I haven't set eyes on this 3D monitor by iZ3D. I'd love to give it a try soon!
Here is the news release: 3D Monitor has gone Mainstream- Sets Price for Wide Holiday Distribution:iZ3D has taken a bold move to make 3D mainstream this Christmas (pdf) World's First 3D Monitor for Gamers Now Available in Retail Stores pdf More Info: The iZ3D 3D monitor solution includes: - 22-inch wide screen 3D/2D keyboard switchable LCD monitor - 3 pairs of passive polarized 3D glasses (5 other models are available online) - iZ3D Stereoscopic 3D and Anaglyph 3D software drivers (other drivers are available online) - Power and video cables - Quick-start guide - Free membership into iZ3D’s upcoming 3D gaming network -$399.00
Monitor specifications are: - 22-inch wide screen LCD - 1680 x 1050 resolution - Up to 170-degree 3D viewing angle - 5ms response time - 700:1 contrast ratio - 16.7-million colors - 300 nits
Steven Musil's recent article in CNET discusses Google Earth's 3-D view of ancient Rome. The project is an outgrowth of Rome Reborn, the effort of an interdisciplinary, international team of people, including computer scientists, artists, archaeologists, and historians from UCLA, the Politecnico di Milano (Italy), and the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
Visitors can explore inside the city's buildings, and obtain related historical information through pop-up windows. The 3-D interaction is great on the large screen or interactive whiteboard.
Apple MacBook laptop Digital classroom projector Digital camera 3D Navigation mouse $500 in gift cards to Target or Office Depot Engraved Google "Top Educator" plaque
"We're accepting curricula from all grade levels and K-12 subject areas including art history, math, social studies, physics, and philosophy, so whether you teach 5th grade art or high school engineering, there's glory and a nice prize package waiting for you."
A big part of interactive multimedia is visualization, and with the latest tools, interesting things are happening!
Flare is a visualization tool for the web, and utilizes Adobe's Flex SDK, an ActionScript 3 Compiler, and Flex Builder. Basically, it is an ActionScript library, and the applications run in the Adobe Flash Player.
I especially like the description of the Crisis Fronts project:
"Crisis Fronts is the Degree Project studio and seminar run by Michael Chen and Jason Lee, with Gil Akos and Ronnie Parsons at Pratt Institute’s School of Architecture.
Crisis Fronts is an ongoing inquiry into contemporary global crises that suggest new demands and agendas for architecture, and the potential afforded by parametric and generative digital design tools to engage them."
The Funky Forest was created by Emily Gobeille and Theodore Watson for the 2007 CineKid festival in the Netherlands, using OpenFrameworks, an open-source application used for multimedia and multi-touch applications. Take a look at the video and pictures of the children interacting with this technology!
"It “is a wild and crazy ecosystem where you manage the resources to influence the environment around you. Streams of water flowing on the floor can be diverted to make the different parts of the forest grow. If a tree does not receive enough water it withers away but by pressing your body into the forest you create new trees based on your shape and character. As you explore and play you discover that your environment is inhabited by sonic life forms who depend on a thriving ecosystem to survive.”
The trees and creatures in the installation look really beautiful; just abstract enough to make it look like a strange magical forest, but the processes of our real ecosystems are still recognisable. A really wonderful project. And it sure looks like a lot of fun!" -Tanja, from the TakeBigBites blog
According to the Ambient Information Systems Workshop (Ubicomp 08), ambient info systems are "a large set of applications that publish information a highly non-intrusive manner, following on from Mark Weiser's concept of calm technology.".
"The current research in pervasive and ubiquitous computing suggests a future in which we are surrounded by innumerable information sources, all competing for our attention. These information sources may manifest as both novel devices and as devices embedded in common objects, such as refrigerators, automobiles, toys, furniture, clothes, and even our own bodies."
"While this vision of the future has prompted great advancements in context-aware computing, wireless connectivity, multi-sensor platforms, smart materials, and location-tracking technologies, there is a concern that this proliferation of technology will increasingly overwhelm us with information. Our belief is that information should move seamlessly between the periphery and the center of one’s attention, and that good technology is highly transparent. We see ambient information systems as a way to support these ideas."
Ambient Information Systems Pics linked from Infosthetics:
Real-time data panoramas: "Once the stock market opens, our 3D simulation comes to life & people start 'breathing' business information"via Bashiba.com
" BASHIBA Panorama exploits the visual perceptual capabilities of the human brain. It harnesses untapped brain power."
Ambient Devices Energy JouleviaAmbient Devices "Save Money. Help the Planet. Track energy prices and your energy use with a simple night light." This device provides you with the weather forecast for the day, the day's high temperature, tthe current cost of electricity, your current energy usage, rewards for using less energy, and signal strength.
Affective Diary:
The sensor based Affective Diary is a collaborative project between Microsoft Research and the Interaction Lab at SICS. You can download the code from the application page. The source code is available as a Visual Studio 2005 solution.Here is a screenshot:
"To expand on the ways in which we creatively engage in diary-keeping, we have designed an affective diary that captures some of the physical, bodily aspects of experiences and emotions—what we refer to as “affective body memorabilia”. The affective diary assembles sensor data, captured from the user and uploaded via their mobile phone, to form an ambiguous, abstract colourful body shape. With a range of other materials from the mobile phone, such as text and MMS messages, photographs, etc., these shapes are made available to the user. Combining these materials, the diary is designed to invite reflection and to allow the user to piece together their own stories."
Ambient Mug Ambient Persuasive Mug via Ads of the World "The external surface of the cup is printed with a second layer of heat sensitive ink that is revealed when hot water is poured into the cup."
"a system comprised of a series of physical objects designed as individual playthings, but wirelessly networked via RF to act as both input and output devices for a collective visualization of distributed activity. These hand-held, translucent silicone toys have embedded sensors (for input) and 3 colors of LEDs (for output) which allow them to be reactive to both sound and touch. Action around one of the nimios will cause the others to glow in different patterns and colors. The interaction design is deliberately open-ended, in order to allow the emergence of distinctive patterns of collaborative engagement in real groups." Interactive Waterfall Interactive waterfall -Charles Forman, from Setpixel. (includes a video with nice ambient music.) The project was produced for the Children's Center at the Hackensack University Medical Center.
Wearables from the Reach project at the Interactive Institute, Design Goteborg: Scarf that reveals messages when it heats up.
Temperature changing scarves
Bag with sensors that measure sound level, light, and temperature.
For those of you who would like to know how to handle the stress regarding our economy as it relates to children, teens, and family, take a look at my recent post on the TechPsych blog: Children, Teens, Families, and the Economic Crisis
(I am still looking for more resources for children and families, so feel free to add a link in the comments.)
I posted a variety of links to data and information visualization resources that might be helpful to those of you who are interested in exploring our current economic crisis:
I'm using the Economic Sights and Sounds blog as a repository of information and links for use in a collaborative interactive multimedia time-line of events surrounding the current situation.
Stimulant, a company that has partnered with Microsoft to develop applications for the Surface multi-touch table: "What do you get when you mash-up Microsoft Surface with a Wii Balance Board? Pressure-sensitive surface computing! Yes, the Surface is sitting directly on the Balance Board (it supports 600 pounds, we checked). Here, Josh demonstrates a simple application that lets users create bubbles of various sizes and roll them around the table using pressure on the edges of the Surface. You also get a sneak peek at the WPF/Silverlight physics engine we've been working on as well. Pressure sensitivity adds an extra dimension to the Surface experience and opens new doors on an already highly advanced platform."
I'd like to learn more about Stimulant's other Surface experiments!
Raja Manohar, from Hexolabs sent me a link to his interactive YouTube + click games, and I thought I'd share it with my readers. Enjoy saving the car from a disastrous crash!
Hexolabs, located in India, is involved in a variety of projects, including mobile games for health.
LazyBrains was a Digital Media Senior Project of Aaron Bohenick, James Borden, Sachary Brooks, Kenneth Oum, and Jordan Santell, students at Drexel University.
Here is a video:
Game Teaser
Description of the BCI, a fNIR:
"The Functional Near-Infrared Imaging Device (fNIR) is a technology that was developed at the University of Pennsylvania, but is currently being used by the Drexel University biomedical department. The device shines infrared light into the user's forehead, and records the amount of light that gets transmitted back. The change in the amount of light can be used to deduce information about the amount of oxygen in the blood. When the user concentrates, their frontal lobe needs more oxygen and this change can be detected by the device."
It will be interesting to see how this technology unfolds. In my opinion, it will be quite useful for cognitive rehabilitation, as well as providing access to games for people who have significant physical limitations.
"....from the first time I saw surface in Andy Wilson's lab at Microsoft Research, I knew it had healthcare written all over it. It has taken some time to bring together the right developers and partners to apply Surface technology in health, but we are finally there." -Bill Crounse, MD, Microsoft HealthBlog
As I've previously suggested, surface computing would be useful in education K-12 settings. One look at the graphics posted below at a demonstration about Microsoft Surface in Health.
We know that one of the challenges in our public schools is to to encourage more students to take STEM-related courses. (If you are not familiar with the acronym, STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.) One look at the hands-on graphics below might convince reluctant students to sign up for class!
The video of the 3D interactive heart simulation can be found at the bottom of the following post:
Is this what the future holds for electronic medical records?
I came across this on Richard Bank's blog, rb.trends. This multi-touch display is from BrainLAB AG, a company located in Germany. Here is a quote from Ubergizmo: "Digital Lightbox replaces the conventional light box used to observe analog x-ray images. Connected to the hospital PACS, the new digital platform can be installed both in meeting rooms and in operating rooms, where clinicians can then access, manipulate, and utilize data for surgery planning. By displaying the human body in 3D, Digital Lightbox helps clinicians to more clearly demonstrate to patients what effects a disease can have and which procedures may be necessary. Digital Lightbox enables clinicians to select the most valuable images from large amounts of existing medical data. Ergonomic touchscreen technology with zoom functionality makes working with data easy and effective. Clinicians can intuitively navigate within pictures and between settings. Image scrolling can be performed with one finger; zooming in and out of images with two. Images from different sources can also be fused easily. A measure functionality enables clinicians to set size and other dimensions." Something like this would be good for high school science classrooms.
Update: For more photos of the Digital Ligthbox and the iPlan Net software that supports remote collaboration, visit the Future-Making Serious Games blog.
Digital storytelling, multimodal writing, and multiliteracies are overlapping concepts that weren't around during my first round as a university student. As more people of all ages create and share digital content on the web in new and imaginative ways, teachers and university scholars have taken notice. Is there a consensus that the printed word, as we've known it, is in the middle of a digital transformation?
Let's start out with digital storytelling. By now, everyone knows about YouTube and vlogs as new means of communication. There is more to digital storytelling than uploading a few hastily put-together video clips from the family camcorder, or slapping together a PowerPoint presentation with a few bells and whistles. There are now some standards. Digital storytelling is an art.
"Digital storytelling is the practice of combining narrative with digital content, including images, sound, and video, to create a short movie, typically with a strong emotional component. Sophisticated digital stories can be interactive movies that include highly produced audio and visual effects, but a set of slides with corresponding narration or music constitutes a basic digital story. Digital stories can be instructional, persuasive, historical, or reflective. The resources available to incorporate into a digital story are virtually limitless, giving the storyteller enormous creative latitude. Some learning theorists believe that as a pedagogical technique, storytelling can be effectively applied to nearly any subject. Constructing a narrative and communicating it effectively require the storyteller to think carefully about the topic and consider the audience’s perspective."
Petter Kittle, from the Northern California Writing Project, Summer Institute 2008, touches on the topic of multimodal writing in Multimodal Texts: Composing Digital Documents. Related to this is the concept of digital writing. "Multiliteracies is an approach to literacy which focuses on variations in language use according to different social and cultural situations, and the intrinsic multimodality of communications, particularly in the context of today's new media."
"...it is no longer enough for literacy teaching to focus solely on the rules of standard forms of the national language. Rather, the business of communication and representation of meaning today increasingly requires that learners are able figure out differences in patterns of meaning from one context to another. These differences are the consequence of any number of factors, including culture, gender, life experience, subject matter, social or subject domain and the like. Every meaning exchange is cross-cultural to a certain degree." -from Kalantzis and Cope's Multiliteracies website
This is an interesting demonstration of the use of multiple mice, controlled by children on an interactive whiteboard. The collaborative application uses Microsoft's Multi-Point technology. For more information and free downloads, go to MouseMischief.org.
openFrameworks: Better Tools, Enhanced Creativity, Better Projects: YES. Artists can make tools at the same time they make artwork.
To learn all about this, delve into the video. It highlights interviews with creative people who are using openFrameworks, including their innovative work.
If you are working with openFrameworks, or thinking about it, let me know.
This looks like a great tool to use for projects I'm creating for my new HP TouchSmart....
.....and my multi-touch thought experiments ; }
I learned about openFrameworks from Seth Sandler, aka "cerupcat", a member of NUI-group who was chosen to participate in Google's Summer of Code. He's posted about his progress on his AudioTouch blog.
Here is a screenshot of Seth's tracking application, still under development, is the result of porting touchlib, the main tracker used by NUI-Group members, to openFrameworks:
Lm3Labs focuses on interactive applications that harness the power of computer vision. Although much of what I've seen has been retail and market-related, they are also involved with innovative interactive museum displays: Lm3Labs: Interactive Museum Solutions featuring ubiq'window and Catchyoo
Wouldn't this sort of interactivity be fun in our schools? How about at the public library? It is a leap or two ahead of the interactive whiteboards.
V12 Design is a company with offices in Italy and Australia. It is developing the second-generation version of Canova . Since the product will not be on the market for at least 16 months, no pictures of the newest version were available. The first version is depicted in the photos below:
Canova Generation 1#
(Photo via Gizmodo; depicts the first version of the dual LCD laptop.)
According to information from LaptopMag, Conova was..The first-generation model....was envisioned to transform from a sketch pad, to a writing pad with an electronic pen, to a newspaper." From the Gizmodo AU website:
"An interview with Valerio Cometti, the founder and managing director of V12 Design, confirmed that the upcoming version would support multitouch input and that a microphone would be built into the design for voice commands."
With multi-touch and audio input, this device would be a godsend for young people with learning difficulties and others who require assistive technology. It would also be very useful for people in various fields of work. I assume that the Canova will come with speakers, a DVD player, a video camera, Blue-tooth and Wi-Fi capabilities.
I was excited about the new dual-touch screen laptops in development for the One Laptop Per Child project. I'm even more excited about the Canova. Hopefully, the company is devoting attention to usability studies with a wide range of people, using a variety of interactive demo applications.
I wonder if I can get my hands on a second-generation prototype of Canova to test out my touch-screen application "experiments". I'm bursting with ideas to try out, including gaming applications.
I want one now!
The second version will be developed by a US manufacturer. If anyone knows more about this leave a comment!
