Scope of works: Project and Operations Management, Software development (Visual Basic, Flash CS3, LAMP)

Baby TV is a information service aimed at parents-to-be in hospital antenatal waiting rooms nationwide.  Baby TV aims to help parents-to-be make informed decisions for the health, welfare, safety and happiness of both themselves and their future baby.

My involvement in the Baby TV interactive kiosk project included:-

• Producing an innovative and informative user experience.
• Developing an interactive kiosk application.
• Maintain and support the interactive kiosks on a daily basis.

I developed a custom web browser in Visual Basic which served a locally hosted web site designed using LAMP.  The web browser has an automatic return to homepage feature which returned the web browser to the homepage when the interactive kiosk was idle.  Additional features also include collating page visits and competition entries which are stored locally in a mySQL database and backup text files.

Competition entries, usage statistics and the “email me this page” feature information were stored locally on the media player.  Once a day the information was uploaded to a central database and server, ready for daily reporting and usage monitoring.

Health monitoring information, including a screen shot, connectivity and media player operation statistics, were also uploaded on a daily basis to the central server.  This helped the administrative staff to monitor the network efficiently and responsively.

The new Baby TV interactive kiosks will initially roll out to four hospitals and a shopping centre.

Scope of works: Software development (Scala, Visual Basic, VBScript and After Effects)

So, the World Cup is almost upon us. An event that only occurs every four years making it unique in the world of sports.  The patience, the build-up, the long qualification process always makes it seem so far away, yet here we are on the threshold of the event in South Africa in 2010!

While reviewing screen content on the Surgery Media Systems digital signage network, the decision was make to add a new World Cup 2010 content item.

I liaised with the syndicated news feed supplier and arranged a free service upgrade which included the World Cup 2010 news feed.  I also updated an existing piece of content created in Adobe After Effects, adding an appropriate background image, then modifying the back end digital signage software and scripts to incorporate the new World Cup news feed.

Displayed on a large 42″ LCD screen, this content item makes up an existing content loop of approximately 15 content items.  Three separate latest World Cup 2010 news stories are shown within the same content item with an aesthetically pleasing fade between each story.

World Cup 2010 news

Scope of work: Software development

“Processing, based on Java, is a programming language and integrated development environment (IDE) built for the electronic arts and visual design communities.”

One of my clients wanted the ability to paint on to a virtual canvas with a stencil being present on the screen at all times. With the development scope supplied, I got to work!

If you click on the video below, you can see what I came up with. This Processing sketch allows anyone to paint onto a virtual canvas with their mouse while the stencil, or logo, remains on the screen at all times.

Another idea was to draw in 3D! Check out the video below for some anaglyph 3D development I have done – glasses at the ready, please!

Scope of works: Software development

Whilst developing a new interactive kiosk product a requirement arose for web browser functionality that included an automatic timeout to a default web site on inactivity feature, filtering web pages and allowing navigation to specific web sites only.

I could not produce this functionality with any of the existing web browser applications, even using some of the multitude of rich and varied web browser add-ons currently available, so I had to develop my own software solution.

Using Visual Basic 6 with Microsoft Internet Controls, I developed a web browser with an automatic timeout feature, web address, mySQL database integration, content filtering and comprehensive administrative logging.

Custom web browser application - click to enlarge

Scope of works: Software development

Last year a colleague re-introduced me to Processing and asked me to help him develop a simple paint package, using Nintendo Wii
remote controls as paint brushes. This software package later became the Digi Da Vinci software, which made its premier at the Dover Castle PR stunt in 2009 with MEI Events.

My first task in Processing was to develop a dripping paint routine which was used as a feature in the Digi Da Vinci software. The routine was class based and the drip consistency, length and density of the drip was fully customisable.

You can see a demonstration of the dripping paint routine below (click on the play icon):-

Below you can see a commercial headline news article by Sky News featuring the Digi Da Vinci software:-

Scope of works: Programming, software development and web sites

When giving the general public the opportunity to enter their personal details, such as their email address, on an interactive kiosk, you have to be prepared to filter incorrect, fake or false information and where possible correct it.

I noticed when the general public entered their email addresses they often got the name of well known email addresses incorrect.  For example, joebloggs@hhotmail.com and joebloggs@aool.com, which should be joebloggs@hotmail.com and joebloggs@aol.com respectively.

To deal with this issue, I wrote a PHP script with MySQL data access code to interrogate email addresses in field of a table within a database.  The script identified typical email address entry errors and corrected them.  Once the script had finished, it reported on all originally entered email addresses, the new corrected email addresses and a red or green status indicator.

Once the script is complete, the amount of correct email addresses within a system increases.  Which, from a marketing and advertising perspective, can only be advantageous.

The script also includes an undo feature and manual deletion of duplicate email addresses.

Email address cleaner (click to enlarge)

Scope of work: Programming and Software development

When there is a major sporting event, the latest scores and results are now expected to be displayed on digital signage networks.

One of the next major sporting events is the World Cup.  In preparation, I have written a Visual Basic 6 application that makes it simple for any level of computer user to enter the latest scores, results, group tables, headlines and top goal scorers ready for updating onto a digital signage network.

World Cup feed editor

Once the information is entered, it is then saved into a structured XML file and uploaded to a central FTP server and saved locally.  An XML file is industry standard and used by main stream digital signage applications, such as Scala and Signage Live from Remote Media.

The previously entered information is saved locally in a structured INI file and re-loaded once the application is started.  This makes it easy for the user to make changes to existing information, or use the clear option to start afresh.

An example of results and headline information saved as an INI file using my application:-

[HEADLINES]
headline1=Alastair Cook left out of England's ICC World Twenty20 squad
headline2=Terry on Bellamy: People in glass houses should not throw stones
headline3=Arsenal pledge to win Premier League title for Aaron Ramsey
[TOPSCORERS]
scorer1=BULGARIA,DIMITAR BERBATOV,4
scorer2=BULGARIA,VALERI BOJINOV,3
scorer3=BULGARIA,DANIEL BORIMIROV,2
scorer4=BULGARIA,GEORGI CHILIKOV,1
[GROUPA]
pos1=GREECE,1,2
pos2=PORTUGAL,3,4
pos3=RUSSIA,5,6
pos4=SPAIN,7,8
.
.
.

The XML file, saved to the central location, can then be utilised with screen content to display the latest sporting information on a digital signage network.