Objective

We will be using Ruby and Unity programming language to build a new 3D and Virtual Reality memory app using Google Sketchup and 3D Warehouse to help people learn new information visually, spatially, and creatively rather than through rote memorization. Leveraging principles of Frugal Innovation, we aim to create an open source platform that will benefit learners of all ages, but be housed within a social enterprise focusing on aiding children with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and other learning needs.

Concept – The Memory Palace

Human memory is significantly better adapted to learning spaces and images than it is to learning textual and numerical information. For millennia, memory techniques have been developed and leveraged in oral cultures to store huge amounts of information in human memory through association with space and image. While the core principles of memory palaces can be learned quickly, their application to specific subjects and disciplines remains elusive.

By creating a means of building memory palaces in virtual reality, the entire process can be transmitted and demonstrated faster, more effectively, and with digital – as well as human – memory storage. Users will be able to see their own and other people’s memory palaces, as well as be able to create their own memory palaces with built-in guidance and step-by-step instruction.

Impact

Remembering new or foreign information is a struggle well known to many, including children and adults alike. Textual information presents particular challenges for those with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and other special needs. Memory techniques provide an alternative means of learning, allowing all users to master the same new material with greater retention, recall, and accuracy.

As an open platform, Macunx will allow teachers and professionals to create modules to guide learners through the process of creating memory structures for specific subjects. These modules can be optionally monetized.

Requirements

The aim is to use existing tools wherever possible to create an open-source platform for building 3D memory palaces. Google’s Sketchup, with its impressive library of 3D images and models, is a natural starting point. We will need developers familiar with Ruby and Unity programming language and preferably with Sketchup itself. Our goal will be to code the steps and functions that allow teachers to create instructional modules and students to add their own associations and build their own memory palaces.

http://www.sketchup.com/intl/en/developer/docs/faq

3D Warehouse

Roles Required

We will need people who can perform the following tasks:

• Ruby and Unity programmers to build functions for app
• Designers and those with experience in WordPress to build a WordPress site
• Video and photography nuts to help film and edit footage and photos from the weekend
• Anyone interested in memory techniques and looking for the experience of a hackathon!

There will be a VIP drinks reception for sponsors and investors on the Sunday afternoon at 3pm.