The Question - » News
We were awarded ‘Best Paper’ at UbiComp, Beijing!
Our paper ‘Haptic Reassurance in the Pitch Black for an Immersive Theatre Experience‘ has just been awarded best paper at the international technology conference UbiComp 2011 in Beijing, China.
The paper authored by the Open University, Rusty Squid and Extant is based on our outcomes and evaluation of The Question and has been selected from 304 international papers submitted for the conference on ubiquitous computing. http://www.ubicomp.org/ubicomp2011/
Comment on this postOur paper accepted for publication at UbiComp
The Open University, Extant and Adam Spiers of ‘Rusty Squid’ are delighted that our paper ‘Haptic Reassurance in the Pitch Black for an Immersive Theatre Experience’ has been accepted for publication at UbiComp 2011 Papers and Notes.
The paper based on our outcomes and evaluation of The Question is one of 50 selected from 302 international papers submitted for the conference on ubiquitous computing to be held in Beijing, China in September 2011
Comment on this postGuerilla Science – Secret Garden Party
Adam Spiers was invited in July to present a demonstration of the Haptic Lotus at Guerrilla Science summer festival event The Secret Garden Party
Thursday:Ascent
17:00-22:00 Blind Robot’s Bluff: Adam Spiers Navigate through darkness with the Haptic Lotus, a cybernetic instrument that manoeuvres through space with engineered grace. Use the unfolding petals to guide you to your destination, and ponder the meaning of light in the dark.
http://guerillascience.co.uk/archives/1782
Based on a mock up we had tested at the DHRA conference last September, Adam and his assistants set up a similar situation in a tent at the festival. They attached some cylindrical containers (each containing a sweet) to the corners of a gazebo with magnets. This was the corner where the target ‘beacon’, sound source and some interesting textures were hung up (fake fur, garden twine and corrugated card). Before people went in to the installation blind folded and wearing headphones, they were told that they needed to find these objects and that the Lotus would guide them there.
They were also given the option of racing their friends, which worked quite well. Surprisingly nearly everyone managed to find the container and return to the entrance with it!
Peter Bennett AKA ‘Pencil Beam’, made a short and sharp atmospheric looping sound track that fitted in with the feel of the technology. This activated in the blindfolded persons headphones when they moved near the target tactile area where the container hung.
‘Pencil Beam’ music production can be found at www.pencilbeam.com
Listen to the track here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
More images can be seen on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/guerillascience/sets/72157627228403961/
In other news – our paper has been accepted for publication at UbiCom! Read more here
Comment on this postFull DVD and evaluation videos
You can now access the full DVD of the Question on our DVD page and a video of interviews taken during our evaluation process can be found on our new Evaluation page.
Comment on this postConferences
DIS 2010 (Designing Interactive Systems)
In August Dr Yvonne Rogers of the Open University presented a keynote at this conference held in Aarhus, Denmark.
The talk was called ‘Designing in the Wild’
www.dis2010.org/index.php?Programme
DHRA 2010 (Digital Humanities Research Association)
Maria Oshodi and Adam Spiers gave a demonstration and presentation on The Question on Tuesday 7 September at the DHRA conference held at Brunel University.
http://drha2010.org.uk/index.php/programme/
The Mobile HCI Conference (Human Computer Interaction)
Janet VanDerLinden of the Open University presented a paper on The Question at the mobile HCI conference, in September 2010 in Lisbon Portugal. The workshop was called “Using Audio and Haptics for Delivering Spatial Information via Mobile Devices.”
http://mobilehci2010.di.fc.ul.pt/
http://www.haptimap.org/events/organized-events/mobilehci.html
We are aiming to develop the project further in terms of both its performance and technology potential, so please contact us if you have any suggestions or contacts that you might have which would enable us to achieve this.
Comment on this postHuman Computer Interaction Conference
Janet VanDerLinden of the Open University will be presenting a paper on The Question at the mobile HCI (Human Computer Interaction) conference, in September 2010 in Lisbon Portugal. The workshop is called “Using Audio and Haptics for Delivering Spatial Information via Mobile Devices.” For more information visit:
http://mobilehci2010.di.fc.ul.pt/
http://www.haptimap.org/events/organized-events/mobilehci.html
Comment on this postA successful week of presentations
The Question held a successful week of presentations to an invited audience of arts professionals, academics, and technologists from Monday 14 – Saturday 19 June 2010.
A short DVD produced by Braunarts on the experiences of this test audience in the installation will be available soon through Extant and this website.
An evaluation of the project, carried out by the Open University, will be documented and made available on this website in September.
The Engineers Have Arrived.
Going into the second week of the installation of the project at BAC – Adam Spiers, Humanoid Robotics Researcher and the haptic device engineer has arrived and is busy working on the beacons which emit the signals to the lotus itself to guide participants around the pitch black installation.
Comment on this postBuilding in progress
The build and initial installation of The Question has begun at BAC. We are working on creating total blackout in the space (which is harder than it sounds!) and we are proceeding well with the build of the rig that holds the beacons which transmit to the haptic device itself. Despite spending lots of time in the dark we are managing to get out into the sun as there are lots of bits and bobs that need to be bought each day!
Comment on this postQuestion #3: What do you imagine the world seems like to dolphins when they use their sonar?
Responses will be posted here on the site just below this post.
We do hope that you will take a moment and let us hear your thoughts.
Click here to see the other weekly questions.
Comment on this postFooter content - repeated on every page
