Kids and and Tangible Tabletop Interaction: The NIKVision Project

NIKVision is an interactive tangible tabletop designed for young children, but suitable for "kids" of all ages. Javier Marco Rubio shared his team's work on the NIKVision system on the TechSpark website, and I thought I'd share some of the videos on this post. What I like about NIKVision is that the team encouraged the participation of children as design partners, which is a very special approach.

The NIKVision team is part of the GIGA Group, at the Computing Department of the Zaragoza University (Spain). The team collaborates with the ChiCI Group in the University of Central Lancashire, Preston (UK)



NIKVision Tangible Tabletop Demo

NIKVision Tangible Tabletop Demo from Javier Marco on Vimeo.


"NIKVision is a Tangible tabletop in which toys control the games. NIKVision has been created by Javier MMarco, from GIG Group in University of Zaragoza, Spain." http://webdiis.unizar.es/~jmarco
Researchers for this project included Javier Marco, Eva Cerezo, and Sandra Baldassarri.

NIKVision Toys & Games

NIKVision Toys & Games from Javier Marco on Vimeo.

NIKVision, highlighted in the news in Spain (in Spanish)

Cisco's Cius, An Ultra-Portable, Android-based Mobile Collaboration Business Tablet: Supports Real-time, HD Videoconferencing, and the "Cloud"

Here is a link to the post on The World Is My Interactive Interface blog - the post includes video clips and links to additional information from Cisco:

Cisco's Cius and Ultra-portable, Android-based Mobile Collaboration Business Tablet:  Supports Real-time HD Videoconferencing and the "Cloud"

The following pictures were taking from Jason Hiner's blog at Tech Republic:

Apparently the Cius has a docking station.


A nice, Facebook-like interface is OK with me.

I wonder if it comes with a make-up kit.  Everyone should look presentable viewed in "HD TV".

Stereoscopic 3D - TV, Gaming, Displays---more coming soon!

I'm wrapping up an interesting post about stereoscopic 3D, including wisdom from the "3D Guy", my impressions of the 3D displays and 3D glasses I tried out during a recent trip to Best Buy, and information about NVIDIA's recent developments in the area of stereoscopic 3D gaming.  The post will be on the Interactive Interactivity blog soon.  (I'll share the post, along with additional "behind the scenes" info later this week, on this blog.)

This is a fast-moving topic!

If you are new to this blog, here are links to my previous posts about stereoscopic 3D:

3D TV: Are we there yet?

3D TV on YouTube -- and the World Cup in 3D, too!

NVDIA Press Release:  Steroscopic 3D Video Streamed over Internet

The 3D Evolution: Introduction

Quick Post:  3D and the Future of TV during Display Week in Seatle, WA, May 26-27

3D Projectors in the Classroom:  The kids are ready--but what about the textbook-bound curriculum?

3D Monitor from iZ3d, Designed for Games

Interactive Video Stories for the iPad, via Interactive TV Today

"Touching Stories" - iPad Demo + Behind The Scenes from Tool of North America on Vimeo.

"TOUCHING STORIES" APP OFFERS FOUR INTERACTIVE SHORT FILMS, DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR THE IPAD -Tracy Swedlow, 6/29/10

More later!

Multimedia Job and Internships Links (Innovative Interactivity)

If you are interested in looking for a job or an internship involving multimedia, take a look at the 20 opportunities highlighted on the Interactive Interactivity blog.  This list is featured monthly.


Job and internship opportunities, July 2010

Slow Media Manifesto (a link from Nat Torkington of O'Reilly Radar)

Slow Media Manifesto

"In the second decade, people will not search for new technologies allowing for even easier, faster and low-priced content production. Rather, appropriate reactions to this media revolution are to be developed and integrated politically, culturally and socially. The concept “Slow”, as in “Slow Food” and not as in “Slow Down”, is a key for this. Like “Slow Food”, Slow Media are not about fast consumption but about choosing the ingredients mindfully and preparing them in a concentrated manner. Slow Media are welcoming and hospitable. They like to share." -Slow Media Manifesto


I especially liked #5 of the Slow Media Manifesto:

"5. Slow Media advance Prosumers, i.e. people who actively define what and how they want to consume and produce. In Slow Media, the active Prosumer, inspired by his media usage to develop new ideas and take action, replaces the passive consumer. This may be shown by marginals in a book or animated discussion about a record with friends. Slow Media inspire, continuously affect the users’ thoughts and actions and are still perceptible years later. "

Slow Media Blog

RELATED
Slow Media
Beyond the Beyond: The Slow Media Manifesto
Bruce Sterling, Wired 6/28/10
Apres les slow food, les slow media?
Nouvo, 6/25/10
La manifeste des slow media (tradution: fr)

NVDIA Press Release: Stereoscopic 3D Video Streamed over Internet

I'm putting together information for my next post about the evolution of 3D technologies and thought I'd go ahead and share this press release about 3D video streaming.  I'd love to see this in action!


The beauty of this news is that NVIDIA has worked in collaboration with Microsoft to develop streaming content using Silverlight and IIS Smooth Streaming so people can watch stereoscopic 3D content from their PC's.


COMPUTEX 2010—TAIPEI—May 31, 2010—NVIDIA today demonstrated 3D video streamed live over the Internet using an NVIDIA® 3D VisionTM PC, Microsoft Silverlight and IIS Smooth Streaming technology. The demonstration, which streamed the music video “We Are the World” 3D, at a press conference at Computex, comes at a time when consumer interest in seeing 3D movies is at its highest level ever.


“We’ve been collaborating with Microsoft to enable 3D in an Internet browser so that it’s very simple to use,” said Phil Eisler, General Manager of 3D Vision technology at NVIDIA. “Just click on a 3D video and it plays in 3D, using the latest 3D Vision Silverlight-based video player and NVIDIA 3D Vision. Internet users can now enjoy 3D video content streamed in high-definition (HD) quality and viewed at full resolution. This is another great benefit of having a 3D PC.”


To take advantage of this technology, consumers will need an NVIDIA 3D Vision-based desktop or notebook PC equipped with the latest 3D Vision drivers and the Silverlight browser plug-in. Once these are installed, consumers can then navigate to any Web site hosting 3D Vision-based content.


For content owners, this milestone provides a secure path to distribute and monetize 3D video over the Web with Silverlight and IIS Smooth Streaming. Movies, trailers, sports and any form of 3D video can now be hosted and streamed over the Internet to a growing market of 3D PCs, most of which ship with Windows 7.


“Customers have a peaked interest in 3D entertainment experiences, and Microsoft is looking forward to working with NVIDIA to bring these experiences to users through their PCs,” said Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president of the .NET Developer Division at Microsoft Corp. “Silverlight and IIS Smooth Streaming together deliver the highest quality HD video experiences over the Web and, with NVIDIA 3D Vision, will now provide consumers with a way to watch their favorite movies, sporting events, music videos and more, all in 3D from their own computer.”


For more information on how to use and install 3D streaming capabilities on 3D Vision PCs visit http://www.nvidia.com/get3D


Useful Links:

http://www.nvidia.com/3DPC 

http://www.nvidia.com/get3D 

http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight


For further information, contact:
Bryan Del Rizzo
NVIDIA Corporation
(408) 486-2772
bdelrizzo@nvidia.com



Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on NVIDIA, please visit the NVIDIA Press Room at http://www.nvidia.com/page/press_room.html

Quick Links: Google Edu (K-16), Cloud Computing

Google and Education  (TechPsych)


The Economics of Cloud Computing:  Live Webcast on ZDNet Highlights Microsoft's Approach -Includes video of Google's Cloud Computing Faculty Summit Tech Talk (The World Is My Interactive Interface)

A few links: GizmoWatch's 10 Interactive User Interfaces for the Future, CNN's Eatocracy, EVA 2010 and More!

Here's a quick link to a recent Gizmowatch post, Ten Interactive User Interfaces for the Future.  Bharat, the authro, reviews a variety of interfaces, input methods, and interaction techniques, such as Skinput, a water-based touch screen, a muscle-computer interface, air gestures, brain-computer systems, and even a mud-tub interface.


I was fortunate to see some of these interaction techniques and interfaces when I attended CHI 2010 this past April, and plan to share some of my photos and video clips from the conference on this blog soon.


Totally Unrelated


Online connection for foodies
Eatocracy is a new website within the CNN pages that provides news- and more- about all things related to food. The categories on the site include "main", "news", "bite", "sip", "make", "think", and "buzz".  The best part, in my opinion, is the heirloom recipe collection index, where people can upload and share family recipies and the stories behind them.

Here is the description of Eatocracy from the website:

Eatocracy  "is your online home for smart, passionate conversation and information about food news, politics, culture. We'll highlight regional and family recipes, dive into restaurants and food shopping, chat with celebrity and local chefs, and show you what's for dinner around the world tonight. Grab a place at the table and read with your mouth full."

Enjoy!

(The above is a repost from The World is My Interactive Interface)

Coming Soon

--More about 3D TV and Interactive TV

--Highlights from CHI 2010 (better late than never!)

--My experiments- SMARTTable, a game, interactive timeline prototype pictures...

--A post about Lieven van Velthoven's interesting Post-WIMP explorations - here are some links that he recently sent me:

• 3D birthday invitation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNOP5aIoS9o
• Virtual overgrowth in the real world: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuJPoUpBIKU
• Make race tracks for virtual cars with any real stuff you can find: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1K3og8qLcA
• Smoke Pong: Pong, ONLY for smokers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwrsVo5p2_E
• Webcam Airmouse: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57kTrKJHOjM 
• MusicalNodes: the visual music library: www.musicalnodes.com, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czQdhfA__UY (will be published at EVA2010)

As I took a peek at Lieven's video links, I noticed an interesting video mash-up Lieven created from the open-source code from the RadioHead's House of Cards music video and his One Million Particles app. I'll post them soon.

I'll try to get video, pictures, and commentary about EVA 2010.  EVA stands for Electronic Visualization and the Arts. "Electronic Information, the Visual Arts, and Beyond.

FYI

I'm in the process of sorting through and re-organizing my blogs, which have been around for over four years!  During this time, my blogs have attracted a growing number of readers. Because of this, I'd like to make things a bit user-centered.  So expect to see little changes here and there.  I promise I'll give my readers warnings in advance if I make any serious changes! 

If you are new to this blog, you should know that my blogs started out as on-line filing cabinets, open to the world.  Although there is a bit of overlap of material and some cross-posting between the blogs, they are arranged to serve as a paper-less way of keeping track of things that I've learned through my coursework, conference attendance, readings, and research. Since emerging technologies are high on my list of interests, I also use my blogs to share interesting things that cross my path.    

  

I changed the name of my World Is My Interface blog to The World Is My Interactive Interface.   "Off-the-desktop natural user interfaces, interaction, and user experience" are the main topics of the blog.  It sometimes includes information about ubiquitous computing and DOOH, otherwise known as Digital Out Of Home.

I plan to tinker with my TechPsych blog later on. It focuses on topics that are useful to psychologists, educators, special education teachers, speech and language therapists, health and wellness professionals, and parents.

Feel free to leave comments, as I welcome your input.

Video: DYI Acrylic Multi-touch FTIR Pad - Low-cost and Stylish (Anne Roudaut, Patrick Baudisch, Christian Holz, and Torsten Becker, Hasso Plattner Institute)

I came across the following video and link when I visited Jonathan Brill's Multi-touch Maven blog.  The multi-touch project was developed as part of the Patric Baudisch's Human Computer Interaction Research class at the Hasso Plattner Institute.



Detailed directions, along with pictures, can be found on the Designer Multi-touch Pad website. From there, you can download the OpenCV source code, which requires Microsoft's Visual Studio, from the project's website, along with a copy of the how-to video,  a nice shopping list, and references.


-Hasso Plattner Institut
This is what graduate students and post-docs play with!

RELATED
An easy way to build your own multi-touch surface
-Jonathan Brill

CCC/CRA Roadmapping for Interactive Technology: Series of 3 Game Changing Workshops

The following information is from the CCC/CRA Roadmapping for Interactive Technologies website, describing an upcoming series of three three-day workshops that I think have the potential for changing the way interactive technology is designed and implemented in the future:

"The modern computing experience is shaped by the ways in which people interact with their computers. Underlying that interaction are the technologies of input, sensing, interactive techniques and interactive architecture. This is a series of workshops that will create a research agenda for revolutionizing these foundational technologies."

Workshops

Interactive System Architecture - August 11-13, 2010 - Jackson, WY http://icie.cs.byu.edu/CCCWorkshops/InteractiveArchitecture.html

Dan Olsen - Brigham Young University  

The last few decades have produced many new interactive technologies and many interactive techniques. Few of them are making their way into actual use because they are so hard to integrate. This workshop will create an agenda for new architectures for building interactive systems that integrate basic interaction in powerful new ways and provide new opportunities and foundations on which to build usable systems.

Persuasive Experiences - September 23-25, 2010 - Burbank, CA   http://icie.cs.byu.edu/CCCWorkshops/Persuasive.html

Joe Marks - Disney Research

A culture is defined by its shared stories and the messages that people communicate with each other. Computing has created new ways for stories to be told in entertainment and education. This workshop will outline how we can bring digital storytelling from the realm of multimillion dollar productions down to the practical needs of everyday social, educational and political discourse.

Ultra-large-scale Interaction - October 25-27, 2010 - Chicago, IL http://icie.cs.byu.edu/CCCWorkshops/Ultra-large-scale.html

Mark Ackerman - University of Michigan

A byproduct of the Internet's success is that large numbers of people can interact with each other and with large stores of loosely interconnected data. This workshop will create an agenda for interactions that involve thousands of participants.

NOTE:  Organizers for the Interactive System Architecture Workshop include Dan Olsen, from Brigham Young University, Andy Wilson, from Microsoft Research, and Celine Latulipe, from the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.  (Dr. Latulipe was my HCI professor.)  Joe Marks is a VP at Disney Research.  The organizers for the Ultra-large Scale Interaction Workshop include Mark Ackerman and Mark Newman, from the University of Michigan, Keith Edwards, from Georgia Tech, and Scott Klemmer, from Stanford.


I'd really like to attend all three workshops.  I will try to learn all I can about these workshops and share what I find during periodic blog posts over the next several months.


RELATED
Links on the CCC/CRA Website
Welcome
Approach/Participation
Workshop Attendence Information

Events

Interactive System Architecture Workshop

Aug 11-13, 2010
Submit: June 14

Persuasive Experiences Workshop

Sept 23-25, 2010
Submit: July 1

Ultra-large-scale Interaction Workshop

Oct 25-27, 2010
Submit: July 19

Links  NSF   CRA / CCC  ACM / SIGCHI

CCC Liason: Elizabeth Mynatt - Georgia Tech

The Slide in the Subway, The Rocket Elevator, and the Skateboard- Propelled Shopping Cart Videos - Volkswagen's Fast Lane: True Use Experience (just in case you missed it all)

Via Pixelsumo -Just in case you missed this:


Here's a few others you'll enjoy.  The true meaning of user experience, out and about!

The Elevator


The Shopping Cart- I love the ending with the guy skateboard-propelling his shopping cart out to the parking lot!

SIGGRAPH and INTEL's Visual Adrenaline: Look what I found in my email today about 3D lighting, UV's, and dynamic volumetric cloud rendering for games!

I thought I'd share a few links sent to me via Intel's Software Dispatch for Visual Adrenaline about the upcoming ACM SIGGRAPH 2010 conference. The links are to well-written "how-to" articles in pdf format.

"To keep your adrenaline pumping while waiting for SIGGRAPH to start, here's a few juicy bits of inspiration:

		"Simulating Real-world Film Lighting Techniques in 3D. Light, shadows, and rendering play together to create realism in your 3D models. Learn to bring these art techniques into your 3D scenes to create compelling cinematic views."
		"Creating UVs for Characters in Autodesk Maya*. Regardless of whether you're using a model in a real-time environment or as part of a rendered sequence, here are some tips and tricks to making UV mapping work efficiently."
		"Dynamic Volumetric Cloud Rendering for Games on Multi-Core Platforms. Learn how the LuckyCloud demo implemented a solution for real-time dynamic simulation and illumination of clouds that didn't impact performance during game play."

By the way, the conference will be held from July 25-29 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Graphene: Flexible touch screen, made from a sheet of carbon the thickness of one atom!

Catching up on reading the MIT Technology Review, I came across an article written by Nidhi Subbaraman about the use of graphene to make flexible displays:

Flexible Touch Screen Made with Printed Graphene:  Sheets of atom-thick carbon could make displays that are super-fast

The most recent version of graphene was created by researchers in Korea at the Sungkyunkwan University, in collaboration with Samsung.  According to the article, graphene was discovered over thirty years ago, but only recently have researchers been able to produce it in large mono-layers. This flexibility looks like it will have possibilities for future display applications, as noted in the video clip below the photos.

Photo Credit: Byung Hee Hong, SKKU.

Photo Credit: Impact Lab
"Future Applications of Graphene"


RELATED
Roll-to-roll production of 30-inch graphene films for transparent electrodes
Nature Nanotechnology 6/20/2010
Sukang Bae, Hyeongkeun Kim, Youngbin Lee, Xiangfan Xu, Jae-Sung Park, Yi Zheng, Jayakumar Balakrishnan, Tian Lei, Hye Ri Kim, Young Il Song, Young-Jin Kim, Kwang S. Kim, Barbaros Özyilmaz, Jong-Hyun Ahn, Byung Hee Hong & Sumio Iijima
ABSTRACT:
"The outstanding electrical¹, mechanical^2, 3 and chemical^4, 5 properties of graphene make it attractive for applications in flexible electronics^6, 7, 8. However, efforts to make transparent conducting films from graphene have been hampered by the lack of efficient methods for the synthesis, transfer and doping of graphene at the scale and quality required for applications. Here, we report the roll-to-roll production and wet-chemical doping of predominantly monolayer 30-inch graphene films grown by chemical vapour deposition onto flexible copper substrates. The films have sheet resistances as low as ~125 Ω □⁻¹ with 97.4% optical transmittance, and exhibit the half-integer quantum Hall effect, indicating their high quality. We further use layer-by-layer stacking to fabricate a doped four-layer film and measure its sheet resistance at values as low as ~30 Ω □⁻¹ at ~90% transparency, which is superior to commercial transparent electrodes such as indium tin oxides. Graphene electrodes were incorporated into a fully functional touch-screen panel device capable of withstanding high strain."


Korean Researchers Open Door to Bendable Electronics
(Includes information from an interview with Hong Byung-hee, a chemistry professor at Sungkyunkwan University)
Graphene OLED Thin Film Displays


Nanogenerators:  Fully Rollable Transparent Nanogenerators Based on Graphene Electrodes Advanced Materials, Vol.22, No. 19 5/18/2010

Earthquake in Canada: Did You Feel It? USGS Interactive Earthquake Website

Today there was an earthquake in Canada on the Ontario-Quebec border region.  It was felt around the region, including Michigan.  Curious, I took a look at the United States Geological Survey interactive website about earthquakes to learn more: Did You Feel It?  The Science Behind the Maps

Here's some info about the earthquake from the USGS website:

"This earthquake occurred near the southern edge of the Western Quebec Seismic Zone. Earthquakes within this zone are mostly small. They tend to cluster in a wide area that is slightly elongated northwest-southeast. Historically, earthquakes in the Western Quebec Seismic Zone have caused damage roughly once a decade. Three or four smaller events each year are felt in the region but are generally too small to cause damage. The largest earthquakes known in this part of Canada occurred in 1935 (M6.1), about 250 km (150 miles) to the northwest of todays event, and in 1732 (M6.2), about 150 km (100 miles) to the east. The 1732 earthquake caused significant damage in Montreal" -USGS


Here are a few videos uploaded to the web regarding the earthquake, which provide the human side of the story:






EARTHQUAKE IN QUEBEC: "I think we DID have one"


For some reason, I like this one. The man is narrating a video clip about the BP spill, pretty boring, and at 1:15 or so, he notices that the ground is shaking. He tells someone in the background to go outside. I like the Canadian accents.

Updated: Coding for Multimedia Interaction On ( and Around) Screens of All Sizes - with some interesting links

The last time I created an application for a mobile device was about four years ago.  It was in the olden days when most of us knew nothing about multi-touch interaction on any size or sort of display.  Soon after that, I focused my work on large displays, and tried not to get too distracted by the iPhone when it was introduced.

I can't ignore the iPad, as I think it holds a ton of potential for education and supporting people with special needs.

I can't ignore Android, since I have an Incredible. (I'm tethered to a never-ending family contract with Verizon.)

I have to figure things out during my summer break, right?  Brushing up on my "old" coding skills won't move me forward. Soooooo.......

On top of everything else* I'm trying to pack in,  I plan to take a peek at Sencha Touch  http://www.sencha.com/products/touch/, an HTML 5 mobile application framework that allows for Apple iOS and Google Android touchscreen devices.

I am searching for the magic solution that will allow the development of applications that allow for smooth interaction across screens of all sizes, from smartphones to huge displays.

Summer is a great time for dreaming and searching, but it is so short.  Time-saving advice from my readers would be greatly appreciated!  I'm also looking for good information about programming for stereoscopic 3D games for my series of posts about 3D innovations.

*What I'm trying to pack in:
Volunteering for the Society for Information Display, working on a SMARTTable app, exploring ideas for a multi-dimensional  interactive timeline, etc.

RELATED
Parallel Timelines


SOMEWHAT RELATED
FYI:  Recent posts on The World Is My Interface blog
WSJ's Interactive Graphics:  China's Housing Markets, via Innovative Interactivity
The First Self-replicating Cell with a Computer for a Parent:  Synthetic Life
More TED Talks:  Chip Conley's discussion about measuring what makes life worthwhile
Fractals in our world:  "I'm a mathemetician and I'd like to stand on your roof" - Ron Eglash on African Fractals

Coding for Multimedia Interaction On (and Around) Screens of All Sizes

Here is the updated version of post:

http://interactivemultimediatechnology.blogspot.com/2010/06/updated-coding-for-multimedia.html

Link - Women in Tech: Building Confidence and Visibility, via the Glass Hammer, by Melissa J. Anderson

 
Women in Tech: Building Confidence and Visibility
Melissa J. Anderson, the Glass Hammer, 6/15/10


The Glass Hammer is an on-line community "designed for women executives in financial services, law, and business."   I recently came across the Glass Hammer website when I followed a link to an interesting article written by Melissa J. Anderson, about women in technology.  Melissa Anderson, the author of the article, is the associate editor of the Glass Hammer, and is completing a Master's degree at NYU in Media, Culture, and Communication.

Nicki Gilmour, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, is the woman behind this organization, with a background in the media industry. She is also the CEO of Evolved People Media.

You can follow Glass Hammer on Twitter, Mixx, Digg , Delicious, become a Glass Hammer friend on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/theglasshammer)  or join groups on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Contributing writers at the Glass Hammer at the time of this post:

- Pamela Weinsaft (New York City)
- Elizabeth Harrin (London)
- Andrea Newell (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
- Liz O’Donnell (Boston)
- Natalie Sabia (New York City)
- Caroline Shannon (Dayton, Ohio)
- Jessica Titlebaum (Chicago)
- Tina Vasquez (Los Angeles)
- Gigi DeVault (Munich)

RELATED
Women in IT: The Facts
(Downloadable from the National Center for Women and Information Technology website)

Kinect Sensor for Xbox 360 Offers Full-Body and Gesture Interaction: No controllers or remotes!

Project Natal was the code name for the Kinect Sensor for Xbox 360. For $149.99 you can pre-order your very-own system from the Microsoft Store that will allow you to interact with video games with your body alone. No need for controllers or 'motes!

Presentation about the fitness benefits of the Kinect Sensor for Xbox 360:



This video is a preview of a dance game for the Xbox using the Kinect Sensor:


It would be great if I could do my Zumba moves with Kinect Sensor system and a great Xbox application!

Here's another video that explains the system in more detail, with brief interviews of innovators from Microsoft:


Here is a copy of my previous post about Project Natal:

How It Works: Microsoft's Project Natal for the Xbox 360 video from Scientific American


Microsoft gathered a wealth of biometric data to recognize the range of human movement in order to develop an algorithm for the next generation of controller-less gaming. "Natal will consist of a depth sensor that uses infrared signals to create a digital 3-D model of a player's body as it moves, a video camera that can pick up fine details such as facial expressions, and a microphone that can identify and locate individual voices."


The technology behind Natal has the potential for a range of uses beyond gaming.

Scientific American article:
Binary Body Double:  Microsoft Reveals the Science Behind Project Natal for Xbox 360

iRiS: iPhone Remote Interaction System, Newly Updated

"We used Touch Projector to paint on a multimedia facade (here: Ars Electronica Center, Linz, Austria). Users simply aim their device at the facade causing the viewfinder to show the facade locally. In this local image, users can now draw with the selected color. The building then changes its color accordingly as if users directly painted on it."


iRiS Team:

Sebastian Boring (lead) (LINK:http://www.medien.ifi.lmu.de/team/sebastian.boring/) 
Sven Gehring

Alexander Wiethoff  http://www.medien.ifi.lmu.de/team/alexander.wiethoff/
Magdalena Blöckner
Johannes Schöning http://www.johannesschoening.de




Info about the iRiS team members - (will be updated)
Johannes Schöning works at the Innovative Retail Laboratory of the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) in Saarbruecken.  His research interests include new methods and interfaces to intuitively navigate through spatial information, and ways new intelligent interfaces can help people to solve daily tasks more effectively.  Johannes recently completed his Ph.D. at the Saarland University.  He runs the multi-touch Google group. (LINK: http://groups.google.de/group/multi-touch) Johannes is involved in a range of interesting professional activities.  He's currently looking for new opportunities.


Sebastian Boring started his Ph.D. thesis in April 200 6 at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and expectes to graduate July 2010.  He's a member of the Fluidum. His research interests include user interfaces for ubiquitous computing and instrumented environments, especially in interaction techniques for multiple devices and displays. He is also interested in 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling and animation, and computer vision.  (Sebastian has worked on projects to benefit assisting young people with autism).



Alexander Wiethoff is a passionate interaction designer committed to developing and implementing visionary strategies that support architectural, industrial and interaction design objectives. He works as a researcher in the field of Human-Computer Interaction at the University of Munich. Currently his key research focus is the analysis of design processes in the area of pervasive computing, the creation of work process tools that support communication of multidisciplinary teams and the design of usability testing methods in this domain.

FYI: RELATED PUBLICATIONS


SOMEWHAT RELATED
Urban Screens Conference and  Exhibition:  Calls for Interactive Media and Video Art (2010) 
More Urban Screens and 3D Media Facades
Book:  Media Facades:  History, Technology, and Content (M. Hank Haeusler)
3D Projections on Buildings: A distinctive way of communicating
Communicating Through Architecture:  Media Facades and the Digital Infrastructure  The Rathous (Contains an assortment of videos and pictures)
Art and Commerce Meet on Building's Interactive Media Facades
Kelsey Keith, Fast Company, 10/2/2009

3D TV Post, Are we there yet?

Here is the link to my post, part of a series about 3D TV, on the Innovative Interactivity (II) blog:

3D TV: Are we there yet? 

Quick Post: iPad and Mobile Learning - mLearnCon June 15-17, San Diego

Sorry for the delay in posting this.  I've been more than busy lately!

Here is the plug for the mLearnCon conference, currently taking place, June 15-17 2010 in San Diego, CA:


"Join the mLearning vanguard as we explore the potentials (and pitfalls) for mobile learning!
mLearnCon is where every aspect of mobile learning including management strategies, platforms (SmartPhones, PDAs, iPods, Tablets, etc), operating systems (Android, BlackBerry, iPhone OS X, Palm, Symbian, Windows Mobile, etc.), authoring tools and technologies, content design & development, and best practices will be explored. Whether you are working in an academic, corporate, government, or military setting ... mLearnCon will give you the ideas, information, and community you and your organization need to succeed."

Link:  http://www.elearningguild.com/mLearnCon/content/1603/


RELATED
Marc Rosenberg's article provides a good overview of the game-changing issues surrounding e-learning, m-learning, and recent technological advances such as the iPad:

Marc My Words:  Thinking About Mobile Learning in the Age of iPad

3D TV on YouTube -- and the World Cup in 3D, too!

3D Update:  3D TV: Are we there yet?   (My post on the Innovative Interactivity (II) blog)

3D TV has been available on YouTube since mid-2009. For a brief overview, watch the following video from Epic Fu:

-jetsetshow

Grab your 3D glasses!

Peter Bradshaw's overview of YouTube in 3D: Go out there and make some 3d!

Nearly a year later, this short video clip has over 1,440,000 views. A sign of a meaningful trend?

YES!


UPDATE:  Links to information about the World Cup (Soccer) broadcasts in 3D:



-3dvision blog



-Graphic from Box Office Football:  Sky 3D-Will you watch the world cup in 3D Vote


AT &T U-Verse TV Launches ESPN 3D Channel for 2010 FIFA World CUP(TM)
(Auto-Mobi.Info)


ESPN 3D officially launches with FIFA World Cup coverage:  Live from Bristol
(Ben Drawbaugh, 6/11/10)
 "As for the tech side of things, ESPN was taking in the 1080i50 side by side 3D signal and converting it to the US-friendly 1080i60 side by side, and since DLP sets expect the checkerboard 3D format, a RealD POD was used to make the link between the cable set-top-box and the TV. The glasses were supplied by XpanD, but not the same universal shutter glasses that we expect to be available at retail soon."

Engdget Interview:  Chuck Pagano talks ESPN 3D, mobile streaming
(Darren Murph, 6/12/10)
"Chuck stated that ESPN first started taking the whole 3D idea seriously around four years ago, and while the FIFA World Cup feed isn't being shot / directed by ESPN, it's hard to turn down 25 live events in 3D that the entire world will take interest in. He noted that while DirecTV, Comcast and AT&T are signed on at launch, deals are in the works with "all available options" in the US; outside of America, he confessed that the company "isn't looking at anything internationally right now."'

RELATED
I'm Sold on 3D TVs...And I Kind of Hate Myself For It

(Mark Wilson, 1/11/10 Gizmodo)

"I wouldn't buy anything but a BIG 3D TV.

Without fail, the bigger the 3D, the better the illusion. Anything under 50 inches is basically a joke, unless it's your computer monitor or something. And I will say, even though Vizio's XVT Pro television wasn't my favorite experience (it's an LCD and thereby less smooth), the fact that it was 72-inches meant that a plane's wing almost hit me in the nose."

What's next on your 3D TV?  Get ready for 3D videogames!
(John Gaudiosi, Reuters/Christian Science Monitor 6/10/10)

-Newscom/Christian Science Monitor

PlayStation 3 to Soon Get Stereoscopic 3D Support in Firmware 3.3
(3D Vision Blog: A Normal User's Look Into the World of 3D Stereo Technologies)

Note:  I'll share more about 3D TV and related technologies in a post on the Innovative Interactivity blog this week.  There is a lot to learn!
 
 -XpanDX103 3D glasses universally compatible with 3DTVs, but not all wallets
(Richard Lawler, Engadget, 3/17/10)