Regional Multimedia News: Blind Squirrel Digital Builds MultiTouch Wall (Newton, N.C.)

Blind Squirrel Digital is a digital media company located in Newton, N.C.  One of the company's services is multi-touch surface design and implementation. Below is a picture of their  recently constructed multi-touch wall:

107 N. College Avenue • Newton, NC 28658 • 828-581-4252 
• info@blindsquirreldigital.com


About Blind Squirrel Digital:
Blind Squirrel Digital's services include iPhone and iPad application development, 3D animation/Visualization/Previz, multi-touch surface design/implementation, augmented reality design/implementation, multi-platform game development, digital signage/interactive and static content management systems, kiosk development, software and hardware design, exhibit design, simulation training application development, and real-time forensic reconstruction application development.


People behind Blind Squirrel Digital:
C. Michael Neely, the founder of the company, serves as President and Creative Director of Blind Squirrel Digital.  He has experience working with 3D applications and teaches digital effects, animation, and game development technology. He also has a few film credits under his belt, including "Pirates of the Caribbean III", "Spider Man III", "Fantastic Four", and "The Incredible Hulk 2".     Jeremy Cooper is the Vice President and Producer at Blind Squirrel. He has experience working on multiple creative projects (Digital Juice, Ballistic Pixel, and the Digital Design Center), and has taught a number of courses in the Simulation and Game Development program at Western Piedmont Community College. 



(The above information was gathered from the Blind Squirrel Digital website.)


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Doorways: iPad Game by Blind Squirrel Digital
Digital degrees launching high-tech careers: WPCC offers associates in gaming, animation
Jennifer Frew, The News Herald, 2/16/11

SUPERMOON: Video from NASA, Links

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Super Full Moon
Dr. Tony Phillips | NASA Science News, 3/16/11
Tonight's super perigee moon a rare treat
Christopher MacManus, CNET Crave blog, 3/19/11

Cute TV Commercial! Intel Gesture Recognition Technology

This was the first television commercial I saw on TV this morning. I had to stop my morning routine to watch it : )



RELATED
From ChannelIntel: Interview of Francis MacDougall, CTO of GestureTek

Words of Wisdom from Ira David Socal: "Writing without the blocks" using free/low cost technologies.

"Liberate students from the cognitive waste going to mechanical issues which have nothing to do with effective communication. Help them to become communicators and storytellers, and let your teaching focus on construction of effective writing, and what separates "writing" from "talking" in our culture." -Ira David Socal


You don't need to be a student to appreciate this approach to writing and communication!


WRITING WITHOUT THE BLOCKS
Ira David Socal, SpeEdChange 3/10/11


Ira Socal starts out his thoughtful blog post by mentioning that he dictated it using a Jawbone bluetooth headset and Windows 7 Speech Recognition, which is a free component of the operating system.  He's found that this is a great approach to use with students who struggle with the writing process.   He points out that there are many barriers that students face when attempting to write, especially for those who have difficulty holding a pen or using a keyboard efficiently.  He also points out that "keyboards injure more people each year than any other workplace tool."


Below are two videos Ira Socal shared on his blog:

RELATED/SOMEWHAT RELATED
How to set up Windows 7 Speech Recognition
MIT Freedom Stick (Michigan Integrated Technologies Supports)
Freedom Stick and Firefox Accessibility
"The MITS Freedom Stick is designed to provide students with information and communication access on any computer using a Windows or Linux operating system. When you insert the USB Flash Drive into the computer the LearnApps software should load giving you a menu in the toolbar on the lower-right corner of the screen. Please note, however, that when using the software on some computers you may need to open the drive and click directly on the LearnApps icon to open."

Cross posted: TechPsych

Could your child have a Geminoid for a teacher someday? Imagine the possibilities, good or bad!

In the US, teachers are being laid off or eliminated from their jobs in many communities. The improvements seen in Wall Street haven't been felt on Main Street. Many parents face the fact that their children, teens, and college-age kids will be entering classrooms and lecture halls filled many more students than in the past, come August or early September. 


What are the solutions?         The popular buzz says that interactive whiteboards, netbooks, SmartPhones, and tablets such as the iPad2 will tranform K-16 education. States and local school districts have created a range of virtual schools, and these are increasing in number.  My own state offers a "virtual advantage" in the form of the North Carolina Virtual Public School.  There are opportunities for students with special needs to receive instruction on-line, too.

"Mr. Geminoid"

What might be see in the future-  Robots for teachers?  While the topic might seem a bit amusing, it might not be a joke in the future.

Five years from now, will my grandson go to kindergarten toting a next-gen iPad, (augmented reality-enabled, 3D holographic, telepresent, virtual-school connected) greeted at the classroom door by the next-Gen Mr. Geminoid, his life-like, fully programmable teacher?  


At this point, the Geminoid is controlled by a real person.  In the school setting, one teacher could control his or her "Geminoid" in multiple classrooms, I suppose....


"A Geminoid or twin-robot is designed to resemble a living person. It is controlled by an operator who through the use of advanced software can transfer facial movements and speech to the robot next door (or where ever...). For many years, robot technology has primarily been associated with factories and warehouses, but the days of thinking about robots as just 'tools' are over, Henrik Scharfe says. The robots have become a media, perhaps one of the more significant media of the future. In that way, robot technology follows the trajectory of computers: from tools to media." -Geminoid DK


I can see that many people might fancy the idea of robots taking over the role of teachers.  


Unlike the Geminoid, these robots wouldn't need to be controlled by living, breathing teacher.  Anti-teacher union folks would like the fact that there would be fewer wages to pay,  no rising health insurance premiums to worry about,  no concerns about retirement.  No money would need to be set aside for death benefits.


I imagine there would be other costs, and this might be more than what we now pay for live teachers.  We'd need to pay for  programmers who can handle all aspects of instructional technology.  We'd need to pay for robotic maintenance technicians.  We'd have to pay for the network that runs the system of robot teachers.    


We'd have to figure out how the robots could realistically handle parent-teacher conferences, classroom conflicts, bus duty, coaching, choir practice,  club sponsorship, volunteer coordination,  science fairs, and so forth.  


There is always the chance that robots outfitted with future generation AI capabilities might become sentient, at which point, they might decide to unionize, if they don't happen to "live" in states that don't allow  teacher unions, such as N.C.   ; ) 


Just a thought.   

RELATED AND SOMEWHAT RELATED
Geminoid DK Website (lots of info!)
Geminoid DK: An ultra-realistic android announced (w/Video)
Katie Gatto, Physorg, 3/7/11
Latest Geminoid Is Incredibly Realistic
Evan Ackerman, IEEE Spectrum Blog, 3/5/2011
I Want to See What You See:  Babies Treat 'Social Robots' as Sentient Beings
Science Daily, 10/14/11
"A team of University of Washington researchers is studying how infants tell which entities are "psychological agents" that can think and feel."

Photo Credit:  IEEE Spectrum/Geminoid|DK

Ms. Geminoid:

Photos: Osaka University (left); Osaka University and Kokoro Company (right); composite (middle)

via IEEE Spectrum

Get the Virtual Advantage (pdf)
NC Virtual Public School

Designing For Children: Good article by Catalina Naranjo-Bock, UX Matters

Here is the link - it is the first installment of Catalina Naranjo-Bock's column for UX Matters:


Approaches to User Research When Designing For Children
Catalina Naranjo-Bock,  UXMatters  3/7/11




When I get a bit more time, I'll follow with my comments related to Catalina's column-- I'm a school psychologist and HCI techie, so this one of my interests!