Since my last post I've been working more with Flash and I've figured out how to track the coordinates of a marker and print it out (to help me to code what Flash should do when a certain marker is at a certain coordinate).
I've got my perspex sheet, it's 4ft x 2ft which is a bit longer than I'd planned - 4ft is a bit of a stretch (for most people anyway!) so I might use the end of the table for something else...
I met with Annette to show her what I've done so far, she also helped me a lot with the thesis and I left the meeting feeling a lot less stressed! I also got some more ideas from both her and Colm which have given me a lot to think about.
For the thesis I made a SketchUp model of what the final table should look like (click for a bigger pic).
The triangular marker is what the user moves to control a Flash animation of the road - as they move forwards or backwards, so does the animation. The buildings and small roads are made from card. For more information on a building, the user rotates the triangle/arrow head to point at the building's target. They can use the square markers to choose the type of information they want to view (video, pics, text) and the circular markers to control the information (play, stop, next pic, previous page, restart, etc). At the moment I'm trying to figure out what kind of frame the table needs and how to make it. Hopefully when it's finished it'll look and work like the model above :)
I ended up using a different method than I had planned. I'm still using the same software, Swift 3D, but in a different way. Originally, I exported the model using Papervision3D, which resulted in a great interactive 3D flash file but because the model was generated after it was executed there was no way to add any information on top of the map.
Instead, I animated a walkthrough of the model in Swift 3D and exported a swft file to flash. This way, each frame of the animation has its own frame on the timeline in Flash and I can see the model on the stage.
I'm still looking into the original idea but I think this might end up being the best option.
Below is a video of the walkthrough (it's a lot less blurry in real life!). I want to go back to the map soon to add some more detail and make it look more realistic.
For the rest of the week I'll be working on tracking a marker's X and Y coordinates in Flash using reacTIVision and applying this to the model. I'll also be busy working on the next draft of the thesis for the end of the week.
The triangular marker is what the user moves to control a Flash animation of the road - as they move forwards or backwards, so does the animation. The buildings and small roads are made from card. For more information on a building, the user rotates the triangle/arrow head to point at the building's target. They can use the square markers to choose the type of information they want to view (video, pics, text) and the circular markers to control the information (play, stop, next pic, previous page, restart, etc).