Be-Longing (2023)

An Augmented Reality Sculpture in UTown Green

Be-Longing is a site-specific, augmented reality (AR) experiential artwork on UTown Green that invites you to slow down and enjoy life as a community. This interactive experience lets participants “light” AR sparklers using their mobile phones. As more AR sparklers are lighted, more AR balloons are floated in the sky – personifying the beauty of humanity, lifting and supporting each other in times of uncertainty.

The Site

UTown Green was conceptually designed by architects as the heart of UTown. The site shapes residential students’ experiences and memories living in the surrounding colleges, where students come together to play, relax and connect.

The Inspiration

During COVID-19, safe management measures were in place, making it hard for students to build meaningful friendships. As a resident at UTown, the artist, like his fellow student residents, felt a sense of hopelessness from the stresses and commitments of university life. Despite all these, the shared experience forged friendships amongst those staying on campus. This camaraderie made the experience of staying on campus more special, creating a sense of belonging. Regardless of one’s course of study, being a UTown resident or not, or simply just passing through UTown; Be-Longing invites you to slow down and enjoy life as a community.

The Collaborators

Be-Longing is created by Ian Hong, a Year 3 Computer Science student and an NUS Performing and Visual Arts Scholar, together with Teaching Assistants Emran Poh and Zhang Jiayi as Technical Developers. The work is curated by Karen Lim, Curator, NUS Museum and Secretariat for NUS’ Public Art Initiative, in collaboration with Dr Bhojan Anand, NUS School of Computing. This work was produced in partnership with students from School of Computing 4240 module – Interaction Design for Virtual and Augmented Reality.

How to view the AR sculpture

Download the app

Android users:

  1. Download the app to your Android phone from the “Assets” drop down on our Releases page (https://github.com/ianfromdover/utown-green-ar/releases)
    • If your browser asks for the permission to install apps, give it the permission to do so.
    • If the app does not ✨ automagically ✨ prompt you to install, open your Files app and tap the .apk file for it to install.
  2. On opening the app for the first time, do grant it the required permissions to enable your AR experience.

iOS users:

Still in development – come back again for updates!

Using the app

1. Point your phone at a flat surface.
2. Once a balloon appears, tap to place balloons.
3. To enter Photo Mode, tap the 📷 camera icon.
4. Photos save to Files > DCIM.

Note: The AR sculpture is geotagged to UTown Green, and can only be viewed at that location.

 

Ian Hong

NUS Performing and Visual Arts Scholar

Ian Hong is a Year 3 Computer Science student and a NUS Performing and Visual Arts Scholar. His interests are in the field of virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR), as well as user experience (UX). For two years, he stayed at the College of Alice and Peter Tan, in UTown and thoroughly enjoyed his time there.

In his free time, Ian enjoys playing public pianos around NUS, flying fighter jets in VRChat, and having late-night talks with his friends.

Dr Bhojan Anand

Senior Lecturer at NUS School of Computing

Dr Bhojan Anand is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Computing, National University of Singapore. His research interests center on wireless networks, robotics and interactive virtual and augmented reality environments. Most of the courses he teaches at NUS are interdisciplinary, and bridges arts and technology. He has been teaching Interaction design for Augmented and Virtual realty for more than 10 years and guided students to create a range of AR/VR applications for entertainment and education. These projects have won multiple innovation awards and are often showcased in arts festivels. He is a founding member Anuflora Systems, GlobalCert, Virtual and Augmented Reality labs, and the Vice President of International Researchers club, Singapore. He is the faculty advisor for NUS Game Development Club, NUS eGaming Society, Singapore Medical Grand Challenge and School of Computing Technology Showcase & Entrepreneurship.

He likes to travel, meditate and debate about world religions during his free time.

Emran Poh

Technical Developer

Emran Poh is a Computer Science Masters student under the NUS-HCI Lab. His research interests revolve around exploring collaborative applications and communication dynamics of MR technologies. He has experience in studying and developing MR applications for industry professionals and has showcased work at Singapore Airshow 2022.

Zhang Jiayi

Technical Developer

Jiayi is a Year 4 computer engineering student specialising in Interactive Digital Media. She is passionate about creating impactful products through her research in Human Computer Interaction and Game Design. She strives to make technology more accessible and user-friendly, enriching people’s lives and making a positive impact in the world.