About the project

Here you find more info about this project, get to know the main goals and have an overview of the current development.

Read Abstract Early Access

The author

I am Nuno Marques, a full-stack designer & developer, driven by clean code and passionate about pixels, colors and interfaces. I've accomplished more than a decade of professional work with national and international clients.

In 2017 my journey in New Media such as App design, 360 content and Virtual Reality started and resulted in creating the VR Experience BOLHA 360. I am currently exploring all the possibilities with 360 content for the web browser and that's my primary purpose for developing the Smart Stories concept. You can follow me on twitter @ositaka and find me in the sunny Lisbon, Portugal.

Abstract

Smart Stories is a digital product designed to generate automatic or personalised virtual stories. These stories are generated from all the information recorded through the sensors and other connectable devices in the new intelligent vehicles (autonomous cars). As a base of visual recording, it uses a 360 camera for photo and video. With the help of the GPS, working in symbiosis with Artificial Intelligence (AI), it is possible to process and map all this information. Based on the science of Set Theory, it is possible to generate Virtual Worlds, in a simple and practical way, interconnected with each other. At the same time, this product also allows collecting and recording daily information of scientific interest at the micro-territorial level. Each record of content, by any user, has contained data such as location, temperature, humidity, air condition, the direction of the wind, among others. In the long term, this product allows the research and the consultation of this data, so it can be used as a case study in the future.

Read full doc (in Portuguese) — 7 MB

Research and inspiration

My initial research references are accessible here below. Although this research was focused on finding ways to use 360 cameras on smart vehicles, it was the inspiration that gave birth to my idea behind Smart Stories.

See PDF — 13 MB

Timeline of the project

2017

Exploration of WebVR and KRpano (360 viewer) on BOLHA 360 project

2018 (jul-sep)

Gathering ideas and features for the project

2018 (sep-nov)

Inspiration and research for the initial concept of Smart Stories (See PDF — 13 MB)

2018 (nov-dec)

First App design and prototype (wireframes)
First example of a Story in WebVR and KRpano

2019 (jan)

Naming and branding of the product
First version of the website

2019 (feb-mar)

Redefining the initial App design and user experience
First high-fidelity design for the App

2019 (apr-may)

Initial idea for the promotional video (storyboard)
Film shooting to get footage

2019 (may-jun)

Redesign of the App for a better user experience (high-fidelity prototype)
Site updated with examples and more timeline-content

2019 (jun)

Promotioal video created
Fundraising campaign launched on indiegogo

Acknowledgement

Special thanks to my Professor and Project Mentor António Câmara (NOVA University, Aromni & YDreams) and to Edmundo Nobre (Aromni & YDreams) for the support at the start of the project. With their help, the project has reached this level!