Xbox One and Kinect 2 for the Playground of the Future

Xbox One and Kinect 2, Playground of the Future

The big news in tech today is the unveiling of the new Xbox One/Kinect 2 system.  For now, the video below might be the closest you'll get to the system.  Wired's senior editor, Peter Rubin had a chance to interview Scott Evans, of Microsoft, as he demonstrated the fascinating technical details in a family-room type setting.

Wired's interview of Scott Evans and demo of the new Xbox One and Kinect 2, using Active IR technology.

From what I learned, the new Kinect sensor has six times the fidelity of the previous version. Paired with the new Xbox One, it can do amazing things.  Engineers from around the world collaborated on this project, providing expertise in facial recognition, digital signal processing, speech recognition, machine learning, and computer vision.  The Xbox One is fueled by an 8-core x86 processor, supported by 8GB of RAM, which is sure to handle the hardest gamer's needs. It also includes a 500GB hard drive and an HD Blu-ray player.


The new system was designed to enhance the gaming/user experience. The 1080p camera provides a field of view that is 60 degrees larger than its  predecessor, and can handle a high level of detail.  It provides a better means of interpreting movement and orientation, and it processes skeleton and hand movements more precisely.  The system features "muscle man", a human-based physics model that is layered over the skeleton and depth map. It senses and calculating the forces the player uses while moving in a game. 

What I find interesting is that the camera can detect the player's pulse by measuring subtle changes of the skin that can't be perceived by the naked eye.  It also can quickly identify each player (it handles up to six), and identify facial expressions.  The active IR (infrared) system provides the system with better accuracy than the original Kinect. 

I wasn't able to find out much information regarding privacy issues with this system.  This is a concern, since it can sense your physiological responses, movement patterns, and facial expressions.  Over time, a good deal of very personal information would be gathered about each user. I shudder to think about the consequences if the data fell into the wrong hands.  

Possibilities for Special Needs Populations

I can see that the Xbox One + Kinect 2 system has the potential for games and other interactive applications for use in physical rehabilitation and fitness.  Since it can interpret facial expressions, it could also provide a way to support social skills learning among children and teens who have autism spectrum disorders.

RELATED

Microsoft invests a good deal of attention to proof-of-concept projects that may or not become part of a commercial product.  Below is an example of IllumiRoom:

Hrvoje Benko, of Microsoft Research, discusses the IllumiRoom concept during an interview at CHI 2013.

Xbox One Website
The new Xbox One Kinect tracks your heart rate, happiness, hands and hollers
Matthew Panzarino, The Next Web, 5/22/13
Kinect 2 Full Video Walkthrough: The Xbox Sees You Like Never Before
Kyle Wagner, Gizmodo, 5/21/13
Hands-on with prototypes of the Xbox One and New Kinect Sensor
Ben Gilbert, engadget, 5/21/13
Efficient Human Pose Estimation from Single Depth Images
Shotton, J., Girshick, R., Fitzgibbon, A., Sharp, T., Cook, M., Finocchio, M., Moore, R., Kohli, P., Crinisi, A., Kipman, A., Blake, A.   Video
Consumer Depth Cameras for Computer Vision:  Research Topics and Applications
Fossati, A., Gall, J., Grabner, H., Ren, X., Konolige, K. (Eds.)
Xbox One: Microsoft's supergeeks reveal what's inside the hardware
Dean Takahashi, VentureBeat, 5/21/13
Next Xbox Will Face New Array of Rivals
Nick Wingfield, New York Times, 5/21/13

TWINE video and the Supermechanical Blog: Moving Toward the Web of People and Things!

"A wireless square with sensors and a simple web app to set rules, Twine tells you what your things are doing by email, text or Twitter."   I want one!

This project was developed by David Carr and John Kestener, the designer-engineers behind Supermechanical. They are passionate about creating connectable objects.They honed their skills in the interdisciplinary  MIT Media Lab.  


More information about Twine can be found on the KICKSTARTER website.  Here is a bite of info from the site for the tech-curious:

"Twine is a wireless module tightly integrated with a cloud-based service. The module has WiFi, on-board temperature and vibration sensors, and an expansion connector for other sensors. Power is supplied by the on-board mini USB or two AAA batteries (and Twine will email you when you need to change the batteries)."
"The Spool web app makes it simple to set up and monitor your Twines from a browser anywhere. You set rules to trigger messages — no programming needed. The rules are put together with a palette of available conditions and actions, and read like English: WHEN moisture sensor gets wet THEN tweet "The basement is flooding!" We'll get you started with a bunch of rule sets, and you can share rules you create with other Twine owners."
"Because the hardware and software are made for each other, setup is easy. There's nothing to install — just point Twine to your WiFi network. Sensors are immediately recognized by the web app when you plug them in, and it reflects what the sensors see in real time, which makes understanding and testing your rules easy."

RELATED

Supermechanical Blog

Le Chal: Smart shoes for the visually impaired, with haptic//vibrational feedback, sensors and GPS

Le Chal is a haptic/vibrational feedback shoe designed for the blind and visually impaired, on of the projects of Anirudh Sharma, a member of the NUI Group (Natural User Interface).  Le Chal was conceptualized at the 2011 MIT Media Lab Design and Innovation Workshop at COEP.
Take me there Shoe/ Le Chal

Shoe for visually impaired - Le Chal Himanshu Khanna, 10/31/11

RELATED
touchaddict blog

TEDTalk: Carlo Ratti, of MIT's SENSEable City Lab - Flying Pixels-Helicopters, Sensors, Actuators, 3D Reconstruction of Movement, an Interactive "Cloud", and more

If you are interested in new interactive technologies, take 15 minutes to watch Carlo Ratti's TEDTalk about the work of MIT's SENSEable City lab:

Carlo Ratti is the director of the MIT SENSEable City Lab. He's a civil engineer and architect interested in sensors, hand-held electronics and the built environments of cities, and how data generated by sensors can be used to create new interactive, artistic environments.


In this March 2011 TED Talk, Ratti discusses how data from passive data sets, such as phone calls, can be harnessed to create visualizations that represent the life and interactions that take place in cities.  These visualizations are made interactive through the use of sensors and human gestures.


RELATED
SENSEABLE Website
Below are some examples of projects of the SENSEable City Lab:
Flyfire "...the Flyfire project sets out to explore the capabilities of this display system by using a large number of self-organizing micro helicopters.  Each helicopter contains small LEDs and acts as a smart pixel.  Through precisely controlled movements, the helicopters perform elaborate and synchronized motions and form an elastic display surface for any desired scenario...The Flyfire canvas can transform itself from one shape to another or morph a two-dimensional photographic image into an articulated shape...." -info from the Flyfire website
The Cloud (+atmos page)



"The CLOUD proposes an entirely new form of observation deck, connecting visitors for both the whole of London and the whole of the world, immersing them in euphoric gusts of weather and digital data.  Each individual footstep on the ascent to the CLOUD participates in a vast collective energy-harvesting effort.  Everyone around the world can contribute to the Cloud-whether by visiting or by sponsoring and LED, helping to keep the London lamp aflame." The CLOUD website
Real Time Rome
Trash|Track
Digital Water Pavillion

Emerging Interactive Ed. Tech: Classmate Assist and Wayang Outpost -Sensors, AI, and Context Awareness for Learning -and Teaching

Brief background: I've been following developments in intelligent tutoring systems for a while, and find it interesting to see how researchers are combining artificial intelligence, learning theory, affective computing, and sensor networks to create applications that might prove to be useful and effective.

The advantage of using intelligent tutoring applications in some cases is that it provides students with additional support and feedback the moment it is needed, something that is difficult for teachers to provide to students in large classrooms. With the increase in use of smartphones and other mobile devices such as the iPad, there is a good chance that this sort of technology will be used to support learning anywhere, anytime.

Although most intelligent tutoring systems are geared for 1-1 computing, I think there are some components that could be tweaked and then transfered to create intelligent "tutoring" systems for collaborative learning. Students like game-based learning, and what could be more fun than playing AND learning with a partner or group of peers? (I plan to revisit the research in this area in an upcoming post.)

Some thoughts:I envision a system could support learning as well as important skills useful to students in life beyond the school walls, such as positive social interaction, teamwork, and problem-solving skills. The path of least resistance? Most likely applications that support the learning of pairs or small groups of students working at one display. However, in this era of the "21st Century Learner", there is a growing need for applications that can support small groups of students for collaborative groups and project-based learning activities.

There are a few applications developed for collaborative learning activities around a multi-touch table, such as the SMARTTable or the Surface, and more are needed. Also needed are intelligent systems that can support video conferencing and collaborative learning between students who are not physically co-located.

There are some problems that have yet to be solved. For example, the use of multiple sensors for an application designed for young people might be too intrusive. There are serious issues related to privacy/security. Who would have access to data regarding a student's emotional or physiological state? How would this data be utilized? How would this information be protected? Many school districts have security vulnerabilities, so it is possible that this information could be misused, if in the wrong hands.

Below I've highlighted two "intelligent" tutoring systems that incorporate the use of sensors in one form or another to generate information about student learning in a way that simulates what good teachers do every day. The ClassroomAssist application was developed by researchers at Intel, in collaboration with several universities. The Wayang Outpost application was developed by researchers at UMASS, and is aligned with the principles of Universal Design for Learning.

CLASSROOM ASSIST
ClassmateAssist is an application developed by Intel's Everyday Sensing and Perception team. Here is the description of the application from Intel Research:"The advent of 1:1 computing in the classroom opens the door for teachers to set up individualized learning for their students who have a wide spectrum of interests and skills. ClasmateAssist technology uses computer vision and image projection to assist and guide students in a 1:1 learning environment, helping them to independently accomplish tasks at their own pace, while at the same time allowing teachers to be apprised of student progress."

In the following video, Richard Beckwith, a developmental psychologist at Intel, demonstrates a prototype of an application that uses video-sensing to track student's hand movements during a coin sorting lesson. The application provides feedback to the student, and also tracks data about the student's progress that can be transformed into a report for the teacher. The system can also monitor student's facial expression, note attention levels, and provide feedback.

Intel Research: Everyday Sensing and Perception

Socially and Physically Aware Interaction Systems (SPAIS)

SPAIS Publications:

Theocharous, G., Beckwith, R., Butko, N., Philipose, M. Tractable POMDP Planning Algorithms for Optimal Teaching in "SPAIS". International Joint Conferene on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI) workshop on Plan Activity, and Intent Recognition (PAIR), Pasadena, California, July 2009.

 May 2010.

Theocharous, G., Butko, N., Philipose, M. Designing a Mathematical Manipulatives Tutoring System using POMDPS. (pdf). POMDP Practitioners Workshop: Solving Real-world POMDP Problems, International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS). Toronto, May 2010

Intel Research Press kit

Wayang Outpost: Web-based Interactive Math/Intelligent Tutoring System, with Sensors.

I've followed the work of Beverly P. Woolf and her colleagues for some time.  Much of their research has centered around a web-based application, Wayang Outpost, an intelligent electronic tutoring system that incorporates multimedia and animated adventures while providing activities designed to prepare teens for standardized math tests, such as the SAT and state-mandated end-of-course exams.

In recent years, the team has been using non-invasive sensors in their research, including a camera that views facial expressions, a posture-sensing device located in the seat of the student's chair, and a pressure-sensitive mouse, and a wireless skin conductance wristband. Data collected through all of these sensors can provide useful information about student learning.  The system can also note when students try to "game" the system.

Related Publications

Woolf, B.P., Arroyo, I., Muldner, K., Burleson, W., Cooper, D., Dolan, R., Christopherson, R.M (2010)The Effect of Motivational Learning Companions on Low Achieving Students and Students with Disabilties (pdf) International Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems, Pittsburgh.
Abstract "We report the results of a randomized controlled evaluation of the effectiveness of pedagogical agents as providers of affective feedback. These digital learning companion were embedded in an intelligent tutoring system for mathematics, and were used by approximately one hundred students in two public high schools. Students in the control group did not receive the learning companions. Results indicate that low-achieving students—one third of whom have learning disabilities—had higher affective needs than their higher achieving peers; they initially considered math problem-solving more frustrating, less exciting, and felt more anxious when solving math problems.  However, after they interacted with affective pedagogical agents, low-achieving students improved their affective outcomes, e.g., reported reduced frustration and anxiety."


Arroyo, I., Cooper, D.G., Burleson, W., Woolf, B.P., Muldner, K., Christopherson, R. (2009)

Emotion Sensors Go To School. AIED 2009. Pp. 17-24. IOS Press.
Low-tech description of Wayang Outpost, the math application used in the above publication: 

How's Your Math Mood?  Math software senses students' anxiety, boredom 

Paul Franz, Recoder.Com 5/16/09
Cooper, D.G., Arroyo, I., Woolf, B.P., Muldner, K., Burleson, W., Christoperson, R.  Sensors Model Student Self-Concept in the Classroom (pdf) UMass Amherst, June 22, 2009/UMAP 2009

Cross posted in the TechPsych Blog

PD-NET Project: "Exploring..large scale networks of pervasive public displays..."

I love the concept of interactive, networked public displays!   The PD-NET project has a fairly new website and a Facebook page.  If this interests you, take the time to learn about the PD-NET project, a collaborative effort between researchers from several different universities in Europe. I'd like to see this take hold in the US.  


PD-NET Project Objectives (From the PD-NET Website):

• To create enabling technologies for large-scale pervasive display networks through the design, development, and evaluation of a robust, scalable, distributed and open platform for interconnecting displays and their sensors.
• To establish Europe as the international centre for work on pervasive display networks.
• To address key scientific challenges that may inhibit the widespread adoption of pervasive display network technology:  Tensions between privacy and personalization, situated displays, business and legislative requirements, User Interaction.

Here is a list of participating universities and researchers, taken from the PD-NET website:

Participants from Lancaster University (UK):

Nigel Davies

Adrian Friday

Rachel Cooper

Hans Gellersen

Sara Clinch

Participants from University of Duisburg-Essen (Germany):

Albrecht Schmidt

Florian Alt

Dominik Bial

Participants from University of Lugano (Italy):

Marc Langheinrich

Nemanja Memarovic

Ivan Elhart

Participants from University of Minho (Portugal):

Rui José

Nuno Otero

Publication

J. Müller, F. Alt, D. Michelis, and A. Schmidt, "Requirements and Design Space for Interactive Public Displays," in Proceedings of the 18th annual ACM international conference on Multimedia (Multimedia 2010), to appear, 2010.

COMMENT

If you are familiar with this blog, you know that I am passionate about interactive displays, especially in public spaces.  I've devoted numerous posts to this topic on this blog, and also on  The World Is My Interactive Interface, a blog I started a few years ago when I was working on projects for large interactive displays.  


I am interested in how interactive displays, of any size, can be accessible and universally designed, especially those that can inter-operate with mobile devices, including devices that support communication for people with special needs.


SOMEWHAT RELATED
Here are links to some of my previous blogposts related to the topic of interactive displays in public spaces.  Some have links to scholarly publications.  
What is DOOH and Why Should We Care? (DOOH- Digital Out-Of-Home)
Interactive Displays and Interaction (Presentation via Daniel Michelis)
Thoughts about technology on a cruise ship, and other reflections
Multi-touch and gesture interaction out-and-about
UPDATED: More News, Videos, and Links about Multi-Touch and Screen Technologies
Technology-Supported Shopping and Entertainment User Experience at Ballantyne Village:  "A" for concept, "D" for touch screen usability.
Usability/Interaction Hall of Shame (In a Hospital)
Think Globally, Act Locally:  Exploring the Problem Space - Top-down, bottom-up, local and the global...

Morning Tech News: LED "Tatoos"; Sixth Sense Wearable Displays

Since I am usually crunched for time, I thought I'd try posting "morning tech news" on this blog in a brief format, and return to the topic later - hopefully later in the day or at the most, within the week.

If you are familiar with this blog, what I consider "news" is sometimes new to me.  It might be something that crossed my path a while ago and never posted.  It might be something that I missed.   It doesn't even have to be "news",  if it is something that is unique, catches my fancy, or is something that I think is an important innovation that should be followed and shared.

Today's news I caught from Wired, which linked to an article in MIT's Technology Review, "Implantable Silicon-Silk Electronics:  Biodegradable circuits could enable better neural interfaces and LED  tatoos", written by Katherine Bourzac.

"By building thin, flexible silicon electronics on silk substrates, researchers have made electronics that almost completely dissolve inside the body. So far the research group has demonstrated arrays of transistors made on thin films of silk. While electronics must usually be encased to protect them from the body, these electronics don't need protection, and the silk means the electronics conform to biological tissue. The silk melts away over time and the thin silicon circuits left behind don't cause irritation because they are just nanometers thick."


RELATED
WIRED's Gadget Lab:  The Illustrated Man:  How LED Tattos Could Make Your Skin a Screen Charlie Sorrel 11/20/09
"The silk substrate onto which the chips are mounted eventually dissolves away inside the body, leaving just the electronics behind. The silicon chips are around the length of a small grain of rice — about 1 millimeter, and just 250 nanometers thick. The sheet of silk will keep them in place, molding to the shape of the skin when saline solution is added.

These displays could be hooked up to any kind of electronic device, also inside the body. Medical uses are being explored, from blood-sugar sensors that show their readouts on the skin itself to neurodevices that tie into the body’s nervous system — hooking chips to particular nerves to control a prosthetic hand, for example."

Tatoo You:  Silicon LED's can act as photonic tattoos that can show blood sugar readings
-Surfdaddy Orca,  hplusmagaizine 11/17/09


"Brian Litt, associate professor of neurology and bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania, is working with researchers from Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois and Tufts University to develop medical applications for the new transistors. Their silk-silicon LEDs can act as photonic tattoos that can show blood-sugar readings, as well as arrays of conformable electrodes that might interface with the nervous system."


Litt Lab : Translational NeuroEngineering 
(Brian Litt's lab.)


SOMEWHAT RELATED
I've been thinking about flexible touch-screen applications, and it never occurred to me that the concept might be something that would transfer to human skin!  Here are a few of my posts related to this topic:

Last night I dreamt about haptic touch-screen overlays...
Rhizome 2009:  A Lovely Interactive Multi-touch App on a Flexible Lycra Screen
Impress:  A cool flexible interface project  by Silke Hilsing


More about this "somewhat related topic" to come: 
Latest SixthSense demo features paper "laptop" camera gestures
Nilay Patel, Engadget  11/18/09
Adding a "SixthSense" to your Cellphone
Vikas Bajaj, Bits, New York Times 11/6/09
Pattie Maes TED Talk:  Sixth Sense-  Mobile Wearable Interface and Gesture Interaction (for the price of a cell phone!) - my post from 3/2009

Interactive Marketing, Retail, and Multi-touch: Here's Lots of Video Clips from EyeClick

A reader brought to my attention the work of EyeClick, an interactive multimedia advertising company that has been around for a few years. They create interactive floors, and use "intuitive body motion with floors and surface areas".

-EyeClick

I've included several videos below, but for more information and related details, check out EyeClick's product page, which has a nice showreel, and information about the benefits of interactive marketing.










EyeClick appears to be similar to lm3labs, a company I've posted about previously.

Thanks, Paul Glen for the link!

Microsoft's Project Natal & "Fun" Natural User Interfaces for the Office

This looks great!

I came across the picture below today, and discovered more about it in a CNET article:

"Gesture-recognition technology, such as that seen in Project Natal, has changed the face of gaming, but Microsoft's Craig Mundie (pictured) believes it will also transform the office." (Ina Fried, CNET)


This approach looks like it incorporates visual thinking and conceptualization in a nice and fluid way.

RELATED:

"Microsoft: Future desktop PC's will transform the office" (Ina Fried, CNET UK, 7/31/09).

According to Fried, author of the the linked CNET article, Craig Mundie, at the Microsoft Research Faculty Summit this past July demonstrated the set-up in the above picture. The demonstration "...included hologram-like videoconferencing, a virtual digital assistant, and multiple surface computers, along with voice-, touch- and gesture-recognition technology. The desk in the demo was a multitouch surface computer, and the office's walls were also a display that could easily switch from being a virtual window or collection of digital photos to a corkboard of sticky notes or various workspaces. In one case, Mundie also used Project Natal-like depth cameras to put himself in the middle of an architectural demo, essentially putting himself inside a building that was not yet built."

Craig Mundie of Microsoft on the Future of Software: Digital Assistants, Natural User Interfaces, and Room Computing (Gregory T. Huang, Xconomy Seatle, 7/13/09)

The author of the above article was also at the Microsoft Research Faculty Summit and touched on the concept of natural user interfaces:

“All the things we talk about as natural user interfaces have been largely used one at a time as enhancements to [graphical user interfaces],” Mundie said. Gesture recognition, expressive responses, immersive 3-D virtual environments, and understanding of context—these advances in computing algorithms will lead to software that is “better at anticipating what you might want.”

Xbox's Project Natal Revamped for Offices? (J. Nicholas Hoover, 7/30/09)

When I find a video of the Project Natal/Surface/Natural User Interface Office in action, I'll be sure to post it!

Why this is important:

Natural user interfaces might have the potential to support more efficient and effective collaboration among people in the workplace, and the visual display of information may also support better decision-making and problem solving.

Get Up and Move Without Gear! Xbox Natal, a "smart" gaming environment.

I'm waiting for Xbox Natal to cross my path. Microsoft, can you hear me?



(I meant to write about this a while ago.)

Here are facts 5-6 out of 12, from "Project Natal in Detail" post on the XBox website:

• "Fact #5: In addition to “Project Natal” tracking your full body movement in 3-D, it also recognises your face and facial expressions. It can even detect the change of emotion in your voice. Three facts in one – yummy."

• "Fact #6: “Project Natal” remembers your face and voice so that you can connect to Xbox LIVE without the need to reach for a controller. This is the future!"

• "Fact #7: “Project Natal” is the world’s first system to combine an RGB camera, depth sensor, multi-array microphone and custom processor running proprietary software. Memorise this sentence then say it out loud faster and faster."

If you visit the Project Natal website, you'll find links to related articles, a gallery of videos, and a place to sign up for news updates.

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

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.

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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!


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 Emerging Experiences Portfolio

Interaction with the Web of Things; LIFT '09

I recently came across the Web of Things blog and found it to be a gem. Vlad Trifa and Dominique Guinard are the brains behind the blog. They have lots of interesting ideas that are at the intersection of WSN (Wireless Sensor Networks) and HCI (Human Computer Interaction).

Vlad and Dominique recently presented at LIFT '09. If you haven't heard of Lift, take some time and visit the website:

"LIFT is a series of events to inspire and connect the community of doers and thinkers exploring the social impact of new technologies. Each LIFT conference is a three days experience made of talks, workshops, interactive art and discussions to understand and anticipate the most important social changes, and meet the people behind them."

Everything on the Web of Things blog inspired me to write two posts, back to back, on my Technology Supported Human World Interaction blog:

More cool things from the Web of Things blog

The Web of Things, Wireless Sensor Networks, Embedded Systems, and (Everyware) Health Care
(The above post was inspired by my experience at the Cleveland Clinic, spending time every day with my father, who has been in the cardio ICU since his surgery a few days ago.)

Have you heard of the Internet of Things? OpenSpime? (Link to related post)

Take a look at my post on the TSHWI blog to watch videoclips and read about emerging technologies related to the "Internet of Things" and Spime concepts.

Let me know what you think.

-Lynn