I love Kickstarter. You get to support some really creative ideas and occasionally get a bargain or something unique as part of the deal. One project I supported recently was the ARKYD publicly accessible space telescope. This is a sort of Hubble for everyone - a telescope in space that the general public can make use of.

For my $25 pledge I helped the project reach its million pound funding goal and in return get to upload an image to an LCD screen on the outside of the telescope and have it photographed with the Earth as a backdrop! I haven't yet decided on the image I will use (the mission won't actually happen until 2015) but I'm pretty sure it will be a digital artwork of some sort.

Now, I'm sure some of the other 17,614 supporters will be doing similar such things for their 'space selfies', but I wonder if those of us who use it to have artworks photographed in space will be the first such artists to have their work 'exhibited' in space? One for the CV I think :-)

Almost exactly 20 years ago I organised an exhibition of Virtual Reality technology at the HCI'93 conference at Loughborough University. On display were input devices such as hand tracking gloves and 3D mice and various 3D displays, most notably the classic VR headset.

At the time VR was 'the next big thing', and it was assumed that we would soon all be be sitting around with VR headsets on whilst living and working in'virtual worlds'. Of course, this didn't actually happen quite as predicted. Instead, the other 'next big thing' of the time - the World Wide Web - ended up changing the world instead, and the 'virtual worlds' we live in tend to be accessed through smartphones, not 3D headsets.

Roll on 20 years, though, and we might possibly be on the verge of seeing the VR headset enter the mainstream. I've just had a play with a new Virtual Reality headset called the Oculus Rift. The device is aimed at gamers and improves on the old VR technology in a number of ways. Firstly, the pixel resolution is reasonable. Meaning that the images it display actually resemble the real world (although there is still a long way to go before we reach 'retina' levels). Secondly it is lightweight. Improvements in optics and screen technology over the years have led to something that weights a few hundred grams, not the kilograms of the original headsets. The head tracking is fast and light too and does not require a large sensing rig to make it work. Finally, it is cheap. At around £200 it is a hundredth of the price of professional VR headsets in 1993 and it will probably be possible to reduce this price even further. These factors, combined with the widespread support for the project in the huge gaming industry, mean that it just might take off.

Of course, it still may not be a technology ready for everyday use. 3D TV has been something of a mixed success, and I think VR is still likely to appeal more to a niche audience, better suited to certain types of gaming rather than general computer use (I don't think Virtual Reality supermarkets are on the cards). Plus, what will the ergonomic effects be when people start to use these devices for hours on end? Headaches? Vision problems?

I'm sure we'll know the answers to these questions in another 20 years.

Information about my HCI'93 exhibition, with photographs and the original website, can be found in my archive at ./virtual-reality.html. More information about the Oculus Rift (including how to order a developer kit) can be found at http://oculusvr.com.

It was the official opening of Penn Fields school in Wolverhampton on Wednesday. Last year Geoff Broadway and myself developed a multi-screen digital artwork for the school called Interactive Welcome. The piece was part of a number of art commissions for the school by Project Dandelion that included sculptures, coloured glass windows, large-scale images and other multimedia works.

It was great to go back to the school after all this time (we actually installed the work last September!) and to see it full of busy pupils. Our artwork seems to have settled in nicely and is now very much part of the building. You can find out more about it here and my pictures from the opening on Flickr.

There is a nice exhibition on at Phoenix at the moment that lets you go digital kite flying. The idea is that you first visit the web site at digitalkites.indiansummer.org.uk and design your kite. Then you visit the Cube Gallery at Phoenix and use the installation to "fly" your creation. The installation uses a Microsoft Kinect to track your movements in a way that is quite effective at simulating the act of kite flying. As you look over and Indian city skyline tugging on the kite's line every now and then the whole effect is rather relaxing.

I really liked the work, but think it needs a bit more refinement to really make it work well. I enjoyed the kite flying part, but found that the mechanism for selecting the kite designs a bit clunky. It involved using a computer keyboard - which to me is a no-no in an interactive artwork like this. I think some sort of gesture or touch interface would be better. Perhaps the ability to do the kite design on your mobile device would be nice too.

These are by no means major criticisms and I would encourage people to create a kite and go and fly it at the Phoenix. The exhibition runs until the 20th July, so you still have a few days to go. See my pictures of the work on Flickr.

I went to a symposium at Oxford Brookes University yesterday on the subject of the band Crass and the legacy of anarcho-punk. I've had a big interest in Crass since the late-1990s (and a general awareness of them since being a student in the late-1980s) so wondered what the academic take on the band would be.

The event was entitled No Sir, I Won't (paraphrasing the title of the Crass album) and featured an exhibition of artwork, talks and a round table discussion. The talks started with some analysis of Crass and anarcho-punk's political legacy, then looked at how the scene is represented (or not) in the mainstream 'canon' of punk and post-punk music history. This was followed by a study of politics in anarcho-punk graphics and then a discussion of whether there was more to the scene than just music.

Towards the end of the day there was the round table discussion. George McKay read from a series of letters he exchanged with Crass in the late 1970s and Sarah McHendry talked about here experiences in being in bands and running events at the time. Penny Rimbaud (the drummer from Crass) was also present and took questions form the audience. Although I found the talks insightful, for me this was the best session. I think the most important legacy of Crass and anarcho-punk is how it changed the lives of the people involved. Sarah McHendry's talk in particular was full of examples of how her creativity was ignited by her involvement in the scene and the community it introduced her to.

Information about the event can be found on the Hippies Now Wear Black website. It was organised in association with the Punk Scholars Network. See my pictures of the event on Flickr.

I'm currently showing one of my Transformations pieces as part of Ernest Edmond's Light Logic exhibition at the Conny Dietzschold Gallery in Sydney. The piece forms part of a ColourNet installation that contains three interacting artworks, one by Ernest Edmonds, one by Josh Harle and my Transformations work. Interaction with any of the three causes changes in the other two.

Although I have not able to visit the exhibition myself, feedback seems to be good. A review at http://www.realtimearts.net/feature/ISEA2013/11193 was positive and I am told that the opening night was pretty busy.

You can access Transformations on-line at trans.formations.mobi. Remember, any changes you make to the artwork will change the works in Sydney!

(Picture showing Transformations on iPad and a projected Shaping Form. Courtesy of Ernest Edmonds)

I've just updated my Dropsketch drawing system with a brand new web site and improved app for iPhone. The new site and app are being shown at the Creativity and Cognition conference in Sydney this week as part of their art exhibition.

While Dropsketch may appear to be primarily about drawing, it's really an experiment in connecting people. The drawings themselves are typically doodles and graffiti-style images, so not necessarily 'art'. However, what interests me is how knowledge of the app spreads around the world, leading to contributions from unexpected places. For example, the last time I exhibited it in Leicester I made an effort to only promote it locally, yet after a week or two sketches began arriving from almost every continent.

It will be interesting to see how the Sydney exhibition influences the development of the system. You can download the free Dropsketch app for iPhone from iTunes, the website (with interactive map) is at dropsketch.com.

Paul Brown gave a very interesting talk last night a Phoenix in Leicester. He spoke about the background and history of his creative practice and presented some of his latest work - both as an individual artist and in collaboration with his son, Daniel Brown.

One of the things that particularly interests me about Paul's work (and other digital arts pioneers, such as Ernest Edmonds) is that there is a clear creative focus running through his (their) work. In a world of constant 'newness', this is a very important quality. Paul presented some of his ideas from as far back as the 1960s and you can see a direct connection to his work today. I think many contemporary digital artists (including me) can learn from this. Unless your work is about technology (which can be a lazy position to take, and certainly a difficult thing to do well) your ideas should be strong enough to shine through, no matter what technology you use. In fact, if you expect your work to have any long-term relevance this has to be the case.

The talk was over an hour long and was full of insights. A video can be found on the CAS Leicester web page together with some of Paul's recent writings in PDF form. I hope to host some more talks in the autumn. Monitor this blog for further details.

While I was at the British Museum last week for the Neolithic Art exhibition I thought I would also try out a 3D scanning application from Autodesk called 123D Catch. It's free for iPhone and iPad and allows you to combine multiple photographs of a subject in order to generate an accurate 3D model.

Regretfully (but understandably) the Neolithic objects were not accessible enough to photograph in this way, but I found an ancient Greek bust of Alexander the Great that was perfect for my first go at 3D scanning.

The program was very easy to use. Simply take up to 40 photographs of the subject from as many angles as you can and upload to the Autodesk servers with the app. What comes back is amazing - a fully textured 3D model with incredible accuracy. You can see the results of my scan here on Autodesk's site (you will need to use Chrome or Firefox to use the 3D viewer).

I thought I'd then make use of the facility to request a 3D print of the model. I simply made a few minor amends to the model using their web app 123D Make and sent it to 3D printing company Shapeways via the 'fabricate' button.

A week later and I now have a perfect little model of the bust of Alexander. It's full of detail and is made out of a hard plastic. If I want to print it again it's available to me on the Shapeways server and I can choose to make it bigger or print using a wide range of other materials - including metal and ceramic. I could even choose to sell it for download - but that would be a bit much since I got it from the museum for free!

Everything seems to be coming together with 3D printing at the moment. The tools to make 3D models are becoming easier to use, there are a number of 3D print services available and the 3D printers themselves are becoming cheaper. I expect to receive my own RigidBot 3D printer in November and look forward to exploring the technology further. Friends should not be surprised if they get a mini model of Alexander for Xmas this year..

I managed to get a ticket to see the Neolithic Art exhibition at the British Museum yesterday. Subtitled the "Arrival of the Modern Mind", I knew it would probably be one of the most important exhibitions I would ever go to, yet if I had left it just a few more days I wouldn't have been able to get a ticket! Note to self, don't leave it so late next time something else comes up.

The artefacts on display dated from around 40,000 to 10,000 years ago and were found at sites around Europe and Asia. It included female forms, animals, decorated tools and abstract images. Despite dating from the last Ice Age it was probably some of the most exquisite artwork I have ever seen. The detail and skill demonstrated was amazing. This work was clearly the result of a "modern mind" and its production must have been supported by social structures that valued artistry.

One of the many pieces that I particularly liked was the Bison carving shown above. Made of mammoth ivory, it is the most perfect representation of an animal you will ever see. Anatomically accurate, delicate, strong, bold and imaginative. The creator knew and respected the subject and must have studied it in detail. Can you believe it's 20,000 years old?

I can't imagine getting to see a collection like this again for a very long time. I did, however, manage to take a few photographs which I have shared on Flickr. Apparently there are some walk-up tickets available for the exhibition, but if you haven't managed to see it yet you may have to make do with the book published by the British Museum shop.