Collaborative Travel Planning App for Microsoft Surface, by Object Consulting

Information from the Microsoft Surface YouTube Channel:
"Object Explore is a collaborative travel planner for use by travel consultants and consumers on Microsoft Surface. Explore deep levels of interactive content through intuitive navigation, ensuring the customer doesn't get lost in the process. All content is tailored to the current client and can be taken away through mobile or email. Object Explore is built upon Object Consulting's Object Zoom framework, which brings intuitive Zoom exploration to sectors including retail, finance and museums." - Object Consulting


SOMEWHAT RELATED
I worked on a collaborative travel planning application a few years ago for an HCI class project- before the Surface was unveiled by Microsoft.  It would have been fun to implement it in a Surface environment, since applications on the Surface can easily interface with mobile devices.

Below is a screenshot of a working prototype of "navSmart", a mash-up using photo-overlays linking to travel related information, including YouTube videos of related travel videos and information. You spin the globe around to explore possible destinations and vacation activities.   This concept worked best on a large touch-screen display.

What is new at SMART Technologies? 3D-Ready SMART Board 600i, Mixed Reality Document Camera, Scholastic's Story Stage App for the SMARTTable, an IPO, and more!

A lot is happening at one SMART Technologies, one of my favorite "interactive" companies.  Not long ago, SMART Technologies, a company most known for interactive whiteboards found in classrooms and businesses, acquired one of my favorite interactive touch-screen display companies, NextWindow. (SMART Technologies' acquisition of NextWindow: A "smart window" to the world)

SMART Technologies is moving ahead into the world of augmented reality (AR) with a new document camera.  The company's latest interactive whiteboard, the fourth generation 600i,  is ready for stereoscopic 3D content, which is on the way via the Discovery Channel and other media companies.  The SMARTTable looks like it will be provided with more content, at least in the UK, where Scholastic has partnered with SMART Technologies to provide multi-touch and multi-student interaction via the collaborative Story Stage application.

For those with money to invest, SMART Technologies has filed for a proposed initial IPO (Initial Public Offering).


-The SMART Table at Wolfe School 

New SMART Document Camera 330 is mixed reality ready:  Document camera enables exploration of 2D, 3D, animated and audio-enriched content
"Mixed Reality Technology -Manipulate and explore 2D, 3D, text, animation and audio-enriched content on the SMART Board interactive whiteboard by placing a physical object bearing a digital marker under the SMART Document Camera lens"


SMART introduces next-generation SMART Board™ 600i: New projector lowers total cost of ownership and is 3D-ready
"Available in both standard and widescreen formats, the latest generation of the 600i system features an improved and easy-to-use extended control panel (ECP) and a fully integrated short-throw projector that is 3D-ready and has a longer lamp life. The newly designed ECP is mounted to the interactive whiteboard bezel, not to the wall, making it aesthetically pleasing and easier to install."


SMART and Scholastic to develop multi-touch educational content:  Story Stage application for SMART Table to encourage student creativity and collaboration
"Story Stage is an easy-to-use resource designed to facilitate collaborative literacy work. The interactive activities use digital puppets to encourage pairs or groups of children to work together to create their own imaginative retellings of familiar stories."


SMART Classroom Suite 2010 enhances interactive learning: New version offers improved wireless performance and greater support for formative assessment
"The software combines classroom management, assessment, lesson creation and assignment management tools in one offering."


RELATED
SMART Technologies Files for Proposed Initial Public Offering: Stock to be listed on NASDAQ and TSX
Scholastic Story Stage
SOMEWHAT RELATED
Updates: Cognitive "bursts", technology-supported interactive whiteboards, digital storytelling, social skills, and reflections about a new SMARTtable. (long post)
SMART Technologies' acquisition of NextWindow: A "smart window" to the world
InfoComm AV Whitepaper:
Reaching Learners: Immersive Education through Interactive Multimedia (pdf)
By Lynn V. Marentette, Sp.A., NCSP and Anthony Uhrick, VP Sales & Marketing, NextWindow "The value of an immersive approach to education, using multimedia technologies, over traditional classroom environments."

Also posted on the TechPsych blog.

Multi-touch and NUI News: NUITEQ's Multi-touch Snowflake Suite for Windows 7

NUITEQ is a company that has been involved in multi-touch technologies for the past few years, and works diligently at ensuring that it keeps up with the evolution in interactive displays and software.  The company's Snowflake Suite is now available for Windows 7, and is compatible with 3M Touch Systems, N-trig, NextWindow, Lumino, and other third-party platforms.  

Here is the current compatibility list, and also a list of Snowflake Suite for Winodws 7 features:

Compatibility

* NextWindow platforms like HP TouchSmart IQ500, IQ770, IQ800 series and the Dell Studio One (all 2 touch)
* N-trig platforms like HP TouchSmart TX2, Dell Latitude XT/XT2 and others
* 3M Touch Systems multi-touch kit
* Lumio platforms
* dreaMTouch
* PQ Labs
* Wacom

Snowflake Suite for Windows 7 Features

* Detailed user manual included with FAQ

* Developed on fast and reliable C++ platform

* Intuitive

* Customizable backgrounds, logo's, images, 3d models, videos etc

* Gesture recognition library

* TUIO / OSC (Open Sound Control) support (sending and receiving events)

* Low level API

* Hardware accelerated rendering

* Support for wide variety of media types (jpg,jpeg,tga,png,dds,gif,tif, tiff, bmp,mov,avi,wav,ogg)

* Advanced window handler that supports scaling and rotation

* Audio support

* Multi-threaded resource handler (For fast data visualization)

Snowflake Suite is also compatible with the following systems:

* TouchCore 

* Visual Planet

* NextWindow

* NEXIO Plugin

RELATED 

NUITEQ now offers 3M 22" true multi-touch displays bundled with its Snowflake Suite software

"The 3M multi-touch displays support up to 20 finger touches simultaneously and come with a one year warranty. NUITEQ's Snowflake Suite, is included at no additional charge, offering the benefits of a complete bundled product of hardware and software, being the perfect solution to get started with multi-touch technology."

Brochure (pdf) 

NUITEQ Flat 46" Multi-touch LCD 

Photo Credit: NUITEQ

Case Study
"NUITEC freely assisted handicapped children with their education, by applying multi-touch technology for Action For Kids, a UK based national charity working with children and young people with physical and learning disabilities.The children used NUITEQ’s award winning multi-touch software product Snowflake Suite, to enhance their way of learning, by offering a more playful and intuitive solution, in comparison to conventional learning methods."

BP Oil Spill Multi-touch Map Mashup by Ideum

BP Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Multi-touch Exhibit

In response to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the team at Ideum has created a free version of their multi-touch-enabled Google Map and Flickr mashup application to educational organizations, including museums and aquariums.  The information included on the map includes oil spill and fishing restriction data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), along with pictures taken at the scene in and around the region of the spill.

Ideum is a company that "designs and creates interactive computer-based exhibits, multitouch installations, rich Internet applications, and social networking sites for museum and Web visitors. We work closely with museums, nonprofit organizations, and socially responsible companies to create memorable visitor experiences."   Ideum uses their own multi-touch framework called GestureWorks to create interactive applications.

Jim Spadaccini is the director and founder of Ideum. He formerly was the Director of Interactive Media at the Exploratorium in San Francisco.

Ideum is working on a version of the program optimized to work on 3M's  22" multi-touch system.  A single-touch version for the web might be available if there is interest.

RELATED

BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico Flickr Group

Ideum's oil spill-related pictures on Flickr

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

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

WONG - Multi-touch Pong Rerun - Link to Updated Game and Code (via Seth Sandler)

In 2007-2008 there were a handful of multi-touch concept demo videos created, accompanied by upbeat music. The song in this video would be great for the Glee iPad/iPhone app!

Wong was created by Seth Sandler, who recently cleaned up the code.  The latest version of Wong, along with the cleaned-up code,  can be found on the TechSparked website: http://techsparked.com/application/wall-pong

YouTube Video of WONG by Falcon4ever:


Here is a plug for Seth Sandler:

More Applications by Seth

Musical Squares

Audioshape Sequencer

Multitouch Gestures

Bloom

Multi

Quick Multi-touch News Links & Pics: GestureTek's 42-inch Multi-touch GestTable; NUITEQ News; 3M's 20 Touch Multi-touch, Visual Planet's Adjustable Multi-touch Surface....

MORE MULTI-TOUCH
GestureTek News

- GestureTek intros 42-inch multitouch GestTable, your HDTV suddenly turns jealous. (Darren Murph, Engadget, 6/9/10)
"This 42-inch beast of a table contains a multitouch LCD with a lovely 1080p resolution, which means that you could theoretically watch the next installation of the Batman series on the same surface that's holding your cup of joe."   (A 70-inch version will be coming soon...)   GestureTek (Thanks to Seth Sandler for the link!)
NUITEQ News
NUITEQ wins prestigious Red Herring 100 Europe award
N-trig to show NUITEQ's Snowflake Suite with stylus support at SID in Seattle on May 23-28
NUITEQ releases version 1.9.1 of its award-winning multi-touch software product Snowflake Suite





3M News  3M Touch Systems introduces a 20-Finger Multi-Touch Display (BusinessWire 5/25/10)   The 3M touch screen pictured below uses projected capacitive technology.

VISUAL PLANET News

Design and Technology Student creates Interactive Coffee table 5/5/10

Visual Planet’s ViP Interactive Foil has been innovatively used by a student from King’s School Sixth Form in Rochester, UK to create an aesthetically pleasing and extremely creative coffee table inviting interaction from the family.

NUITEQ’s Snowflake Suite now compatible with Visual Planet’s Dual Touch Zoom and Rotate Foils
4/2010 - aNUITEQ®, an award winning technology company, announced today that its multi-touch software product Snowflake Suite is compatible with the worlds number #1 touch foil from Visual Planet.

I like the adjustable multi-touch table from Visual Planet.   Details later!

Preview: Update on Touch & Multitouch Technologies, Websites, and Touch-Interactive Multimedia Apps

It is about time for an update about touch/gesture- interactive technologies.

I've been researching the latest in "touch" screens and new developments in interactive multi-media content.  In just one year, a multitude of websites have been transformed from static to interactive. 

Although the initial objective for some of these websites was to optimize the interface and navigation for people accessing websites via touch-screen cell phones,  some are ideal for use on touch-enabled slates, the iPad, and even larger touch screen displays and surfaces.   

Convergence seems to be the buzz word of the day.   Interactive TV.  Game sets with Internet access.  Movies on your cell phone.  Touch screen Coke machines displaying movie trailers.  What's happening now, and what is next?

I welcome input from my readers in the form of links to websites, university labs with grad students and professors who are obsessed with emerging interactive technologies, proof-of-concept video clips, video clips of related technologies that are new-to-market, etc.   

I will add video clips to the following playlist:

My Post-Wimp Explorer's Club YouTube Playlist 

FYI: I'm also in the middle of writing a series of posts about 3D television technologies for the Innovative Interactivity blog, and welcome input from my readers about this topic.

RELATED (Previous posts)

More Multi-touch

Updated:  More News, Videos, and Links about Multi-touch and Screen Technologies  (Lots of stuff!)

Applications for touch, multi-touch, and gesture interaction:  What's Marching to Market?

(the above post includes links to various multi-touch developer kits and resources)

IntuiLab's Interfaces

SMART Technologies Acquires NextWindow

Ideum's GestureWorks vs. Adobe AIR2 and Flash Player comparison of multi-touch and gesture support

News from NUITEQ and 3M

A few things from LM3Labs

Updates about NextWindow and Stantum; Upcoming Emerging Displays Conference

Interactive Mobile Multimedia

Multi-touch Linux on a Stantum Slate PC & More (links to a nice overview about multi-touch interaction from ENAC)

Multimedia, Multi-touch, Gesture, and Interaction Resources (needs a little updating)

Gesture Vocabulary from N-Trig: "N-act Hands-on"

N-Trig is a company founded in 1999 that provides pen and multi-touch solutions that integrate into LCDs and other devices, and provides opportunities for independent software vendors (ISVs) and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to create new interactive and hands-on computing experiences, according to the company's profile. The latest news about N-Trig's interactive capabilities was outlined in a recent article by DanaWollman, in Laptop:

N-Trig's Four-Fingered, Two-Handed Multi-touch Promises a World of New Gestures

I found the following video from N-Trig on YouTube, released on 5/11/10, that shows the new gesture set that is supported by N-Trig:

The N-act Gesture Set (depicted in the video below)
N-act3SideSweep for browsing, use fingers together for browsing
N-act2+1 - select from a displayed menu
N-act3Tap- displays open windows in a 3D carousel
N-act3Hold-rotates the 3D carousel
N-act2Scroll- scroll through a document
N-act2Tap-minimizes the open window, displays the desktop
N-act1Touch- select an item on the screen
N-act4Tap-displays customized, relevant list of web page icons; selected text/item is pasted into the chosen app.
N-act4Zoom-magnifies a movable selected area of the screen
N-act4Select-selects an area and opens a context sensitive menu

avitalntrig
Here is the promotional information from the YouTube video:
"This video demonstrates the N-trig N-act Gesture Vocabulary, a set of true multi-touch gestures for two plus one, three- and four-fingers, enabling users to perform an action directly on the screen, and providing a rich set of hand movements that enhance the overall user experience, enabling a whole new approach to how we interact with our computing devices, for a true Hands-on computing experience."


RELATED

N-Trig's Four-Fingered, Two-Handed Multi-touch Promises a World of New Gestures

Dana Wollman, 5/1/10, Laptop

www.n-trig.com
N-trig DuoSense Technology
The Future is Now:  Creating and Developing a Touch-Enabled World (pdf)
N-trig N-act Hands-On Gesture Vocabulary (N-Trig website)
Better Multi-Touch Displays Coming 
Mike Miller, Forward Thinking Blog, PC Mag (3/3/10)
DuoSense: Creating a Multi-touch Enabled World (November 2009)

Revisiting Razorfish: Emerging Experiences, RockstAR application, and more...

I've written a few posts about Razorfish in the past. What is Razorfish?

"The Razorfish Emerging Experiences team is a dedicated group of highly experienced professionals focused solely on emerging experiences and technologies. "Effective innovation" is our multifaceted approach to concepting and delivering pioneering solutions for our clients."

Razorfish has forged ahead into very interesting-and fun- territory. Here is a video of the RockstAR application. It combines multi-touch technology and augmented reality, utilizing the Razorfish Vision Framework (RVT), integrated with the Razorfish Touch Framework.

RockstAR (Augmented Reality) Experience Demo from Razorfish - Emerging Experiences on Vimeo.


A recent post on the Razorfish Emerging Experiences blog provides a detailed account of the technology that was pulled together to make it happen in the post, The Technology Behind RockstAR. The application is integrated into Twitter and Flickr.

-Razorfish Emerging Experiences Blog
"For the RockstAR experience, we are analyzing each frame coming from an infrared camera to determine if faces are found in the crowd. Once a face is detected, it is assigned a unique ID and tracked. Once receive a lock on the face, we can pass position and size information to the experience where we can augment animations and graphics on top of the color camera feed."


RELATED
One of my previous posts includes a video of the Razorfashion application, which highlights the Razorfish Touch Framework:


Razorfish's Touch Framework "Razorfashion" - A lot like my idea for an in-home FashionMirrorAdvisor...


I'm still hoping to work on my FashionMirrorAdvisor - but with a twist. Now that I have a smartphone, I want to incorporate a mobile app into the concept. Guys probably just wouldn't understand.  (However, something like this would make a nice gift for a guy who is a bit lacking in the fashion department.)


Below is a remix of my previous post


RAZORFISH'S TOUCH FRAMEWORK:  RAZORFASHION - A LOT LIKE MY IDEA FOR AN IN-HOME FASHIONMIRRORADVISOR (5/23/09)


Razorfish recently unveiled the Razorfashion application designed to provide shoppers with an engaging retail experience within the "multi-channel shopping ecosystem". I'm not the "shop to you drop" type of gal, but I can see that this concept could be useful in other situations, after a few tweaks.

Razorfashion Retail Experience from Razorfish - Emerging Experiences on Vimeo.

As soon as I saw this Razorfish Touch "Fashion" demo video, it touched a nerve. I've been playing around with a similar idea, but for my personal use, in the form of an RFID-enabled system. I'd call it something like "FashionMirrorAdvisor".


Instead of showing skinny fashion models like the Razorfashion application, I'd harness the power of built-in web-cam and mirror my own image on the screen. My mirror would dress me up in the morning when I'm way too foggy to think about matching colors and accessories.
     
My FashionMirrorAdvisor would be my friend. My "smart" friend, since all of my clothes would be RFID-tagged, along with my shoes, jewelry, and other accessories. My make-up, too. It would be a no-brainer. I really could use this application - just ask my husband!


More often than not, most mornings I find myself staring at the clothes in my closet, frozen in time, unable to formulate a fashion thought. I might set my eyes on a favorite blouse, but blank out when I try to think about the rest of the steps I need to pull my look together.
     
I know I can't wear my reddish-pink camisole with my dusty-orange/brown slacks, but at 5:15 A.M., who has the time to think about this little detail? My friend, the TouchFashionMirror would prevent me from making this fashion faux-pas.
     
No problem.
     
My FashionMirrorAdvisor would show me a few outfits, and dress my real-time moving image on the screen. Since she knows all things, she'd show me ONLY the articles of clothing that were clean, since my RFID system would keep up with all of that. It would be much more functional than a "virtual wardrobe" application. I could try out different earrings without having to get them out.
     
If I couldn't find something, the RFID system would take care of this detail. My FashioMirrorAdvisor would know where I misplaced my clothes, accessories, and even my keys, since they would all be tagged. The mirror application would provide me with a nice little map of my house and car, and highlight the location of the item.
     
My FashionMirrorAdvisor would keep track of my laundry, too. This would be a great feature. So if my dirty laundry was piling up, and I wanted to wear outfit X, Y, or Z over the next few days, I'd receive a gentle reminder that I'd need to do some laundry first!


Another practical feature:
     
My FashionMirrorAdvisor would also serve as my health consultant, keeping track of my weight and BMI. This data, along with information gained from the webcam, would be combined so that my advisor would NEVER suggest an outfit that would be too...snug.


I could program the system to provide me with gentle reminders if my weight was an issue. My FashionMirrorAdvisor would show me images of myself "before" and "after", outfits included.

Information about the "after" outfits could be fed to the system from the web-catalogs of my favorite fashion retailers, and once I lost those 10 darned pounds, I'd find a nice parcel delivered to my door. Thanks to my FashionMirrorAdvisor, I know that the outfit would be just right.


UPDATE 5/8/10:  The FashionMirrorAdvisor would be integrated with a mobile app - since I now have a smartphone, this would be quite useful in planning shopping trips centered around the purchase of new clothes, shoes, accessories, and coordinating cosmetics!  I created a little game  that I think would be ideal for this sort of thing, too.   I still want to work on this....someday. Too many ideas, too little time!


ALSO RELATED
From the Razorfish site:
"The Razorfish Emerging Experiences team is a dedicated group of highly experienced professionals focused solely on emerging experiences and technologies. "Effective innovation" is our multifaceted approach to concepting and delivering pioneering solutions for our clients"

"Founded in 2008, Razorfish Emerging Experiences is a cross-functional team composed of strategists, artists, experience designers, and technologists. We’re part of the Razorfish Strategy & Innovation practice led by Shannon Denton. Jonathan Hull is the managing director of the team, Steve Dawson is the technology lead and Luke Hamilton is the creative lead."
Razorfish
Razorfish Emerging Experiences Portfolio
Razorfish Emerging Experiences Blog
Razorfish Emerging Experiences on Vimeo


RELATED 5/8/10
Razorfish Health (Fun music on the home page!)
Razorfish Establishes Cloud Computing Practice
Douglas Quenqua, ClickZ 4/15/10
The Razorfish 5: Five Technologies that Will Change Your Business
Razorfish Whitepapers


If you are looking for a job, you might be interested in the openings at Razorfish. Before applying, take a look at what is expected:
"You dream in digital. You're fluent in the technologies that define our world and passionate about the way they're shaping our future.  You're a communicator. A creator. You understand how the Web connects us, and you want to shape the conversation. You're a restless innovator.  you're not only waiting for the next big idea to happen, you're making it happen.  You're a unique talent, a visionary, an experimenter, and you're looking for an environment that lets you shine. In other words, you're just our type...."


FYI
When I visited the Razorfish website, I noticed that the background appeared to be a live feed of the offices. Since today is Saturday, it makes sense that the only person busy at the office was a custodian. Below is the screenshot:

Multi-touch application developed by an all-women team from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology for the Imagine Cup Competition

According to a recent article from the Microsoft News Center, "statistics from high schools and universities suggest that percentage won’t change any time soon. Only 17 percent of Advanced Placement (AP) computer science test-takers in 2008 were women, even though women represented more than half of all AP test-takers. At the college level, fewer than one in five computer and information science degrees were awarded to women."


Microsoft's Imagine Cup competition is a way to encourage female students that they can use technology to help make the world a better place, and that computer science is a field that provides an outlet for creativity a innovation.

One of the teams that participated in the Imagine Cup Competition was "Team Blob". The young women in this team attend South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Their work can be seen in the video presentation of Team Blob's Multi-touch Designer, which allows teachers to create multi-touch presentations for their students. The application was written in C# using Windows Presentation Foundation.


The team developed a interactive timeline to highlight history's famous women in math and science, and demonstrated it on a 40-inch multi-touch table to girls who visited their university campus. The time-line can be seen in the video clip at about 3:34.

"Team Blob members, from left, Lori Rebenitsch, Robyn Krage and Jaelle Scheuerman demo their application that aims to bring emerging multitouch technology into K-12 classrooms. The all-woman team is from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology."

Interactive Multi-Touch for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Research and Apps by Juan Pablo Hourcade, Thomas Hanson, and Natasha Bullock-Rest, University of Iowa

Dr. Juan Pablo Hourcade heads a team of researchers at the University of Iowa who are creating multi-touch applications and other technologies to support communication, collaboration, creativity, and self-expression for young people with Autism Spectrum Disorders.  The picture below is a screen shot of the team's web page that includes a few videos of the team's important work: (Videos can be found on the Technologies for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders webpage.)

RELATED VIDEOS

pymt demo reel from Thomas Hansen on Vimeo.


Multi Touch @ University of Iowa from Thomas Hansen on Vimeo.


RELATED
Hourcade, J.P., & Hansen, T.E. (2010). Multitouch Displays to Support Preschool Children's Learning in Mathematics, Reading, Writing, Social Skills and the Arts (pdf)


Dr. Hourcade is organizing the Digital Technologies and Marginalized Youth workshop on Satuirday, June 12, 2010 at the 9th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children (IDC), which will be held this year in Barcelona, Spain.


Other workshops that will be held at IDC 2010:
Interactive Storytelling for Children
Extended Abstract: Interactive Storytelling for Children (pdf)
Designing Tangibles for Children
Play and Technology:  How does technology initiate and facilitate physical play?


Dr. Hourcade's publications

SMART Technologies Acquires NextWindow

Here is the scoop from PR Web:

SMART Acquires NextWindow Acquisition extends SMART’s presence into broader consumer market and strengthens IP portfolio Calgary, AB (Vocus/PRWEB ) April 25, 2010 -- SMART Technologies, the world’s leading provider of interactive whiteboards, announces the acquisition of New Zealand-based NextWindow (Next Holdings Limited), a leading designer and manufacturer of optical touch technology for integration into all-in-one computers, computer displays and large-format screens. The acquisition reinforces SMART’s own investment in optical touch research and development, and combines the two companies’ significant optical touch patent portfolios. The NextWindow acquisition is expected to have minimal impact on both businesses’ day-to-day operations, offices and company structure. Both SMART and NextWindow are privately held companies. NextWindow supplies optical touch components to manufacturers of PCs and other interactive displays. Its touch components are used in PCs and monitors sold by Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Medion, NEC, Samsung and Sony. The acquisition extends SMART’s current presence in the education, business and government sectors into the broader consumer market. SMART is also expanding its business in Asia, where NextWindow has already been active. In the past year, NextWindow has developed an Asian presence in Singapore, Taiwan and Korea. SMART serves a range of markets, and it is timely to diversify our revenue base beyond the sectors we already serve NextWindow‘s core values, business model, patent portfolio and focus on the consumer market make it an attractive acquisition for us. We are combining two companies with complementary expertise and a remarkably similar culture focused on innovation and excellence NextWindow’s development of optical touch technology complements SMART’s efforts, and I’m delighted that we are becoming part of SMART. “SMART serves a range of markets, and it is timely to diversify our revenue base beyond the sectors we already serve,” says Nancy Knowlton, SMART’s CEO. “NextWindow‘s core values, business model, patent portfolio and focus on the consumer market make it an attractive acquisition for us.” “We are combining two companies with complementary expertise and a remarkably similar culture focused on innovation and excellence,” says Al Monro, NextWindow’s CEO. “NextWindow’s development of optical touch technology complements SMART’s efforts, and I’m delighted that we are becoming part of SMART.” In the transaction, RBC Capital Markets were financial advisors to SMART and Cowen and Company, LLC were financial advisors to NextWindow. About NextWindow Founded in 2001, NextWindow is a designer and manufacturer of optical touch screens for integration into all-in-one computers, computer displays and large-format screens. NextWindow is a leader in optical touch technology, enabling OEMs, ODMs and resellers to add touch-screen capability to their products. With offices in New Zealand, Taiwan, Singapore and the United States, the company provides cost-effective manufacturing for PCs as well as customized solutions for kiosks, digital signage and interactive education. www.nextwindow.com About SMART SMART Technologies, the global leader in interactive whiteboards, develops easy-to-use integrated products and services that can improve the way the world works and learns. For more than 20 years, innovation and commitment to excellence have been at the core of our business. We help educators achieve better results with technology products that support student-centered learning. We help businesses become more productive with easy-to-use collaboration solutions that enable better results. Our success is driven by our deep commitment to and engagement with both the education and business communities. www.smarttech.com For more information, please contact: Marina Geronazzo Manager, Public Relations SMART Technologies Phone +1.403.407.5088 Cell +1.403.605.6607 Web www.smarttech.com ### RELATED Calgary's Smart Technologies acquires high-tech rival. Dan Healing, Calgary Herald, 4/26/10 SMART Technologies acquires NextWindow to move into the touch screen business Dean Takahashi, VenureBeat 4/25/10 NextWindow, shunned by local investors, goes to offshore buyer Chris Keall, 4/26/10, The National Business Review (NZ) [UPDATE: A spokeswoman for NextWindow told NBR the company's NZ office would be retained in the wake of the Smart Technology deal, and that there would be no change to staff.] "NextWindow revenue surged to $40 million last year (from the previous year's $6.5 million) as Microsoft’s Windows 7 software helped push its touchscreen technology toward the mainstream.  The Auckland-based company sells its touchscreen panel to Dell, HP, Sony, NEC and other large computer companies. HP’s TouchSmart series (pictured above) is one line of PCs that features technology made by NextWindow."