Positive Technology Journal

19-21 April 2006, Princess Sumaya University of Technology Amman, Jordan

From Charles T. Tart

The program for Toward a Science of Consciousness 2006, April 4-8, 2006, Tucson, Arizona has gone to press.

As usual, The Journal of Consciousness Studies will publish the indexed conference Program/Abstract book which will be available at the conference.

However the 310 accepted abstracts are now available online

Full conference program information is available at the conference website

Via Gear Factor

Japanese researchers are developing a robot, RI-MAN, which will provide assistance to the elderly. RI-MAN is 5-foot-tall, and weights 220-pound. A layer of soft silicone allows it to lift patients into its arms. Moreover, built-in sensors detect a person's body position and weight, so the robot can figure out how best to lift them. At the moment, RI-MAN can only carry a 26-pound doll, but could be capable of lifting a 150-pound person within five years.

"A European embedded computing specialist has announced a wrist-worn wearable computer that runs embedded Linux or Windows CE. Eurotech's WWPC ("wrist-worn PC") offers a wealth of standard PC interfaces, along with several innovative wearable-specific features, the company claims. It targets emergency rescue, security, healthcare, maintenance, logistics, and "many other" applications."

Via Networked Performance

NADA affords both the technical novice and expert an unified platform for prototyping physical interfaces and digital content - from handheld product concepts to reactive environments that can be connected across the Internet.

Working models that require less work... NADA is designed for maximum versatility and efficiency. It is a true cross-platform application, and it connects to a variety of commercially available hardware for bringing digital information into and out of standard PC's and Macs. Supported hardware is automatically detected and auto-configured, minimizing complexity for the user. Project authoring with NADA can be done in either Macromedia Flash MX2004 (or later) or Java™. Even beginners without programming experience can design and prototype with sensors, actuators, lights, switches and animation using an intuitive graphical environment. Graduate to finer levels of control by developing projects using the NADA API for ActionScript and Java™. Below is the look of the NADA interface

Commedia Virtuale: from theatre to avatars

Digital Creativity Journal, Volume 16, Number 3 / 2005

Ben Salem 

We are investigating face, hand and body expressions to be applied to avatars of a virtual environment to improve their communication capabilities and enrich and facilitate their perception by users of the environment. We report on our work based on obtaining inspiration from the world of theatre. In this perspective Commedia dell'Arte and Noh theatre have been the focus of our attention. We explore key features of Commedia dell'Arte, namely improvisation, exaggerated gestures and expressive postures, and investigate how their adoption in the design of avatars can be useful for collaborative virtual environments. With the same objectives we look at another theatre style, the Noh theatre. We investigate the variety of masks and the choreography. The outcome is a visual language for avatars made up of postures, gestures and appearances. We have concluded this investigation with the production of an experimental theatre play involving real and virtual actors.

Via the Presence L-Listserv 

(From Top Tech News) 

By Sixto Ortiz Jr.
March 10, 2006 7:02AM

The possibilities are endless, from fully immersive virtual- reality environments that faithfully reproduce real motion to, perhaps, a way to control unruly crowds without tear gas, rubber bullets, and riot police.

The idea of controlling people by manipulating brain activity long has been a staple of science fiction and dystopian fantasy. Hypnotism, implanted devices, brainwashing, even the Jedi mind trick -- all are methods that have appeared in fictional works as effective ways to subvert the will of human beings.

Today, however, the possibility of being controlled by an outside force is more science than fiction, thanks to researchers at Nippon Telegraph and Telephone in Japan.

A team at NTT's Communication Science Laboratories has invented a headset that can, when linked to a remote control equipped with a pair of joysticks, force the wearer to move against his or her will.

The device originally was designed to add realism to video games and other virtual environments. But while technically impressive, the invention is viewed by some as ethically troubling -- viewed, quite literally, as a new form of mind control. The apparatus has raised questions about the possibilities and perils of a world in which humans can be moved around like chess pieces.

Shock Value

NTT is using a technology called galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) to influence the delicate machinery in the inner ear that controls balance and movement in humans.
Subjects slip on the headset, which looks like a pair of bulky headphones, and researchers zap electrical impulses into their ears to control their movements remotely.

"At low currents, GVS selectively activates nerve cells in the peripheral vestibular system (the balance receptors in the inner ear) and such activation results in sensations and movements of the eyes and limbs, just as natural stimulation of balance receptors results in such movements," said Dr. Ian Curthoys, professor of vestibular function at the University of Sydney's Vestibular Research Laboratory.

In other words, GVS artificially induces the same natural sensations caused whenever the inner ear's balancing mechanism is stimulated with real movement. For example, Curthoys said, a subject undergoing this type of stimulation could feel like she is turning even though she is sitting still. The technology could be used both to trick a person into "feeling" motion and to move in a predetermined direction.

The possibilities are endless, from fully immersive virtual- reality environments that faithfully reproduce real motion to, perhaps, a way to control unruly crowds without tear gas, rubber bullets, and riot police.

Read the full article  

Call for Participation: This workshop will bring together practitioners and researchers who are involved in the use of computational systems in the fine and performing arts, lite* the application of computational and generative methodologies in the arts and related creative disciplines. However a very broad list of (non-exclusive) descriptors might include:

* the application of computational and generative methodologies
in the arts and related creative disciplines
* computational approaches to creativity, cognition and
aesthetics
* the application of artificial intelligence and artificial life
* the application of evolutionary and adaptive systems
* cultural applications of computing and digital electronics in
general

Via Medgadget 

From Yale School of Medicine:

"It appears that stimulating populations of neurons once per second with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation over many minutes modestly reduces the capacity of these neurons to activate each other," Hoffman said [Ralph Hoffman, M.D., a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and lead investigator of the study -ed.] "As a result, neural populations as a whole become less reactive or excitable. Our study findings suggest that hallucinations can be curtailed using this approach without interfering with normal brain function."

Hoffman recently completed a study testing TMS in different areas of the brain and found that positioning the TMS over what is known as Wernicke's region in the left temporal lobe, and a second region located on the opposite side of the brain, were optimal in reducing these hallucinations. He said these two brain areas, which ordinarily play key roles in perceiving words spoken by other persons, have also been found in other studies to be important in producing hallucinated "voices."

For patients enrolled in the trial, TMS will be administered to these brain areas once per second for 16 minutes daily over a three-week period. One-third of the subjects in the trial will start out receiving a placebo form of TMS. After three weeks, these subjects will also be offered a trial of real TMS. The study will use a magnetic resonance imaging brain scan to precisely position TMS over desired brain regions.

The value of virtual reality-simulator training in the development of laparoscopic surgical skills.

J Minim Invasive Gynecol. 2006 Apr;13(2):126-133

Authors: Hart R, Doherty DA, Karthigasu K, Garry R

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) training in improving the surgical skills of medical students and gynecologic trainees. DESIGN: A prospective observational study to assess the changes observed in objectively measured surgical performance after VR training. SETTING AND POPULATION: University teaching hospital and the laboratories of the University of Western Australia. PARTICIPANTS: Fifteen 5th-year medical students, six junior-doctor trainees (years 1-3), and eight senior trainees (years 4-6). INTERVENTIONS: Standard gynecologic procedures before and after VR training were undertaken on sheep. The procedures were video-recorded and edited to blind the scorer as to identity and seniority of the operator. The procedures were scored using a combination of operative time and penalties for surgical errors. The surgical scores were correlated with the VR scores. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Operative skills were assessed using a combination score compiled from scores obtained while undertaking salpingectomy, salpingotomy, and tubal clipping. Virtual reality scores were also a combination score derived from summation of various computer-calculated measures of time and accuracy in undertaking two standardized exercises. RESULTS: The baseline VR scores were significantly related to the overall pre-training scores (salpingectomy p = .032). A better initial VR score was also predictive of better surgical performance. The initial VR score was also predictive of improvement observed between baseline and post-training (p = .004). CONCLUSION: Virtual reality training is of value in improving surgical skills in the clinical environment. It appears to be of most value in the earliest stages of training. These data suggest that serious consideration should be given to incorporating VR training into the training program of obstetricians and gynecologists at an early stage.

August 21-23, 2006, Marina del Rey

From the website

Via the VRPSYCH mailing list

A post-doc position concerning the use of virtual reality in cognitive and behavioral therapy is available at National Research Center (CNRS) in Marseilles, France. For further information contact Daniel Mestre, senior research scientist at CNRS.

Via CogNews 

BrainMaps.org is an interactive high-resolution digital brain atlas consisting of several dozen mouse, monkey, and human brains. The atlas is integrated with a high-speed Internet database for querying and retrieving data about brain structure and function online. Users can add their own labels and comments, and place landmarks throughout the digital brains they navigate; images, landmarks, and other annotations can be shared with other users in the BrainMaps forum

The power of simulation: Imagining one's own and other's behavior 

Brain Res. 2006 Feb 3

Decety J, Grezes J.

A large number of cognitive neuroscience studies point to the similarities in the neural circuits activated during the generation, imagination, as well as observation of one's own and other's behavior. Such findings support the shared representations account of social cognition, which is suggested to provide the basic mechanism for social interaction. Mental simulation may also be a representational tool to understand the self and others. However, successfully navigating these shared representations - both within oneself and between individuals - constitutes an essential functional property of any autonomous agent. It will be argued that self-awareness and agency, mediated by the temporoparietal (TPJ) area and the prefrontal cortex, are critical aspects of the social mind. Thus, differences as well as similarities between self-- and other representations at the neural level may be related to the degrees of self-awareness and agency. Overall, these data support the view that social cognition draws on both domain-general mechanisms and domain-specific embodied representations.

How psychotherapy changes the brain - the contribution of functional neuroimaging.

Mol Psychiatry. 2006 Mar 7;

Authors: Linden DE

Via Pasta and Vinegar 

A PhD position is available at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design for the Touch Project:

Radio Frequency IDentification is a wireless technology that is is currently finding applications in the replacement of barcodes in supply chains and logistics. This cheap and potentially ubiquitous technology is likely to influence the interactions we have with many products and services. The Touch project therefore looks at user-centred applications of the technology. A PhD is now available as part of the project.

Touch is interested in developing user-centred applications and services: assessing ways in which the technology might be used in everyday life in useful, fun and non-invasive ways. The growing integration of RFID readers in mobile phones enables simple interactions between phones and physical objects with a ‘swipe’ or ‘touch’. In Japan there are around 10 million people paying for tickets and other services with ‘wallet phones’ and near field communication. These applications in ticketing and retail are the first areas to emerge as mass-market uses.

An initial exploratory period will develop specific research questions and application areas. Touch will look closely at social practices around mobile use and RFID. How does the increasing digitalisation of physical objects affect identity, culture, play, and issues of social transformation. Are there areas of everyday physical activity that would benefit from network intervention? Are there networked, online activities that could be supported by interactions with the physical?

The project will develop a number of practical investigations of the relationship between the digital and the physical. In particular looking at shifts in advertising or marketing, retail activity, public and civic services, gaming or play, and issues around personal, social and communicative uses. Through the design of digital and physical artefacts, applications and prototypes, the project will build a body of knowledge around near field interactions.

The PhD will work on specific themes within the project. This will require self-initiated research, as well as collaborative development with other designers, an anthropologist, software developers, the mobile industry and user groups. Applicants should have a design background and be able to demonstrate knowledge of social, tangible or mobile interaction design. Applicants are encouraged to submit a diversity of themes and approaches within these areas.

The fellowship is provided by Institute of Design, AHO, Oslo, Norway, and has a duration of 3 years, starting date early to mid 2006. The yearly salary amounts to NOK 292.000.

Deadline for applications: Postmarked no later than 22 March 2006.

Applications should be sent to:
Attn: Timo Arnall / Interaction Design
Oslo School of Architecture and Design
Maridalsveien 29
0175 Oslo
Norway

Via Humaine 

Two postdoc positions in cognitive/emotional robotics are available at the University of Skövde, Sweden.

These positions are part of the four-year European integrated project "Integrating Cognition, Emotion and Autonomy" (ICEA, Jan 2006 - Dec 2009). The project involves cognitive scientists, neuroscientists, psychologists, computer scientists, and roboticists, and aims to develop a cognitive systems architecture integrating cognitive, emotional and autonomic/bioregulatory processes in the control of robotic cognitive systems.

The two postdoc positions are focused on developing robotic/neural net models of (1) the role of anticipation, representation and emotion in agent-environment interaction, (2) the interaction between cognitive and emotional mechanisms. The application deadlines are March 20 and April 18, respectively.

For further information and detailed application instructions see:

* position 1 (deadline March 20)
http://www.career.edu/index.php?post_id=1081
http://www.his.se/templates/vanligwebbsida1.aspx?id=24698
* position 2 (deadline April 18)
http://www.career.edu/index.php?post_id=1105
http://www.his.se/templates/vanligwebbsida1.aspx?id=24811

Starting date (for both positions): spring/summer 2006 (as soon as possible).

Informal enquiries about the positions can be directed to Tom Ziemke at tom.ziemke@his.se.

Electronic Memory Aids for Community-Dwelling Elderly Persons: Attitudes, Preferences, and Potential Utilization

Cohen-Mansfield, Jiska, Creedon, Michael A., Malone, Thomas B., Kirkpatrick III, Mark J., Dutra, Lisa A., Herman, Randy Perse. The Journal of Applied Gerontology, Vol. 24 No. 1, February 2005 3-20.

This article focuses on the attitudes of community-dwelling elderly persons toward the use of electronic memory aids. Questionnaire data from 100 elderly volunteers indicate that more than one half were interested in an electronic memory device for at least one purpose. Those who said that they would use the device had higher levels of education, used more household electronic devices, were more likely to have someone available to help them use a device, and had more health problems than those who preferred to not use it. Most would use a memory aid to monitor medications and remember appointments, followed by remembering addresses and phone numbers. The expected use, design, preferred methods of instruction, and concerns about the device varied. Study results suggest the need to develop devices with different degrees of flexibility and complexity. Future studies should evaluate training methods to use such technology.

Via Networked performance 

"As electronic devices become smaller, lower in power requirements, and less expensive, we have begun to adorn our bodies with personal information and communication appliances. Such devices include cellular phones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAS), pocket video games, and pagers. Currently there is no method for these devices to share data. networking these devices can reduce functional i/o redundancies and allow new conveniences and services. The concept of Personal Area Networks (PANS) is presented to demonstrate how electronic devices on and near the human body can exchange digital information by capacitively coupling picoamp currents through the body. A low-frequency carrier (less than 1 megahertz) is used so no energy is propagated, minimizing remote eavesdropping and interference by neighboring pans. A prototype pan system allows users to exchange electronic business cards by shaking hands."

Personal Area Networks: Near-field intrabody communication by T. G. Zimmerman