prof. dr. franklin hernández-castro

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SkyGraph project: wind visualization in Costa Rica

last update 11.09.18

prof. dr. franklin hernández-castro

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Prof. Dr. Franklin Hernández-Castro is senior professor and researcher at Costa Rica Institute of Technology, and guest professor at Hochschule für Gestaltung Schwäbisch Gmünd in Germany.

Ph. D. Hernández-Castro, made his first degree in Industrial Design at Tecnológico de Costa Rica. Besides, he made the last year of Design School Institute Superiore per la Industria Artistiche (ISIA) in Rome, Italy

After that, he obtained two master degrees, one in Design Theory in Germany and one in Computer Science in Costa Rica Institute of Technology with “Summa cum laude” honors.

Later he earned his Ph.D. at Duisburg-Essen University in Germany with “Magna cum laude” honors.

Dr. Hernández-Castro directed the Design School at TEC Costa Rica for ten years and taught at universities in the United States, Germany, Austria, and Canada.

Dr. Hernández-Castro is working in research since 1990 at TEC Costa Rica in cooperation with several universities like Media Lab. from MIT, Hochschule für Gestaltung Schwäbisch Gmünd in Germany and University of Rochester in New York and with companies like Intel and Hewlett-Packard.

He has worked as a member of panel reviewing of accreditation for the National Authority for Qualifications & Quality Assurance of Education in the Kingdom of Bahrain in the Persian Golf.

His primary field is Scientific Data Visualization, Interface Usability, Interactive Infographics and Mixed Reality and his minor is Computer Science.

He wrote more than 50 papers and four books, and made more than 30 lectures in countries like United States of America, Germany, Canada, México, Austria, Colombia, etc.

LESCO 3D

This semester in my data visualization course at Tecnológico de Costa Rica, I developed with Engineer Josue Porras a project to analyze the database of the LESCO sign language translator.

Este semestre en mi curso de visualización de datos en el Tecnológico de Costa Rica, desarrollé junto con el Ingeniero Josue Porras un proyecto para analizar la base de datos del traductor de señas del la lengua LESCO.

 

divina

iPad application for simulating breast implants for Establishment Labs (http://establishmentlabs.com).

Graduation project of student Dorlyn Guido 1st semester 2018.

Aplicación para iPad con el fin de simular implantes de senos para la empresa Establishment Labs (http://establishmentlabs.com). Proyecto de graduación de la estudiante Dorlyn Guido 1er semestre 2018.

Satellite data visualization for high school students

As part of the Irazú project, which launched the first satellite in Central America, a visualization was designed to motivate high school students to become interested in aerospace engineering in Costa Rica.

Thus, a javascript visualization was designed (and implemented) with a satellite "mission control" style and a science fiction look&feel.

Como parte del Proyecto Irazú, que lanzó el primer satélite de Centro América, diseñamos una visualización para motivar a los estudiantes de secundaria en la ingeniería aerospacial. Se diseñó e implementó una visualización en Javascript con un estilo de “control de misión” y un look & feel de ciencia ficción.

Cookbooks

nota combianndo colores HSB

este tutorial muestra como combinar colores a partir de código. esta estrategia es especialmente cuando es necesario generar, en tiempo real, combinaciones de colores que requieren de muchos matices distintos.(1.11.14)

books

el error de le corbusier

El libro comienza con una revisión de las herramientas de proporción que se usaron durante la historia del diseño, el arte y la arquitectura occidental.

Después por los metódos de proporción en la naturaleza y en la matemática, se analizan con detalle los crecimientos espirales, los meandros y las ramificaciones entre otros.

En la tercera parte se hace una análisis lógico de la utilidad de los métodos de proporción en el diseño finalizando con un recuento de los posibles métodos futuros en materia de diseño, en los que herramientas digitales se funden con las clásicas concepciones de poporción y color para darnos una posible visión del futuro de la metodología del diseño y la arquitectura..

link digital

link print

 

estética artificial

El libro explora la percepción de la belleza desde un punto de vista racional,¿Porque algunas cosas son bellas? ¿existe la belleza universal? ¿puede crearse belleza en forma controlada? a través de este libro se comprende qué es la belleza y cómo estamos influenciados por ella. Cómo los instintos básicos de supervivencia, jerarquía y atracción sexual influyen nuestro concepto de bello y como todo esto influye en el diseño arquitectónico, gráfico e industrial.

Partiendo de un estudio neurológico explica cómo las diferentes partes del cerebro influyen nuestra percepción de belleza y cómo nuestras preferencias actuales están claramente influenciados por estas partes remotas del cerebro.

Además ofrece métodos y herramientas para manipular la belleza en todos los ámbitos del diseño y la arquitectura, proveyendo metodologías que hast ahora eran desconocidas..

link

fundamentos del espacio tridimensional

el libro ya agotado, explica ejercicios básicos para entender la geometría del espacio tridimensional, empieza con análisis de los cuerpos geométricos básicos, como los platónicos y arquimideanos, continua con la descripción de los retículos densos.

la segunda parte del libro muestra algunos proyectos que se proponen como ejercicio para poner en práctica la teoría prendida en la primera parte del libro.

3D thinking

el libro, aun en prensa, es una recopilación completa de la teoría del espacio tridimensional, se explican en forma detallada la mayoría de los sólidos clásicos: platónicos, arquimideanos, estelares, duales, esféricos, geodésicos, etc.

en la segunda parte se muestran 20 años de trabajos desarrollados por estudiantes en alemania, costa rica, austria y otros países en los que ha trabajado el autor con el fin de ejercitar la teoría que se desarrolla en la primera parte del libro.

 

 

books co-athor

1S-2018 IoT smart speakers

This semester at the Tecnológico de Costa Rica (1S-2018), we did a project aimed at the "Internet of Things." The idea was to imagine that the new intelligent speakers (like Alexa of Amazon, Siri of apple or Hi Google) can project an image and communicate with the user.

 

ss 2018 mirror, mirror on the wall

This semester at Hochschule für Gestaltung Schwäbisch Gmünd in my lecture of interaction design and Internet of Things (summer semester 2018) we made a project that we named “mirror, mirror on the wall”

 

 

iReal 4.0

The complete visualization system (iReal 3.0) was moved to c++ with the openFrameworks library that increases the efficiency of the previous tool by 10. This new language allowed us to implement the three-dimensional visualization of the country's geography with a model of more than 7 million data; images below are a sample of that effort.

 

2S 2017 | eArcade

this semester at costa rica institute of technology in my lecture of interaction design we made arcade games.

the idea was, take this kind of games as inspiration and make virtual games, with the help of a big display to produce the game and a Makey-Makey or/and an Arduino to make the controls.

 

ws 2017 gravity

This semester at Hochschule für Gestaltung Schwäbisch Gmünd in my lecture of interaction design and Internet of Things (winter semester 2017) we made games with virtual gravity.

The idea was, take the concept of gravity as inspiration and make virtual games. All students had to design physic interfaces for each game, with a Makey-Makey, leap motion or/and an Arduino to make the controls.

 

 

1S 2017 | infographic videos

undergraduate projects

these projects are a part of 4th-semester studies in information design engineering at TEC Costa Rica.

we designed infographic videos of different concepts with some “time process” in it.

 

 

1S-2017 eArcade two players

this semester in my lecture of interaction design at costa rica institute of technology (1S-2017) we made arcade games with two players.

 

 

 

 

 

plinius: conferencia de prensa / press conference

El pasado 7 de junio se llevó a cabo en la cede central del Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, en Cartago, la conferencia de prensa para entregar las herramientas de visualización de datos sísmicos al OVSICORI (Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de costa rica).

 

On June 7, the press conference to deliver seismic data visualization tools to OVSICORI (Costa Rican Vulcanological and Seismological Observatory) was held at the central headquarters of the Costa Rican Technological Institute in Cartago.

 

ss 2017 eArcade two players

this semester at hochschule für gestaltung schwäbisch gmünd in my lecture of interaction design and internet of things (summer semester 2017) we made arcade games with two players.

the idea was, take this kind of games as inspiration and make virtual games, but this time with two players, with the help of a big display.

all students had to design physic interfaces for each game, with a makey-makey, leap motion or/and an arduino to make the controls.

 

 

nuevos tutoriales

para mi curso de diseño de infografías redacté tres nuevos tutoriales, uno sobre teoría del color, otro sobe psicología de la percepción y el último sobre manejo de tipografía y diagramación o layout. link.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2S 2016 eArcade

this semester at costa rica institute of technology in my lecture of interaction design we made arcade games.

the idea was, take this kind of games as inspiration and make virtual games, with the help of a big display to produce the game and a Makey-Makey or/and an Arduino to make the controls. (link)

 

 

2S 2016 | App design and usability

undergraduate projects

these projects are a part of 6th-semester studies in information design engineering at tec costa rica.

we make different types of usability analysis (using my usability cookbook) to design our applications or to evaluating interaction in tools already in web o market.

 

ws 2016/17 eArcade (23.10.16)

this semester at hochschule für gestaltung schwäbisch gmünd in my lecture of interaction design and internet of things (winter semester 2016/2017) we made arcade games.

the idea was, take this kind of games as inspiration and make virtual games, with the help of a projector (or a big display) to produce the game and a Makey-Makey or/and an Arduino to make the controls. (link)

 

New paper What for: Classification of Visual Paradigms.

During the past 20 years, taxonomies have been defined to classify visualization paradigms. However, none of these taxonomies have been based on what the visualization wants to emphasize. This article proposes a classification based on data relationships and appropriate visualization paradigms to emphasize specific types of goals.

Hernandez-Castro, F. Monge-Fallas, J. 2016. What for: Classification of Visual Paradigms. Ponte: International Scientific Researches Journal. Vol. 72 | No. 7 | Jul 2016. Florence. Italy. (link)

 

1S 2016 | projection gaming (26.06.16)

this semester (1-2016) at costa rica institute of technology, we did a project with physical simulations, the idea was to have an experience that you can control with two different ways, from the "real reality" to virtual reality and from the virtual reality to "real reality". the experience can be projected to a table or a wall.

 

graduation projects from the first semester 2016:

these are the graduation projects in the first semester 2016 in this area.. (link)

 

 

 

 

 

 

1S 2016 | App design and usability

undergraduate projects

these projects are a part of 6th-semester studies in information design engineering at tec costa rica.

we make different types of usability analysis (using my usability cookbook) to design our applications or to evaluating interaction in tools already in web o market.

 

 

summer semester 2015  |  eDominos (20.04.16)

these works were made with students from hochschule für gestaltung schwäbisch gmünd in my lecture of interaction design and internet of things in summer semester 2014/2015.

in this semester we play with the idea of virtual dominos and the chain reaction.

 

 

 

nicoya virtual (0.5.03.16):

we made the first prototype for nicoya virtual, in these visualizations one can see displacement, ascent and descent of costa rica during the earthquake of september 5, 2012.

you can see a preview these prototype here.

 

 

 

waze visual (30.01.16):

this semester we made a data visualization project with traffic data from waze application in costa rica.

Evelyn Barquero Rodriguez and Sofía González

 Villalobos, made with me, a top 100 ranking with the worst traffic routes in costa rica. It is a interactive visualization where you can compare traffic conditions of routes, days and hours. (link)

 

 

new application myFishbowl (07.11.15):

my new application is there. it is a personal fishbowl where you can relax and enjoy playing with a swarm of fishes. these fishes are not playing a routine, they are reacting on your actions, and the actions of the other fishes.

you can feed them or make obstacles in their way and they will react, you can try to guide the fishes to some place and catch them with a coral wall. (link)

 

 

2S 2015 | projection gaming (23.11.15)

this semester (2-2015) at costa rica intitute of technology we made a project with physical simulations, the idea was to have a game that you can control with gestures, using kinect o leap motion. the game can be projected to a table or a wall and have to have more levels and surprising issues.

 

 

new application iRealPro (14.11.15)

this applications is the second one from eBridge and iReal, both projects of the eScience research program from Costa Rica Institute of Technology. The application is a 3D interactive visualization of data from wireless structural monitoring of a bridge, taken as sample for technology test.

 

 

usability cook book (12.11.15)

el jueves 12.11.15 se dio la charla del usability cookbook en el "usability day" en san josé. aquí se puede encontrar el link del documento.

 

 

 

 

 

WS 2015 | face mapping

this semester we work with only one object for all student groups, a big face. our idea is to make a experience in mapping in a human face. in order to do that, we made a 3D human face model with serial planes. with this “face” 120 X 60 cm, the students made your experiences in topics like emotions, age, cultural tattoo, etc. all projections are able to be controlled through a input device, in this case we used leap motion. (link)

 

iReal first prototype (28.07.15)

the first prototype of iReal 3.0 is there, we are very happy about that, take a look here. (link)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

visualization of breast cancer factors (1S-2015)

graduation project of nikole arguedas-elizondo mentored by me.

she worked with cancer researchers from universidad de costa rica, they work on breast cancer and associated factors like sport habits, number of children and so on.(link)

 

 

 

1S 2015 | mixed reality gaming

these works were made with students from tecnológico de costa rica in my course of interaction design in first semester 2015.

in this semester we explore the concept of gaming combine with mixed reality in several ways like computer vision and kinect sensors (link)

 

 

 

1S 2015 | cmos

the theme for this semester was CMOS. students have to explain how is made a microcrochip and fundamentals about its function.

the target public is first semester students from electronic engineer. challenge is to explain the process for this nicho. (link)

 

 

 

SS2015 | object mapping

these works were made with students from hochschule für gestaltung schwäbisch gmünd in my lecture of interaction design in summer semester 2015.

in this semester we explore the concept of object mapping in addition of several input technics like kienct, leap motion, myo sensor, etc. (link)

 

 

project summary 2015-16

I added an abstract for the new two research projects that began this semester in iReal (our research group at TEC-costa rica).

they go through january 2015 till december 2016. (link)

 

 

 

 

guía visual para diseño de producto (7.02.15)

encontré una guía que escribí para mis estudiantes de diseño de productos en 2005, en aquel tiempo enseñaba productos. me parece que podría servir a algunos que hacen eso hoy

bajar

 

 

 

 

 

variation viewer (23.11.14)

graduation project of antonio solano and verónica alfaro mentored by me. it is a visualization based on breast cancer related proteins.

link

 

 

 

 

2S-2014 | face tracking (20.11.14)

results of my TEC students in face tracking / inmersive feeling techinics combining 3D navigation with face tracking

link

 

 

 

nota combianndo colores HSB (1.11.14)

este tutorial muestra como combinar colores a partir de código. esta estrategia es especialmente cuando es necesario generar, en tiempo real, combinaciones de colores que requieren de muchos matices distintos..

link

 

 

 

winter semester 2014/12015  |  face tracking / inmersive feeling (26.10.14)

in this semester we explore the concept of immersive feeling combining 3D navigation with face tracking technics.

link.

 

 

new application spaceAcc (26.09.14):

my new application is here. it is a simulator that uses acce

lerometers of iPhone o iPad to make a easy game for try to get the exactly horizontal position of device.

in addition, it has a look & feel from 2001 space odyssey, and a sci fi sound when user gets the right position. It is just a quote from sci fi to mobile devices. just for fun.

link.

 

tutorial iOS sobre acelerómetros (14.08.14):

escribí un tutorial sobre los acelerómetros en el iPhoe y como usarlos. explica cómo funcionan y cómo programar una aplicación muy simple para leerlos. link.

 

tutoriales iOS:

he estado desarrollando algunos tutoriales de como usar Xcode con iOS, una versión preliminar de estos están aquí. link.

 

curso de interactivos 1s 2014:

ya están los vídeos y los informes del curso de interactivos del tec, esta vez se trabajó 100% con html, css y js. link.

 

curso de x-faces1s 2014:

ya están los vídeos y los informes del curso de mixed reality del tec, esta vez se trabajó con el efecto pepper ghost que es una ilusión que data de la época victoriana y que se ha reinterpreatdo para ser usada con las nuevas tecnologías. además se usaron el kinect, el leo motion y algo de computer vision para lograr alguna interactividad entre el usuario y el ambiente virtual. link.

 

curso de interacción SS2014 HfG

ya está los vídeos del semestre de verano en el hochschule für gestaltung schwäbisch gmünd. en este semestre experimentamos con el nuevo sensor leap motion para provocar la interactividad. link

 

prof. dr. franklin hernández-castro, ph.d.