MEFT 3102

We’re looking at the artificial this week – so this video below, by well-known robot researcher, Australian Rodney Brooks, is really very interesting … you might also look at Ken Rinaldo’s site … you might also check out the links for Mitchell Whitelaw’s excellent book on this topic – Metacreation.

and here is a robot that can re-assemble itself.

Here are two interfaces you might be interested. One is somewhat literallly an inter-face … the interactive version of the Radiohead “data aesthetic” video that is discussed by Mitchell Whitelaw on his blog.The other interface involves touching plants to engage with data. This is Augmented Ecologies , A Kinesthetic User Experience.

Here’s a video of the interface in action. It uses Max/MSP (for those who are interested).

For those interested in following up the topic of the cyborg, there’s a great new issue of the journal Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences on precisely this topic, with contributions from Andy Clark, the always interesting John Protevi and Casper Bruun Jensen and many others. You can access the articles through the library site. Go to the catalogue, type in “phenomenology” and “cognitive sciences” and click the button underneath that says “journals”. The journal title will come up, and you should be able to get electronic access once you put in your student number and password.

Just some quick links to get you going on this, consider the following interfaces. They are all poised to make a considerable change in everyday experience.

Jeff Han (Multi-touch)

Fingertapps (the multi-touch company)

and of course the iPod touch/iPhone

One of my favourites – brain ball ..

EEG interfaces, as below, or here – the neural impulse activator …

or consider this rather interesting and beautifully simple project ..

or consider the history of the iPod and the Walkman that came before it …

one of the experts on this, Michael Bull, interviewed by Wired.

a criticism of the Walkman versus the Ghetto Blaster ..