7 December 2011

Tailor Made: a data gift for a loved one - computing event Dec 8th

1st-year People Centred Computing Exhibition:
Midday to 2 pm, Thursday December 8th,
Queen Mother Building, University of Dundee

images show two of the student projects

Students in the School of Computing at the University of Dundee are demonstrating that not all gifts this Christmas need wrapped.

As part of their first-year project in People Centred Computing, students have produced a boutique range of applications designed for the individual rather than the mass market.

These include a personalised newspaper for someone's grandfather and a 'Santa's Little Helper' tracker to let little ones keep an eye on Santa’s progress in delivering those vital presents.

'In a world of mass production the personal touch and sense of identity can become eroded,' said Christopher Martin, course leader for the 1st year project. 'We are surrounded by general solutions that respond to the needs of a demographic rather than an individual. This project gives students the opportunity to try and understand the niche desires and requirements of an individual and genuinely tailor a tool for them that embodies their needs and gives them the specific information they require.

'Whether it is your mobile tracking your sporting activities, spotting the next extreme weather or carrying out social networking activities, our modern technology-rich lifestyles are generating vast amounts of data. Our students are learning a whole host of core computing skills and applying them to the very real world problem of turning data into information. It's not just programming, it's visual communication, understanding users and the ethical implications of your work, all of which are key to great data gifts.'

The first year students have been learning all the skills required to take data (text and numbers) from the internet and present them in a screen-based data visualisation that suits the needs and desires of someone close to them. Data visualisation is the art of telling stories with data visually, generating images that highlight important features of the data.

Students will be showing off their creations at the School of Computing’s Queen Mother Building on Thursday December 8th. The display is open to the public.

Contacts:

Chris Martin 01382 384711 cjmartin@computing.dundee.ac.uk

Ali Napier 01382 385242 Ali@computing.dundee.ac.uk

For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
Head, Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384910
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07800 581902