This year I will graduate. A big part of this last year is the capstone project. Graduating engineering students are part of year long projects. These projects are proposed by real people from real companies and students come together in groups of 4-5 to work on them. It really is wicked fun.
I will be working with the UBC Laptop Orchestra along with 3 other students. We will be developing a greenfield application for image display and processing with the purpose of being used in concert and art installations. The Laptop Orchestra is actually a 2 credit class at UBC in which students program virtual instruments that are then used in above mentioned events. Who knew? UBC is a magical place with all sorts of things.
Did you know UBC has a Harry Potter room? Or that some of the filming of Fifty shades of grey, the movie was done there? Or that it offers a 3 credit undergrad class on wine science?
Working with randomly assigned groups can be tricky, but I think I got a pretty rad bunch of folks to work with. I mean, a group selfie was one of the first things we did as a team.
The list of awesome people doesn’t end here. Our supervising professor, Dr. Sid Fels is internationally known for his work in 3D displays, biomechanical modeling, neural networks, new interfaces for musical expression and interactive arts. The project proposal itself comes from two very excellent people, Dr. Robert Pritchard and Dr. Keith Hamel. These guys have their own wikipedia pages.
As with any study space in any university, it is pretty much impossible to find a space that satisfies these basic requirements:
- Reasonably quiet
- Power outlet within cord distance
- Table and chairs for multiple people
Luckily Dr. Pritchard was able to hook us up with a sweet space at the MAGIC lab at UBC. Now in addition to all of those points mentioned above, we have Tim Hortons nearby!
Since Viper will be used in performance this December, we need to get shit done. And get it done fast.
41 days till showtime.