MIT Invention Lets You Reach Through Computer Screen & Play With Stuff

This is the video link below.

http://vimeo.com/79179138

This is the original sites below. 

http://tangible.media.mit.edu/project/inform/

How it works: The Kinect picks up movements and computer analyzes and copy the movement.

Interface: Kinect (Kinect is a interface that responds how you move and it's used for Xbox360.)

The development: inFORM is one of many projects under the concept of Tangible User Interface (TUI). This concept is turning digital information into a physical representation to better understand it. 

The peak: It hasn't happened yet.

Example: It can be used to interact physically at a distance.

Turning 2D architectural designs to 3D models. Could be used for medical or surgical simulations.

Speculate about the future: we might be able to touch and feel things even we're million miles away. That will be amazing thing and scary thing and the same time because that technology allows you to control or harm something or someone if they can see it through screen. But at the same time, it allows you to save or heal physically from far distances. 

InFORM, MIT's New Medium

InFORM, MIT's New Medium

MIT’s media group presented it’s new digital medium called inFORM, recently.  This technology allows individuals to interact with digital media tangibly through the stimulation from the individual and reception and reaction of the board. Conversely, interaction of the digital media with the physical world also takes place with the ability to move objects on the board through. The keys also change color and take on a chameleon facility.

The technology being used is the Kinect motion sensor, which you might be familiar with if you use Xbox: it recreates scanned body movements onto the board of 900 motorized “physical pixels.” The movement you see is feedback from actuators and linkages powering the system under the table, and the overhead, Kinect sensor and projector.

Linkage:

Pneumatic actuators, of which cylinders are the most common,

are the devices providing power and movement to automated

systems, machines and processes. A pneumatic cylinder is a

simple, low cost, easy to install device that is ideal for

producing powerful linear movement over a wide range of

velocities, and can be stalled without causing internal damage.

Actuator:

An actuator is a type of motor for moving or controlling a mechanism or system. It is operated by a source of energy, typically electric current, hydraulic fluid pressure, or pneumatic pressure, and converts that energy into motion. An actuator is the mechanism by which a control system acts upon an environment. -Wiki

“Convert” and “output” are associated words with actuators.

I think the potential for this technology has to do with Skype, the ability to telecommunicate. The board will erect 3D images, using “pixels,” as it already does but less, chunky, if you will. Maybe the clarity and vibrancy of the pixels could become more enhanced to the point that semi-holographic representations of people are made.

My outlandish idea is, what if what they call “pixels” or “pins” (like the child’s toy that has many pins and conforms to the shape of your fingers when pressed,) could rise and conform into a human-like representation with all of the colors enhanced to the point of near-realism.

Here is what the article “InForm: MIT technology makes it possible to 'be' two places at once” has said concerning inForm’s potential.

“As an interface and display, InForm has potential applications ranging from education, 3D prototyping, and surgical simulations to urban planning, architecture, and map making.”

“The group sees InForm as progress toward its Radical Atoms goal, which is to develop interactive materials that can dynamically change shape like pixels on a screen.” -Tim Hornyak

I don’t think inForm is in it’s final form.

Citations

http://www.telepresenceoptions.com/2013/11/mit_technology_makes_it_possib/

http://resources.norgren.com/document_resources/PDF_links/product_literature/brochures/actuators/actuators_guide/actuator_guide.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actuator

Click link to see video: http://vimeo.com/79179138

Reddit.com

Techniques/Interface: Reddit.com is a social news website that hosts a collection of entries submitted by registered users. These registered users are called "Redditors". The website essentially works like a bulletin board. Redditors post pictures, videos, web links, news articles, and even sometimes classified information. Many redditors up vote and down vote submission to determine their rank on the "front page", and often converse via comments. In addition to the front page, there are also many subreddits categories that concentrate on specific topics. Reddit is very fun, but can also be very controversial.

Development: Reddit was founded in 2005 by two University of Virginia graduates, in Medford, MA. Reddit was founded as an open community and remains true to that today. In 2008, Reddit became an open source project, allowing all website code and libraries to be free online. In 2010, Reddit introduced a subscription to Reddit Gold, which offered new features and attracted a lot of attention. Reddit has also been a leader in the prevention of Internet censorship. In 2012, Reddit participated in the online blackout, in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act. Sooner after, it also joined the Internet Defense League to organize future protests.

Peak: With the boom of the Internet now in full force, Reddit is at the top of its game and pioneering online social news. Although criticized for being inappropriate and offensive at times, Reddit is the people's news website. Unlike broadcast news stations, Reddit allows its users to determine what needs to known.

Prediction: I predict that Reddit will always continue to be more honest than broadcast news stations. Articles and posts on Reddit come from the people's interests, rather than what generates higher ratings and more revenue. Reddit is a commander in the digital age, and has the potential to be the next generations next news source.

Example:

Physical Photography

NEW MEDIA PRESENTATION

Virtual Beatles Tour

- the techniques (how it is done)

They compiled the photographs and edited them into a panorama. With the help of modern software like photoshop to recreate the scene.

- the interface

Photography. Software simulation. Programing. 

- the development

There has been developments in panoramic photography with cell phones and IMAX technology. 

- the peak (has it already happened?)

It hasn't peaked, but it has happened. What I mean by this is that the hype or magnitude of this technique has already passed. But this doesn't mean it hasn't reached its peak. Just like photography has progressed, this is a mutation, or evolution.

- an example

http://beatlesinstudio.blogspot.com/2013/10/virtually-in-studio-2.html

- speculate wildly about the future.

I believie there will be a 360 camera in the future that captures the surrounding of any certain space, and then recreates the scenery in the same space in a hologram fashion. Capturing 3 dimensions, and recreating it in 3 dimensions.

Smart Cane

The smart cane is just now coming onto the scene and slowly making it's way on to the public market. After it's release in early 2013, it's popularity and development has taken off. Though it is a "smart cane" it still holds the very basic function of assisting one with walking. What makes it so special are features- such as GPS, Wifi and a heart rate monitor. The GPS can help one get around and help one find specific locations, and with the target audience being the elderly, the GPS feature can be used to keep track of the elderly, and the heart rate monitor is helpful to make sure that vital sign is reading normally. I predict this being a mainstream item in the next 20 years in the elderly community, but in a more compact, developed version. The weight of the cane I think would have to be considerably lighter, even though it is relatively light. Also, I think the versatility would need to be increased, i.e, more features. Features needed would be clock, appointment reminders, and potentially even a phone/ pager ability.

Binaural Audio

Binaural Audio: A sound technology and cousin of the mind

The Technique:

Binaural recording is done with two microphones placed in locations similar to the position and distance of the human ears (about 7’’ apart). In the past they actually used to stick micrphones to a mannequin head. In super high quality recordings some engineers will even use ear canal shaped tubing to filter out sound.

The Interface:

Binaural Audio will only work with stereo headphones or a stereo dipole. The listening experience trancends regular stereo sound.  The listener is given a 360 degree world of sound where things can sound above, below, beside, and behind the listener. New levels of brain connectivity have been reached and discovered through this technique.

The Development:

The First basic binaural recordings were conducted in 1881 for a carbon telephone called the Theatrophone. The knoweldge and technology was always in the mind of audio producers and sound engineers but was kept on the backburner until our technology was suitable. Today a huge influx of people experimenting with this technique as appeared. Binaural audio now has uses in Health, conciouness studies, entertainment, mediation, and etc.  The more popular function of this technique is called Binaural Beats. Two frequencies closer in distance are played on opposite sides (left and right). Consequently, a differential tone is produced in the brain that can alter the neural state. 100hz +112hz creates a differential of 12hz in the brain. The brain will from then on will start to resonate at 12hz. These frequencies are two low for any speaker to generate but this technology utilzes the brains own electrical emissions to create its own frequency responses. Through binaural beats, one can entrain their brain into most any state from stress to relaxation to full out of body experience. Binaural beats have also been used in 3d game worlds and for any immersive media that uses headphones.

> 40 Hz Gamma waves- Higher mental activity, including perception, problem solving, fear, and consciousness

13–39 Hz Beta waves- Active, busy or anxious thinking and active concentration, arousal, cognition, and or paranoia

7–13 Hz Alpha waves- Relaxation (while awake), pre-sleep and pre-wake drowsiness, REM sleep, Dreams

8–12 Hz Mu waves- Mu rhythm, Sensorimotor rhythm

4–7 Hz Theta waves- Deep meditation/relaxation, NREM sleep

< 4 Hz Delta waves- Deep dreamless sleep, loss of body awareness

The Peak:

      The Peak has not happened yet, this is a form of media that affects entertainment, health, and science very profoundly. It opens up energetic fields of study that have been previously rejected by the science and medical communities. When Neuroplasticity is as important as diet in our society, binaural technologies will thrive. Since the 80’s and 90’s the Monroe institute and many other smaller institutions have been developing their own recordings for enhancing the human experience. Today, in 2013 however, there is far much more information regarding brain states and far more interest in exploring it. Recordings can be found at unexplainablestore.com, i-doser.com, themonroeinstitute.org, brainwaveplanet.com, and Youtube.com

An example
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXrx_523qQU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WSQlh0gfGA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUDTlvagjJA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWrug6W-pI4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9CsHnc2YWc

Speculate wildly about the future:

       I believe that sound technology will be the platform for mental, spiritual, and physical health in the future. If humanity could finally understand that we are fully electromagnetic beings, our brains would begin to change. New neural networks can be built, even new bands of frequencies can be perceived. With the subtle help of sound, people can get closer to their inner calling and learn to relax at new levels. These technologies are already used in subliminal advertisement, dance music, and pop industry recordings, so beware! Most importantly though, take responsibily for your perceptions and work towards understanding your brain and body. Something like binaural beats can help you feel what its like to be in Delta as opposed to Theta and how it affects your decision and feelings. It will create a huge emersion of people that are concious of their own emotional and mental bodies.

Digital Poetry

• Digital poetry is a form of poetry that uses the computer as its primary medium, making it a visually electronic art form as much as it is a literary art form. 
• Although digital poems are most popularly found online, you can find them in a number of mediums such as on display at an Art Gallery (as digital holograms), or programed into a CD or DVD
• Many digital poets take advantage of the medium of the computer by utilizing hypertext, which adds an interactive element to the art. Viewers are recquired to click on different links so that the end result of the poem is different for each experience.

• Some digital poetry can only be accessed by the scanning of a QR Code with a smartphone, which adds an extra element of mystery to this medium
• Below shows the QR code for Genco Gulan's poem "22.2"  

• To talk about the development of digital poetry would go hand in hand with a discussion on the development of computers over time. The first account of digital Poetry can be traced back to about 1959, as cited by non-fiction book "Prehistoric Digital Poetry (1959-1995)" written by C.T. Funkhouser, in the form of hypertexts and random word generators

•  As far as the peak of digital poetry goes, I find it hard to say it ever had one for several reasons. For one, the information on the medium is hard to find. Secondly, every artist who ever used digital media that I researched used it temporarily, and never actually spent a long period of their career focusing on digital poetry. Most of them were in fact installation artists.

• If I were to speculate wildly about digital poetry (which I don't know why one would do) I would be handicapped with the idea of expanded computer use in general. Maybe one day we will be able to transport poems to one another without even speaking; just with the brainwaves in our minds.