I developed the idea of creating some type of interactive table-top display in my technical writing class in Fall of '09 when the Dr. Michele Simmons asked us to write a feasibility report for a project that would benefit Miami or the surrounding community. I decided that an information system for the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) would be beneficial to students, visitors, alumni and faculty of the school, as well as provide an interesting project for students from multiple disciplines. Additionally, multitouch applications were quickly becoming popular due in part to Apple's iPhone and offered a cutting edge user interface to interacting with media.
After writing the proposal, I presented it to the student organizations within my school, including the Computer Science and Software Engineering (CSE) Student Advisory Council (SAC) and the Student Association of Computing Machinery (ACM). These groups encouraged me to seek funding and move ahead with the research and construction of the project.
Having gotten funding, done the necessary research, and recruited many interested students, the project is moving along. This blog will act as a way for people to follow our progress, discuss alternative designs, and potentially act as a blueprint for other people interested in doing the same thing.
Thanks for taking a look at the blog and feel free to leave comments!
