Evolutionary Digital Art and Photography

A Vietnam 120 study tour to RMIT Vietnam

Background

As part of RMIT University’s 120th anniversary celebrations, 120 students and accompanying staff will receive funding to participate in hands-on projects at RMIT International University Vietnam. The students will take part in 120 Years: 120 Students Vietnam Experience, which is designed to encourage students to engage with their counterparts at RMIT University’s Melbourne and Vietnam-based campuses. Students will undertake cultural awareness training and complete a discipline-specific project in Vietnam as part of their degree. They will also create an interactive web site about the student exchange, where students can participate in an online forum about living and studying overseas. Completing the project will count as one 12-point elective towards the completion of the students' program.

Evolutionary Digital Art and Photography

Evolved Art is an ongoing multi-disciplinary research project at RMIT involving staff from the School of Computer Science and Information Technology in the Science, Engineering and Technology Portfolio (SET) Portfolio, and the School of Creative Media in the Design and Social Context Portfolio (DSC) Portfolio. The work of this project involves the application of evolutionary computing techniques, an area of active research into artificial intelligence, to the generation of images. These include abstract images created from mathematical formulae, and photomosaics, which are derived from digital photographs.

One of the study groups in the Vietnam 120 project will be Evolutionary Digital Art and Photography, and will be based on the work of the Evolved Art group.

This study tour is being organised jointly by the SET Portfolio and the DSC Portfolio. There are a total of 13 places, with 8 being funded by SET and 5 by DSC. The staff travelling with the students on this trip will be Vic Ciesielski from the School of Computer Science and IT, and Karen Trist, from the School of Creative Media. Both Vic and Karen are active members of the Evolved Art group.

The aim of this project is to have a team of students working collaboratively on the development of a series of photomosaics based on photographs taken in and around Ho Chi Minh City. This will include some programming tasks, such as extending the photomosaic techniques to be applicable to colour photographs and developing user interfaces for existing code, and the thematic selection and evaluation of images to be included in an exhibition. The Evolved Art group has already produced a Photomosiac Animation Booth which will be in operation on open day and is designed for use in museums. The visitor steps into the booth and a photograph is taken. The system then produces tiles from the face area and uses them, and the original photograph, to construct an animated photomosaic specifically for this user. The user walks away with a CD of their animation and a paper copy of the final mosaic. Using and extending this system would be the basis of some of the work of this project. The Vietnam-based activities in this project will mainly take place at RMIT's Saigon South campus, with some photo expeditions to other parts of Ho Chi Minh City and surrounding areas.

The dates for this tour are December 1-15, 2007. The actual dates of travel may vary slightly from this, depending on flight availability. Students will also be expected to spend two further weeks of full-time study on the project, comprising one week of pre-trip work and one further week after returning to Melbourne. The precise dates for these two extra weeks are still to be determined.

Student Qualifications

This project is designed to have a broad appeal, and there are no specific qualifications that are required. The main constraint is that students will need to be able to enrol in either COSC2408 Programming Project 1 or COSC1014 Concept Development. Beyond that, the only requirement is enthusiasm!

Organisation

Students interested in applying for a place on the tour should note the following:

• All students will pay a materials fee of $800 to cover some of the cost of the trip. Equity scholarships are expected to be available, and students can apply for an interest-free loan to cover this fee and/or other expenses.
• Students will be working in a team not only for hands-on aspects of the project, but also providing support for each other in Vietnam. Students are expected to participate in all aspects of the Vietnam experience including activities with RMIT Vietnam students.
• All students working on the same project are expected to stay at the same hotel as there will be early morning and evening activities including briefings, debriefings, preparation and other information exchange and social events. The accommodation will be chosen considering safety, comfort, location and facilities.
• Prior to leaving for Vietnam, all students will be required to participate in project specific and general training. General training will include team work and cultural awareness training (ie what to expect in Vietnam, dressing and behaving appropriately). Even if you have extensive experience in Vietnam you will need to attend these sessions, as your contributions about previous experiences in Vietnam will be valuable. For this project, there will be one full week of project-specific training, in order to understand the technical aspects of the project and determine some precise goals. There will also be one week of follow-up activities after returning to Melbourne.
• The overall 120 years: 120 students Vietnam experience is part of the Celebrating 120 Years program. As such, students are expected to participate in 120 years celebration events both in Melbourne and Vietnam.
• Students will need to purchase most of their meals in Vietnam, apart from breakfast which will be included in the accommodation. Note, though, that food is very cheap in Ho Chi Minh City compared to Melbourne. It is not hard to find good restaurants at which a meal costs between $2 and $5.
• Students must be eligible to obtain a visa to visit Vietnam and return to Australia. International students should seek advice from Education Abroad.
• Student reflections from before and after the Vietnam visit may be used to analyse the success of the project.
• If selected for the project every student will need to have a passport valid for at least 6 months after the date of travel.

Applications

Dates

Further Information

Enquiries about this project or other aspects of RMIT Vietnam should be directed to either James Harland or Marsha Berry.