Ashten Brooks has been working on styles, color palette for the app and has created this sweet logo!
Blog
Conference presentation
ARTrees team members present at the Community Engagement Conference: Partnering for a Resilient and Sustainable Future.
We presented “Classroom as Incubator: a model for interdisciplinary app development” and we showed the process of developing the ARTrees app.
Photos of beta testing event
Beta Testing Event – November 30, 2018
The public is invited to participate in an event to test out an early prototype version of an application designed to encourage playful interactions with trees on campus with the aim of increasing awareness of these important members of our community.
This Beta Testing event takes place on Friday, Nov. 30th. At 1:00pm will meet at the alcove entrance of the 18th Avenue Library to test out the application among the trees in that area in front of the library. We will have iPads there for you to try it out. At 1:30pm we will convene in room 340 of the 18th Ave Library (the Research Commons) where we will have snacks, discuss the project, and learn about your user experience.
ARTrees is being developed by an interdisciplinary group of OSU students, faculty and staff, supported the STEAM Factory at the Ohio State University with equipment support from the College of Arts & Sciences Technology services.
STEAM Project funding
We are thrilled to announce that the ARTrees project has been selected for funding by the STEAM Factory at the Ohio State University. This grant has allowed us to hire and pay the students who have been working on this project as volunteers and as unpaid interns. With this infusion of support, we expect to have a working draft of the app at the end of November 2018, and a completed project in April 2019.
The mission of the STEAM factory is to “facilitate a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration”. Check out all of the other projects they have supported with the STEAM Powered Project grants. Thank you STEAM Factory!
ARTree Demo Update
ARTrees Augmented Reality Trees on campus This is a demo of our progress at Ohio State. App is running on an iPad pro. Made using Unity and Apple ARKit.
Earlier video demos are posted here.
Field journal developments
This week we worked on growing our “tree library” and refining content design.
UPDATES:
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Added a microscope icon inviting users to <<Take a closer look>>, located adjacent to species specific leaf illustrations. Selecting this icon will trigger an on-screen animation zooming in to a magnified cell-level view of a leaf’s stomata, showcasing their pulsating movements as they open and close. This function is important in connecting trees to the ecological services they provide, such as generating oxygen for us to breathe during photosynthesis.
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Modified the second page of the field journal, adding an option for users to express their thoughts while learning about the trees through poetry. A button located below the “Annual economic benefits” will prompt users to post their poetry as well as view other users’ poems. Adding this function allows users to consider both an economic valuing system and the importance of the cultural and intrinsic values of trees. This was important to us as most signage we have noticed does not include cultural aspects in tree valuation.
Tree tests
We are seeking an aesthetic for our virtual trees that implies an active, apparition. Here is an initial test of a moving, breathing tree made in Maya.
We also seek streamlined files that will load without too much delay. These are low-poly model experiments of a Birch, a Buckeye. and a Pine tree.
