Perception

I found the readings this week very interesting, especially Lev Manovich's "The poetics of augmented Space".

AUGMENTED SPACE: The placing of layers of data over the physical space. This aids the tracking, monitoring and delivery of information to users.

I like the way that the texts overall theme is that of augmented space in society, that is to say that virtual reality itself is rather limited in terms of its usefulness to us; what becomes of use is the augmented space, and are that has been enhanced by technology to instruct and aid us in our day to day lives. "The virtual became domestic", this can be seen in sci-fi environments, one that particularly strikes me a s a good example is Bruce Willis' apartment in 'The Fifth Element', from his remaking bed, to the strange shower convertible (a series of tangible interfaces). It is a true representation of augmented space; all the technology features in the physical world, unlike VR. It also complies with the dichotomies of augmented space (physical and assistance), both are present in this example. In some ways it is not far from where humans currently are at. Our continual integration of technology into our recreational environments is changing the way think, we act, and the way we design our physical surroundings; examples that Manovich suggests are, video surveillance, tangible interfaces, intelligent buildings, smart objects (think iPhone Vs wall in Minority Report; are they really that different?), etc.

AR s(augmented reality) systems have become more popular for a variety of reasons, but primarily it the fact that what was being done in the intangible world of VR can now be conducted in our own physical space, uninteresting and incorporating our work and recreational activities. I find Bluetooth an interesting phenomenon, how many times have you seen someone on a an ear piece in looking as if they're talking to an item of clothing in a store?! In someways it's very strange, but yet it's a great example of augmented space, we can communicate with each while still conducting our day to day activities. Before AR we would have had to assign a period of the day to communicate with others, now that is not necessary due to the advancement of technology.

Lev Manovich mentions smart buildings, in particular he goes on to point out augmented architecture. We are continually demanding the need for visual contextual information in our lives; for example, the increasing reliance of school children on power-points and visual aids. This layering of smart information is continually challenging architects in their projects as they attempt to construct more advanced and appealing infrastructure (the Millennium Dome London featured some of the world's largest walk-through interactive spaces - it was mind-blowing and was for many their first experience of a 'smart building'). This new modern focus on architecture helps designers to develop narrative and meaning from the buildings themselves; for example the Prada building, the Jewish Museum of Berlin etc. However contrary to the belief that this is a new phenomenon is rather limited due tot he fact that we have used buildings to portray narrative for hundreds of years - churches and places of worship. The only difference is these do not include the technology we posses today.

The main theme I gained from this week is the advancement of the 3D, before augmented space became possible artists, designers, and even the civilian thought 2D; we presented our works and constructed our homes in such a way, however since technology has arrived we have become increasingly more dimensional - for example, the TV being so integral to the layout of a modern living room. We are already seeing a new approach as well with the way artists will now deal with the entire space of a gallery, as opposed to one or a few main focus features; for example the BANKSY exhibition in the UK, where he managed to incorporate an entire city's museum into one exhibition - interestingly the main theme of this exhibition was surveillance. A product of technology invading the boundaries between public and private lives.