Speaker: Dr Andruid Kerne, Texas A&M University, Director, Interface Ecology Lab
Abstract: The ways in which human bodies are spatially and physically situated relative to the world and each other serve as the basis for perception, action, communication, mental models, and abstract thought. The Interface Ecology Lab [http://ecologylab.net] develops embodied interactive computing as a medium. The interface-as-ecology is a border zone that juxtaposes disparate representational systems, fostering an intricate web of socio-technical interrelationships. The relationships are structurally essential, i.e. metadisciplinary, driving us to investigate and synthesize diverse fields − e.g. art, design, cognitive psychology, ethnography, cultural studies, and mathematics – in concert with core computer science and engineering areas: human-computer interaction, graphics, multimedia, programming languages, information retrieval, machine learning, embedded and distributed systems, and opto-electronics.
Interface Ecology Lab (IEL) research synthesizes methods across fields to transform the world through embodied interaction supporting expression, creativity, participation, and play.Interface Ecology Lab research projects embody interaction by developing and integrating sensors, interaction techniques, visualization algorithms, semantics, programming languages, natural interfaces, creativity support tools, games, interactive installations, and evaluation methodologies. ZeroTouch is a high-resolution multi-point sensor for free-air interaction or to augment LCD, pen-based, and haptic displays with multi-touch. Pen+Touch embodied bi-manual interaction transforms eSports real time strategy games. Trans-surface interaction techniques connect personal and social multi-touch displays. Zero-fidelity simulation games based on fire emergency response practice leverage situated communication to teach team coordination in motivating, fun environments. Information composition is a holistic representation for digital curation: users collect visual semantic rich bookmarks, author annotations, and synthesize to form a connected whole. Information-based ideation is an evaluation methodology deriving metrics to validate creativity support tools. Support for Information Mapping in Programming Languages (S.IM.PL) constitutes an open-source cross-language type system to support semantic distributed computing. Meta-metadata extends the cross-language type system to enable embodied visual metadata semantics, integrating strongly typed data models, information extraction, operations, and presentation.
Biography: Andruid Kerne is a researcher working at the intersection of arts and sciences. He is associate professor of Computer Science and Engineering at Texas A&M University, and director of the Interface Ecology Lab. Kerne is also presently on sabbatical in the Mixed Reality Lab at the University of Nottingham. Andruid holds a B.A. in applied mathematics / electronic media from Harvard, an M.A. in music composition from Wesleyan, and a Ph.D. in computer science from NYU.
Andruid Kerne’s research has been supported by NSF, Google, Cypress Semiconductor, Horizon Digital Economy Research Institute, and the Rockefeller Foundation. The Guggenheim Museum, ACM CHI, UIST, SIGGRAPH, CSCW, JCDL, Multimedia, CIKM, TEI, Creativity and Cognition, ToCHI, ToIS, and Document Engineering, the Ars Electronica Center, the Boston Cyber Arts Festival have presented his output. He serves on program committees including CHI, JCDL, C&C, TEI, ITS, MM, WWW, IUI, SBIM, and DocEng. Press coverage spans Time, MSNBC, Discovery News, Popular Science, PC World, New Scientist, Slashdot, Engadget, Gizmodo, InRumor.com, and Le Monde. He has directed industry projects and developed systems for NASA JPL, AT&T, The Discovery Channel, Proctor and Gamble, Mitsui, and Boeing.
Further information regarding Andruid and his work can be found here: http://ecologylab.net/people/andruid.html
…the talk will be followed by a buffet lunch in the MRL