Capstone collaborations

A feature of our degree is the capstone project.   Today I had to write a report outlining the 2009 collaborations with community and business organisations.   It’s quite a list, so I thought I’d share it here.     At the bottom of the list is the work Bachelor of Information Technology students are doing with other areas within Otago Polytechnic – I think they should be included as collaborations they demonstrate that the institution also values what we’re doing.

You’ll notice two strong themes in these projects:  sustainability and interaction.  No prizes for guessing who runs the projects!  :)

Projects are at various stages of completion.  Some are in their third iteration of the Agile development framework – aiming for a final robust delivery in November.  Others have only just started,  working towards a “functional delivery” in November and completing in June next year.  You can follow all these projects on the project management wiki. Any comments here, or on the wiki much appreciated.

In no particular order:

1. Development of a virtual catchment model and community website for Kaikorai Stream.  Client:  Kaikorai College (Dr Simon MacMillan)/ Otago Regional Council

2. Cityscape: To create an immersive panorama attraction that will allow visitors to explore areas and express their creativity, building a community narrative.  Client:   Settlers museum/ Josephine Regan and Samuel Mann.

3. A GPS based virtual walking tour of central Dunedin Historical Landmarks.  Client: Southern Heritage Trust/DCC.

4. Antwall: An  interactive virtual ant colony display to attract more visitors into a newly redeveloped area of Otago Museum.   This project for the Otago Museum won the 2009 NACCQ Award for student research.

5. To build an E-Training System for the staff at Dunedin Casino to facilitate training in identification and management of potential problem gamblers, and to monitor and record this training.

6. A carbon emissions management system for agriculture. Client:  AbacusBio (Mark Oliver, Dr Anna Campbell).

7. Guitar warriors.   The creation of an interactive educational guitar teaching tool that utilizes a real guitar. Specially made software determines the correct pitch and timing of the users input and provide adequate feedback about their skills.  The goal is to educate musicians to further their ability through progressive learning.
Guitar warriors have established a company with stakeholders including Logan Park High School, the Rock Shop. With support from KickStart (Ryan Priemus).

8. Design and deployment of three interactives and IT support for up to 13 others for a major exhibition development.  Client: Otago Museum/Otago Polytechnic (Clare Wilson/ Alistair Regan)

9. AidTrainingAid: To create a web based training system that will prepare volunteers to be ready for volunteer work in multiple parts of the world.  Client:  Rotary International via Dr Steve Atkins

10. PestWeb: To provide a system that will store provide interactive information about pests and pest management to allow farmers to access information in an intuitive and easy manner.   AbacusBio (Mark Oliver, Dr Anna Campbell)

11. Game-based learning models for environmental, social and economic sustainability of New Zealand farming systems. Agricultural Research Group on Sustainability (Agribusiness Group, Lincoln University, and the University of Otago CSAFE _ Dr Chris Rosin)

12. To create a virtual 3D model of Dunedin that can be viewed through different periods in history, using archive photos from the Otago Settlers Museum. Client:  Settlers museum (Bronwyn Simes).

13. To support the Dunedin 350 campaign.  Client:   Dunedin 350 (Ella Lawton and Nick Holmes). 

14. Laser cutter charging system for Product Development Centre. Client: Campbell Booth, Product Development Centre.

15. An interactive role-play room for Occupational Therapy distance teaching, allowing students to virtually experience e living scenarios.   Client:  Karen Blackwood, Occupational Therapy.

16. Waterprinter: we are building a waterfall that allows users to control the 250 streams of water to “draw” images.  It is intended that the work be a centre of attention at Expos.   Client:  Otago Polytechnic Marketing

17. FashionCAD: to build a digital 3d sketchbook for use in millinery and womenswear design applications at the Otago Polytechnic department of fashion.  Client: Margo Barton, Academic Leader Fashion, Department of Design, Otago Polytechnic

18. eLearning system for staff and student health and safety. Client: Terry Buckingham Health and Safety, Otago Polytechnic.