Positive Technology Journal - enactive_interfaces

Lomak (Light Operated Mouse And Keyboard) Gets 2007 IDEA Gold

noreply@blogspirit.com (Andrea Gaggioli) — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 20:49:21 +0200

Lomak International Limited was awarded the Gold Prize in the Computer Equipment category in IDSA's 2007 Awards.

Company explains its technology:

Lomak (light operated mouse and keyboard) is designed for people that have difficulty with, or are unable to use, a standard computer keyboard and mouse. A hand or head pointer controls a beam of light that highlights then confirms the key or mouse functions on the keyboard. By confirming each key, only the correct selection is entered, which reduces errors and increases input speed.
In addition to speed and accuracy, Lomak offers a number of advantages over other access methods including;

versatility and ease of use and training (people can be up and running with it almost immediately)

it requires no calibration and can operate in any ambient conditions

it does not require software (i.e. no dedicated computers are required for users with disabilities; converselyusers can log into their own PCs without assistance)

it does not require any screen area (no on-screen keyboard or mouse menu is required)

it can be used with any application (e.g. proprietary software such as accounting/payroll applications and other business software)

Lomak is ideal for a work environment as it is easy to install, use and manage. It requires little or no technical support as from a systems perspective it is recognised as simply a USB keyboard and mouse.

LomaK

2007 IDEA Winners: Computer Equipment

Tangible 3D display

noreply@blogspirit.com (Andrea Gaggioli) — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 16:30:52 +0200

Via NewScientist

Japanese NTT has unveiled a system that makes three dimensional images solid enough to grasp. The device creates the illusion of depth perception and provides haptic feedback

I believe that among its potential applications, this technology could be effectively used in the rehabilitation of the upper limb following stroke

(Image: NTT)

From NewScientist

NTT engineer Shiro Ozawa, who developed the system, envisages various applications. "You would be able to take the hand, or gently pat the head, of your beloved grandchild who lives far away from you," he says.

Anthony Steed, who works with haptic systems at University College London, UK, says the real-time image capture made possible by the Tangible 3D system is especially interesting.

His own research group has performed related work. But this involved connecting a haptic device to a 2D display on which the user's hands are projected, rather than allowing users to manipulate virtual objects directly. He thinks the NTT system could make the interaction feel much more real, although the haptic glove could hinder this.

Steed's group wants to use such technology to make valuable museum exhibits touchable and is working with the British Museum in London towards this goal.

Enactive 2007

noreply@blogspirit.com (Andrea Gaggioli) — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 23:00:00 +0100

Via VRoot

(from the conference website) Enactive / 07 is an international scientific and cultural event, promoted by the European Network of Excellence ENACTIVE and organized by the ACROE-ICA group, from INP-G. It will be held in Grenoble (France) on November 19-22, 2007.

Seizing the opportunity of its welcome to Grenoble, an historical place in France for innovation in Arts, the 4th International Conference on Enactive Interfaces will be exceptionally extended by an intellectual and artistic event: Enaction_in_Arts.

4th International Conference on Enactive Interfaces
In the continuation of previous editions (2004, Villard-de-Lans, France; 2005, Genoa, Italy; 2006, Montpellier, France), Enactive / 07 aims at promoting the concept of Enaction in the field of Information and Communication Technologies. Creative researchers, innovative engineers and producers are invited to confront their last theoretical, experimental, technological and applicated advances during various talk, demo and poster sessions.
Enaction_in_Arts
Arts and Culture is one of the main fields that are intimately linked with contemporary concepts and technologies. Enaction_in_Arts sessions aim at promoting innovative artistic creations, theories and technologies for the Future of Arts. It will be a unique meeting at the crossing point of Art – Science – Technology and will offer to researchers, engineers and artists the opportunity to discover in the same place, at the same time, cutting-edge research, technologies and artworks centered around Enaction and Enactive Systems.

Special attention will be accorded to situations allowing rich interactions between participants through Ateliers, hands-on demonstrations and experimental open spaces. Moreover, Concerts and Exhibitions will be open to the general public.

Deadline for preliminary submission to Enaction_in_Arts extended to January 31, 2007.
Deadline for scientific papers and posters: July 20, 2007

A model of (en)action to approach embodiment

noreply@blogspirit.com (Andrea Gaggioli) — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 23:05:38 +0100

Via VRoot

A model of (en)action to approach embodiment: a cornerstone for the design of virtual environments for learning

Virtual Reality Journal, Springer London, Volume 10, Number 3-4 / December, 2006, Pages 253-269.

Author: Daniel Mellet-d’Huart

This paper presents a model of (en)action from a conceptual and theoretical point of view. This model is used to provide solid bases to overcome the complexity of designing virtual environments for learning (VEL). It provides a common grounding for trans-disciplinary collaborations where embodiment can be perceived as the cornerstone of the project. Where virtual environments are concerned, both computer scientists and educationalists have to deal with the learner/user’s body; therefore the model provides tools with which to approach both human actions and learning processes within a threefold model. It is mainly based on neuroscientific research, including enaction and the neurophysiology of action.

ENACTIVE Network of Excellence

noreply@blogspirit.com (Andrea Gaggioli) — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 16:49:08 +0100

From the ENACTIVE project website:

The general objective of the ENACTIVE Network is the creation of a multidisciplinary research community with the aim of structuring the research on a new generation of human-computer interfaces called Enactive Interfaces.

Enactive Interfaces are related to a fundamental “interaction” concept which is not exploited by most of the existing human-computer interface technologies. As stated by the famous cognitive psychologist Jerome Bruner, the traditional interaction with the information mediated by a computer is mostly based on symbolic or iconic knowledge, and not on enactive knowledge. While in the symbolic way of learning knowledge is stored as words, mathematical symbols or other symbol systems, in the iconic stage knowledge is stored in the form of visual images, such as diagrams and illustrations that can accompany verbal information. On the other hand, enactive knowledge is a form of knowledge based on the active use of the hand for apprehension tasks.

Enactive knowledge is not simply multisensory mediated knowledge, but knowledge stored in the form of motor responses and acquired by the act of "doing". A typical example of enactive knowledge is constituted by the competence required by tasks such as typing, driving a car, dancing, playing a musical instrument, modelling objects from clay, which would be difficult to describe in an iconic or symbolic form. This type of knowledge transmission can be considered the most direct, in the sense that it is natural and intuitive, since it is based on the experience and on the perceptual responses to motor acts.

Enactive activities

List of participants

Enactive interfaces

noreply@blogspirit.com (Andrea Gaggioli) — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 16:44:48 +0100

From Wikipedia

Enactive Interfaces are new types of Human-Computer Interface that allow to express and transmit the Enactive knowledge by integrating different sensory aspects.

The driving concept of Enactive Interfaces is then the fundamental role of motor action for storing and acquiring knowledge (action driven interfaces). Enactive Interfaces are then capable of conveying and understanding gestures of the user, in order to provide an adequate response in perceptual terms. Enactive Interfaces can be considered a new step in the development of the human-computer interaction because they are characterized by a closed loop between the natural gestures of the user (efferent component of the system) and the perceptual modalities activated (afferent component). Enactive Interfaces can be conceived to exploit this direct loop and the capability of recognising complex gestures.

The development of such interfaces requires the creation of a common vision between different research areas like Computer Vision, Haptic and Sound processing, giving more attention on the motor action aspect of interaction. An example of prototypical systems that are able to introduce Enactive Interfaces are Reactive Robots, robots that are always in contact with the human hand and are capable of interpreting the human movements and guiding the human for the completion of a manipulation task.