OMG I'm a chee-nius! XD

woots! in case the numbers look confusing.. the format goes something like this:

"fiducial ID" , "session ID" , "x-axis position" , "y-axis" , "rotation angle in radians"

it's finally updating!!!!! previously the rotation angle keep turning up KOSONG (zero) values 0.0, and the x and y-axis coordinates wouldn't update even when I turn my markers around..

ok now that I have everything that I need.. it's time to learn how to create animations and the graphics aspect of my project... will be heading to MPH (later; hopefully tonight) to get a book titled, "Foundation Actionscript 3: making things move"..

*edit.. don't have to buy already *cough cough*

besides working on the programming on my trusty laptop, I've been working on building a large scale floor projection fiducials tracker.. so far so good.. I built a huge cube (about 15" by 15") using aluminium steel frames.. kinda heavy but solid! truly handmade; I had to saw the aluminium rods and then mount them together using L-brackets(which I had to manually drill the holes to fit the bolts FML)..

Dang! Hit a snag!

Why is it always 0.0? Where did the value disappear to? I don't understand! WHY WHY WHY WHY!!! The rest are fine.. just this one! KENAPA KOSONG!

Ik wil naar België te gaan voor de bruiloft van mijn zus!

My sister will be getting married soon.. I hope to go to Belgium next year for her wedding ceremony..sambil melancong sikit la.. XD

I better nail next next week's interview.. then I'll have more funds to plan for my visit to Belgium (and maybe London/Paris on the way muahahhaa since my soon-to-be brother in laws' father works with the train company and we'll be getting huge discounts or even free tickets muahahahha) =x

If I go for this trip...my plans to go to Taiwan might be postponed.. zzz Airasia is tempting me with super cheap tix to Taipei! T__T i wanna rent a bike (Giant! =D) and cycle around the countryside.. visiting the farms (strawbieeesss), taking in the sights and sounds.. =DDD

but for now.. NAIL THE INTERVIEW! convince them that I'm the bestest best candidate!!! show my passion and motivation for research! for the better of mankind! XDDD (sound like sound crazy scientist lah weh zz)

*RIP Gerger.. You know I love you.. ='( and I will take care of Boiboi and your sons in your place T_T*

Wall decals..

Feel like buying this to decorate my room.. Throw out lots of old stuffs.. and change it here and there..

如果兩個人分手之後做了朋友，那說明我從來沒愛過你。

如果兩個人分手以後依舊可以做分手之前做的事，那說明我想讓你記住我。

如果兩個人分手之後我不再見你並大聲說我恨你，那說明我不捨得離開你。

如果兩個人分手之後在彼此的世界消失了，那說明我真的愛你。

分手時，沉默是最好的問題；最圓滿的答案.

A compass?

Directions? Where does it lead to? Have I really thought about it..? Each and every one of us are here for a reason..but what's mine?

It feels as if I'm drifting aimlessly out in the open seas..

Progress II

Blocks and blocks of my babies ! XD

So what does my camera see?

What does Processing do? (I set up a server here to send data to port 9002, where flash retrieves the data from..)

Finally, Flash! Those numbers that you see may look meaningless now.. but it contains the marker's X and Y axis positions (something like coordinates), the rotation angle, whether it's added/removed, and the most important thing...their unique IDs! (have yet to add the code for the IDs..will do so now..)

Now, to hunt for a Flash animation developer.. who can code in AS3 as well! I'm sick of this already.. might have to add in codes for multiple camera input.. =(

Anyone willing to do it for free? nyeh heh heh.. =x

My savior!

Ze genius!

Thanks to his tutorials, I'm finally making some progress. . .

Tutorial Part I

Tutorial Part II

Time is running out. .

So now I have a few options.. Either:

1) Reactivision > Tuio > FLOSC > Flash

2) Reactivison > Processing > Flash

will be going for option(2) since it "looks" easier.. That's for the visuals.. as for the sound.. have to combine with MIDI as well.. that will be for a later stage.. but it will be so cool to use fiducial to interact with light and music!

References:

Processing>flash

Reactivision>MIDI

Progress!

So I ditched the "table" idea for now because I don't really have the capital to build one from scratch and the one we have in the office doesn't support fiducial recognition! I've decided to improvise and do up one that utilises the top projection system that we have..

I have been sawing and drilling aluminium rods and L-brackets to make these metal cubes! I will then mount the fiducial markers (super big ones!) on a cardboard and mount on the cubes (like a dice!).

Hopefully this will work.. I am slowly getting the gist of building my own flash app.. but the linking of touchlib and reactivision is still uncompleted! -.-"

CN Yang

.....We have noted your excellent academic achievement in the sciences and you are therefore a potential candidate as a CN Yang Scholar. We would like to invite you to an interview at NTU.

Out of the intake of 5,000 a year, a maximum of 50 students in science and engineering would be selected as CN Yang Scholars to ensure quality.

Benefits of the CN Yang Scholars Programme (applicable for ASEAN Undergraduate Scholarship Awardee):

• Book allowance of $500 per academic year
• Computer allowance of $1,500 (one-off)
• Settling-in allowance of $250 (one-off)
• Accommodation allowance up to $2,000 per academic year (applicable for scholars who reside in NTU hostels only)

Each student will have privileges including a guaranteed place in the NTU halls of residence for the entire period of four years, research opportunities in the Schools of the sciences and engineering, participation in events organized by the Institute of Advance Studies such as meeting our distinguished visiting scientists and engineers, and priority in overseas attachments. Of course you will be awarded a special certificate upon your graduation.

As the programme allows the students to graduate in any one of the many science and engineering degrees offered by NTU, a faculty mentor will be assigned to each student, to guide them through their undergraduate studies. In particular, the mentor, together with the student, will tailor a programme most suited to the student’s needs and interests, but within the requirements and regulations of the final degree sorted after.....

Am I good enough to be one of them?

Skype-ing with the China guy. . .

Most of the time, I don't understand what he's saying.. But I think he understands what I'm trying to say with the Endlighten acrylic and the IR light strips going around it.. He also understood what I meant with the fiducial thingy..

So what I gathered is..

1) He needs more info (specs) on the Endlighten acrylic and he can help me to find it in China where it MIGHT be cheaper cause like I said, it is fucking expensive to get it from the US/Singapore (imagine SGD1.2k for a small piece FTS)

2) He advised me to use multiple cameras (2 or more) for more accurate fiducial tracking. Using only 1 is more for finger tracking zz

3) OpenCV for camera capture (I know nuts about this)

4) OpenGL for 3D graphics for MT apps (I know nuts about this too FML)

So for now, I guess what I'll be doing is to get the Endlighten, LED strips, a webcam with band pass filter, some cardboard to construct a box, and use touchlib to test it out first!

When that's working, I'll try and somehow make reactivision work on the system. Have to ask ze boss for funding. zzzz

Development of a Multi Touch System with Fiducial Recognition

I'll be using this blog to document the process of this whole project's development.. Basically I have to get this running before running back (off) to Singapore in August.. (At least get the hardware and some simple software running first..)

So I've decided for now to use the Diffused Surface Illumination (DSI) technique for my future (non-existent as of yet) MT table. Why DSI? Because it is only 1 of 2 techniques that makes fiducial (or any other objects for that matter) tracking possible. The DSI setup is much simpler too compared to the other one, but it is nearly impossible to get Endlighten acrylic here (and it's fucking expensive too).

I have drawn up a list of materials that I will need for the hardware:

1) Projector - Use existing one in the office?

2) Camera - Use a cheap webcam? Will have to dismantle and remove the IR filter (or use sandpaper to file it away =/)

3) Band pass filter lens for the camera (850nm? depends on the wavelength of the IR LED strips that I can get)

4) IR LED strips (850nm? seem like it works better than the 900+nm ones..)

5) Endlighten acrylic/plexiglass - Ship from the US? Or Singapore? or just use regular acrylic and get some diffusing compliant material (like silicone, which is a bitch to layer on perfectly on the acrylic) sandwiched between the acrylic and another thinner layer.

6) A nice casing to house it all in! I haven't decided on the layout of the entire setup, but depending on the situation (presence of hot spots/ghosting), I might have to get a hot mirror(to eliminate hotspots) and/or a front surface mirror (reduces the distance for the projector and camera and also reduces ghosting)

For the software.. it seems that touchlib is the way to go.. but I need something that can do fiducial tracking AND finger tracking.. reactivision can do the fiducial part, but it sucks in terms of finger tracking (and is harder to do the interfacing). Ah, the DILEMMA! And I'm getting so frustrated trying to code in Flash and ActionScript! I'm a newbie in this field unfortunately =(

FML, I thought the programming nightmare would've ended when my Major Project was done.. ='(

References:

http://peauproductions.blogspot.com/2009/03/received-endlighten-acylic-and.html

http://nuigroup.com/forums/viewthread/1982/