Dr Martin Masek’s project for the 2009 Ian Maclean Award will involve developing an immersive 3D simulation based on the submarine HMAS AE2 and its role in the 1915 Gallipoli campaign.
Using digital records from the National Archives’ collection, the project aims to deliver the 3D simulation as a browser-based animation with full user control over movement and interaction.
The project will compare patterns of user engagement between the 3D simulation and a 2D resource, also based on the submarine HMAS AE2, in an online exhibition space. It will also data mine application and server logs to evaluate user engagement with the 3D resource.
An evaluation of the various approaches to user interface design regarding the presentation of digital archival records in an immersive 3D simulation will be undertaken.
Dr Martin Masek is a senior lecturer and honours coordinator in the School of Computer and Security Science, Edith Cowan University in Western Australia. He is secretary of the Western Australian chapter of the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society, and secretary of the Western Australian chapter of the International Game Developers Association.
In 2006, he won a Microsoft grant to develop a foetal heart monitor using mobile phone technology (in conjunction with Dr Alfred Tan).
His research interests include image processing and computer vision, remote home-based healthcare, using computer games as teaching tools, and games programming, design and production.