The Digital Media Commons is revising GROCS this year, with a goal to broaden its focus and extend its resources, through our new position within the UM Library. We won’t be announcing a CFP first thing in the Fall, but we do hope to have a new program up and running before Spring. For more information email grocs.info@umich.edu

Chance-it Receives Yahoo! Boost Award

Zhang Zhang, Yi Wei Chia, Stan Lin and Jessica Hullman received a first-ever Yahoo! Boost Award to continue the development of their custom mulit-touch table and "Chance-It!", their application that uses the table to explore aspects of the creative process.

The Yahoo! Boost Award will enable the team to move the project toward their goal to make both the table and the application accessible beyond the UM community. Chia’s work this summer will include publishing construction drawings for the table, and improving its software interface so that novice programmers can more easily develop custom applications for it. Hullman will be extending “Chance-It!”, to make it useful for different sources of data and diverse user groups.

The Yahoo! Boost award was created specifically to further the development of a GROCS project. Don McGillen, Yahoo! Senior Manager for Campus Relations, explained, “Most of our awards are for a Best Project. We don’t have any other award quite like this one — but there aren’t many programs like GROCS either!”

April 12 – 22
The Gallery at the Duderstadt Center
Gallery Hours: Noon – 6:00 PM, Monday through Friday
Carillon Hours: Mon, Wed, Fri 4:30 – 5:30; Tue, Thur 2:00 – 3:00 (ends 4/20)

GROCS 2010 Reception
Friday April 16th
4:00 – 6:00 PM

I Get By with a Little Help from My Friends is nearly ready to begin asking homeless people to voice their thoughts on a number of topics, both mundane and important. If you have a home and are reading these thoughts displayed in public places: what other information would you like to have, framing the voice? A list of actions you can take to help? More information about the project? A website you can go to for more information? Facts about homelessness? What’s the balance of enough information and too much information?

View the video archive

The Chance-it Team is close to having their multi-touch table completely specified. One special feature: this table will be at coffee table height!

While Yi-Wei and Stan are doing the figuring to make that happen, Jessica and Jhang are detailing the table’s first application. If the goal is to study the many different ways that individuals might put a set of images together, or the ways that they might share collections… would it be better to provide a certain number of images, or to allow participants to upload their own? And what functions should be allowed or enabled with each image?

Click to play video:

What does it feel like to play a bell? How big are they? How heavy are they? Can you feel them vibrate? How loud is it up there? Is it dizzying?

The Listen Up! team introduced GROCSters to the carillon with the fantastic opportunity to play it, all together. Here is team member Carrie Poon’s score and artist’s statement.

Watch the video

Thanks to the Nomadic Inquiry in the Museum team for stepping up for the first 2010 design review (Jan 22)! The discussion addressed: different strategies to encourage students to work together without getting hung up in the process, different tools that could be provided to each character; and potential variations on the organizing theme.

Watch the video archive

Friday afternoon meetings generally include at least one project design review, beginning at around 3:45 pm. The public is welcomed to participate.

• Jan 22 Nomadic Inquiry in the Museum
• Jan 29
• Feb 5 Chance It!
• Feb 12 I Get By… and Autlook
• Feb 19 New Musical Instrument
• Feb 26
• Mar 12 Listen Up!
• Mar 19 I Get By… and Chance It!
• Mar 26 New Musical Instrument and Zydeco
• Apr 2 Autlook and Listen Up!

Thanks to all who participated in the 2010 selection process.  The project proposals were all outstanding, and as a group, they reflect an awesomely thoughtful and innovative UM community.   Those selected for GROCS 2010 are:

• Chance-It Multi-touch Table
• Listen Up!
• New Musical Instrument with Haptic Force Feedback Interface
• Nomadic Inquiry in Science Museums
• The Autlook Project: Creating Ability Friendly Digital and Physical Spaces
• With a Little Help From My Friends

Congratulations, 2010 teams!  

The projects invited to submit a full proposal, due November 2, are:

• “Chance It” Multi-touch Table
• ClearMeds
• Design of a new haptic interface to enhance the intuitive and physical relationship between musicians and their (electronic sound producing) instruments
• e+co(r)relate
• eDoctor’s DX
• Full-featured Multidimensional Data Visual Analysis System
• Information Overload. Impact Desensitisation. Digital Dispersion.
• Is Anybody There?
• iTactile
• M’AIDEZ Disaster Communications System
• Mobile Inquiry in the Museum
• The Autlook Project: Creating Ability Friendly Digital and Physical Spaces
• “What Would You Do If I Sang Out of Tune …”

Is your project listed?  You are STRONGLY encouraged to drop in during any Wednesday proposal workshop   for guidance in shaping your proposal (11 am – 1 pm, in Design Lab 1).  Or email grocs.info@umich.edu to schedule an appointment at your convenience. The full proposal forms will be posted later today.

Not listed? Most of the projects that were not selected at this stage were passed over because the collaboration component was not primary enough for our particular criteria (for example, the project would need only a straightforward relationship between practitioner and programmer).  Please don’t be discouraged!