the sound in the video, with some sensors to interact with the user and provide an immersive experience for the audience.

Yuxuan Guo

7 Feb 2023

We decided that for the final project, we want to focus on creating an interactive exhibition where we display our version of place using visual media and an immersive sound design.

I’m really interested in how places mean something different for each person and in the emotional impact behind them. And from our first take using the LiDAR scan something we realized was that when scanning a reflective surface the laser can create a 3D space of the reflection. For instance in the scanning of David’s room where he has a mirror placed on the wall, once you start exploring the 3D space you can see that there has been a creation of the reflection.

So a concept that could be really interesting to explore is to create a series of scans in public places while placing a mirror in the middle of it. While the scans might not create a full reflection of the space inside of the mirror. What we could do is with the scan of the place, create a second version where things are slightly different, distorted, slightly(or vastly changed from the original. And placing that distorted version on the other side of the reflection of the mirror. So we are talking of a real place and a non-place next to each other with the mirror as a bridge between those two dimensions. (the upside down from stranger things).

For the exhibition, I think an immersive experience would be a great way to make the spectator feel like they are inside the place we are scanning.

We could have a video playing and exploration of the real place, and having the camera kind of moving towards the mirror, and once it reaches it courses the mirror threshold and then you can see the non-place (same place but distorted in some way). For the sound part of the exhibition, it could be something similar, creating a sound from the environment we are scanning, and when we cross to the other side of the mirror having a distorted/changed version of the sound.

To choose a place for the exhibition I think it would be really interesting to scan The Scotlands National Museum, but we have to take into consideration that we might not be able to get in and take the required scans of the place without some kind of permit.

Another option could be to The New Steps, as it could be shown as this neverending stairs from one dimension to the other (could be having two mirrors [portals] one at the bottom of the stairs and one at the top, and the “camera” is on a loop constantly going from one to the other as there is no exit from this.

Daniela Morales

06 February 2023

Over the past week I have had the great pleasure to have the first hands-on contact with LiDAR technology. It has been days of a great deal of experimentation, understanding its potentials, and limitations. Many considerations made about such new  technology  and full of wonders, so it seemed appropriate for me to hereby make some of my own as I document through this first encounter.

This hands-on experience was only possible thanks to the uCreate studio of University of Edinburgh, who provided the loan service and respective workshops, and to whom we as group acknowledge and thank their amazing efforts.

The loaned device was the Leica BLK360 pro 3D (Figure 2), a LiDAR scanner described by many as one of the smallest and intuitive of its kind. However, its size and simplistic design deceive the user on a first glance.  This device is capable of capturing full-color panoramic images overlaid on a high accuracy point cloud, showing accuracy on distances up to 60 meters, and capable of capturing HDR images, even in low-light settings thanks to a small integrated LED. To sum up, small but powerful, simple but full of potencial.

The first interactions performed were made at home, in somewhat 3 small places: a large bedroom, a smaller bedroom and modest sized living room. The first scan performed was contemplated with great excitement as it had already surpassed my own expectations, even though this did not use its full resolution, used a single scan point, and was performed at low-light without its flash setting (an honest rookie mistake…). Right after, I moved this experience to the living room, where I first encountered possibility of linking multiple scans, which once found to have a “automatic pre-allignement” feature made the whole interaction even more intuitive. The results now were showing even more interest, as its capability of capturing a place with high-fidelity was now coming to light, even though I was still using those same “rookie” settings (Figure 3).

It was when I moved the device to my own bedroom that I finally found its full technical capabilities. I now understood there to be 3 point cloud concentration settings, to which I have till then used its quicker yet more dispersed scan. With the full-resolution settings a lot of personal considerations and excitement from the results surfaced. After combining the results of four full-resolution scans, the results went further and beyond expected. Not only they constructed a high-fidelity point cloud coloured 3D model of my bedroom, but it also showed other interesting aspects of these scans. The first being, that once positioned close to the window, the device managed yo accurately scan the street outside, which opens the possibility of looking over the idea of place that goes further than its “inclosed doors”. The other interesting opportunity found, was how the device dealt with the presence of a mirror. It was understood that scan constructs a mirror place as a 3D model to, surfacing the possibility of looking upon of creating a place that not only contrasts its mirrored dimension, but also makes it real (Figure 4).

Summing up, the first touch on LiDAR technology already shows a lot of possibilities and prospects for an AV project that looks upon the conceptualisation and questioning of the meaning of “place”, as it can both capture place but also synthesise its own.

Further considerations on this technology will for sure came about, and so we’ll keep it being posted.

David Ivo Galego, 1st of February 2023.

https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVPr4d3WY=/?share_link_id=898170412921

Place

From the first session we had, I started to record my ideas on what I believe place is, as well as what we could do with this prompt for the assignment we have this semester.

I tend to ask questions to myself so here are some of them.

What meaning do we leave behind in our place?

How is this jump between a place and a non-place?

The creation of bridges and walls between places?

How much of the space we inhabit is actually ours?

How much of our “being” do we leave behind in a place that we spend a lot of time in, or that we care about?

How can we show our emotions as we are going through a predetermined space/place?

Why do we have such strong connections to our environments?

While I might not have the answer to my questions it does help me gather my thoughts about our topic. I would like to start researching and exploring how we can answer these questions.

One thing I’m really excited about is starting to work with the LiDAR technology as I have seen some projects online that show just how incredible the technology is.

Such as the LIDAR Scanning the Museum photography project from Ben Snell, where he placed the LiDAR Scanner in the Carnegie Museum of Art, as people were walking by. Creating a series of photography where we can see a timeline of the “ghosts” of the individuals that walked through.

Another incredible project is Nimbes an immersive visual 360 installation of a virtual universe, created by Joanie Lemercier. This is a 15-minute video that takes the spectator on a journey through a virtual universe, showing constellations, natural landscapes, and crumbling architecture.

Daniela Morales

27 January 2023

Background Research

Place refers to “a space or location with meaning” to the more complex “an area having unique physical and human characteristics interconnected with other places.” while non-place means transitory places, where human actors pass through as anonymous individuals but do not relate/identify with in any intimate sense.

These three components help to define and understand a particular place and the meaning it holds for individuals and communities. Location is a matter of geography, the physical position of a place on the map. Locale, on the other hand, encompasses the natural and cultural features of a region, such as its climate, landscape, and the way of life of its inhabitants. A sense of place refers to the emotions, memories, and experiences that a person associates with a particular location, and can be deeply personal and subjective. Together, these three elements create a unique identity for each place and help people to understand the world around them and their place within it.

In this case, Lidar may be a great tool help us to explore different forms of places, as well as provide an opportunity for us to see if visual perception would influence one’s feelings/psychological states. How it relates to the sense of places? Can we use certain technology and sounds to change the property of a place? There are many conversations that could happen in this project, but we should know creating a sense of place is not just a simple reconstruction of space, but also a deep concern for the emotional connection between people and the place.

Potential Conversation

Could place turns to non-places?

What factors will result in different feelings toward the same place?

What factors will influence we perceive a place?

Reference

admin (n.d.). Overview of Non-Place/Placelessness Ideas | PLACENESS, PLACE, PLACELESSNESS. [online] Available at: https://www.placeness.com/overview-of-anti-place-terms-and-processes-placelessness-non-place-rootshock-etc/.

‌Adams, J. (2016). Sense of Place. [online] The Nature of Cities. Available at: https://www.thenatureofcities.com/2016/05/26/sense-of-place/# [Accessed 13 Feb. 2023].

Context

“You can never visit the same place twice. Each time, it’s a different story. By the very act of coming back, you wipe out what came before.”

— Maureen Johnson

As with everything, humans are also subject to change and evolution over time. This change can come from many sources such as ageing, personal experiences, growth, and learning. Additionally, humans are complex beings with emotions, thoughts, and personalities that can change and develop over time.

In this sense, it can be said that humans are not the same from one moment to the next, just like a place can never be visited in exactly the same way twice. This is a fundamental aspect of the human condition, and it underscores the importance of embracing change and making the most of every moment, as it will never come again in exactly the same way.

This project encourages the audience to enjoy the sights, sounds, and people they meet along the way.

13th Feb 2023

Allison