NYC Media Lab connects technologists in digital media and technology companies with New York City's universities in order to drive innovation and talent development. A public-private partnership launched by the New York City Economic Development Corporation, Columbia University and New York University, the Lab seeds projects to foster collaboration across a range of disciplines- from data and design to engineering- core to the future of media and communications. More is at www.nycmedialab.org.
Yun Li, Robot Roomhttp://www.yunllii.com/2016/04/01/robot-rooms/A narrative game that allows users to discover a story about a scientist and his experiments on his wife through exploring different rooms. The way to trigger the next room is through finding out the light sources in the dark rooms and using gaze to light up all the light sources.
Natalia Cabrera, Disposable Profileshttp://www.yunllii.com/2016/04/01/robot-rooms/“Disposable profiles” is a series of portraits made through 3D scans of subjects’ trash. Created as a VR experience, this project conveys an archeological point of view on waste and the archival possibilities of computational photography.
This project is an attempt to digitally encapsulate what is meant to be thrown away in order to explore the clues it provides of who we are and how we behave. Under an archeological eye, trash becomes the epitome of the “we are what we consume” paradigm. Our garbage is highly personal and intimate, therefore the amount of information residing in it has a great storytelling potential.
For “Disposable profiles” I collected the trash of three different people over a period of seven days, then took every non-compostable item found in their garbage and systematically measured, classified, photographed and 3D scanned them. The result is a series of collections of 3D models of waste displayed as a VR experience to explore.
Miyeon Kim, Audible Kids VRhttps://invis.io/VC6ZP57BSAudible kids introduces a new way of listening for kids. The app brings together hands on activities and virtual reality, giving kids the opportunity to express their creativity. In this app, kids are asked to draw their imaginations while listening to the audiobook. At the end of the session, they can simply take a photo of their drawing, and turn it into a 3D virtual world. Using Google Cardboard, they can then view their drawings in VR, and share it online through the Audible app to the Audible kids community.
Magdalena Kovarik, Call Me Refugeewww.magdalenakovarik.comCall Me Refugee is a mixed media VR documentary about a young man that escaped from Syria. This is the narrative of a transition - the unique story of a person who became 'a refugee'. The conversation is carried through a collage of images, videos and virtual moments. I is an artistic as well as a journalistic narrative that aims to break through people’s numbness for information and human tragedy. By telling the unique story of Salah, a twenty-five year old man from Aleppo, I hope to humanize humans and fight against the objectification of individuals affected by the current refugee crisis. Over many hours of Skype, Whatsapp and email, Salah told me his story of a long journey that carried him over seven borders, many asylums and a loss of identity. “Now we all have the same name: Refugee” he once said. Listening to the conversation between two strangers that became friends, the audience wanders through a collage of popping up emails, personal and historic photographs, maps and 3D models. This project is not only a portrait of a person, but also a story about our globalized world where two people meet between the internet and reality.
