Internet and Communications System
Live Video Feeds from OSE Workshops
For future build workshops - including the Microhouse Workshop (April 18-23) and Brick Press Workshop (April 25-27) - we would like to involve remote collaborators in an immersive viewing experience. There are some limits with internet bandwidth and setup that make this a challenge. Yet this challenge is worth mastering, because OSE's One Day builds are exciting to see - and we want to push the limits of crowd collaboration. See, for example, what happened on December 18, 2012:
Merry Christmas from OSE. from Open Source Ecology on Vimeo.
Issues
Live Video Feeds from workshops are one way to generate further remote involvement in OSE's work. However, the issue is bandwidth. We currently have two 4Mb DSL lines at Factor e Farm, which are relatively stable - but when many people are using the system, it tends to bog down unexpectedly. Our immersion workshops require:
- Uplaods of pictures and videos in realtime to generate documentation
- Video link for Live Video Feeds.
The second part can be developed further into a platform where immersive, remote involvement can happen when a person at FeF walks around with a video camera, and lets remote viewers see what is going on at every step of a dynamic, parallel build process. Remote viewers could also provide feedback to the camera operator for camera angles and features to capture. Further, when the operator is highly skilled and informed about the project, an interesting narrative and documentary can be captured in realtime.
Key to success of this would be using the 2 dedicated internet lines for the immersion build events to the best of our capacity. This requires that we route both the internet lines to the workshop space. One is used for ongoing documentation - picture and video uploads - and the second one for the Live Video Feed narrative.
Keys to success in making this a great experience for a number of remote viewers are:
- Broadcast system that allows distribution to dozens of remote viewers in realtime
- Bandwidth being sufficient for crisp and clear video to be transmitted
- Content of the workshop being sufficiently rich and dynamic that the viewer finds significant value whenever s/he joins.
- The documentor/narrator at Factor e Farm being sufficiently informed that s/he is able to provide meaningful and captivating insights throughout the process
- Video recording for those who do not see the build in realtime
Potential Solution
I have begun outlining a plan to improve the network at FeF.
