Lori Walters and Joseph Kider make an interesting research team at UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 School of Modeling, Simulation and Training (SMST). Walters grew up under the blue skies of South Florida. Kider grew up in inner-city Philadelphia. Walters would watch I Dream of Jeannie after school. Kider played baseball with the guys. Walters teaches courses for UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 history department and has an admiration for technology. Kider 麻豆精品 S檚 a computer science expert and a SMST associate professor who appreciates history.
麻豆精品 S淚 just finished a book about the history of the pixel, 麻豆精品 S� Kider says proudly, before admitting, 麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檓 not at Lori 麻豆精品 S檚 level. 麻豆精品 S�
They even speak different languages.
麻豆精品 S淲hen I work with people like Joe, 麻豆精品 S� Walters says, 麻豆精品 S淚 have to say, 麻豆精品 S極K, talk to me without the deep computer terminology. I 麻豆精品 S檓 an historian here. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S�
They exemplify the interdisciplinary spirit of SMST by using what Kider calls 麻豆精品 S渁 shared mental model. 麻豆精品 S� Walters might describe an object as shiny while Kider will talk about its specular bidirectional reflectance distribution factor.
麻豆精品 S淭he blend of disciplines is why we 麻豆精品 S檙e productive, 麻豆精品 S� Kider says. 麻豆精品 S淲e 麻豆精品 S檙e artists, philosophers, architects, engineers, historians and computer scientists, all working on big societal applications. 麻豆精品 S�
Walters says it like this: 麻豆精品 S淚 can go to smart people like Joe with a cool idea and ask if we can bring it to life. 麻豆精品 S�
Their latest project coming to life is called MemoryScan. Once fully developed, the MemoryScan system will allow end-users to go back in time, through virtual or augmented reality, and experience locations the way they once were. It could be Sunset Strip from 50 years ago or a neighborhood from when your parents were growing up. The pilot project, which could be launched in early 2023, will be a virtual drive through Cocoa Beach, Florida, during the Space Program 麻豆精品 S檚 heyday from the 1950s into the mid 1970s.
麻豆精品 S淢emoryScan is as the name suggests, 麻豆精品 S� says Walters. 麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 using the memories that people have of a location and preserving them as a virtual experience for future generations. 麻豆精品 S�
The project has attracted internal grants from UCF and partnerships with companies like Langan Engineering. Most recently, the National Endowment for the Humanities awarded a grant that will allow MemoryScan to incorporate technology to make it a more vivid experience.
麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檓 amazed at how far we 麻豆精品 S檝e come in bringing history to life, 麻豆精品 S� says Walters. It 麻豆精品 S檚 an idea that took root in her mind years ago.
The Seeds of MemoryScan
Before earning a Ph.D. from Florida State, Walters studied at Florida Atlantic where she followed up a bachelor 麻豆精品 S檚 in U.S. history with a master 麻豆精品 S檚 in the same field. One assignment changed her aspirations: a research paper on anything in Florida intriguing enough to justify 25 pages. Walters remembered a drive north on A1A and seeing Cocoa Beach.
麻豆精品 S淭here were still signs up from the 1960s calling it Missileland, USA, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淪o, I thought it would be fun to find out what the area had been like when the space program was growing there. 麻豆精品 S�
Her fascination for the city 麻豆精品 S檚 past began. Later, ,she went back to Cocoa Beach to conduct oral histories with people who had worked at Cape Canaveral during the space race. She noticed a concrete ramp, the only remnant of the launch complex where John Glenn made history by rocketing into orbit.
麻豆精品 S淚 wondered how the history might be recreated, so it wouldn 麻豆精品 S檛 be lost forever, 麻豆精品 S� Walters says.
A thousand miles away, a high schooler in Philly was getting caught up in another world of wonder: Toy Story.
麻豆精品 S淭he way they made the movie through physics and renderings had an impact on what I 麻豆精品 S檓 doing today, 麻豆精品 S� Kider says.
What he 麻豆精品 S檚 doing with MemoryScan, specifically, started with a phone call from Walters in early 2021. Walters had been talking with longtime Cocoa Beach residents to preserve their memories through audio recordings and written material. One woman, Vivian Lindauer, took Walters on an unforgettable mental tour of the old Missileland.
麻豆精品 S淪he went into amazing detail, right down to the furniture and types of calculators that were used in the iconic Glass Bank [formally known as The First Federal Savings and Loan], 麻豆精品 S� Walters says. 麻豆精品 S淭hen she closed her eyes and literally described motels to me as if we were driving up A1A 50 years ago. That 麻豆精品 S檚 when I thought, 麻豆精品 S楾his is what has always been missing from oral histories: Put people in a vehicle, drive around and record history as they describe it. 麻豆精品 S�
After mentally cruising the town with Vivian, Walters met with Kider and asked if it could be done. Can we provide people with prompts and take down the memories as they travel around? Can we track not just the words, but the gestures, the vocal inflections and the long pauses at points of interest? Can we capture so much of their memory that the memory then become a virtual experience for others?
Kider said yes. He suggested using devices to track eye and hand movements, cameras, GPS and crystal-clear audio recordings.
麻豆精品 S淭hat 麻豆精品 S檚 why I like working in SMST with people who love technology, 麻豆精品 S� Walters says. 麻豆精品 S淭hey find a way. 麻豆精品 S�
The Future of MemoryScan
During her quest for Cocoa Beach 麻豆精品 S檚 experiential history, Walters has collected plenty of mementos. Pictures, blueprints, restaurant menus, hotel logos. They 麻豆精品 S檙e used to prime the remembrances of people who were there in the day. The cues are crucial, but the people complete the mosaic.
麻豆精品 S淭hey 麻豆精品 S檙e the key to everything, 麻豆精品 S� Walters says. 麻豆精品 S淥nce they 麻豆精品 S檙e gone, any uncaptured memories are gone with them. 麻豆精品 S�
The history of Cocoa Beach and its proximity to UCF have made it an ideal test bed. But Walters and Kider stress that MemoryScan grew from idea to reality because of Vivian Lindauer. When she passed away earlier this year, they gave MemoryScan a code name: Project Vivian.
麻豆精品 S淟ori always tells me to focus on the people, not on the science, 麻豆精品 S� Kider says. 麻豆精品 S淭he code name is a good reminder of that. 麻豆精品 S�
With the funding from NEH, they 麻豆精品 S檒l be able to add depth and vividness to Project Vivian. And then? Walters envisions MemoryScan being used to capture old Miami Beach. Kider imagines his kids seeing where he grew up in Philadelphia.
麻豆精品 S淎s we become older, the memories of our favorite places become more important, 麻豆精品 S� Kider says. 麻豆精品 S淭hat 麻豆精品 S檚 what binds us together because we 麻豆精品 S檙e all from somewhere. 麻豆精品 S�
