Tongue interface using the Kinect

A research group at The University of Electro-Communications is developing an interface to detect tongue movement using the Kinect.

This interface is intended mainly for training the oral muscles, which include the tongue, for people who have oral motor function disorders affecting their ability to speak or swallow. The research group suggests this as a hygienic detection method, which doesn't require attaching a device to the tongue.

Source:
http://www.diginfo.tv/v/12-0049-r-en.php

Take Photos With Your Hands

The Ubi-Camera takes photos composed by framing them with your hands. This prototype miniature camera is being developed by a research group at the Japan’s Institute of Advanced Media Arts and Science.

The camera contains a range sensor, and the framing is determined by the distance between the camera and the photographers face. With the current system, which is still in development, the lens has a fixed focal length, and zooming is done digitally on a PC.

With this method of photography, viewfinders and displays are unnecessary. So even with a miniature camera, you can take photos intuitively, while looking at the actual scene.

Original: http://www.diginfo.tv/v/12-0047-r-en.php

More news... http://www.diginfo.tv/...

Noisy JELLY

NOISY JELLY from Raphaël Pluvinage on Vimeo.

Note : This project is a fully working prototype made with Arduino and Max/Msp, there are absolut no sound editing in the video...

More picture at this flickr set (flickr.com/photos/raphaelplu/sets/72157629621382055/)
And download the Project pdf here (pluvinage.eu/NOISYJELLY_presskit.pdf)

Noisy jelly is a game where the player has to cook and shape his own musical material, based on coloured jelly.

With this noisy chemistry lab, the gamer will create his own jelly with water and a few grams of agar agar powder. After added different color, the mix is then pour in the molds. 10 min later, the jelly shape can then be placed on the game board,and by touching the shape, the gamer will activate different sounds.

Technically, the game board is a capacitive sensor, and the variations of the shape and their salt concentration, the distance and the strength of the finger contact are detected and transform into an audio signal.
This object aims to demonstrate that electronic can have a new aesthetic, and be envisaged as a malleable material, which has to be manipulated and experimented.

Author: Raphaël pluvinage (pluvinage.eu and twitter (twitter.com/#!/rpluvina)
& Marianne Cauvard (mariannecauvard.fr)
at L'Ensci Les ateliers (ensci.com)

Thanks to Roland Cahen for his help (especially sorting out with Max/Msp)

Photo credit: Véronique HUYGHE
Music credit : "Whip it" of Devo

http://vimeo.com/38796545