A senior computer science and math major, Amy Eubanks, is completing an honors thesis titled “Catching Fireflies: A Persuasive Augmented Reality Game for Android.” Eubanks has worked for two years on the design and implementation of a game applicaiton for Android mobile phones that encourages players to engage in one of the seminal experiences of childhood: going outside at dusk to catch fireflies.
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The game is called “persuasive” because it tries to get the player to get up and go outside. The players can catch these virtual fireflies and they will exist on the player’s phone in a lantern application for a little less than a day. Because the fireflies disappear during that day, the player is encouraged to go out again and capture more fireflies.
The game uses augmented reality by using the camera on the back of the phone to show the real world on the phone’s screen. Eubanks’ application places animated virtual fireflies on the camera image, augmenting the real world. The application uses the phone’s GPS to track the player as he or she moves around. If the player gets close to a virtual firefly, the player is allowed to capture the firefly by cupping their hands over the phone. That puts the firefly into the lantern.
Eubanks combined her interests in computer science math and art into one project. She implemented a Bezier curve algorithm used in the lantern application to animate the fireflies along a curve. She implemented an augmented reality engine to display both the camera image and the virtual fireflies. Using a digital drawing tablet, Eubanks hand-painted the lantern image and two different sets of firefly images.
It’s this combination of talents and ability that Eubanks has been able to develop here that sets Elon students apart. Eubanks has created an Android application that is well beyond the original vision by using her talents and studies to full use. Elon is not just about learning, its also about applying that knowledge and your unique talents to a given problem. Eubanks has done this and achieved a product that is both unique and fun.
Submitted by Joel Hollingsworth, senior lecturer in computing sciences
