SME Partner

Fiddian Warman, Soda Ltd

Academic Partner

Professor Peter McOwan, Queen Mary, University of London

Project Title

Mobile Constructor

Project Description

Soda Ltd is a team of artists, educational specialists, developers and game designers which formed in 1996. In 1998 they launched an online construction kit for building animated models, Sodaconstructor, which went on to win the 2001 Interactive Arts BAFTA Award. The Mobile Constructor partnership set out to translate Sodaconstructor into a mobile application, utilising mobile application programme interfaces to locate virtual models in the real-world and allow users to create, share and view each other’s work.

The collaboration with Queen Mary University London allowed Soda Ltd the opportunity to conduct research into appropriate social frameworks for their new mobile phone application, they were also able to develop the background database work and design graphical user interfaces. A prototype mobile version of Sodaconstructor was launched for iOS platforms utilising location-aware application programme interfaces, allowing users to situation their models in the real world for each other to view.

The prototype was tested with two groups of young people, a 6th form group of girls and a group of 14 year old boys at the London Eye. The test runs were videoed and began the basis of a new Kickstarter campaign launched in January 2014. Unfortunately, since its launch the funding campaign has been aborted.