Tag Archives: “softain biopsy”

amidoinitrite, concept, elearning, game based learning, learning design

Modelling a simple door/entry area to Dr Softain’s lab with Blender for an augment with Aurasma Studio

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A work-in-progress render of the scene and 50 frame animated geometry for an augment of door/entry area to Dr Softain’s laboratory. Thematically, this scene takes place around the same time as Dr Softain’s emergency broadcast.

The modelling is based on measurements and reference photos taken at the scene. The animated door opening was achieved by creating a simple bone system, skinning the mesh and then animated the bones. I did this because I thought animated rigid geometry wasn’t supported by Aurasma Studio. I was wrong. Animated rigid geometry is supported by Aurasma Studio. I may continue to use bones to animate the opening of the door and other geometry that makes up the scene.

If all goes to plan, the final .dae export and augment with Aurasma Studio of the alternate animated door/entry area should replace the real door/entry area entirely.

Work to be completed

The completed scene will be made up of a partially visible collapsed Dr Softain, handing lights and elements such as strange equipment and tools you may expect to find in a laboratory. I’m also considering replacing animated versions of the fridge and bin seen in the reference photos. Each element will need to be low-poly and  combined with other geometry into a single mesh to meet the 3D guidelines for Aurasma Studio. Further visual effects such as dirt, spilt chemicals, blood etc will be painted onto 512 x 512 material that is then applied to the mesh. The animation looks a bit stiff, so I’ll give that a bit of tweak too!

Thinking out loud

Sketching out the door/entry scene and thinking about the limitations of designing and developing augments. There’s something about them that makes them merely passive observational pieces. They seem read-only. Web 1.0. Augments and the fictional layer should be read/write by those who interact with the space. That’s more web 2.0 – beyond. I guess that’s the challenge. Integrate them into/with something else where action is required and/or make the diorama read/write.

Dr Softain's surgery
An example of the type of elements that could used in the scene.
New equipment for Dr Softain's laboratory.
An example of the type of elements that could used in the scene.
amidoinitrite, concept, elearning, game based learning, learning design

Dr Softain’s emergency broadcast

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Dr Sigmeund Softain is specialist surgeon. He was responsible for pioneering The Softain Biopsy medical procedure. Dr Softain’s research is experimental and ongoing. He Tweets his day-to-day research activities and also discusses his work and recent findings on his blog.

One day everything changed. Something went wrong in Dr Softain’s laboratory. An experimental medical procedure went awry. An outbreak. Amidst all the chaos and confusion Dr Softain recorded his final broadcast. An emergency broadcast warning us of an unknown peril.

Dr Softain’s emergency broadcast

Outside Dr Softain’s laboratory
All that was remained was a pool of blood and Dr Softain’s laboratory pass.
Door to Dr Softain's laboratory

Door to Dr Softain's laboratory

User engagement
I recorded and edited Dr Softain’s emergency video on my iPad. I then used Aurasma to create the video augment. Early one morning I set up the installation made up of the pool of blood, Softain’s lab pass, iPad with Aurasma and instructions outside a fire door in the kitchen of my workplace and then waited for work colleagues to discover the installation as they visited the kitchen for their morning coffee.

Reflection

Thinking about it, this wasn’t really an augment. It didn’t augment reality with a fictional layer. The layer was simply triggered, much like a QR code. Also the metaphorical container for displaying the augment was wrong. Lame. A better augment would have been to animate the pool of blood or design an intercom to display the video. The situation was also goofy. This kind of scenario (minus the zombies) could be used as an element of a larger campus-wide activities such as student induction or OHS/ workplace hazard identification audit.

Putting it together

I used my iPad to shoot the video and then edited the video and overdubbed my own sound effects with Pinnacle Studio 2.0.

Dr Softain issued new medical research pass amidst controversy

amidoinitrite, concept, elearning, learning design, resource development

Prototyping AR with processing and blender

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I’m interested in exploring the use of augmented reality (AR) in learning experiences.  I’ve decided to prototype my early simple AR experiments with Processing and Blender. These early explorations will make use of augments placed with fiducial markers. My goal is to then explore developing AR learning experiences with Layar that can then be viewed through iOS and Android mobile devices. I’d then like to explore placing augments without using fiducial markers. These augment could be determined by location. One step at a time.

I used Processing, Blender and NyARToolkit to create this very simple zombie wound augment. This needs a bit more work as the augment is displaying bounding box information and the low-poly modelling is not as smooth as it should be. The augment could be made to look a little more integrated with my body with improved modelling and texturing. That will come with the next iteration.

amidoinitrite, concept, game based learning, learning design, resource development

Days later or maybe even weeks later

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Days later or maybe even weeks later is a concept for a collaborative workplace/institute/teaching centre-wide activity for staff and students designed to mend the physical and psychological effects of the Victorian government’s $300 million in cuts from the state’s TAFE sector. Physical and psychological effects could include closure of campuses, a reduction of courses being offered and job cuts.

This blog post contains exerpts from a conversation about the concept I had with myself on our organisation’s Yammer network. This blog post attempts to consolidate the concept.

I saw the activity taking place after the catastrophic event. It could’ve been 28 days later or even 28 weeks later. It doesn’t really matter. Just as long as the scenario provides an exposition,  defines the goal(s) to be achieved by staff and students and also describes the resources/materials that are available for use.

I saw the activity involving the every staff member and their respective teaching centre. From the top to the bottom of the organisational chart. The CEO would actually play a pivotal role in activity. They would be responsible for broadcasting/providing updates on the progress of the activity. These updates would also allow activity facilitators to adjust the activity if/when required.


I saw each teaching centre being responsible for helping students contribute a specific artefact or service from their particular area of expertise. The artefact or service (and production of) would contribute to the activity while also satisfying the students scholastic assessment requirements.

Nothing about the activity changes the need for students to demonstrate their skills and provide evidence of their competence. It’s just their output or artefact may change, but not how they work through the process of creating the artefact.

I didn’t want the activity to involve only our Australian based campus. I wanted the activity to be inclusive. What better way to reach out to our state and international counterparts than a part in a inter-campus activity.

Hospitality Tourism planning is highly complex and requires integrated and flexible approaches. The activity would reflect the typical nature of each particular area of study. for example, hospitality and tourism is a complex industry that requires flexible approaches and unique problem solving skills, particularly in the context of responding to a natural disaster. Real-world examples that require application of employability skills and dimensions of competency.


Scientist area always important in an activity involving zombies. They serve as one of the last hopes – finding a cure!

The activity would take place in real time and play-out over an entire semester, perhaps even the entire scholastic year. Although maintaining momentum over this period of time could be difficult. The pacing of the narrative would be informed by the deliverables of each course.


Testing the activity on a teaching centre could be a good way to identify issues.

Then I realised. Yes. This is a zombie game.

This activity would take place openly and in public. Non-students and staff would be able to observe the progress of the activity via the organisation’s website. Completing the activity publicly gives people the opportunity to see the work the students and staff are doing together (Outside an open day, showcase or expo context).


Then I realised the zombie metaphor is problematic.

Staff and students are not to blame for the funding cuts.


Although the activity may not be completely appropriate at this point in time, I do think there is potential for a collaborative workplace/institute/teaching centre-wide activity for staff and students to occur.

amidoinitrite, ds106

Blood harvest (The Softain Biopsy) – Visual Assignment 340: Splash the colour

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By now I’m sure many of you are quite familiar with the ground-breaking work of specialist surgeon Dr Sigmeund Softain. Dr Sigmeund Softain is the doctor responsible for pioneering The Softain Biopsy medical procedure.

The Softain Biopsy* is a medical procedure involving the sampling of diseased human cells or tissues for examination, repair, duplication and then re-insertion back into the patient.

What isn’t known is how Dr Sigmeund Softain manages to repair the diseased human cells. Well, earlier this week I had the privilege of spending time with Dr Sigmeund Softain in his lab. During this time I managed to find out out more about Dr Softain’s cell repair technology. “You see, it’s all rather simple” Dr Softain told me. “I use a rare species of spider that lives in a citrus tree common to suburban Australia to repair and then harvest diseased blood and human cells.”

*Dr Sigmeund Softain is currently undergoing an investigation from the Australian Future Medical Procedure Organisation (AFMPO) and has had his practise license withdrawn.

Visual Assignment 340: Splash the colour

Color splash is a technique to emphasize details- you remove all color from a photo, and then restore original color to a single object, e.g. a green apple on a table. Think of the Girl in the red dress from Schindler’s List.

You can do this in a number of ways with photo editing software or using mobile apps. The answer lies in the Google.

amidoinitrite, ds106

The Softain Biopsy – Visual Assignment 305: ReCaptcha Illustrated

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The Softain Biopsy

The Softain Biopsy is a medical procedure performed by specialist surgeon Dr Sigmeund Softain involving sampling of diseased human cells or tissues for examination, repair, duplication and then re-insertion back into the patient.

Visual Assignment 305: ReCaptcha Illustrated brief

Include a screenshot of a word pair from a reCapctha (or heck right at the bottom of this assignment submission form) in an illustration or visual mashup that shows what the words might mean. Use your imagination to create something meaningful out of the random words. When you write it up, provide some narrative that puts the image in context.