Jordi Linares' blog

One year teaching Unity3D

2012-08-12T11:55:00.000+02:00

About one year ago, I started to prepare Unity3D teaching materials. Everything started with the development of our first Unity3D game, SpinningTop Adventure, developed with Unity3D for iOS and Android.

With two very good students (Pau and Juan Carlos), SpinningTop Adventure gave me the chance of working again in the game development sector, an area I started with when I was a teenager, many years ago ;)

Thanks to the development of this game, I felt prepared to teach Unity3D, at least introductory courses. University CS students are maybe the perfect target for introducing Unity3D.

Game development is in a very good moment and students need special training in this area. The main advantage of Unity3D is that you can offer them the opportunity to create something in only an 8-hour course.

I was able to introduce the basics of Unity3D in only 8 hours in two courses I taught in the University of Applied Science of Lahti (Finland) and the Universitatea din Oradea (Rumania). It was really incredible to see their awesome outcomes in a so short course.

In Spain, I have had the chance of offering two Unity3D courses, one in our Campus of Alcoi of the Universitat Politècnica de València (40 hours) and another one, just a month ago, in our main Campus in Valencia (30 hours). By the way, the classroom I was teaching in Valencia was quite special for me, since the very last time I was there I was a student (yes, more than 20 years ago ;).

In both cases, the results have been really incredible, letting me to interact with very talented students with a lot of stamina ;)

This year I'll repeat the experience. It will try to offer Unity3D teaching again in Finland and Rumania, and of course in my own University here in Spain. Maybe I'll be able to include other European Universities we have agreements with.

I'm still in love with the processing project (http://processing.org) a book of which I have started last year (in Spanish, although I'm at the 40% of it).

However, I have to recognize, Unity3D is focusing almost all my time right now. As a matter of fact, I have decided to start writing an introductory book to Unity3D in Spanish using my current material.

Anyway, the evolution of my teaching material depends on the time I'll have, taking into account that I'll be starting new games this September and a very promising project with a Norwegian University.

So, after this deserved holidays I'm enjoying right now, new adventures with Unity3D are coming ;)

Unity3D and game development

2012-03-09T16:58:00.004+01:00

Many months without writing anything, and one of the reasons is the amount of work we have had here lately.

I have been still working with new tools in order to work with computer graphics applications and games, and although I'm still in love with processing (my teaching material is still available), last year I was working with a new environment that has become my current love ;)

I'm talking about Unity3D.

Unity3D has a lot of incredible advantages when creating games and multimedia applications:
- It's framework is Mac and Windows and has an incredible environment to help us in producing outstanding games, multimedia and 3D contents
- Regarding developing, it is based on Mono project, which means many advantages: we can use either C#, Javascript or Boo, and we have a great collection of the .NET framework possibilities
- Develop once, distribute to iOS, Android, Mac, Windows and consoles. Really awesome.
- It has become the most popular game development engine, with thousands of developer and apps
- Scalable, well-documented, incredible ecosystem etc.

Why I am so excited ? Well, because as a matter of fact I was involved last year in the development of a game for iOS and Android. You can see it here in action and we developed it for the Swiss company x-fund ag. It is called SpinningTop Adventure and it is available in the AppStore and Android Market (or should I call it 'Google Play' now ?)

After developing a complete game and intensively using Unity3D, we are in a position to say that is really a very interesting choice, if not the best, when talking about games, multimedia and 3D systems, for mobile, desktop, web or console platforms.

Our current work ? Well, once covered our introduction to Unity3D we are working right now in applying this technology in the development of serious games, games for education and solutions for disabled people. I hope I'll be able to show you something soon.

Mobile and Web are the key point in teaching computer graphics

2011-01-22T11:30:00.003+01:00

This year I have experienced a really difference in my Computer Graphics course. I'm still using processing in my laboratory work, but I have introduced a new unit called 'From Desktop to Mobile and Web'. You can check it out, with my all slides and materials of the course, at http://processing.tk

Any difference from my previous courses ? Many. Students were really more motivated and I have received a brilliant collection of good little projects: games, augmented reality examples, image viewers and so on. Why were my students so motivated ? Because they were able to port their processing application to Android and the Web, using android.processing.org and processing.js.

World is changing, and mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) are going to be the items everybody will desire and buy this year. It is really interesting to offer our students the opportunity of working with these new hardware, and processing allows it. We can make the most of their sensors (accelerometers, magnetometers, camera etc.) when creating a game or app.

Why Mobile Augmented Reality doesn't work

2010-05-09T18:17:00.005+02:00

I came back yesterday from Sweden. There, I was in an international conference where I had a work to present.

Being a Nexus One owner, I was very excited before the trip. Applications like Layar and Wikitude would be helping me a lot there, in Stockholm. I didn't know anything about the city, so this Augmented Reality (AR) apps could have been helpful, but it didn't.

Why ?

Are not those AR applications useful ? Yes, they are. But in order to use them, as well as Google Maps, Navigator and Googles, you need internet connection. And here it is when my problems arise.

Enjoying here, Spain, a 3G data connection, I asked about prices in Sweden. They're cheap as far as you have a swedish telephone company, but coming from abroad the things are really different. How much different ? 10 euros / 1 Mb. Yes, it's not a joke.

And that's not something between Spain and Sweden, it seems it is a common problem when traveling in Europe. Fantastic.

So Google and others are providing fantastic solutions and we cannot use them when we're in the perfect situation to use them: when we're abroad.

Thanks we're in a European Community !!! Just enjoy the following picture you can see at Layar website. See the world ! ... if you don't mind to pay a lot for it ;)

New ways of reading books

2010-04-13T10:32:00.002+02:00

Following my previous post, here another example on how iPad and the new tablet devices are going to change the way we read, learn and interact with books and magazines:

Multitouch devices and education

2010-04-08T11:04:00.007+02:00

We have been discussing a lot about the possibilities of multitouch interfaces, speculating about their real advantages over traditional interaction paradigms.

But now, with the current explosion of the iPad and a huge assortment of new multitouch tablet devices to come, we have now real and fully functional applications.

The example of the following video is really very representative. It's really a good example on how these new devices, multitouch enabled, with the new refreshing way of approaching to user interfaces, can undoubtely change fields such as education, magazines, books etc.

AR at SkyNews

2010-03-24T15:16:00.003+01:00

A very interesting AR demo from Total Immersion at SkyNews. Visit this specialised AR French company website for additional online demos and videos.

Without any doubt, Augmented Reality is becoming more and more popular.

Do you want to learn processing ?

2010-02-11T16:10:00.003+01:00

Very nice set of 5 tutorials with which you can follow an introduction to processing.
In the last one, a final little demo is generated using input audio and displaying the different band levels in an interesting fading effect.

Created by switchboard (Andy Best).

Processing Tutorial #1 from Switchboard on Vimeo.

Processing Tutorial #2 from Switchboard on Vimeo.

Processing Tutorial #3 from Switchboard on Vimeo.

Processing Tutorial #4 from Switchboard on Vimeo.

Processing Tutorial #5 from Switchboard on Vimeo.

Yes, it's still a prototype, but ...

2010-01-13T13:19:00.002+01:00

In the following video from a company called TAT, you can see a prototype of an AR mobile solution of theirs really fantastic. It is a prototype but it looks potentially very interesting.

The problem is legal issues and private rights. What do you think ?

Augmented Reality in one hour

2010-01-13T09:06:00.004+01:00

I have discovered a very interesting video describing AR technology in about one hour, focusing on mobile solutions. It is part of the youtube O'Reilly channel. Although it is difficult nowadays to have one hour free, and the sound is very bad, it is really worth watching it.

Another video about the future of AR

2009-11-23T16:06:00.004+01:00

Another nice video about the future of Augmented Reality (AR). We're talking about AR a lot lately, thanks to the fact that we are enjoying real applications (iPhone and Android phones, e.g.)

I wonder when we will be able to have those glasses.

(Thanks to Jordi Tormo for the link)

The continuous evolution of processing

2009-11-11T21:42:00.003+01:00

From the very beginning, processing was created as a development platform with one objective in mind: generative/procedural art. And this objective is a reality not only because of the tools this language offers, but because some additional libraries some developers are providing to this open community.

People from toxiclibs and their incredible set of libraries for processing is an example.

In the following video you can see a showreel of some of the works created using processing and toxiclibs libraries:

toxiclibs showreel from postspectacular on Vimeo.

Thinking digital

2009-08-17T09:03:00.010+02:00

TDC 2009 (Thinking Digital Conference) took place last May:

Thinking Digital is an annual conference where the world's greatest thinkers and innovators gather to inspire, to entertain, and to discuss the latest ideas and technologies.

One of the speakers was a very well known researcher in HCI (Human Computer Interaction), Johnny Chung Lee, famous because his works using wiimote controller.

In the following video, Johnny summarizes his work with the wii controller, and then describes what's going on in HCI researching:
- Mixed reality devices (e.g. Microsoft Surface, augmented workbenchs)
- 3D displays (4D light field display)
- Flexible displays, ink paper displays...
- Haptics (e.g. touch in the air, vibrating screens)
- Tracking the position of the camera using computer vision
- Brain sensing (e.g. a car monitoring the human brain to use its answer against dangerous situations)
- etc.

Thinking Digital 2009 Talks: Johnny Chung Lee - Research into Interface Technology from Herb Kim on Vimeo.

A very good BBC article about AR applications

2009-08-15T10:14:00.003+02:00

With the title Mobile phones get cyborg vision, BBC describes the present and future of some current Augmented Reality applications. It is worth seeing it.

Some interesting videos about the history of CGI

2009-08-12T18:55:00.002+02:00

Looking for new material for my students I have found some interesting videos about the history of CGI (Computer Generated Images).

This first one summarizes the use of CGI in the film industry:

The second and third, two parts of the same, describe the evolution of CGI from its beginning to nowadays:

Click here for the second part of the documentary.

An online Augmented Reality application really useful

2009-08-04T11:47:00.004+02:00

Although we have been able to see a lot of Augmented Reality (AR) applications recently, some even online (based on Flash, for example), it is not common to see some real useful examples. I mean, examples where the use of the AR is really interesting and contributes to the final product.

A good example of this is the U.S. Postal Priority Mail with its Virtual Box application. Visit their website, and see the demo video to get the final idea.

"Which box fits your shipment?" By using AR, the user can print a pattern, and can visually explore if the different box sizes are or not appropriate for the object the user want to send. The boxes are visualized with transparency, so they can visually compare the size of the object to send vs. the box. Great and useful.

Another video about Microsoft's Natal project

2009-06-11T18:10:00.001+02:00

Another video of a real demo of this new project from Microsoft called Natal project.
This time, it's not an advert but a real and live demo.

'We' are the interface !

2009-06-03T09:01:00.002+02:00

It's really impressive what Microsoft is preparing under the codename 'Project Natal'.

Is this the Wii killer ? I don't know but if it works as in the demo, we are going to go beyond the actual standards ...

Processing at Eurographics 2009

2009-04-01T15:38:00.006+02:00

I'm still attending to Eurographics 2009 at Munich. Eurographics is the most important conference on Computer Graphics in Europe, and this year, in the education programme, I was showing to the audience the benefits of using processing in an introductory computer graphics course.

The material I use in this course is here.

The slides I showed at the conference here.

There's no doubt that the advantages of processing in a lot of different areas are awesome, but it is especially worth when we talk about teaching computer graphics. I'm still working in processing and learning as much as I can.

Envisioning the future ...

2009-03-03T07:38:00.002+01:00

If there's something really difficult is to predict the future. Microsoft has tried to do it in this video.
What it seems true is that pervasive computing and advanced GUI are going to be an essential key.

Enjoy the video ... what's your opinion ?

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-GB&playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:a517b260-bb6b-48b9-87ac-8e2743a28ec5&showPlaylist=true&from=shared" target="_new" title="Future Vision Montage">Video: Future Vision Montage</a>

An introductory course to processing at Lahti

2009-02-23T01:10:00.006+01:00

This February, from the 5th to the 12th, I have had the wonderful opportunity of being in a awesome country, Finland. In particular, I was invited to teach a short course in Processing, at the Lahti University of Applied Sciences.

It was a very good chance to see what a student is able to learn about processing in just 10 hours. My finish students didn't have any computer graphics background, but all had previous knowledge in programming.

The result has been very satisfactory, actually, I am now correcting an exam they had to solve after the course. Good marks.

It's clear now that processing is a very interesting alternative in any introductory course in computer graphics.

Two interesting OpenGL links

2009-01-19T12:18:00.007+01:00

Although I'm not working on OpenGL recently, I have just found today two interesting links.

When I have to develop in C++ and OpenGL, I have to do it normally for Windows, so I have to deal with MFC and OpenGL. I have a sort of an initial template, but it is much better to let the VS 2008 wizard to allow us to create an initial OpenGL + MFC project. Thanks to Dave Kerr we have here how.

From time to time, I also develop in C# and it is always interesting to use OpenGL. There are several alternatives, but SharpGL seems to be all the majority of us need. Here a brief article about it.

Kodu: a new game programming environment for kids

2009-01-10T22:01:00.002+01:00

Game programming has always been considered one of the most difficult programming fields. As a computer graphics lecturer and a former game programmer, when I was a teenager actually, I can not say the opposite.

Processing is an excellent framework for those interested in developing games without having to use more low-level API's or development environments.

XNA, visit this and this, is perhaps the perfect choice if you want to use a specific API for computer game development. It is based on .NET and has the additional advantage of letting the game to be deployed directly into a Xbox console.

Thinking basically in new developers, beginners and those who do not want to know anything about programming, Microsoft is about to launch Kodu.

Kodu is not just a game, is a game generator. Using a graphical language, it offers the opportunity to develop computer games without a single line of code.

It is better to see it in action:

Kodu has been created by Microsoft. The project web site can be found here.

QuickHandNote - A note-taking application

2008-12-24T16:53:00.008+01:00

I'm a digital tablet user and I love tablet PC's. When I was a Windows user, OneNote was my tool of choice. Now, using mainly Linux and Mac OS, I have to say I have not found something similar. So, I decided to develop my own tool: QuickHandNote.

QuickHandNote is a project which objective is the creation of a notetaking application especially designed for teaching purposes, thinking overall in electronic whiteboards, digital tablets and tablet pcs.

I have developed it using processing with Eclipse. Actually, this project is an experiment about the real possibilities of processing in the development of real applications.

You are invited to test and cooperate: http://sourceforge.net/projects/quickhandnote/

It will be fantastic to receive suggestions or bugs. At the sourceforge site of the project, you can find a tracker, called 'Bugs', where you can post any suggestion or bug of yours.

I have tested it in Mac OS, Linux and Windows. The only drawing tool is a handwriting one, but I'm preparing now much more. The results can be saved in a XML format file and can be also exported to PDF.

An introductory course to processing.org

2008-12-16T10:37:00.004+01:00

I've been teaching an introductory course to computer graphics for some years. The subject lectures are taught in one semester (2 hours per week) and with fifteen laboratory sessions of one hour.

From this year on, I have decided to use processing as the framework for the laboratory sessions.

The experience has demonstrated the many advantages of processing in this field. Students are able to work from the very beginning and the introduction to the different topics is seamless. Students do not spend too much time in learning development environments, initial code templates, languages or tools that are only interesting for educational purposes.

Everything that students develop can be reused, improved and is able to be part of a final application. The level of complexity is gradual, from just writing some sentences of code to C-like programs (a collection of functions) to complete object-oriented applications.

Based on Java, with a comprehensive graphic library, inspired in PostScript and OpenGL, and thousands of users, processing is a serious alternative to other approaches. With its use, I have managed to cover more computer graphics topics in our laboratory sessions, to help our lectures at the classroom and to capture student interest in a more effective way.

You have the complete slides of the laboratory sessions I have prepared in this website.