New website for Ensemble

Today saw the launch of a new website dedicated to the Apollo Ensemble product range. www.apolloensemble.co.uk aims to provide detailed information about Apollo Creatives interactive light and sound system.

Creative Director Mark Hildred explains:

"The Ensemble products are capable of doing so many different things that we felt the existing Apollo website was too constraining. The new site allows us to explain in detail all the features and applications for the equipment."

The site will be expanded over the coming months, to provide a comprehensive overview of the Ensemble, sensors and software.

Christmas Grotto Sensory room

The Halloween sensory space that we created in October has been changed to Christmas themed Grotto, complete with Father Christmas and bags of presents!

Instead of employing a witch, the Grotto uses the help of an Elf, who guides the children round the space exploring the different sounds, lighting and images and using the interactivity to tell stories and play games.

The highlight of the space is an interactive dice, that can communicate to a computer which way up it is facing. A different set of sounds is played depending on which side is chosen, and the projection also changes. All of the images are shown beneath the outline of a window frame to make it appear that the children are looking out into a magical world controlled by the dice. The multi-coloured dice also controls the colour of the bubble tube.

After playing games and telling stories with the Elf, the children enter into a second room and see Father Christmas who gives them a present and takes their photo.

The Interactive Christmas Grotto is open to the public throughout December at Creepy Crawlies, a children's adventure play site in York.

IT Diploma - Wilberforce College, Hull

Following on from the session last week at Manor School in York, today I was at Wilberforce College in Hull for their IT Diploma. The students there are going to be looking at the Ensemble Designer and Player software, offering their expertise on icons, window design and technical support documentation.

We hope that their assignments will lead directly to some visible changes to the software.

Students install at The Rotunda

Today was the final session on the Interactive Technology course at the University of Hull, Scarborough Campus. The students had to present their interactive installations at the Rotunda Museum and allow those of us marking to have a play.

Apart from a few technical issues (most of them not to do with the students) the whole event went very well. Each group had devised a creative way to present a selection of Charms from the collection.

I advise you to get down and have a look if you are over in Scarborough over the next couple of weeks.

Manor School Creative Industries Lecture

I was at Manor School today in York as part of the new Creative Diplomas. As well as giving an overview of Apollo and the Ensemble system, I've also left the students with the task of developing a 'cookbook' to use with Ensemble. I'm looking forward to seeing what they devise over the coming weeks.

Halloween at Knaresborough Technology Park

To celebrate Halloween we have changed the MRI portrait with us here in Knaresborough Technology Park to an image of a ghost. Using an infra-red distance sensor and the Apollo Ensemble system, when a person walks in front of the screen the ghost comes alive and starts telling jokes and rhymes!

Halloween Sensory Space - Completed

With the help of Camel Event Productions we have completed the Halloween sensory space for Creepy Crawlies. Using the Apollo Ensemble system, a computer controls all sounds, lights and videos when triggered by hidden switches.

Featuring a bubble tube, projector, fibre optics, ultra-violet, colour changing lighting and a sound system, the space makes the best use of Halloween props to create a scary atmosphere. Add to that a reverberated microphone and a real witch, the space becomes a perfect place to tell scary stories and really get in the Halloween mood!

As you try to open a book containing a hidden sensor, a portrait of a ghost comes alive to tell jokes and rhymes. The highlight of the sensory space is the bubbling witches cauldron which starts misting when you walk up to it!

The Halloween Sensory Space will be open in Creepy Crawlies at the start of next week and last until Halloween.

Halloween Sensory Space

We have begun work on a Halloween-themed sensory area for Creepy Crawlies, a large childrens play centre just outside York. The space, a rather compact 2m x 4m, will house hidden floor switches which trigger lights, sounds and videos to create a spooky atmosphere. The space will be open for the week leading up to Halloween and we'll soon post some more pictures.

We will even have an interactive, bubbling witches cauldron!

Last chance to catch MRI Exhibition

The 'Me, Myself and MRI' exhibition will be closing at York Hospital on the 3rd September. The feedback has been fantastic and we are currently in discussions to feature the show in other locations across the UK. In the meantime several of the individual pieces will be on display at partner organisations. This includes one portrait that wil be gracing the reception area here at Knaresborough Technology Park.


The portraits are running the Ensemble system, with a custom version of the Ensemble16 sensor interface. A number of custom blocks were designed for this exhibition and will be available as part of the new version of Apollo Ensemble due for release later this year.

Apollo welcomes new Product Specialist

Apollo is pleased to welcome recent graduate Ben Johnson to the team, joining the company as a product specialist. Ben worked with Apollo last summer to gain experience in the area of interactive technology, something that has proved mutually beneficial.

Ben recently completed a degree at the University of Hull, achieving a First Class Honors Degree in Creative Music Technology. During his final year Ben kept in regular contact with Creative Director Mark Hildred and continued working on the 'Me, Myself and MRI' project. This lead to him being offered the post to help support the growth of the company.

Ben will be working specifically on the new Ensemble product range and helping support a wide range of creative projects.

MRI Exhibition on the move

The MRI Exhibition was moved today to a new venue at York Hospital.

The exhibition space is close to the main reception, meaning that it will get a lot of footfall during its residency. Unfortunately one of the pieces was damaged during transit, so for the moment only five pieces are on show in the space.

Company visit to MRI Exhibition

Today we took everyone from Apollo and GSPK Design to Impressions Gallery to visit the 'Me, Myself and MRI' exhibition. After a brief overview from Sarah at Impressions, I gave a bit more background to the project.

Everyone then spent the next hour looking at the exhibition and the other galleries at Impressions.

MRI Exhibition goes to Impressions

The Me, Myself and MRI exhibition moved today to Impressions Gallery in Bradford. This venue gives a completely different setting for the show, with the pieces in a more traditional gallery space. I also updated each piece to add an additional image from the photographer and change the activation distance of the infra-red sensors.

Brain Awareness Week

Today I returned to the University of Hull, Scarborough Campus, to see what the students had achieved for Brain Awareness Week. I was impressed to find all the groups had managed to design some really interesting interactives. They ranged from a touch sensitive head to show the effect of drugs on the senses to a Wii inspired brain training game.

Me, Myself and MRI Project Launch - Preview

Today was the launch of the MRI Exhibition at the National Science Learning Centre in York. The morning was spent doing final tweaks to the audio and video tracks, setting levels and then tidying up.

In the afternoon the group we've been working with from Archbishop Holgate's School came in for a preview before the evenings official launch. General impressions were good and there was some interesting feedback about the layout of the pieces. We also had a discussion about how the interactivity worked (see photo), which involved me showing them the Apollo Ensemble map that is running each piece. They very quickly grasped how the Map was put together and how Apollo Designer works - in fact they were questioning why it took me so long to get the exhibition sorted out!

The exhibition map uses some new blocks that will be in version two of the software released later in the year. This includes video and still image triggering, automated faders and mapping blocks. I hope to be writing a detailed explanation of the technical side of the project for the Me, Myself and MRI website later in the year.

In the meantime the exhibition will be giving a really thorough test of the Apollo Runner and the new blocks as it runs the six pieces over the next few months. If you want to catch the exhibition then see the main project website for tour details.

Getting A-Head in Art

An arresting new interactive exhibition exploring the boundaries between art and science, and powered by Apollo technology, opens on Tuesday 24th February at the National Science Learning Centre, York.

MRI Brain Scan

Me, Myself and MRI uses photography, video, sound and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) data to create complete portraits of a series of individuals. By interacting with the exhibition you can explore many of the facets of the individuals portrayed. This exciting multi-media exhibition has been created by York-based arts partnership Geodesic Arts, working in unique collaboration with Archbishop Holgate’s School York and York Neuroimaging Centre, and is funded by the Wellcome Trust and Arts Council England. It will tour to regional venues in 2009.

The culmination of a year long project, this exhibition uses photography, sound and video as well as contemporary neuroimaging technology. The subjects were chosen by Year 9 pupils from Archbishop Holgate’s School who decided to concentrate on capturing a comprehensive look at some of the very different people who make up society.

Tajinder, one of the subjects in the exhibition

The final six subjects were a nurse, a chaplain, a playwright, a kick-boxing champion, a TV journalist and a scientist. They sat for photographic portraits and took part in video and audio interviews, as well as undertaking an MRI brain scan.

The resulting data and footage has been transformed into a series of digital portraits that provide a unique representation of each of the subjects, giving a more detailed insight into what makes them all individual. MRI scans as well as being essential diagnostic tools also produce beautiful images and highlight features that are unique to each individual.

The project team has been working with Year 9 pupils from Archbishop Holgate’s School since the beginning of last year. James Evans, Head of Science, explains why the school got involved. “It is an exciting, collaborative project that has engaged the pupils, teachers and outside agencies. It is an opportunity to celebrate the exciting developments in science, explore the ethical issues raised and marry them with the creativity and expression of art.”  He believes that the project has made a lasting impression on the pupils. “To experience the ‘wow’ factor of science with inspirational people, to make links with many facets of the curriculum, to be engaged by science and express through art, ICT and media is priceless.”

As well as learning about creative digital technology, the pupils have been exploring the development of contemporary neuroimaging techniques such as MRI and MEG and the science behind them. Staff at York Neuroimaging Centre have been acting as scientific advisors to the project, explaining how modern-day techniques have developed, investigating ethical issues surrounding these techniques and carrying out MRI scans on the people selected to take part in the project. This is a chance to experience contemporary science firsthand, as Elliot Crowe, a Year 9 pupil points out. “I thought it would be something new and exciting to try. It’s not very often you get an opportunity to do something like this.”

The pupils have also found out about the development of portraiture as an art form and the links between science and the arts as they worked with an art historian to discover how art and science together can help us make sense of the world around us. As Francesca Smith, a pupil taking part in the work says, “I like this project – it’s different because we’re doing art and science together.”

"This innovative project will enable young people to develop an understanding of the science behind MRI scans," explains Clare Matterson, Wellcome Trust Director of Medicine, Society and History. "By engaging in a creative and accessible way with science and technology, they will explore ideas about the individual and self from scientific and cultural perspectives."

Work on the project started in January 2008 and the final exhibition will launch at the National Science Learning Centre on the 24th February before touring to Impressions Gallery, Bradford in April 2009. The project forms part of the year-round community and education programme of SightSonic, York’s International Festival of Digital Arts.

Interactive Lectures

I returned to Scarborough today to give a follow up to my regular Interactive Technology lecture on the Creative Music Technology course. This time I've been talking to the students about pitching for work and working as a team. Rather than just talk at the students, we set them the task of pitching some ideas back at me. They had to work in groups to come up with an idea for an interactive exhibit or display for International Brain Awareness Week

The groups only had a couple of hours, but came up with some really good ideas. The best part will be in March when I go back and they have to have actually built the exhibits. Glad I'm not them...!

MRI Project approaches launch

The MRI Project I've been working on for the past couple of years is finally reaching completion, with the launch only a few weeks off. Today we moved the exhibition pieces to the first launch venue and started setting everything up.

You can follow the progress in detail on the Geodesic Arts blog.

MRI Project tests

Mark, Ben and Damian review a portrait

Today was a technical rehearsal of sorts for the MRI Project (http://geodesicarts-mri.blogspot.com/). It was the first time we had more than just the single prototype exhibition piece setup and running in one space. Each unit consists of a 32" screen, with a small PC together with a custom Apollo Ensemble unit and the development version of the new Apollo Ensemble software.

The exciting thing about this exhibition is that it is pushing forward the development of the Apollo Ensemble software. We've added quite a few new features which will be released as an upgrade later in the year. The main one is the ability to trigger and control video and still image. The requirements of this project mean that the software is getting a really good, real world testing - with a nice tight deadline to hit. The exhibition launches in late February!

Apollo parent company obtains ISO9001:2000

GSPK Design Ltd is proud to announce that it has opbtained ISO 9001:2000; the internationally recognised accreditation for an organisation’s internal quality management system (QMS).

The driving force behind GSPK Design’s decision to pursue ISO 9001 has been to obtain a formal accreditation for the Quality Management Systems (QMS) already in place. The path to ISO has enabled the company to formalise a more structured approach to developing, implementing and improving the effectiveness of the QMS.

Paul Marsh, Managing Director of GSPK Design Ltd said – “ISO 9001 has provided us with the framework we needed to motivate staff to monitor and improve performance across each department; which in turn has helped us to enhance customer service; and ultimately satisfaction, drive costs down, manage risk more effectively and increase market share. This accreditation is now set to open new doors for us and we are very excited about the future.”

GSPK Design is the parent company of Apollo Creative.