Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT)

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https://hdl.handle.net/10919/23759

The Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology is uniquely partnered with the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech. By forging a pathway between trans-disciplinary research and art, educational innovation, and scientific and commercial discovery, the institute works to foster the creative process to create new possibilities for exploration and expression through learning, discovery, and engagement.

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3D Sketching and Flexible Input for Surface Design: A Case Study
Leal, Anamary; Bowman, Douglas A. (Brazilian Computing Society (SBC), 2014)
Designing three-dimensional (3D) surfaces is difficult in both the physical world and in 3D modeling software, requiring background knowledge and skill. The goal of this work is to make 3D surface design easier and more accessible through natural and tangible 3D interaction, taking advantage of users' proprioceptive senses to help them understand 3D position, orientation, size, and shape. We hypothesize that flexible input based on fabric may be suitable for 3D surface design, because it can be molded and folded into a desired shape, and because it can be used as a dynamic flexible brush for 3D sketching. Fabric3D, an interactive surface design system based on 3D sketching with flexible input, explored this hypothesis. Through a longitudinal five-part study in which three domain experts used Fabric3D, we gained insight into the use of flexible input and 3D sketching for surface design in various domains.
3D Time-Based Aural Data Representation Using D⁴ Library’s Layer Based Amplitude Panning Algorithm
Bukvic, Ivica Ico (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2016-07)
The following paper introduces a new Layer Based Amplitude Panning algorithm and supporting D⁴ library of rapid prototyping tools for the 3D time-based data representation using sound. The algorithm is designed to scale and support a broad array of configurations, with particular focus on High Density Loudspeaker Arrays (HDLAs). The supporting rapid prototyping tools are designed to leverage oculocentric strategies to importing, editing, and rendering data, offering an array of innovative approaches to spatial data editing and representation through the use of sound in HDLA scenarios. The ensuing D⁴ ecosystem aims to address the shortcomings of existing approaches to spatial aural representation of data, offers unique opportunities for furthering research in the spatial data audification and sonification, as well as transportable and scalable spatial media creation and production.
Active Art: 1930s Instructional Plan
Baum, Liesl M. (Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology: Center for the Arts, 2012)
Students will take a webquest to a series of videos, vignettes, photos, and websites to gain an understanding of the Great Depression, the New Deal, the role of arts played in the New Deal and abstract expressionism, specifically including the work of Jackson Pollack...
Aegis Audio Engine: Integrating a Real-Time Analog Signal Processing, Pattern Recognition, and a Procedural Soundtrack in a Live Twelve-Perfomer Spectacle With Crowd Participation
Bukvic, Ivica Ico; Matthews, Michael (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2015-07)
In the following paper we present Aegis: a procedural networked soundtrack engine driven by real-time analog signal analysis and pattern recognition. Aegis was originally conceived as part of Drummer Game, a game-performancespectacle hybrid research project focusing on the depiction of a battle portrayed using terracotta soldiers. In it, each of the twelve cohorts—divided into two armies of six—are led by a drummer-performer who issues commands by accurately drumming precomposed rhythmic patterns on an original Chinese war drum. The ensuing spectacle is envisioned to also accommodate large audience participation whose input determines the morale of the two armies. An analog signal analyzer utilizes efficient pattern recognition to decipher the desired action and feed it both into the game and the soundtrack engine. The soundtrack engine then uses this action, as well as messages from the gaming simulation, to determine the most appropriate soundtrack parameters while ensuring minimal repetition and seamless transitions between various clips that account for tempo, meter, and key changes. The ensuing simulation offers a comprehensive system for pattern-driven input, holistic situation assessment, and a soundtrack engine that aims to generate a seamless musical experience without having to resort to cross-fades and other simplistic transitions that tend to disrupt a soundtrack’s continuity.
AffecTech-an affect-aware interactive AV Artwork
Coghlan, Niall; Jaimovich, Javier; Knapp, R. Benjamin; O’Brien, Donal; Ortiz, Miguel A. (ISEA International, 2009)
New developments in real-time computing and body-worn sensor technology allow us to explore not just visible gestures using inertial sensors, but also invisible changes in an individual’s physiological state using bio-sensors (Kim & André 2008). This creates an opportunity for a more intimate interaction between the observer and technology-based art (Gonsalves 2008). We present a technical overview of the AffecTech system; a bio-signal based interactive audiovisual installation commissioned as part of the pre-ISEA symposium in November 2008. Observers were invited to sit on one of 2 sensor-enhanced chairs (Coghlan & Knapp 2008), which transmitted physiological data about the occupant to a central control system. This data was used to control and modulate interactive visuals, live video feeds and a surround sound score, with events and interactions dependent on the observers’ affective/emotional state and the disparity or similarity between the bio-signals of the chairs occupants. This technical overview is followed by an examination of the outcomes of the project, from both the artistic and technical viewpoints, with recommendations for modification in future implementations.
Affective Feedback in a Virtual Reality based Intelligent Supermarket
Saha, Deba Pratim; Martin, Thomas L.; Knapp, R. Benjamin (ACM, 2017)
The probabilistic nature of the inferences in a context-aware intelligent environment (CAIE) renders them vulnerable to erroneous decisions resulting in wrong services. Learning to recognize a user’s negative reactions to such wrong services will enable a CAIE to anticipate a service’s appropriateness. We propose a framework for continuous measurement of physiology to infer a user’s negative-emotions arising from receiving wrong services, thereby implementing an implicit-feedback loop in the CAIE system. To induce such negative-emotions, in this paper, we present a virtualreality (VR) based experimental platform while collecting real-time physiological data from ambulatory wearable sensors. Results from the electrodermal activity (EDA) data analysis reveal patterns that correlate with known features of negative-emotions, indicating the possibility to infer service appropriateness from user’s reactions to a service, thereby closing an implicit-feedback loop for the CAIE.
App Factor: Inventing to Solve Problems Instructional Plan
Evans, Michael A. (Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology: Center for the Arts, 2012)
OVERVIEW OF LESSON: Students will investigate the nature of inventions and articulate their knowledge of problems in the 1800’s and inventions that resulted to solve those problems. Next, students explore the Rhythmatical iPod® app, an “invention” designed to solve the problem of engaging students in math concepts. Finally, students will collaborate to design a storyboard for their own iPod® app invention.
Bare-hand volume cracker for raw volume data analysis
Socha, John J.; Laha, Bireswar; Bowman, Douglas A. (2016-09-28)
Analysis of raw volume data generated from different scanning technologies faces a variety of challenges, related to search, pattern recognition, spatial understanding, quantitative estimation, and shape description. In a previous study, we found that the volume cracker (VC) 3D interaction (3DI) technique mitigated some of these problems, but this result was from a tethered glove-based system with users analyzing simulated data. Here, we redesigned the VC by using untethered bare-hand interaction with real volume datasets, with a broader aim of adoption of this technique in research labs. We developed symmetric and asymmetric interfaces for the bare-hand VC (BHVC) through design iterations with a biomechanics scientist. We evaluated our asymmetric BHVC technique against standard 2D and widely used 3DI techniques with experts analyzing scanned beetle datasets. We found that our BHVC design significantly outperformed the other two techniques. This study contributes a practical 3DI design for scientists, documents lessons learned while redesigning for bare-hand trackers and provides evidence suggesting that 3DI could improve volume data analysis for a variety of visual analysis tasks. Our contribution is in the realm of 3D user interfaces tightly integrated with visualization for improving the effectiveness of visual analysis of volume datasets. Based on our experience, we also provide some insights into hardware-agnostic principles for design of effective interaction techniques.
Biosignal-driven Art: Beyond biofeedback
Ortiz, Miguel A.; Coghlan, Niall; Jaimovich, Javier; Knapp, R. Benjamin (CMMAS, 2011)
Biosignal monitoring in interactive arts, although present for over forty years, remains a relatively little known field of research within the artistic community as compared to other sensing technologies. Since the early 1960s, an ever-increasing number of artists have collaborated with neuroscientists, physicians and electrical engineers, in order to devise means that allow for the acquisition of the minuscule electrical potentials generated by the human body. This has enabled direct manifestations of human physiology to be incorporated into interactive artworks. This paper presents an introduction to this field of artistic practice and scientific research that uses human physiology as its main element. A brief introduction to the main concepts and history of biosignal-driven art is followed by a review of various artworks and scientific enquiry developed by the authors. This aims at giving a complete overview of the various strategies developed for biosignal-driven interactive art.
Building Stem Career Interest Through Curriculum Treatments
Peterson, Bryanne (Springer Open, 2020)
Watson and McMahon’s (2005) work identified a need for research to examine the what and how of children’s career development learning; this research is a start to answering that call, specifically focusing on STEM career interest as a precursor to development due to the current needs nationally for an increase in the STEM pipeline. This study examined the impacts of design-based learning and scientific inquiry curriculum treatments with embedded career content on the career interest of fifth-grade students as compared to traditional classroom methods. Findings show an upward trend in interest with the use of these curriculum treatments, though the change is not significant in most career areas, likely due to the short time period of the unit and/or small n.
Change Over Time Instructional Plan
Fielder, Emily (Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology: Center for the Arts, 2012)
A child-robot musical theater afterschool program for promoting STEAM education: A case study and guidelines
Dong, Jia; Choi, Koeun; Yu, Shuqi; Lee, Yeaji; Kim, Jisun; Vajir, Devanshu; Haines, Chelsea; Newbill, Phyllis; Wyatt, Ariana; Upthegrove, Tanner; Jeon, Myounghoon (Taylor & Francis, 2023-03-16)
With the advancements of machine learning and AI technologies, robots have been more widely used in our everyday life and they have also been used in education. The present study introduces a 12-week child-robot theater afterschool program designed to promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education with art elements (STEAM) for elementary students using social robots. Four modules were designed to introduce robot mechanisms as well as arts: Acting (anthropomorphism), Dance (robot movements), Music and Sounds (music composition), and Drawing (robot art). These modules provided children with basic knowledge about robotics and STEM and guided children to create a live robot theater play. A total of 16 students participated in the program, and 11 of them were involved in completing questionnaires and interviews regarding their perceptions towards robots, STEAM, and the afterschool program. Four afterschool program teachers participated in interviews, reflecting their perceptions of the program and observations of children’s experiences during the program. Our findings suggest that the present program effectively maintained children’s engagement and improved their interest in STEAM by connecting social robots and theater production. We conclude with design guidelines and recommendations for future research and programs.
Cinemacraft: Immersive Live Machinima as an Empathetic Musical Storytelling Platform
Narayanan, Siddhart; Bukvic, Ivica Ico (University of Michigan, 2016)
In the following paper we present Cinemacraft, a technology-mediated immersive machinima platform for collaborative performance and musical human-computer interaction. To achieve this, Cinemacraft innovates upon a reverse-engineered version of Minecraft, offering a unique collection of live machinima production tools and a newly introduced Kinect HD module that allows for embodied interaction, including posture, arm movement, facial expressions, and a lip syncing based on captured voice input. The result is a malleable and accessible sensory fusion platform capable of delivering compelling live immersive and empathetic musical storytelling that through the use of low fidelity avatars also successfully sidesteps the uncanny valley.
Consistency of Sedentary Behavior Patterns among Office Workers with Long-Term Access to Sit-Stand Workstations
Huysmans, Maaike A.; Srinivasan, Divya; Mathiassen, Svend Erik (Oxford University Press, 2019-04-22)
Introduction: Sit-stand workstations are a popular intervention to reduce sedentary behavior (SB) in office settings. However, the extent and distribution of SB in office workers long-term accustomed to using sit-stand workstations as a natural part of their work environment are largely unknown. In the present study, we aimed to describe patterns of SB in office workers with long-term access to sit-stand workstations and to determine the extent to which these patterns vary between days and workers. Methods: SB was objectively monitored using thigh-worn accelerometers for a full week in 24 office workers who had been equipped with a sit-stand workstation for at least 10 months. A comprehensive set of variables describing SB was calculated for each workday and worker, and distributions of these variables between days and workers were examined. Results: On average, workers spent 68% work time sitting [standard deviation (SD) between workers and between days (within worker): 10.4 and 18.2%]; workers changed from sitting to standing/ walking 3.2 times per hour (SDs 0.6 and 1.2 h−1); with bouts of sitting being 14.9 min long (SDs 4.2 and 8.5 min). About one-third of the workers spent >75% of their workday sitting. Between-workers variability was significantly different from zero only for percent work time sitting, while betweendays (within-worker) variability was substantial for all SB variables. Conclusions: Office workers accustomed to using sit-stand workstations showed homogeneous patterns of SB when averaged across several days, except for percent work time seated. However, SB differed substantially between days for any individual worker. The finding that many workers were extensively sedentary suggests that just access to sit-stand workstations may not be a sufficient remedy against SB; additional personalized interventions reinforcing use may be needed. To this end, differences in SB between days should be acknowledged as a potentially valuable source of variation.
Constructing a Virtual Paspahegh Village Instructional Plan
Webster, Dane (Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology: Center for the Arts, 2012)
Contagion of Physiological Correlates of Emotion between Performer and Audience: An Exploratory Study
Jaimovich, Javier; Coghlan, Niall; Knapp, R. Benjamin (2010)
Musical and performance experiences are often described as evoking powerful emotions, both in the listener/observer and player/performer. There is a significant body of literature describing these experiences along with related work examining physiological changes in the body during music listening and the physiological correlates of emotional state. However there are still open questions as to how and why, emotional responses may be triggered by a performance, how audiences may be influenced by a performers mental or emotional state and what effect the presence of an audience has on performers. We present a pilot study and some initial findings of our investigations into these questions, utilising a custom software and hardware system we have developed. Although this research is still at a pilot stage, our initial experiments point towards significant correlation between the physiological states of performers and audiences and we here present the system, the experiments and our preliminary data.
Creating a Network of Integral Music Controllers
Knapp, R. Benjamin; Cook, Perry R. (NIME, 2006)
In this paper, we describe the networking of multiple Integral Music Controllers (IMCs) to enable an entirely new method for creating music by tapping into the composite gestures and emotions of not just one, but many performers. The concept and operation of an IMC is reviewed as well as its use in a network of IMC controllers. We then introduce a new technique of Integral Music Control by assessing the composite gesture(s) and emotion(s) of a group of performers through the use of a wireless mesh network. The Telemuse, an IMC designed precisely for this kind of performance, is described and its use in a new musical performance project under development by the authors is discussed.
Creating Biosignal Algorithms for Musical Applications from an Extensive Physiological Database
Jaimovich, Javier; Knapp, R. Benjamin (NIME, 2015)
Previously the design of algorithms and parameter calibration for biosignal music performances has been based on testing with a small number of individuals - in fact usually the performer themselves. This paper uses the data collected from over 4000 people to begin to create a truly robust set of algorithms for heart rate and electrodermal activity measures, as well as the understanding of how the calibration of these vary by individual.
Critical and Creative Thinking by Design: IDEA Studio
Baum-Combs, Liesl; Cennamo, Katherine S.; Newbill, Phyllis; Wagner, Teri (Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology: Center for the Arts, 2012)
Design of a Mobile Brain Training Tool for Seniors: Motivational Requirements
O’Brien, Donal; Knapp, R. Benjamin; Thompson, Oonagh; Craig, David; Barrett, Suzanne (ICST, 2012)
The overall goal of this project is to design, develop, and validate a mobile phone-based ‘brain training’ software suite targeted at senior users, using iterative person-centered design methodologies, that will permit a subsequent clinical trial of cognitive stimulation efficacy known as theSONIC²S Study (Stirling-Oregon-Northern Ireland-Chicago Cognitive Stimulation Study). The SONIC²S Study will represent a long term (c. 15 year), very large scale (n=12,000), embedded clinical trial that aims to definitively establish whether or not brain training acts to prevent dementia or cognitive decline. It is anticipated that participant compliance in such a study will be a significant concern. This study reports on a series of focus groups, usability studies and field trials which sought to identify the key motivational factors influencing seniors’ engagement with mobile brain-training technology in order to inform the design of a bespoke tool which is acceptable/enjoyable to target users.

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