[ISEA2011] Workshop: Martha Gabriel – Mobile Tagging as Tools for Augmented Reality

Workshop Statement

The objective of this workshop is to describe the potentialities of mobile tagging (2D barcodes like QRcodes) as a tool for increasing and spreading the effects of mixed realities in art. In this sense, we will start introducing the main concepts and some examples of mixed realities followed by the concepts and examples of mobile tagging, showing that they are connected and benefit each other. Mixed reality (MR) refers to the fusion of the physical and virtual worlds to produce new environments and visualizations where physical and digital objects co-exist and interact in real time. On the other hand, mobile tagging is the process of reading a 2D barcode using a mobile device camera. Allowing the encryption of URLs in the barcodes, the mobile tagging can add a digital and/or online layer to any physical object, providing several levels of mixed realities related to that object. The uses of these levels of mixed realities have applications in several areas from medicine and engineering to the arts. Although mixed realities technologies have existed for decades, they were expensive and usually confined to the lab. Nowadays mobile devices (cellphones, smartphones, PDAs) can be used as tools for mixed realities. Due to their pervasiveness and low cost their potentiality for increasing the dissemination of mixed realities is enormous and can be leveraged by mobile tagging as described next: There are many types of mobile tags (2D-barcodes), the QRCodes and Datamatrix being the most popular formats. It is possible to encrypt many kinds of data into them: texts, contact information and URLs. Since the mobile tags are simple inexpensive printed tags that can be placed in virtually any physical object or person in addition to the fact that cell phones with cameras have become a very popular and pervasive device, the mobile tagging process can be said to be one of the easiest and simplest ways of creating mixed realities and one of the ways of contributing to the internet of things. In other words, mobile tags work like physical links to the web, allowing virtually anything to be part of an expanded mixed reality environment. In this workshop, the audience will use their own notebooks and mobile devices. People with only mobile devices will be able to participate.

  • Martha Gabriel is an artist exploring the cross-media between traditional and new media. She has participated in several international exhibitions in Brazil, US, Europe and Asia, such as FILE (2003 to 2009),Turbulence.org (2004, 2005 and 2008), Consciousness Reframed (Beijing, Plymouth, Vienna, Trondheim), Rhizome.org (2007), SIGGRAPH 2006, ELO Electronic Literature Organization 2008, Chain Reaction 2008, Nokia Trends Sao Paulo 2007 & 2008;  ISEA2008 and ISEA2009, E-Poetry 2009, Florence Biennial 2009 (awarded), Technarte (Spain, 2010), among others. She has had two solo exhibitions in Sao Paulo in 2010 at Editora Abril and Galeria Olido. She is a curator of Upgrade! Sao Paulo, . She was a reviewer for LEA, Leonardo Electronic Almanac (2005) and for Networked Book, Turbulence.org (2009).  She was Director of Technology at NMD – New Media Developers, Sao Paulo, Brazil, professor and leader of the e-learning program Widening Boarders at University Anhembi Morumbi, professor of the postgraduate program at the Business School Sao Paulo. She has an engineering degree from UNICAMP (State University of Campinas). She has a postgraduate degree in Marketing from ESPM (Superior School of Advertisement and Marketing), in Graphics Design from School of Fine Arts of Sao Paulo and a master’s degree in Art & Technology from University of Sao Paulo (ECA/USP), focusing on voice interfaces on the web (dissertation abstract was published at LABS – Leonardo Abstract Services. She is pursuing her doctorate degree at University of Sao Paulo with research about cross-media and distributed interfaces in art. Gabriel is a speaker and author of art and internet papers presented in such conferences as: 1998 – Web Design & Development, Boston, US; from 2000 to 2003 – WebdevShare, Indiana University, US; 2004 – featured speaker at CUMREC, US; HighEdWebDev 2004 to 2008, US; Consciousness Reframed 2004 – Qi & Complexity, Beijing, China; SIGGRAPH 2005, US; Consciousness Reframed 8, UK; SIGGRAPH 2006, US; CHI 2007, US; INTERACT 2007, Brazil; ELO Electronic Literature Conference 2008, US; Consciousness Reframed 9, Austria; ISEA2008, Singapore; Chain Reaction 2008, Skopje; E-Poetry 2009, Barcelona; SIGGRAPH 2009, USA; ISEA2009, Belfast; Technarte 2010, Bilbao; EVA London 2010; Consciousness Reframed 10, Trondheim. Gabriel is author of three books – Search Engine Marketing Optimization, 2008; SEM e SEO: Mastering the Search Marketing, 2009, and Marketing in the Digital Age, 2010, Brazil.  She authored papers and articles in several art and technology magazines such as Leonardo, Transactions, April 2008, Vol. 41, No. 2, Pages 114-115.  Gabriel’s awards are the following: 1985 – Institute of Engineering of Sao Paulo Award, Brazil; 1998 to 2005 – 11 Internet Best Award in Brazil; 2003 – Best of Track Presentation – Content, Design & Strategies Award at WebdevShare2003, Indiana University, US; 2004 – Best of Track Presentation – Technical and Best of Conference Presentation Award at HighEdWebDev2004, RIT, New York, US; 2005 – Top 20 Professor Award at University Anhembi Morumbi, Brazil; 2007 – Cybernetic Art Trends 2006/2007 Award, category: Research, Itau Cultural; 2009 – Florence Biennale – award in the video category.
    leonardolabs.pomona.edu  martha.com.br