Projectable 1.0
The Projectable is a 3D projection mapping tool for visualizing geo-spatial data layers. A base map is projected onto a 3D-printed, or 3D CNC cut map to bring the actual terrain to life.
Projectable users interact with the tool through 3D printed tangible dials that can turn various layers on and off, scroll through time on dynamic data, as well as modify additional parameters.
The goal of the project was to visualize the land use necessary for Hawaii to achieve its goal of 100% renewable energy generation by the year 2045 in a manner accessible to non-subject matter experts.
I served as lead developer on this project and developed all user interactions, designed and implemented the UI, designed and fabricated the tangible dials and other custom components.
As a first year undergraduate student at the University of Hawaii - Manoa, I took on this challenging task immediately upon being hired at the Laboratory for Advanced Visualizations and Applications. I learned Angular 2, improved my web-design knowledge, and had my first interaction with Augmented reality.
Beneath the translucent acrylic, two web-cameras track the position and rotation of augmented reality markers, using an open-source library, aruco.js.
The tangibles offer an unusually engaging interactivity, one that often steals the show from the actual data being displayed by the mapping tool. The dials are made of 3D printed translucent pla filament, that use the light from the projector to case an image of an AR marker on the acrylic below. Tracking the position of the corners of the markers, I can detect the position, rotation, and rotation speed and apply the appropriate CSS and JavaScript animations.
The tangibles went through many iterations before we settled on the final design, which is the most simplistic and elegant solution.