Showing posts sorted by date for query kinect. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query kinect. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Jul 27, 2011

Apple's iOS 5 facial recognition feature opens up interactive possibilities

I've been thinking about creating my first iPad app, and as I was searching for information, I came across a few articles related to Apple's new iOS 5 that I found interesting.  


Because my target user group includes young people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD),  I was intrigued by the possibility that the facial recognition APIs might provide a means of assessing mood or emotional states.   Most of us understand that our faces function as mirrors to feelings, and we use our facial expressions to communicate our feelings to others.  Unfortunately, this is a concept that is difficult for young people with ASD to understand.  My hunch is that there is an "app for that".   


I'd love to great to create a little iPad app for young people with ASD for education, intervention, and/or communication activities that incorporates the facial recognition feature!


Apple's iOS facial recognition could lead to Kinect-like interaction
Darrell Etherington, GigaOm/Reuters, 7/27/11
Here is a quote from the above article:
"You could create apps that track a user’s eye movement and dynamically change content accordingly, for instance. App developers might even be able to use data gathered from facial recognition APIs to identify so-called “hotspots,” providing insight about where a user is looking most within an app and arranging content accordingly. In time, an iPhone app might even be able to assess the emotional state of the user, based on whether they’re frowning or smiling, and address the user in a manner appropriate to their mood. It might also be able to tell how engaged users are with mobile ads and content, which might be useful for iAd customers, among others."


Stan Schroeder, Mashable, 7/26/11
Below is a video from from the above post which demonstrates an app developed by Polar Rose, a company that was purchased by Apple.
RELATED
Apple plans native panorama functionality in iOS5
Seth Weintraub, 9TO5Mac, 7/8/11
iOS 5's final release may include "Assistant" speech-to-text feature
Chris Rawson, TUAW, 7/23/11

Jul 24, 2011

Video: Kinect SoundWall, links to info and code!





Here is information about the project from the KinetHacks SoundWall site:

"Kinect sound machines become prettier and easier with each development! The Kinect SoundWall is a drum beat music machine controlled by gestures and voice commands. This video by  displays this digital music machine at work and how through various gesture and voice commands, users can create awesome beats to dance to. In the video, the user gestures to to certain blocks in the screen in order to create a beat there or render the beats void. Through various voice commands, the beat can start, increase tempo, stop etc. Through the proper integration of both voice and gesture commands, the Kinect SoundWall sets the standard for a great and efficient sound machine of the Kinect!"
"For more information about the Kinect SoundWall visit the project’s website."
RELATED
Vertigo SoundWall CodePlex Project Site

Jul 18, 2011

Emerging Interactive Multimedia, New Models of HCI for Museum Exhibits (Course offered by Ideum's Jim Spadaccini, plus info about the MT55 multi-touch table)

Jim Spadaccini, the director and founder of Ideumwill be teaching a course on exhibit development through the University of Victoria, "Emerging Exhibits: Exploring New Models of Human Computer Interaction (HCI).  The excerpt from the course description provides a glimpse of how emerging technologies are beginning to change the museum experience:


"Computer-based interactive exhibits are undergoing a major transformation. The lone, single-user kiosk is now being replaced by multitouch tables and walls, motion-capture spaces, networked installations, and RFID-based exhibits. Advances in augmented reality, voice recognition, eye tracking, and other technologies promise even more radical change for exhibits in the near future."


I've been following Jim's journey with Ideum, a multimedia design firm that collaborates with museums and related non-profits, for many years, and I am impressed with the work of this company.  In addition to his work at Ideum,  Jim serves as the Principal Investigator of a National-Science Foundation sponsored open-source exhibit software project, Open Exhibits, which provides a free software development kit that supports the creation of multi-touch and multi-user software applications for museums and educational settings.


I'm happy to put in a plug for Ideum's latest product, the MT55 Platform Multi-Touch Table. It incorporates a range of features that I'm sure will meet the needs of museum visitors.  In my opinion, this table would be a fantastic resource for all types of libraries, including those in K-12 settings.

The MT55 Platform Multi-touch Table, from Ideum

The MT55 Platform Multitouch Table from Ideum on Vimeo.  (Note: This video features music by Moby, the track "Sevastopol" on his current album, Destroyed. The music was used with the artists' permission. Learn more at: moby.com") - Ideum

"The thinnest, largest, most powerful multitouch table available.The MT55 Platform multitouch table houses a powerful computer and a 55-inch interactive LCD display that responds to 32 touch-points, inside a rugged aluminum body."

"The bright 55″ 1920×1080 HD display has a 5,000,000:1 contrast ratio. A wide 178-degree viewing angle accommodates multiple users around the table. The optical multitouch system supports 32 simultaneous touch points for collaborative interaction. The system is multitouch-enabled from start-up, and runs Windows 7 64-bit professional edition."


"The integrated computer is packed with power. It contains an Intel® Hyper-Threaded DualCore i5® which runs at 2.66 GHz, 8GB of RAM, and a 128 GB solid-state drive (upgradeable to an i7®)."


"The table comes complete with WIFI, Bluetooth, and Ethernet connectivity. It also has multiple HDMI outputs that allow you to easily mirror the table's display, extend the desktop, or connect to and display from another computer or HDMI device."

"Convenient, but secure ports: CAT5, HDMI, and USB 2.0 are available on both the side on bottom the table."

"The MT55 Platform includes blue LED under-lights to illuminate the area beneath the interactive surface (custom LED colors are available). Every MT table includes a sophisticated internal cooling cell to maintain operating conditions that exceed the optimum environmental specifications for the internal components."

"The interactive surface of the MT55 Platform protected by a sheet of hardened, crystal clear, low-iron 5mm tempered glass surface...
As an option, we offer Sevasa HapticGlas®, produced exclusively for Ideum. Micro-etched HapticGlas® provides tactile feedback, reduces fingerprints, increases scratch resistance, and directs user focus." -Ideum
 

RELATED
High-res photos of the MT55 Platform

GestureWorks Software
Open Exhibits
Ideum
Open Exhibits Tuio Kinect

Jul 12, 2011

Summer Break: Music Apps, Multimedia, Kinect, My New iPad2, Tech-reading, Google+, Dancing...

I'm on summer break, which for me, means that I spend an increased amount playing/creating music and doing all of the other fun stuff I don't have much time for during the school year. I'm still exploring what I can do with my new iPad2 - there are so many music apps!  My favorite at this moment is Garage Band. It keeps me engaged for hours, and I can take it with me anywhere I go.  I'm also exploring iPad apps for education and students with special needs, since many of the young people I work with have autism spectrum disorders.  They all really love music.


Today, I came across turntable.fm, a "social-djing" website, from a link shared by Dimitri Diakopoulos.  I think it would be fun to play with.




















Turntable.FM, The Fastest-Growing Music Service You're Not Using
William Fenton, PC Magazine, 6/23/11
Social DJing with Turntable.FM
Andrew Mager, 5/28/11


I'm still plowing through technology journals and zines from previous months - I had to skip over my stack to read the cover article of the most recent Communications of the ACM:
Michael Edwards, University of Edinburgh, 2011


I LOVE the design of this cover. It would make for a nice interactive interface for an iPad music app. Or a larger touch-screen display. Or even a SMARTBoard! (BTW, My first computer-related course was Computer Music Technology, in 2003. My undergraduate honors research (psychology), years ago, focused on constructive cognition and music recognition/memory. This topic is dear to my heart.)

I've spent some quality time with my first grand-baby this summer.  Although his "screen time" is limited, given his age of 7 1/2 months, he enjoys playing with music on my iPad.  He likes the drums found in the iPad GarageBand application.  Here he is playing with NodeBeat, an app created by Seth Sandler and Justin Windle:













Most of his time is spent off-screen:





Over the last few months, there has been a surge of interactive touch-enabled apps for education, including some for young people with special needs.  This will be the topic of a few of my future posts.

Jun 17, 2011

In case you missed this: Microsoft Releases Kinect SDK Beta for PC

Kinect for Windows SDK Beta!   IT IS TRUE!!!!!


My Kinect and PC are waiting for my summer project.    What a great opportunity to "practice" programming over my 5 week summer break..... I already know C#, and I've done a little game programming (ie. AI for Game Development - using XNA Game Studio Express- it has been a while).  
Skeleton tracking image
-Photo credit: Microsoft Research


I have some cool ideas for basic games that might be good for the students I work with who have autism spectrum disorders... and some ideas that might be fun for my grand-baby.  I can't wait to have time to code again!   


Here's some info from the Microsoft Kinect for Windows SDK Beta website:


"The Kinect for Windows SDK beta is a programming toolkit for application developers. It enables the academic and enthusiast communities easy access to the capabilities offered by the Microsoft Kinect device connected to computers running the Windows 7 operating system."


"The Kinect for Windows SDK beta includes drivers, rich APIs for raw sensor streams and human motion tracking, installation documents, and resource materials. It provides Kinect capabilities to developers who build applications with C++, C#, or Visual Basic by using Microsoft Visual Studio 2010."


This SDK includes the following features:


Raw sensor streams
Access to raw data streams from the depth sensor, color camera sensor, and four-element microphone array enables developers to build upon the low-level streams that are generated by the Kinect sensor.
Skeletal tracking
The capability to track the skeleton image of one or two people moving within the Kinect field of view make it easy to create gesture-driven applications.
Advanced audio capabilities
Audio processing capabilities include sophisticated acoustic noise suppression and echo cancellation, beam formation to identify the current sound source, and integration with the Windows speech recognition API.
Sample code and documentation
The SDK includes more than 100 pages of technical documentation. In addition to built-in help files, the documentation includes detailed walkthroughs for most samples provided with the SDK.
Easy installation
The SDK installs quickly, requires no complex configuration, and the complete installer size is less than 100 MB. Developers can get up and running in just a few minutes with a standard standalone Kinect sensor unit (widely available at retail outlets)."



Nicholas Kolakowski, Application Development News, 6/16/11


May 31, 2011

Top 10 All-Time Posts on the Interactive Multimedia Technology Blog

I'm finishing up the last couple weeks of the school year, so I'll have little time to post this week.  I hope you enjoy exploring the following links!


Revised Post 8/1/06: Interactive multimedia for social skills, understanding feelings, relaxation and coping strategies


Teliris Interact TouchTable and TouchWall: Immersive Collaboration & Telepresence; DVE's Holographic Tele-Immersion Room


Games to lift stress away: Flower, flOw, (and Cloud), from thatgamecompany


Power to the Pixel Cross-Media Forum Streaming Live from London Today #PttP


HACKED KINECT MULTITOUCH using libFreenect and libTISCH (via Florian Echtler)


Link to iTV Doctor Rick Howe's post about 2D to 3D, 3D TV data points, and 3D content distributers


Temple Grandin - A gifted visual thinker, who also has autism, featured in HBO movie starring Claire Danes.  Update: Video of Claire Danes' acceptance of a Golden Globe for her performance


Algodoo physic app. for the SMART Board 800 series, supports multi-user interaction!


Wii Just Dance2 and Kinect Dance Central:  UI and Usability Approaches; Challenges for Developoing Accessible Games


Interactive Touch-Screen Technology, Participatory Design, and "Getting It" -Revisited







Apr 26, 2011

Multi-touch and Gesture Interaction News and Updates You Might Have Missed (Part I)

Over the past couple of months, I've come across many interesting links related to multi-touch and gesture interaction, but I haven't had time to devote a thoughtful post to each one.  "Part I",  is a nice collection of experimental, commercial, and non-commercial efforts by a variety of creative technologists, with a smattering of industry news that might be of interest to IMT readers. 


Ideum's MT55 HD Multitouch Table 4/19/11

New MT55 HD Multitouch Table Now Shipping,  Jim Spadaccini, Ideum Blog 4/11/11

Smithsonian American Art Museum to Open Education Center  Sara Beladi, NBC Washington News, 4/4/11 (Rumor has it that the Smithsonian American Art might include touch and multi-touch displays in it's plans for a new education center.  The center was funded by an anonymous $8 million dollar gift.)

Bill Buxton, Microsoft Research, 4/7/11 - Includes lots of pictures, links to videos, and more information of what might be the first touch-screen.  Also see Bill Buxton's companion website, Multi-Touch Systems that I have Known and Loved, updated on 3/21/11.  Bill Buxton knows all (almost!)


"The MTbiggie uses the "Front Diffused Illumination" multitouch technique, with ambient infrared light and a DIY infrared webcam. The MTbiggie is similar to the MTmini, but includes a projected image and infrared webcam (rather than a normal webcam)...The MTbiggie isn’t the most stable and robust setup, but it is the easiest to build. To see other methods of building more stable multitouch displays, view the full multitouch display list." -Seth Sandler

(Also check out NodeBeat, a multi-touch music/audio sequencer/generator app by Seth Sandler and Justin Windle)

Intuilab, 4/13/11
"IntuiLab, a global leader in surface computing software applications, today announced support for the revolutionary Microsoft Kinect device across its full line of IntuiFace products and solutions including IntuiFace Presentation and IntuiFace Commerce...Microsoft Kinect brings distant gesture control to interactive solutions. These gesture controls allow users to interact with displayed digital assets from a distance at their own pace and path – for example, browsing through a large quantity of products in a store catalog or manipulating 3D models (such as a mobile phone) – all without having to actually touch the screen..."  -IntuiLab (Take a look at the IntuiLab team- an interactive page!)




Sparkon:  Videos and links related to multi-touch and gesture-based applications



Official Kinect SDK to be Open SourceJosh Blake, Deconstructing the NUI, 4/18/11  
9 This bit of news excited me, but don't get your hopes up. If anyone knows what will happen with the Kinect SDK, please leave a comment.)
"Update 4/18 7:34pm: Mary Jo Foley picks up this story, but the Microsoft spokesperson she talked to denied that the Kinect SDK will be open source. As she notes, Microsoft has pulled 180’s before regarding Kinect. After spokespeople initially were hostile to the idea of Kinect hacking, Xbox executives later embraced the idea that people are using Kinect for non-gaming purposes on the PC. Let’s hope Microsoft stays open to this idea." -Josh Blake

Kenrick Kin, Tom Miller, Bjoern Bollensdorff, Tony DeRose, Bjoern Hartmann, Manees Agrawala (Pixar Online Library)

Flight Race Game on 3DFeel lm3Labs, 4/18/11


JazzMutant Lemure Version 2 : "The only multi-touch and modular controller for sequencers, synthesizers, virtual instruments, vjing and lights, now even better."


Harry van der Veen's Multitouch Blog (NUITEQ)


Stantum "Unlimited Multi-Touch" Latest News

At Immersive Labs, Ads Watch Who Looks at Them Amy Lee, Huffington Post, 4/26/11 

Immersive Labs

Hard Rock Cafe International Using NextWindow Touch Screens:  "Rock Wall Solo displays enhance music lovers' experience in Seattle, Dallas, Detroit and Berlin" 4/12/11 (Full press release pdf)
Music on Touch Screens (NextWindow)

Razorfish: Thoughts on MIX 11 ,James Ashley, Razorfish Blog, 4/20/11  Also see: Razorfish Lab's Prototypes




"The multitouch microscope brings new dimensions into teaching and research. Researchers at the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM) and Multitouch Ltd have created a hand and finger gesture controlled microscope. The method is a combination between two technologies: web-based virtual microscopy and a giant size multitouch display."
"The result is an entirely new way of performing microscopy: by touching a table- or wall-sized screen the user can navigate and zoom within a microscope sample in the same way as in a conventional microscope. Using the touch control it is possible to move from the natural size of the sample to a 1000-fold magnification, at which cells and even subcellular details can be seen."  -Multitouchfi  Also see the Multitouch website.



Big Size Multitouch Display Turned into a MicroscopeMicroscopy-News, 3/28/11
Mac OX 10.7 Lion: new multi-touch gestures, Dock integration for Expose, Launchpad, Mission Control Appleinsider, 4/14/11


Vectorform App featured in Royal Caribbean's Video Promotion: James Brolin, Dean Cain get hands-on with Vectorform app Alison Weber, Vectorform Blog, 3/3/11


3M Touch Systems's YouTube Channel

Social Mirror 3D Gestural Display, Now Using Kinnect:  SnibbeInteractive




Apr 10, 2011

Immersive Cocoon Interaction: "It's people who are now the interface" (Updated, with videos, photos, links.)

"It's people who are now the interface." -Ole Bowman, cultural and architectural historian


I found the above quote from the Immersive Cocoon website and smiled.


When I first learned about the Immersive Cocoon in 2008, I thought it was just another technological fancy that probably would not come to market anytime soon.  Although it still is in the concept stage, I think it has a chance of making it, given the rapid advances in interactive technology over the past few years.

It wouldn't surprise me to see i-Cocoons finding a place in libraries, educational settings, museums, and other public spaces within the next 5-8 years, given an economic turnaround.


What is the Immersive Cocoon?
"The Immersive Cocoon is a future concept study by Tino Schaedler with design collective NAU; an idea to push the envelope and provoke a new conception of interface technology...Directed and 3D CG by Oliver Zeller. More info, behind the scenes and full credits at i-cocoon.com.-adNAU"


What is inside the cocoon?



Photo: arch.nau.coop

Photo: arch.nau.coop
Teaser Video:


"Please play fullscreen and LOUD! ...This spec teaser reveals an evolution in computing interaction, within a setting inspired by the penultimate scene from Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey...Starring that film's lead actor, Keir Dullea; "2011" was developed over a two year period. Live action was filmed multi-camera, against green screen atop a backlit plexi floor on a shoestring budget. Mr. Dullea was then integrated into an entirely digitally created CG set rendered at 1080HD."


Here are some previous videos about the iCocoon concept:




RELATED
Immersive Cocoon Concept Website
Designers developing virtual-reality 'Cocoon'
Mark Tutton, 9/12/08, Telepresence Options /Human Productivity Lab
Immersive Cocoon-Facebook
"NAU is an international, multidisciplinary design firm, spanning the spectrum from architecture and interior design to exhibitions and interactive interfaces. As futurists creating both visual design and constructed projects, NAU melds the precision of experienced builders with the imagination and attention to detail required to create innovative exhibits, public events and architecture."
FYI:
Concerning interactive technology, things have changed a bit in my corner of the world - as I write this post, there is a Kinect beckoning me to dance in my bonus room. The Kinect was something that came to market much sooner than I expected.  I'll have an iPad2 sometime in the near future- another example of how rapidly things are evolving.   I skim the news by touch/swiping my now-outdated HTC Incredible.  My 88-year-old aunt, has used Skype more than once to "chat" with her baby great-nephew across the miles.


I use a Wii at work at least once a week to support social interaction skills with some students who have moderate-to-severe autism. Every classroom in the main school I serve has a huge, immersive, interactive whiteboard that relies on touch and kinesthetic interaction-my colleagues can't imagine going back to teaching without them.  



Apr 9, 2011

"Playful Interface Cultures" exhibit video showreel, just released (Ars Electronica Festival 2010)


Playful Interface Cultures from Interface Culture on Vimeo.


"This video showreel provides a walkthrough through the "Playful Interface Cultures" exhibition at the Ars Electronica Festival 2010. The works shown were created within the Master and Ph.D. program at the Interface Culture Lab, University of Art and Industrial Design in Linz, Austria." http://www.interface.ufg.ac.at/​

"The exhibition design has been based on traditional Austrian tobacco brands in reference to the historic venue of the former tobacco factory built by the German designer and architect Peter Behrens." -Interface Culture Lab



Instructors:
Georg Russegger
Martin Kaltenbrunner
Michaela Ortner
Varvara Guljajeva
Design
Vesela Milhaylova
Henning Schulze
Production
Reinhard Gupfinger
Technical Support
Mar Canet
Anika Hirt

University of Art and Industrial Design, Linz


SOMEWHAT RELATED
TuioKinect, by Martin Kaltenbrunner: "A simple Tuio hand gesture tracker for Kinect"
Reactable 

Apr 6, 2011

mtBAR Multi-touch Bar Video (Aaron Bitler); Physical Vision, a Kinect Alternative Video (Jonathan Brill); DARPA's 3D Glassless Urban Photonic Sandtray

Here are a few interesting videos and links:


The mtBAR Comes Alive!
Aaron Bitler, 3/28/11


Physical Vision, The Alternative to Kinect
Jonathan Brill, Physical Vision, 2/26/11




Tim Stevens, 3/28/11, Engadget
"It's a DARPA project, a fully holographic table (no glasses required) that can be scaled up to six feet diagonally and allows visual depth of up to 12-inches. The technology comes courtesy of Zebra Imaging, which earlier wowed us with some insane 3D printouts, and the data will come from LIDAR systems like this ROAMS bot." -Tim Stevens

-Photo from Vizworld


Weekly Belated Linkfest
Rouli, Games Alfresco, 4/4/11


So much to share, so little time!

Apr 5, 2011

ICT MxR Lab's Response to Google's "April Fools Day" Gmail Motion, using OpenNI and FAAST

I recently purchased a Kinect and have been chomping at the bit to do something creative with it.  I have been  too busy with work to dive into a project. Fortunately,  great minds have been paving the way!


I was almost fooled by Google's April Fools prank, "Gmail Motion", a mythical application designed to allow Gmailers the opportunity to conduct email tasks through gestures alone. 


Robert Kosara, an assistant professor of computer science at UNC-Charlotte, and author of the EagerEyes visualization blog,  recently shared a link to a video of  a working prototype of the Gmail Motion concept.  The video features Evan Suma, a post-doc at USC who earned his Ph.D. at UNC-Charlotte.  



"This morning, Google introduced Gmail Motion, allowing users to control Gmail using gestures and body movement. However, for whatever reason, their application doesn't appear to work. So, we demonstrate our solution - the Software Library Optimizing Obligatory Waving (SLOOW) - and show how it can be used with a Microsoft Kinect sensor to control Gmail using the gestures described by Google. This project uses OpenNI coupled with FAAST and was made by Evan Suma and the folks at Mark Bolas' MxR Lab at the USC Institute for Creative Technologies."

Below is the video that almost had me fooled on April 1st  : )
>

RELATED
FAAST Video Gallery
Download FAAST from the USC ICT FAAST website.
University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies (USC ICT) 

The FAAST website has loads of  additional "how-to" information. The list below is just a sample of what can be found on the site:


To use FAAST, you will need to download and install the following software:
  1. OpenNI Unstable Build for Windows v1.0.0.25
  2. PrimeSense NITE Unstable Build for Windows v1.3.0.18
    During NITE installation, enter the free license key from OpenNI: 0KOIk2JeIBYClPWVnMoRKn5cdY4=
  3. Hardware drivers for your sensor (only one of the following)
FAAST should then run out-of-the-box; no additional installation or setup is necessary. If you encounter an error on startup, you may also need to install the Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 SP1 Redistributable Package.

FAAST project members are Evan A. Suma, Belinda Lange, Skip Rizzo, David Krum, and Mark Bolas

Mar 7, 2011

Monday Musing and Meanderings: Interesting videos and links about emerging technologies.

INTERACTIVE TANGIBLE TABLETOP MUSIC


Reactable Live! SubMixPro Studio Torino

The Reactable featured in the above video is used for DJ-ing in clubs. The one I've played with is at the science museum in my area - I love it. It is fun to improvise on the Reactable with another person.  For more information, see my previous blog posts featuring the Reactable.

AUGMENTED REALITY
While listening to CNBC on my satellite radio on the way home today,  I heard that investing in Qualcomm might be a good idea.   I wonder if this means that Wall Street analysts think that  AR will become mainstream soon...   


The video below shows a variety of creative AR game applications:


Qualcomm has an AR SDK that comes with tutorials, samples, an API reference, and developer forums. The SDK can be downloaded from the Qualcomm AR web-page.



For more information:
GDC 11:  AR- The Augmented Future of Mobile Serious Games?  Eliane Alhadeff, Serious Games Market, 3/7/11
Qualcomm's secret mobile weapon:  Augmented Reality Robert Enderle,  TG Daily, 2/24/11

This sort of technology has been around for a while. For an example, take a look at  the 2007 MScape game demo of the AR game, Roku's Reward:



THE KINECT FOR MEDICAL DATA VISUALIZATION 
Here is another use of augmented reality, but this time, harnessing the Kinect:
Madhav K. ,  Kinecthacks 

PHOTOELASTIC TOUCH

Transparent Rubbery Interface using a LCD and Photoelasticity
Toshiki Sato, Haruko Mamiya, Taro Tokui, Hideki Koike,  The Unversity of Electro-Communications;  Kentaro Fukuchi, Japan Science and Technology Agency
Abstract (pdf)


ART AND SCREENS