From our latest dance game prototype. Data from the Optrima depth camera in our lab. Sparkly thanks to the DPSF plugin.

travel,mcl,aquarium,museum,educational gameplay

Along with my colleague Juliet Norton, we visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium for fun and for research. The aquarium is a beautiful mix of animal exhibits and interactive technology. Here is a brief video and our thoughts on the experience.

0:13 The Otter Habitat

These are sea otters, and are quite different from river otters. This habitat was two levels. The bottom level had an underwater view only, but there were few fish and almost no fauna. It was rather unexciting because the otters were playing at the surface. The top level showed the top 4 feet of water and the surface. The land part of the habitat wasn’t terribly large (only about 20 x 5 feet and mostly rocky), but the water was quite deep. The entire habitat had a very “man made” feel. They were sleeping in the water on their backs, but had plastic toys to play with when awake. We didn’t see a feeding, but this camera shows it daily.

0:35 Pledge to help the environment

This interactive interface aims to motivate children to help keep the environment clean by taking a pledge and cleaning up a virtual environment. On a touch screen proximal display a user chooses his or her pledge (e.g. picking up trash, recycling, reducing fuel use, etc) and their picture is taken. The headshot is placed on the user’s avatar in a virtual town (of presumably Monterey) shown on a large global display. Each user’s avatar begins working towards their chosen pledge. The camera focus is routinely changed between users so each person can see their involvement in keeping Monterey clean. The user can continue to interact with the proximal display by exploring available trivia about the current pledge or decide to pursue another pledge.

There were a lot of people around this station – the children were the ones interacting and pledging, but parents were enthusiastically helping them or watching.

1:00 Death of a Whale

This kiosk educates children about the circle of life under the sea. The global display shows a whale that has died under the sea and there is a narrator that explains how the whale died and the technology used to monitor the whale on the ocean bottom. There were several proximal stations where the users interaction occurred. The users are asked to collect video of eight different organisms found around the decaying whale (all virtual assets). When you spotted the organism you selected (touch screen) and then are able to collect the video recording. In a pop-up window a video clip is shown of the corresponding live animal to indicate the user has collected the video. This is the extent of the interaction with the proximal display. The global narrator is where the bulk of the information came from. There were also plastic buttons to the side of the touch-screen proximal displays, but they were-non functioning and kind of distracting.

1:30 Magnifying Glass

There was an open aquarium of water where coral and other small organisms were living, but on top were several floating magnifying glasses that were anchored in to the side wall with wire. There was a sign that said “Do Not Touch” but it was unclear if the sign was referring to the magnifying glasses or the water and organisms. Forbidden use of the magnifying glass would remove all possible interaction rendering the station less than purposeful. I took the risk and moved the glass around and was able to find a tiny little crab that would have otherwise gone unnoticed.

1:40 Safe Wildlife Encounters

This station aimed in educating users about how humans can harm sea life when walking around tide pools and picking up animals. There are four users stations around a large global display. The global display features a virtual tide pool and foot prints that represent the four users. Each user station has a joystick for moving their foot prints and a small touch screen that reports warnings when you’re about to step on sensitive areas full of life. When you get close enough, you are given the choices to take a photo or to pick up an organism. If you pick up an organism that can be harmed you are told so and asked to only look at these creatures when you encounter them in real life.

2:22 Making Informed Decisions About Seafood

This experience informs visitors of the consequences of eating certain kinds of seafood. Users sit down at a diner counter and order from a touch-screen menu by selecting one of three available options on the menu. The restaurant staff informs you about your decision and tells you why it is safe for you and the ecosystem to eat that item or not. There are many menu stations (proximal displays) but the restaurant staff can only address one order at a time, so the orders are queued.

3:15 Explore the Habitat of Tiny Hermit Crabs

This aquatic tank featured a rocky habitat which hermit crabs live in. This was only an exploratory experience for users via a movable camera. The camera had a joystick to translate on the XZ plane and a switch that controlled translation in the Y direction (assuming Y is up). I discovered a third control that allowed the camera to pivot and instinctually tried to get my friend in the frame. If the pivot feature had been removed it is likely I would have focused on the mysterious lives of the hermits.

Conclusion

This video has provided a glimpse of what can be found at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The though of a visitor’s experience can be found in all design aspects of this establishment from the interactive learning experience featured in this film to placing deep sea exhibits on the bottom floor and locating coral and shoreline exhibits on the top floor. For further questions please contact Emiko and Juliet or visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium website.

Reasons why the last two days have been pretty awesome:

• We are right next to the ocean. Like, the sound of waves is everywhere. It’s so ‘wild’ we found a dead seal and watched a deer take a pee.
• We went to the Monterey Aquarium to take in how they incorporate technology in their animal exhibits. Blown away! Lots of cool education games working side-by-side with the animal environments! Video coming.
• Great people are pretty much everywhere. I need a mixed reality address book HMD to keep track of everyone, my brain is tired.
• Catered food and wine: YES! It certainly dissolved our reluctance to talk to strangers.
• Adding to my reading list as I try to keep track of all the cool things people are involved with…
• As usual at conferences, I get a lot of brainstorming done during the downtimes. First draft of proposed dissertation work is looming over my head, after all!

Reasons why the last two days could have been better:

• Being from Florida, I expected it to be windy buy mild weather. Now I’m very cold.
• It could have been two days on a boat to the Bahamas, like last year. But I’m sure I’m not the only one sad about that.
• There’s so much going that it’s been difficult to maintain my P90X workout schedule. No, I’m not joking.

If you happen to be at the convention, come see my colleague, Juliet Norton, speak on her paper “Exploring Strategies and Guidelines for Developing Full Body Video Game Interfaces” at 7:30 pm on Sunday.

Biometrics and Physical Controllers

Wednesday, 28 July, 9-10:30 AM

Vibraudio Pose: An Investigation of Non-Visual Feedback Roles for Body-Controlled Video Games

This paper describes a user study of the optimum use of vibration and audio

feedback in video games where players use their entire bodies as input devices.

Emiko Charbonneau, Charles E. Hughes, Joseph J. Laviola, Jr.

You can read it here.

If you enjoy the article, he has appended a reading list with some related papers from our ISUE lab, including my first SIGGRAPH Sandbox paper on dance game interfaces.

So far this demonstration has been part of ISMAR 2009 and Otronicon 2010. The focus of this project is on making therapy a less difficult and tedious experience through enjoyable virtual activities. It is designed for three different skill levels based on the mobility of the patient. This was a challenge because at the lowest level patients may have essentially a frozen limb that can barely move millimeters.

Some specific features of this system:

• 3d stereo Using the same technology in current movie theaters, we project the virtual world onto the real space in 3D.
• Head Tracking The stereo glasses are tracked so that the user’s head movements translate the view of the virtual world, allowing them to move and change brush color or look behind the canvas at the fruit bowl they are painting.
• Many Activities For a variety in context we designed nine distinct games that may appeal to different people.
• Same Gameplay The main purpose of this system is to ease the burden of physical therapy drills, so despite the contextual difference in gameplay between activities, the controls are almost the same.
• Passive Haptics The feel of the real paintbrush against the clear acrylic pane gives the user the tactile sensation of painting.

Work on this project is on going as we wrap up the software and plan future user testing. This project was made possible by Emiko Charbonneau, Steven Braeger, Daniel Mapes, Eileen Smith, and Charles E. Hughes.

Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (10 December 1815 – 27 November 1852), born Augusta Ada Byron, was an English writer chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage‘s early mechanical general-purpose computer, the analytical engine. Her notes on the engine include what is recognized as the first algorithm intended to be processed by a machine; as such she is often regarded as the world’s first computer programmer.

In addition to her assistance in creating the field of Computer Science, I must say that she has some very iconic looks:

And I have to wonder, being a huge video game nerd, if she was the namesake of femme fatale Ada Wong?

Have a good day, technical women!

Lenovo Thinkpad

Not much to say about this, its my main machine and its proven to be rugged and reliable. I chose a Thinkpad because of the killer battery life reviews, the keyboard, and the easy customization provided by the website when ordering. I’ve dropped it several times, to my utter horror, but I’ve never experienced any hardware issues from these falls.

Wacom Cintiq
Being a user interface person, I have been using tablet pcs for at least five years, but in 2008 I decided to go with a Cintiq instead. It was a HUGE difference! The reason is the multiple monitor support and context buttons. I had trouble working in photoshop because there are so many shortcuts needed to perform certain functions when I used the tablet pc, but the new custom buttons on the Cintiq do everything you need easily. My photo editing work is so much faster now, I couldn’t possibly be more impressed with this!

Nintendo DS
I think the DS may be my favorite console. I was organizing my bookshelves and I realized I have well over 30 or 40 DS games. And it was a struggle to figure out the top ten to keep on the lower shelf (Hmm, another blog post maybe?) It has such great battery life and so many really unique games, often with clever stylus based gameplay. And some which just take great advantage of the two screens.

Wiimote and Nunchuk
This one is pretty standard. I know the Wii gets a lot of hate and honestly there hasn’t been a lot of killer software in the last year or so. I do like to play Rune Factory when I’m falling asleep, and I’m excited about the new Silent Hill. Oh, and the underappreciated We Cheer 2. (This is not a joke!)

Zune HD
I needed a new mp3 player and the ZuneHD answered all my prayers and more. Okay that’s a little bit exaggerated, but it sure is nice to have something in your pocket that stores a ton of music and I’m really liking it for the software, the pretty screen, and the usability.

Playstation 2
Is this the oldest surviving console? I just can’t seem to upgrade from it, since so many of my favorite games are still on the system and I’ve got no great need to graduate from DVDs yet. Any time I need to throw on an old Dance Dance Revolution for a bit or remember why I like strategy RPGs so much, it is waiting for me like an old friend. There are still some games of note coming out for it!

Flip Mino
My interest in capturing memories on film led me to look for an extremely portable, rugged device that’s easy to use. The Flip is not the best HD camcorder of its size, but the easy software, the slick case and the size were deciding factors for me. Turns out the hardware isn’t quite as rugged as I hoped but its still pretty swell and doing its job nicely. I carry it in my purse in case something funny happens, which usually involves dogs or cats.

AT&T Tilt
I love my phone so much that I replaced the screen rather than get a new one. I even bought a new battery for it. What I like about it most is having the physical keyboard and all the windows mobile freeware I’ve been enjoying (but software should be its own post!) However, I have to admit that I’ve been having issues with the text messages disappearing randomly and the video driver has a weird issue that I’ve had to work around. The hardware is the main point of its inclusion here, however, and I haven’t had any issues with that.

As part of our Women in EECS club at UCF, I wrote up a couple of summaries from Grace Hopper. I figured I might as well post them here!

“The Value of Awards and How to Get Them”

This panel was run by several professionals with a lot of experience
working with technical interviews and most of the award process: Katy
Dickinson from Sun Microsystems, Florence Haseltine from the RAISE
Project, Chandra Krintz from University of California at Santa
Barbara), and Robert Walker from Kent State University. To start out
with, each person introduced themselves and what they were involved
in. Of particular note was the RAISE project
(http://raiseproject.org/index.php) which uses their website and
resources to help women increase recognition for their achievements.

One suggestion which was discussed at length is to consider applying
to be a Distinguished Engineer. What makes this title important is
that it is always applied in addition to your regular job title, and
it transfers with you if you happen to change jobs. Unlike an award
which is given within a company, becoming a Distinguished Engineer is
something that is recognized throughout the community. Near the end of
the discussion, the subject changed to why it was important to
recognize women through awards. The answer is simply that by having
women in these positions encourages more women to apply and have their
achievements recognized, creating a positive feedback cycle that
benefits the entire field.

“Girls, Computer Science, and Games AND From Computer Games to a Career in IT”

This section ended up being only one talk; the second one was
canceled. However Gail Carmichael from Carleton University did a more than adequate job giving her presentation and then filling the rest of the time with meaningful discussion. Carmichael ran a week-long minicourse on game development, specifically targetted at females. The average age was 13 years old. While focusing on the fun aspects of
video games, she also taught the girls basic Computer Science
principles. Because of their age, she used a variety of learning
techniques past the basic lecture in order engage their attention,
such as videos, group discussion and lab time to work on the games.

The conversation afterward was lively and intimate. The subject of
possible confidence issues among women was broached in several ways;
first, by an audience member who admitted to having trouble taking
charge of her all male tech team whom she felt outmatched her in
technical skills. Other members of the audience became involved and
shared their own experiences to make her more comfortable. Later, the
difficulty of getting girls to ask questions was addressed. While no
straightforward solution could be given, the general consensus was
that encouragement and girl-targetted programs like Carmichael’s
certainly help the situation.

Next update will most likely not be too long from now… I hope~

Coworker/Friend/Professor asks “Why are you leaving me for a week?!”

Then I say, “Grace Hopper. Specifically? The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing.”

This was usually met by confused looks and questions. What does a person do at such an event? Is it only for women? Why am I going?

The answer to the last one is easy. At the Media Convergence Lab, where I work, we are split evenly between genders. Back in the Spring, it was decided that all five of us, plus our manager/mother hen Eileen would be attending. To be honest, I had no idea what to expect. But I’m happy to report that the trip was amazing. Here’s a brief rundown:

So what’s next for me? Paper deadlines and a demo of my therapy work at ISMAR. I’ll try to be better about working out my research ideas here.