The Wonders of GPS (Global Positioning Satelites)

Global Positioning

The use of GPS devices has exploded with brand new ideas within the past 5-10 years, some are very handy and incredibly accurate, whilst others are not. Recent breakthrough in technology has given us some amazing mobile phones which carry GPS tracking capabilities such as the Google Android. With various applications, the phone can be wirelessly connected to a local satelite in the Earths upper atmosphere ready for usage. After a journey is complete, the data can be tracked using the google site (Google Latitude) which draws the map where you have been. Useful, but how useful is it for our Transforming Stonehouse Visit?

When conducting the task of GPS Mapping, we had to stick to certain rules which include:

-Turn left at blue signs.
-Turn right at red signs.
-Turn back at black signs.

These rules were not to difficult to follow as Plymouth is plastered with signs everywhere, so moving in different directions really helped the changes in data instead of just walking in a straight line constantly. There were slight inconsistencies with the results from the map (displayed below) which initially put the group off of using GPS Mapping in the final project, but it was worth testing.



Another example of a great piece of technology for similar jobs is this:
Clarion H.M.I. Clarion have designed this epic tool which acts as your normal GPS device for your car, but it is also designed to be taken out and can be used whilst walking around the town trying to find various hard to find destinations. Using the same idea as Google Android, it tracks where the user is going, but actually lets the user see where he/she is actually walking to. Not only this, it can be used as a media device to play music, video whilst on the go. In my opinion only three words describe this: I WANT ONE!

Personal Spaces

Personal Spaces

In this next part of the Stonehouse Project the group will need to establish an eye on the reactions to the General Public. This kind of study will mean going back out into the Stonehouse area and search for an area with a busy pedestrian area. Example of this would be Union Street.


The diagram above displays the personal space between myself and the distance which will have people walking by it. The concept of this is like a beacon tower sending radio frequencies, if this were visible to the human eye, then this would be just like it. Different reactions will most likely occur when the people walk close by as they will be trying to divert away from my personal space. Their personal spaces will also be changed when they change direction around my static position. When small paths are concerned, personal space will be breached further when the pedestrian will have to come in close contact within my area.



In this more detailed diagram it displays an example of the distance which maybe measured for the data. 10 meters is a proposed area for the personal space. From the centre outwards it would be 5 meters all around, giving the chance to collect sufficient data. Because most of the paths are less than 5 metres in length, it will be very interesting to see how the pedestrians reactions are when trying to pass whilst trying to avoid walking on the main road.

It will also be interesting to find out how people in this area react in certain areas such as bus stops, shops or simply waiting for someone. This area is fairly dangerous, especially at night due to vandalism and crime. So the local people may look cautious during the day; constantly looking over their shoulders just in case. When I first visited Stonehouse, it was mainly elderly pedestrians and middle aged people walking to work, waiting at bus stops or visiting the local shops and cafe's. It was very busy in Union Street, but Cremyll Street was busy aswell. This is where I encountered most of the elderly population. They seemed to have known the area long enough to know how to react to personal spaces and being safe in this rough part of Plymouth.

Chosen Site - Projection

Location
The group have found a very interesting site to conduct the task of Projection.

It's located just south of Cremyll street within a protective area. This protective area holds fairly pricey flats with secure car parks with walls surrounding the area and the sea casting as another barrier behind the building. To get into this area there is a gate which keeps this place away from the run down parts of Stonehouse.





Ideal

This location is purely ideal for projection because of the buildings shape and Symmetry which is perfect for projecting various effects on the surface we have found. The huge chimney in the centre of the building helps create the symmetry by dividing the building in two.

Projection Concept

Using Photoshop I have created a little concept example of what the projection could look like... Depending on the colour filters used within the projector to produce special effects on this historic building. I have used special filter effects such as water ripples to produce a feeling that the windows are made out of water. Using artistic and distortion filters I have been able to fill the other windows and parts of the structure with different effects to create a special mixture of textures. Colours used are from using adjustments such as colour/balance and hue/saturations to create a visual glow. I have also used layer styles such as the motion blur in the background to keep the viewer focussed on the building.

Collaborated Map

Collaborated Map - Group Effort.

This map is the collaborated effort from the group. Combining all of the groups efforts into one single map. By layering the maps together, we have created a super map which is designed to drag everything together to share our ideas in the strategy to find out our main project.

Identifying Key Areas

Today I have created a map displaying the areas of my key thoughts when entering the Stonehouse area. From my initial point of view I have keyed areas from Dangerous/Cautious areas, to the calmer areas where little activity (criminal, social) occur in everyday life.

My initial plot is similar to the older maps that I have created using spray paint ideas to identify quality of buildings and street areas. However in this map I have targetted social/political change and this mainly helps identify which areas are more 'dangerous' to be in as others will not be so bad in terms to social climate and crime rates.

Key in more detail:

Naval = Blue - Peaceful, not so much social climate, richer area and contains the Social club.
Cremyll Street, Durnford Street, Strand St. etc = Green - Cautious, has a mixture of upper and working class.
Union Street and surrounding areas = Red - Dangerous, especially at night. Lower classes, higher crime rates.

I am currently planning on creating a crime level map which can identify key areas of the whole of Stonehouse which has the highest and lowest crime levels.

Postcard Drafts

Difficult To Choose..

I have found it a bit difficult to create the perfect postcard.. I'm looking for the idea of basically placing an excellent part of Stonehouse with a really run down area, basically super-imposing the excellent area and adding it to the rough areas to bring the idea of 'Improving the environment of Stonehouse'. Right now the data of photos the group have taken is very vast.

I have experimented with a few photos and yet find myself in a daze..

I have also thrown in an idea based on the past combining with the future to help advertise the feeling of embracing the past and future of Stonehouse.

Back to the future

Did Plymouth have a major airfield near the dockyard?

If so, then Stonehouse would have had glorious scenes of aircraft flying along the estuary up past the Stonehouse Marina.

Sorry for the lack of posts recently.. been experimenting with Photoshop all week!

One of the photos I've discovered from our group data collection has been contrasted so half of the image is black and white like a vintage photo from the late 30's to early 40's along with the modern day original image to contrast the new buildings and objects from the old. I have added in aircraft in formation (a lancaster bomber, spitfires and typhoons).

This creates a feeling of what it may have been like during World War 2. Because the Devonport Dockyard was so important for the British Navy, an airforce would have been provided to slow down attacks of enemy Germany bombers and other aircraft. This really makes a great example of what it would look like back then.