Many thanks to all those who submitted a proposal to Media Sandbox 2010. We received a high volume of really great pitches this year and were truly excited by the amount of interesting ideas within the region.

We’re now thrilled to announce this year’s seven successful commissions:

For 2010, Media Sandbox has been divided into two strands: B-Open and Pervasive Experiences.

B-Open gives digital developers free access to key data about life in Bristol, which Bristol City Council has published openly for the very first time. The strand will comprise of three new digital developments, helping Bristol lead the way in becoming a smart, green, digital city:

Overlay Media will develop a digital map to help people with restricted mobility, such as wheelchair users, older people and people with pushchairs, find the best and easiest route between two places. The route will take into account information on hills, cobbled streets and the location of drop-kerbs for example.

Mobile Pie will create Blossom Bristol, a phone based game that will encourage people to plant virtual crops in any part of Bristol and watch as they flourish or fail depending on environmental factors such as the city's air quality, water quality, weather and temperature. The player's real-life activities will also feed into their success in the game with credits and rewards being offered when players choose to shop locally or at a Farmer's Market.

Later this year, all council's will be required to publish detailed figures on all items of expenditure over £500. Delib will develop a map-based visualisation of spending data and quality of life metrics, to reveal the good work the council does to improve Bristol’s residents’ lives.

Under the Pervasive Experiences strand, Media Sandbox 2010 will also support the development of four inspiring ideas exploring senses and sensors to create new models of interaction with digital technologies and enhance our experiences, whether with music, games or within a retail environment:

The power of the voice is often overlooked in its ability to create unique, engaging and accessible interactive experiences. Mutant Labs, a brilliant young company based in Plymouth will develop a system in which our voices or other sounds could be used as a control mechanism in computer games.

Moksha, an exciting new Bristol based company will create experiences made only from scent. The project will research how we can use smell to evoke emotion and communicate ideas, and look at ways in which this could be used commercially.

Remode are fascinated by new types of gaming console currently in development by large companies such as Nintendo, which enable the input of sensory data such as our heart rates or body temperatures. Remode will create a prototype game in which this type of sensory data could help us succeed or fail within the game and enhance our experience of play.

nu desine will create a new electronic musical instrument. This programmable device will allow players to trigger sounds through the use of sensors and smart materials and offer a new type of performance experience.

There will be several opportunities to join the conversation over the next few months, including a number of open work in progress events and a major showcase in February 2011. We hope you’ll be able to join us, so please save the following dates in your diaries:

Work in progress meetings (we’ll post more detailed info about these soon) will take place on:

- 29 September 2010
- 27 October 2010
- 17 November 2010

The Final Showcase event will take place at Watershed, Bristol on:

- 10 February 2011

As usual, we’ll be asking all the projects to share ideas, thoughts, insights and inspirations online through fortnightly journals, so please leave your questions and comments and the participants will get back to you.

We’ll also send out a monthly newsletter with a round-up of project updates and information about upcoming events. Make sure you sign up to our newsletter or follow us on Twitter to keep up with the latest news.

We look forward to seeing you soon

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Media Sandbox is originated and produced by iShed, part of Watershed, a cross art form organisation based in Bristol, UK.

Media Sandbox 2010 is a Creative Industries iNet project. The Creative Industries iNet is led by South West Screen - part of Solutions for Business and funded by the European Regional Development Fund and South West RDA. The scheme is delivered in collaboration with Bristol City Council and Connecting Bristol's B-Open initiative.