The Singapore Connection; IDM Scenarios

IDM and REMAP

According to their website, the objectives of the IDM (Interactive Digital Media) Network, NUS, are:

"To establish Singapore at at forefront of the interactive media revolution worldwide and in the Asia Pacific region and to be a link for cutting edge creative media research laboratories in NUS.

By exploring commercially creative interactive media research which will assist in development of creative industries and cultural exuberance for Singapore and creating human technology which involves the development of new interfaces to make machines more natural, intuitive and easy to use, the IDM Network has as its aim to bring about this vision and bring the future of new media into reality.

It is also an aim to make Singapore one of the main global cross-points and nuclei of new media and the exporter of new media in the Asia Pacific region."

IDM covers a wide-ranging spectrum of digital-media-related activities, facilitating processes for teaching, and "supply(ing) Singapore with the technologies that will be at the digital heart of many of Singapore's emerging sectors including Digital Exchange, Digital Entertainment and Digital Media, Digital Culture as well as adding value to Biomedical and Biotechnology initiatives."

In its cross-disciplinary roots, REMAP, which in itself is a joint programme between UCLA's School of Television, Film and Theatre and the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, has a similar set-up (although not pertaining to Singapore, naturally). The exchange between IDM and REMAP, while spanning the Pacific, opens doors for the exchange of ideas which are culturally distinct, and the sharing of technological expertise which would be beneficial to both institutions.

In addressing issues (and therefore projects) on augmented realities and media experience in public spaces, spatiality is an integral part of the equation. The Department of Architecture, which also hosts the Digital Space Lab, has endorsed my participation in this programme, and has given me the opportunity to explore, in my project, possibilities of cross-collaboration efforts between Architecture and the fields of interactive media and content generation. Remapping LA presents itself as a "test project" for the beginnings of what might be a similar vein of projects in Singapore.

The Interactive City (as envisioned by IDM)

This would be in tandem with the proposals that IDM, NUS has come up with. The full versions are downloadable from the IDM Scenarios website; in essence, they represent a concerted effort on IDM's part to develop Singapore as an interactive city. In one of the scenarios, visitors would, in visiting a key historic location in Singapore, be able to view 'augmented scenes' of the past architecture of that location, or past events in that location, through a viewing device (tentatively, a PDA-like device; see image below, images copyright of IDM).

This would be made possible by having a miniscule RFID chip on the wall of the building, which triggers such content to be displayed on the viewing device.

The above represents one of the myriad applications that could fall within the aforementioned Interactive City scenario. The following image illustrates another:

While not a brand new concept, the possibility of having individuals virtually placed within a space, for conferencing or other activity that requires company, is integral to the mixed-reality 'playing field' that the Interactive City scenario bases itself on. (Star Trek afficionados would relate to such a "Beam me up, Scottie" scenario.)

These 'mini-scenarios' would contribute to an immersive experience of the city - not just restricted to Singapore, naturally - one that allows for visual, aural and mixed media to pervade through one's environment (in his own interest, of course). In the larger frame of things, the IDM proposal has this to say:

"In such an Interactive-City, the boundaries of cyber-space and physical space blur, and the networks along with its computational, media, and information resources become resources to our daily physical existence. The paradigm would shift from one where the user has to ‘go into cyber-space’ through a prescribed portal like computer terminal running a web browser, to one in which the information and communication are contextualized and close at hand."

Information Technology as neither a Slave nor a Master, but a Bedfellow

While the possible manifestations of such technologies are endless, and also superlatively exciting, it would also open up a whole Pandora's Box of privacy invasion and ethical issues. These would be thought of and discussed in future post entrie. Etiquette enforcement would likely be necessary, but for now, we are looking more at the possible positives, rather than the misappropriations that plagues whatever new technology that emerges from the horizon.

The proposal adds:

"What implications for life-style, entertainment, society, and commerce (how we work, live and play) may arise? What new opportunities for innovation will present themselves? What are the impacts on society, public services, security, law enforcement, and emergency services? These and other questions will lead to rich veins of research and opportunity to be mined."

The "veins of research and opportunity" transcend a multitude of agendas and disciplines, as would be characteristic, one would expect, of generating an "interactive city". While central to the diagram, information technology cannot be thought of as the central driver for the Interactive City within which multiple applications and scenarios would operate. Rather, IT should be seen as a tool for furthering these applications.

(At this point, I would like to add that in my interest in technology - specifically, in its applications - I do not relegate IT as a mere perfunctory entity, but in itself a contributing factor in the conceptualisation, design and implementation of these applications and scenarios. What I am getting at is, while the scenarios can be influenced by existing, pervading technologies, they should not be solely derived from technology. Rather, it should be such that efforts in developing technology becomes collaborative to the desired processes and outcomes, rather than control the desired outcomes.)

This brings in the following diagram (again courtesy of IDM):


This brings me back to the above chart, which (rather basically and simplistically) distills human practices into 'Cultural', 'Scientific' and 'Business' practices. Information Technology is central to these practices, in a way that allows the different fields of practice to communicate, and perhaps eventually integrate. While highly simplistic, it underlines IDM's push for inter-disciplinary research and sharing.

Architecture and the Architect

I find myself going back to thinking of what the role the Architect has in this large scheme of things. Naturally, the conception of a city, interactive or otherwise, necessitates an architect/urban planner-type. The issue of spatiality, both as a driver and as a factor that will result from the conception of such ideas, in both the IDM-proposed scenarios and the Remapping LA project, necessitates for the architect to (at least) have a finger in the pie.

More than just a spatial planner, however, I envision the architect to be part of the conceptualisation process of these projects. As such, my role in Remapping LA should go beyond that of 'visualisation artist' or 'spatial planner', but as a proactive member of the multi-disciplinary team. I'd like to see my responsibilities as one who considers and researches into the socio-cultural implications of such an effort, and potentially influences the technologies that are developed and effected, on top of the creative aspects of the project.

More on the role of the architect in a future post.