Project-PickrickAR

THE PICKRICK PROTEST

An Interactive Geo AR Experience

TEAM

Phase1: Yuchen Zhao, Hannah Tam, Rich Down, Rohit Puntambekar

Phase2: Yuchen Zhao, Amanda Y Wang, Daniel P Keehn, Jason Jiang, Angela Dai, Joy Dang, Brandy J Pettijohn

MY JOB

Phase 1: Unity Programming, Prototyping, Design

Phase 2: Project Manager, Design

TOOLS

Unity 3D, Blender, Figma, Adobe Fuse

DELIVERABLES

Project + Paper

IOS + Android versions

INSTRUCTOR

Prof. Janet Murray

PURPOSE

Project for Culture Heritage

DURATION

May.- Aug. 2020(Phase1)

Jan.- Aug. 2021(Phase2)

CATEGORY

AR/VR

• IDEA

The Pickrick Protest is a project commemorating the 1964-1965 Pickrick incidents in which a few African Americans fought for equal rights. “Pickrick” refers to the name of the restaurant owned by Lester Maddox, a former governor of Georgia and staunch segregationist, who notoriously refused to provide service to black people despite the passing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Located on Hemphill Avenue, the building was later bought by Georgia Tech (GT) for student services. During the Pickrick incidents, several confrontations occurred between the restaurant owner, patrons, and several non-violent black protestors. As the activists peacefully attempted to enter the locale, they were faced with the violent threats and actions of white segregationists wielding axe handles, guns and baseball bats. The Pickrick building no longer stands, having been replaced by  GT’s new student center. To do these important historical stories justice, our team has rejected the traditional use of engraved commemorative plates for a vivid and exciting new form of media to highlight the events of the past. In considering several immersive media experiences, we deemed AR most appropriate for our needs due to its geolocation features and its interactive reality enhancement capabilities.

• KEY FEATURES

✅ Augmented Reality Experience

✅ Location-based AR

✅ Digital Heritage

✅ 3D Modeling

✅ Animation Design

✅ Interactive Design

✅ Interactive Narrative

• DESIGN OUTCOME

• DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

💡 Design an interface to integrate different historical documents (image, video, audio, etc).

💡 How to recreate the incidents in AR?

💡 How to use AR to do the historical narration? 

💡 How to highlight the activists in our AR narration? 

💡 How to utilize geolocation techniques to map the virtual content in the physical site? 

• DESIGN PROCESS

1. 3D Modeling and Animation

In order to accurately recreate the Pickrick events using an AR format, research was conducted to collect various documents, archived videos, images, newspaper clippings and other media. Based on this research, we then created 3D models of the individuals and setting involved during the Pickrick incident  by using Blender 2.82.

In addition to the above, our modeling efforts included highlighting African Americans by employing some specific design techniques, such as attaching name tags, adding stronger contrast to African American characters and decoloring the white mobs using shades of black and white. 

2. Interface Design 

Using the “Timeline” tool to continuously and holistically display the Pickrick incidents and the relevant historical events, we arranged the content chronologically from the restaurant opening (1947) to its closing (1965). The timeline primarily uses a scrolling rectangle and buttons to function. This design also aims to integrate various kinds of materials and media from that period, so our App is not only designed as an AR experience, but also includes images, audio files, historical videos, etc. 

3. AR + GPS Features

After considering several immersive media experiences, we deemed AR to be the best fit for our purposes due to its geolocation features and its interactive reality enhancement capabilities. Using both of these characteristics, visitors of the site will be able to “time travel” to the specific dates of the Pickrick incidents and witness what happened with their own eyes.

3. AR + Physical Site

In the design process, our goal is to seamlessly blend augmented reality (AR) content with the physical environment. We aim to achieve this integration by incorporating AR elements into various elements of the environment, such as walls, pillars, and benches, all with the aim of elevating the overall immersive experience. A noteworthy example of this synergy is when individuals interact with the benches; sitting down will transport them into the midst of a crucial moment, making them feel as if they are right there in the car with the protestors bravely confronting Maddax’s violent threats.

4. Research Paper

Our paper focuses on introducing the narrative design for this location-based AR application. We discuss our approach to creating a meaningful narrative within the technical affordances and environmental constraints of the AR medium and the specific location. The design challenges posed by this project were how to merge the virtual content with the existing, very changed physical space; how to re-center the story on the activists rather than on the segregationist restaurant owner; and how to direct attention in Augmented Reality in order to allow interactors to follow a multi-episode narrative, and to focus on the non-violent activists rather than the aggressive segregationists.

❤  Acknowlegement  ❤

       GT DiLAC lab, GT library, Dr. Karcheik Sims-Alvarado, Dr. Todd Michney, 

 

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