Hp’s Concept of a VRML-navigation page

Klick here to see the result.

Idea

Use a language of size, form and colour to represent the kind and the quality of the work done for the STAF.

Size and form stands for quality:

A complete figure (legs, body, arms, head) stands for a good project, worth for others to invest some time to explore or read it.

A figure without arms means good work, worth to look at it.

A figure without head and arms means a work that is done, but nothing special to see.

A figure with legs and begin of the body means a work that is inferior and the creator is not satisfied himself about it.

A figure just with the begin of the legs is still under construction.

No figure means nothing has been done jet.

The different projects are placed on the x-Axe. The projects (STAF 15 to 18) to the right, the work for STAF 11 to 14 to the left. In the middle there is a empty space. Every unit has its one level like in a theatre, so that there are no figures hidden in behind. By entrance in the scene one can see the overall quality and the hottest links immediately. The idea is seeing and exploring instead of reading lengthy information.

The students are arranged along the z-axe in alphabetical order. Every student gets another colour. So the scene lets the visitor either follow a theme by exploring links along the z-axes or the work of a student by exploring links along the x-axes (same colour).

Programming documentation

Scenery and metrics

Floor for every student (different colours, 10 along z Axe, starting at 0)

Box for middle corridor (10 width, 4 high, 10 deep), repeated for the balcony to the right (projects) 4 * translation 10 to the right (+) and 4 up (+). Gives ground-position for the figures (10, 20, 30, 40 for x) and (6, 10, 14, 18 for y)

Box of (4 width, 4 high, 10 deep) for the balcony to the left for the smaller projects (STAF 11, 12, 14). 12 * translation 4 to the right (-) and 2 up (+). Gives initial position of figures of (-6, -10, -14, -18, -22, - 26, -30, -34, -38, -42, -46, -50 etc. x) and (4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26 etc. y).

Boxes for the background (-52 to +52 x, 0 to 30 y, 2 z) (at -6 z) and (-56 to -52 x, 0 to 30 y, -6 to 194 z).

The figures are:

Overall high 10.5, so it can be devided due to the golden ratios:

2.5 for begin of legs

6.5 for a figure until the hip

1.5 for the head

2.5 for the body above the hip.

The legs, arms and body and neck are two simple cylinders, the head is a bowl. The colour of the figure is the same as the students.

Technical implementation

Because of the problems with VRML-browser I attempt to produce error free VRML-description files with BBEdit on Mac. This program indents automatically lines and shows opening and closing parenthesis that belong to each other.

I calculate the different mesures with a spread sheeter.