Merging the virtual and the real: A collaborative cross-reality game

In this paper, we present a collaborative cross-reality game for two players, Lab2, which blends tangible board game and immersive virtual reality playing spaces in a gameplay that aims to promote and train collaborative behaviour. As collaborative learning has been stressed as an effective teaching method for many years, Lab2 could assist learners in exploring and further developing their collaborative skills in a playful manner. One player controls a physical game board showing a moveable maze of “pathway” tiles, while the second uses a spatially tracked HMD to find himself inside a virtual-reality version of the game-board’s maze. The goal of the game is to collect a set of tokens hidden inside the maze. Reaching these tokens requires the players to collaborate via their complementary roles. We will first outline the game design concept and then detail the user-testing based evaluation of our game prototype

Conception and development of a mobile mixed reality medium for environment-related storytelling – a novel approach to virtual heritage

Das Ziel dieser Arbeit ist die Entwicklung eines neuartigen Virtual Heritage Mediums das User mit Hilfe von interaktiven Mixed-Reality Umgebungen und raumbezogenem Erzählen nicht nur räumlich mitten in eine Geschichte hineinversetzt, sondern auch aktiv in diese einbezieht. Dies wird erreicht, indem das Videobild eines getrackten Smartphones mit perspektivisch stimmigen Echtzeit-3D Inhalten überlagert wird. Der User kann diese Mixed-Reality Umgebung erkunden, die Handlungen von 3D Charakteren beobachten sowie mit ihnen und virtuellen Artefakten interagieren. Dieses Medium bietet folglich die Möglichkeit mediale Geschichten in echten Räumen zu erzählen sowie ein immersives und user-involvierendes Medienerlebnis. Diese Arbeit wird den Einsatz dieses Mediums speziell für Kulturvermittlungszwecke fokussieren. Diese Arbeit wird zunächst die technischen Anforderungen und Umsetzungsmöglichkeiten dieses Vorhabens mittels Unity für iPhone / iOS 7 untersuchen. Die Belegung der Ergebnisse erfolgt durch die anschließende Realisierung eines Prototypen.The goal of this thesis is to develop a novel type of virtual heritage medium that utilises the combined immersive and engaging potentials of interactive mixed reality environments and spatial narratives. Concretely, this is achieved through depth-sensitive compositing of real-time 3D content into the live-video of a tracked smartphone. The user can explore this mixed reality environment, watch the actions of staged 3D characters as well as interact with them and virtual artifacts. This medium would therefore provide possibilities for telling stories in direct context with existing environments along with an immersive and engaging media experience. This work will mainly focus on how this medium can be used as an edutainment medium in sites of cultural heritage. This thesis will focus on establishing the technical requirements and realisation possibilities for implementation in Unity on iPhone 5 / iOS 7. Subsequently, a prototype is implemented in order to prove the research results

Kita-Entwicklung. Organisationsentwicklung als Chance für die frühe Bildung

Wie kann Organisationsentwicklung zu verbesserter Kita-Qualität führen? Der Band stellt zwei von vier im Projekt „Forum KITA-Entwicklung“ entstandene Expertisen vor, die sich mit dieser Frage beschäftigen. Insgesamt legen die Ergebnisse nahe, dass Organisationsentwicklung gewinnbringend für den Bereich Kita sein kann. Dazu sollten die Einrichtungen als in einem System verortet betrachtet werden. (DIPF/Orig.

Methodology for a Socio-Technical Approach to Sharing Knowledge and Promoting Dialogue via Use of a Knowledge and Communication Platform

This paper outlines the methodology of a Knowledge and Communication Platform (KCP) as part of the Horizon2020 project Energy System Transition Through Stakeholder Activation, Education and Skills Development (ENTRUST). The ENTRUST project provides a mapping of Europe’s energy system and an in-depth understanding of how human behaviour around energy is shaped by both technological systems and socio-demographic factors. Central to the project is an in-depth engagement with six communities across Europe. The purpose of the KCP is to disseminate and share knowledge and to facilitate and promote dialogue on energy efficiency and transitioning to a low carbon system

Comparing chemical composition and lignin structure of Miscanthus x giganteus and Miscanthus nagara harvested in autumn and spring and separated into stems and leaves

Miscanthus crops possess very attractive properties such as high photosynthesis yield and carbon fixation rate. Because of these properties, it is currently considered for use in second-generation biorefineries. Here we analyze the differences in chemical composition between M. x giganteus, a commonly studied Miscanthus genotype, and M. nagara, which is relatively understudied but has useful properties such as increased frost resistance and higher stem stability. Samples of M. x giganteus (Gig35) and M. nagara (NagG10) have been separated by plant portion (leaves and stems) in order to isolate the corresponding lignins. The organosolv process was used for biomass pulping (80% ethanol solution, 170 °C, 15 bar). Biomass composition and lignin structure analysis were performed using composition analysis, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and pyrolysis gas-chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) to determine the 3D structure of the isolated lignins, monolignol ratio and most abundant linkages depending on genotype and harvesting season. SEC data showed significant differences in the molecular weight and polydispersity indices for stem versus leaf-derived lignins. Py-GC/MS and hetero-nuclear single quantum correlation (HSQC) NMR revealed different monolignol compositions for the two genotypes (Gig35, NagG10). The monolignol ratio is slightly influenced by the time of harvest: stem-derived lignins of M. nagara showed increasing H and decreasing G unit content over the studied harvesting period (December–April)

Low-Input Crops as Lignocellulosic Feedstock for Second-Generation Biorefineries and the Potential of Chemometrics in Biomass Quality Control

Lignocellulose feedstock (LCF) provides a sustainable source of components to produce bioenergy, biofuel, and novel biomaterials. Besides hard and soft wood, so-called low-input plants such as Miscanthus are interesting crops to be investigated as potential feedstock for the second generation biorefinery. The status quo regarding the availability and composition of different plants, including grasses and fast-growing trees (i.e., Miscanthus, Paulownia), is reviewed here. The second focus of this review is the potential of multivariate data processing to be used for biomass analysis and quality control. Experimental data obtained by spectroscopic methods, such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), can be processed using computational techniques to characterize the 3D structure and energetic properties of the feedstock building blocks, including complex linkages. Here, we provide a brief summary of recently reported experimental data for structural analysis of LCF biomasses, and give our perspectives on the role of chemometrics in understanding and elucidating on LCF composition and lignin 3D structure