spench.net

This video demonstrates the tornado in action:

A system for distributed extensible particle simulations over multiple computers. Unfortunately I haven't exactly got around to distributing it. Although thanks to the generosity of Steven Foster, the many lab computers at my school are waiting. My report details the process and simulation design.

Click one of the following images to see the larger version:

I wanted to try some skeletal animation so I wrote this test program.

It imports meshes, materials and animations from Poser and plays them back.

An exploded figure walking:

I have been continually developing a Verlet-integration based particle system inside Teh Engine and have produced a number of interesting results. The two main themes of simulated phenomenon are tornados and cloth. You can read more about these individual experiments in the next sections, as well as watching videos of the results.

An excellent resource for Verlet-integration can be found at Gamasutra.

Here are some stills:

SKIP THE CHIT-CHAT, LET ME USE IT*!

* Please note: WebRadio is only available when I have the computers and radios switched on. (And I don't usually do this as electricity does not grow on trees and fire is bad. Did I mention I have to pay for uploads too?) If it says it "Can't connect to the server" and you'd like to give it a whirl, please do not hesitate to email me (bottom of front page) and I'll switch it on for you.

Dr John Smith told me about these types of receivers, so I thought I'd build the bare-bones-basic one.

Unfortunately it's not possible to use it anywhere near urbanised areas due to the 50Hz mains interference 'hum' that swaps out mother nature.

I wrote a Windows-based video analysis and processing framework to underpin the research I undertook for my undergraduate thesis.

Some of the features it boasts:

• DirectShow-based: Enables analysis and process of any video/audio format that DShow supports.
• Seeking with frame-accuracy in an MPEG-2 stream: This handy feature I implemented, when used with certain filters, enables frame-accurate seeking (which otherwise is not possible with the standard filter graph (i.e. source filter and demultiplexer).
• Input live streaming TV: I use a Terrestrial Digital Video Broadcasting card to feed Teh Detector live video, which it processes in real-time. It (obviously) also supports offline analysis of stored content.
• Extensible detector architecture: Detectors (analysis components) can be written in C++ and added at will to the framework to extend its capabilities. I implemented several detectors in a hierarchy fashion to find television commercials in a live stream.
• Automatic frame caching: The framework automatically caches video frames and optimises analysis during runtime by also caching various calculations performed on an incoming frame.
• Event store/viewer: Detectors can output 'events' that describe a detected feature in the video, which is automatically stored and managed by the framework. These events can then later be reviewed in an intuitive manner.
• Lots of others: detector timing profiler, signal strength meter, playback rate control, filter graph management, bookmarking, frame dumping, extensive keyboard shortcuts...

For my undergraduate honours thesis I conducted research into the unbuffered real-time detection of commercials on television with a view to muting the volume when ads are being broadcast. The research itself dealt with examining the features required to enable robust real-time detection. I developed a sophisticated video analysis and processing framework to underpin experimentation and compilation of results.

The following screenshots show the system running live (click on one to see the full-res image):

The last time I visited Wairunga in New Zealand I set about developing two control systems to aid in the running of the farm:

• A voice-controlled sheep press

• An infra-red sensor controlled sheep dip

I had this idea 9 months before I saw (or even had heard of) The Matrix - you can ask my art teachers at my school!
The only difference is the shoe-string budget: that's four uncalibrated VHS video cameras and some hot air.
Check out the video, which is the result of some morphing I managed to do several years later.

An inside view into iCinema's Project T_Visionarium:
(We tend to drop the underscore though, so it's referred to as TVisionarium or simply TVis).

 * NEW: EXHIBITION PIX *

This page summarises (for the moment below the video) the contribution I made to TVisionarium Mk II,
an immersive eye-popping stereo 3D interactive 360-degree experience where a user can
search through a vast database of television shows and rearrange their shots in
the virtual space that surrounds them to explore intuitively their semantic similarities and differences.