RepRap Build This Weekend at CASA: Live Stream and Updates

This weekend the office is being taken over by the RepRap 3D printer build. The PayItForward team are in – a group of altruistic people who have RepRap machines, printing parts and gifting them to people who want to make a RepRap machine with the requirement that once the 3D printer is running, they print off a set and pass them on in the same fashion.


The team will be documenting, tweeting (under #uclpifp) and hopefully, ustreaming the build as they go, (we will update this post with the stream when it goes live Saturday morning).

Follow Steven (@frogo), Graham (@gklyne), Ben (@benosteen) and Dave (@dfflanders) for more information as it happens.


We will be in and out as well with updates Andy@digitalurban, CASA is moving to our new open plan offices next week so its a weekend of packing and updating on the 3D printer build.

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Norway: 4000 Bus Stops that Tweet, Record Stories and Provide the Time of the Next Bus via QRCodes

Today sees the launch of our latest collaboration via the Tales of Things project – this time with a Norwegian transport company, Kolumbus. Tales of Things has been utilising Kolumbus’ already existing QR codes to allow passengers to leave stories for one another. When a passenger visits one of Kolumbus’ more than 4,000 bus stops they will find a QR code which when scanned with the free Tales of Things’ app on with the iPhone or Android it will not only link them to timetable information, but also allow them to leave a message on the bus stop.

Each stop contains a unique code, so the timetable information and tales are site specific. Through tales of things, passengers can leave messages about experiences they have had in the area, anecdotes about places they are going, leave a message for a loved one or maybe leave a treasure trail for your friends. In addition to this, each time a bus stop is scanned, it ‘tweets’ to the world that a new story, message or memory has been left.

In essence we think of this as a mix of Facebook and FourSquare for Bus Stops, where users leave behind stories, messages and memories while at the same time seeing when the next bus is.

The things can be geo-located through an on-line map of the world where participants can track their object even if they have passed it on. The object can also update previous owners on its progress through a live Twitter feed (which is unique to each object entered into the system).

Einar Hougen, project manager in Kolumbus, states: “When we learned about this exciting UK research project, we instantly recognized the parallels to our own QR tagging of bus stops, which we believe is the largest adaptation of QR codes of this kind in Norway to date. Scanning a QR code at a Kolumbus bus stop gives instant access to current departure times, right on your mobile phone.

In Kolumbus, we are happy to support this research project by sharing our QR mechanism and allowing all our bus stops to be accessible in the tales of things world of objects. Via our tech blog, next.kolumbus.no , we know there are many tech savvy users among our travellers. This will give them the opportunity to join this project, -and hopefully have a bit of fun at the same time!”

ABOUT KOLUMBUS

Kolumbus is the public transport company for Rogaland county, Norway, serving the public with bus and high speed boat routes in the areas of Stavanger, Haugesund, the Fjords, Dalane and Jæren.

For more information on Kolumbus visit http://www.kolumbus.no/

http://next.kolumbus.no/2011/02/04/talesofthings/ and of course you can tag your own objects, places, spaces or bus stops via Tales of Things.

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SketchUp 8: Full Building Maker Integration

We have just fallen in love with Google SketchUp all over again, we are slightly late to the table on this one but Google Building Maker is now fully integrated into SketchUp 8. It has the genius ofCanoma with the addition of all the editing functions that come with SketchUp and its free:

Combine this with the free version of Unity and you have a very powerful toolset. Talking of which, we have just downloaded Unity 3.0 to further develop our agent based modelling exhibition space, its good to be back….

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The Colosseum Viz: Bucharest, Romania by Uniform

Uniform have recently finished a short film on behalf of the Romanian real estate company Nova Imobiliare, the investment group behind The Colosseum project in Bucharest, Romania.

Uniform’s role was to develop a film that gave potential occupiers and customers a clear vision for this spectacular destination. The film had to create a ‘real experience’, telling the story of how the variety of infrastructure and spaces linked together, resulting in a film that provides a fantastic insight into this ‘colossus’ project and how it will look when it’s finished.

The Colosseum from Uniform on Vimeo.

Now visualising retail centres is not the easiest of jobs as all the new build shopping centres tend to have a similar look throughout the world. Notable here is the ‘British Museum’ style roof with hints of Vegas thrown into the standard retail blender. The project comprises of a 54 hectre site and includes 200,000m2 of mixed-use development, containing retail, restaurants, leisure facilities and a hotel. The scheme will be Central and Eastern Europe’s largest commercial development with a total value of € 350 million. We like Uniform’s take on the pitch and it looks like Romania is about to have the opportunity for substantial retail therapy.

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XBox Kinect Hack – 3D Room Scanning and Model Construction

We have been sitting back recently and watching the various XBox Kinect hacks with interest. It was only a matter of time – 3D room scanning and model construction:

I find it amazing that you can pop into your local retail outlet and purchase a 3D scanning device for £100. Created by Nicolas Burrus you can head over to his site and grab the Mac/PC/Linux code to try it out.

http://kinecthacks.net/ is also well worth a bookmark to keep up with the latest development.

Thanks go Marek from English Heritage for sending in the link.

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