Media Lab Events 2002
We wish you... Season's Greetings An animated Christmas greeting awaits you at http://mlab.uiah.fi/1medialab/xmas2002/ Merry Christmas from the Media Lab UIAH! ................ Media Lab Demo Day 18.12.2002 Programme................. PUBLIC DEFENCE OF A DISSERTATION 11.12.2002
Press releases in Finnish and in English On Wednesday December 11th at 12 p.m. M.F.A. Lily Díaz-Kommonen from the Media Lab defends her thesis "Art, Fact and Artifact Production. Design-research and Multidisciplinary Collaboration" at the Sampo-sali, Mediacenter Lume. The opponent is professor Michael Shanks from the University of Stanford. Lily Díaz-Kommonen will be the first international student to obtain a doctorate at the University of Art and Design Helsinki. (Changed: no interpretation in Finnish Sign Language, as was meant - sorry.) ................ Myths for One Warmly welcome to the opening of the "Myths for One" installation on Tuesday 3.12. at 18 in the Media Centre Lume, Hämeentie 135 C. The opening is a shared event with the "Space in Common" exhibition of the Department of Art, Helsinki University of Art and Design. After the opening, the installation is exhibited in the foyer of the Sampo-sali 4.12.2002-7.1.2003. "Have you ever thought that you couldn't relate with something if you were absolutely different from it?" ................ AZTECS in London with Diaz-Kommonen and the Map of Mexico Digital Facsimile of the Map of Mexico on Exhibition at Royal Art Academy in London The Digital Facsimile of the Map of Mexico 1550-also known as the Uppsala Map-will be on display at the AZTECS exhibition to be held at the Royal Academy of Art in London, from November 17, 2002 until April 11, 2003. The Digital Facsimile of the Map of Mexico is a product of research and development efforts at the University of Art and Design Helsinki/UIAH, Media Lab. The project of creating a Digital Facsimile of one of the oldest extant maps of the ancient city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan started in 1996. Lily Díaz Kommonen, leader of the Systems of Representation research group at the Media Lab, conceived the project and has since led the research and development efforts. The project, sponsored by the Media Lab, has been possible through collaboration with the Helsinki University of Technology, Department of Photogrammetry who provided a methodology that allowed for accurate photography, and the University of Uppsala Library who granted generous and unprecedented access to the artifact. According to the Royal Art Academy, AZTECS will be one of the greatest exhibitions of Aztec culture ever seen. 350 spectacular works will trace the life and times of the Aztecs, an extraordinary people, who in the space of only 200 years (from 1325 to 1521) created one of the most impressive civilizations in the world. The Map of Mexico 1550 is the work of the noted Spanish cosmographer, Alonso de Santa Cruz. The Map provides a vivid description of Mexico city, the surrounding areas, and of the inhabitants and their customs. The item on display at the Royal Art Academy represents the culmination of phase I of the project. The interactive display provides visitors with an easy and simple way to handle the digital replica. It also allows for detailed examination at a factor of 16 times. In keeping with the traditional facsimile genre, the digital artifact on display provides additional information about the original item. For example, modern photographs of selected sites indicated in the original map allow the guest to situate the ancient locations in the contemporary context of Mexico city. During phase II, a full 3D stereographic model of the map will be created. This model will allow experts to study in detail the structural and material state of the item and plan for its preservation. In addition, a complete library of works and research related to the map is envisioned. The trans-disciplinary work on the concept of the Digital Facsimile at the Media Lab occurs in the context of a department of digital design, in an art and design university, and is led by a researcher who is a humanist, an artist and a designer. This is natural, considering that the original item was the product of activities closely interweaving the excellence of the scientific and art practices of the time. In the contemporary world of digital media, artists and designers still bear the responsibility to produce objects that communicate. This includes research and development efforts by artists in the evolution of traditional genres, such as that one of the facsimile, as they begin to develop new forms in the digital domain. The exhibit at the Royal Art Academy is the result of efforts by the following individuals: Lily Díaz-Kommonen, research and development, interaction design; Antti Huittinen, photography; Janne Pietarila, software design and implementation; Mariana Salgado, graphic design, production. ................ MUMMI, 14.11. open for all Design for all in Museums and Multimodal Museum Interface is the focus of next MUMMI-workshop in the Media Lab of University of Art and Design on 11.-15.11.2002. Workshop is open firstly for the students of Media Lab, UIAH and students from University of Helsinki (Hum.tdk/TT-hanke/Digi), but there might be open places to other students as well - register to Anna Arsniva. The first workshop focuses especially on user centered design of artefacts and information in museums. Workshop will feature professor Slavko Milekic from the University of Art, Philadelphia as an invited visiting expert. See: http://www.uarts.edu/faculty/ See the program of the workshop: http://www.mlab.uiah.fi/mummi NOTE, Thursday 14.11.2002 will be open to wider audience, welcome. Digitalization of Cultural Heritage on Thursday 14.11.2002 in Medialab Lecture room, 3rd floor. Welcome. http://www.uarts.edu/faculty/smilekic Slavko Milekic holds a medical degree (Belgrade School of Medicine) as well as Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology (University of Connecticut). His research interests include digital design, the psychology of human/computer interaction and building of WWW-based tools for knowledge transfer. Dr Milekic's innovative, child-friendly digital environment (KiddyFace) has been already implemented in museum settings. Dr. Milekic frequently leads workshops on the educational uses of technology and human/computer interface design. He has been engaged as a consultant for the development of digital tools for art education by a number of institutions including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Dallas Museum of Art, Please Touch Museum, Phoenix Art Museum and Cleveland Museum of Art. He currently holds the position of an associate professor of Cognitive Science & Digital Design at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
More info: Marjo Mäenpää ................ PRIX MÖBIUS NORDICA 2003
PRESS RELEASE
Material in English:
PRIX MÖBIUS NORDICA 2003 Quality competition of digital media culture PRIX MÖBIUS FINLANDE extends an invitation to the Nordic countries by transforming into PRIX MÖBIUS NORDICA. PRIX MÖBIUS NORDICA will be organized on January 25th, 2003 in MEDIA CENTRE LUME in Helsinki. The authors will present their work to the audience in a zapping event. The zapping is open to the public. The winners of the Nordic competition, taking place in Finland, will participate in the international competition PRIX MÖBIUS INTERNATIONAL in Athens in September 2003. The aims of PRIX MÖBIUS NORDICA are:
to support Nordic media culture production, and advance its international recognition Possible formats of the productions and works are for example CD ROM, DVD, Internet, or wireless network. The organizers also welcome productions utilizing new platforms (e.g. digital television) or new genres (e.g. virtual communities and software art). The works should meet high standards of content production as to their content, audiovisual appearance and (interface)design, as well as general technical competence. If the work passes the semi-finals, the participant or his/her representative must prepare a 15- minute presentation of the work in the zapping event. The language of the productions can be other than the presentation. Prizes will be awarded in the following categories:
Le Prix Möbius Sciences (Science and Communication)
PRIX MÖBIUS BACKGROUND Prix Möbius was initiated in France in 1992 and is presided by Ghislaine Azemard, Professor of Paris 8th University. Partners include UNESCO, CNRS (French Information Service) and the European Union. Since 1998 the competition has been international, and at present there are participants from 15 countries. The Finnish multimedia director Marita Liulia has been awarded twice in the competition, and was invited member of the jury in 1999. In the same year Marita Liulia founded the Finnish semi-finals. In the final competition of Beijing in 2001, Finland was represented with three productions, of which two were awarded. There is a wide international interest in the Nordic content production, wide genre selection, and the strong innovation spirit. The competition offers an extraordinary opportunity to advance international distribution and information regarding these works and productions.
Partners: Ministry of Education, Prix Möbius Nordica is organized in co-operation with Media Centre Lume and Media Culture Association m-cult. Medeia Oy is responsible for practical organization work.
Additional information:
Marianne Decoster-Taivalkoski
Marita Liulia
Medeia Oy
Media Centre Lume
Media Culture Association m-cult ry ................ Lume's new web site Media Centre Lume is the National Research and Development Center of audiovisual media, located in the University of Art and Design Helsinki UIAH. Media Center is equipped with first-class premises and latest equipment. Lume activities are threefold: University education by the department of Film, Television and Set Design; cultural and research projects realized in collaboration between the University departments and research institutions; and commercial productions and events by production companies and other customers. The combination of education, research and commercial activities is the basis of the dynamic Lume production culture. ................ Mlabbers in Espoo Cine 22.8.2002 Presenting Interactive Cinema at 17.00 (free!) in Louhi-sali, Teijo Pellinen, Petri Kola & al. The festival program. "Come to see how much younger we were two years ago." ;-) ................ New MA students, New Curriculum 02-03 Please remember also our focus area / minor subject studies! ................ Computer Game Gurus in Tampere Tampere, Finland June 6-8, 2002 Computer Games and Digital Cultures conference is organised by the Hypermedia Laboratory of University of Tampere, in co-operation with the UIAH Medialab, the leading Nordic universities of the field and partners in the digital content industry. More than 250 participants will participate in the three-day event. http://www.gamesconference.org ................ The minor studies page updated Minor subject studies 2002-2003, application time by 31.7.02................. Media Lab demo day 16.5.2002 ................ What's new in Fle3 1.1 beta http://fle3.uiah.fi/release_fle3_b_1_1.html
New Fle3 - New Tools for Collaborative Knowledge Building On 3rd May 2002 UIAH Media Lab, University of Art and Design Helsinki released a new version of Fle3 computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) software. The most significant revision in Fle3 1.1 beta is the new Jamming tool located next to the WebTop and the Knowledge Building tools. The Jamming tool is a shared space for collaborative construction of digital artefacts (pictures, text, audio, video). A study group may work together with some digital artefacts by simply uploading and downloading files. Versions are tracked automatically and different versions are displayed graphically. This makes it easy for users to follow the work in progress. Users may also add annotations to artefacts. When setting up a jam session the tutor may choose from two types of jam sessions; (1) "mutate on previous" or (2) "explore possibilities", giving users slightly different possibilities of making new versions. Within the Jamming tool the new version contains several other new features and improvements to the earlier versions. The Knowledge Building tool contains two revised default "thinking type sets": (1) Progressive Inquiry, and (2) Design Thinking. The default "thinking type sets" come in English and Finnish. Teachers may also copy, edit and create new "thinking type sets" of their own. In this way users may translate "thinking type sets" to different languages. In the new Fle3 Knowledge Building tool teachers and tutors may censor and uncensor notes, users may check who has read a note and mark all notes as read after displaying the contents of all notes in one page. A number of other minor improvements has been made both to the Knowledge Building tool and the WebTop. Naturally all known bugs were also fixed. The Fle3 interface can be localized to native languages as needed. The new Fle3 comes with English, Finnish, Spanish, French and German user interfaces. The user may choose which user interface she wants to use. About Fle3 Fle3 is a web-based learning environment. To be more specific Fle3 is a server software for computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL). Fle3 is Open Source and Free Software released under GNU the General Public Licence (GPL). The licence is protecting your freedom to use, modify and distribute Fle3. Fle3 is a Zope product, written in Python. Zope is the leading Open Source application server. Zope and Fle3 run on almost all Operating Systems (Linux, MacOS X, *BSD, etc.) and Microsoft Windows. Further Information ................ CIPHER CIPHER project begins at the Media Lab The kick-off meeting for the CIPHER project was held at the Knowledge Media Institute of Open University in Milton Keynes, UK, on April 5th, 2002. CIPHER - the acronym stands for Enabling Communities of Interest for Promoting Heritage of European Regions - is a two and a half year research and development effort funded by European Commission IST 5th Framework. The project aims to create navigation and visualization tools and methods that will assist heritage institutions in the creation, presentation and processing of content via digital networks. Partners in the consortium include: Open University in the United Kingdom, Dublin Institute of Technology and The Discovery Programme in Ireland, The University of Art and Design Helsinki/UIAH, Media Lab (Systems of Representation research group) in Finland, The Czech Technical University in the Czech Republic, and RiS GmbH Internet-Lösungen, in Austria. In the Media Lab the responsible persons are researcher Lily Díaz (head of the research group Systems of Representation) and professor Mauri Kaipainen. ................ Seminar on Interactivity in Digital Media 18th March 2002 from 1 pm to 4 pm LUME Media Centre, Helsinki Welcome to LUME Media Centre to see, feel and hear the results of 5-month interactionmasters course on Monday 18th at 1 pm. We present 10 demos of high level Finnish interaction design: Nuspirit.com, 10 ways to learn, Designer's plaza, Code Orientation, Postcards from Reality, Semeion - earthly gestures, Tootletubs karaoke, Political satire, AddictionLink, Online Shopping Experience. Among others we hear Experience Strategist Nathan Shedroff and Professor Turkka Keinonen.
We process the following issues:
1 pm - 2 pm Interactionmasters' demo session / LUME Sampo hall
2 pm - 2.30 pm Short commentary on the development of the know-how of interaction design / LUME Sampo hall 2.30 pm - 3.00 pm Coffee break / LUME upper foyer
3.00 pm - 4.00 pm Interactive interactionmasters' project and demo presentations / LUME upper foyer The afternoon program is free of charge. Further information and registrations at uusmedia@uiah.fi on the 14th of March at the latest Please note also that the 8th and the last lecture in the interactionmasters lecture series targeted to producers, developers, designers and educators of interactive media is held on the 18th of March at 9 am to 12 am. The tutor of the morning session is internationally acknowledged Nathan Shedroff. The lecture fee is 90 euros/participant. Further information and registrations at http://www.uiah.fi/koulutuskeskus
Project: Nuspirit.com (www)
Project: 10 ways to learn (e-learning interfaces)
Project: Designer's plaza (www)
Project: Code Orientation
Project: Postcards from Reality (web documentary)
Project: Semeion - earthly gestures (www/multimedia installation)
Project: Tootletubs karaoke (dvd)
Project: Political satire (digi-tv program)
Project: AddictionLink (www)
Project: Online Shopping Experience (www) ................ WATCH IT! WATCH IT! is a creative web workshop proposing image- and value-questioning practices. The aim is to offer people of all ages a chance to develop skills in dealing with the visual flow surrounding us. It is a space where to think about what images do to us and what we can do with them. Image professionals have benefited from live workshops using these sites. Art education teachers are likely to find them useful as well. The first didactic website was initiated in 1998 by Eva Saro with Minna Tarkka and Media Lab students. Developments took place thanks to the on-going support from UIAH Media Lab and financing from the European Netdays, the Finnish National Board of Education and Elisa Communications. For questions and feedback: evasaro@hotmail.com
Websites: How can you get involved? b. Find examples of why image-questioning matters c. Browse through the WATCH IT library of image... And see what happens to the meaning of an image when you transform it d. Use the selected material for image- and value-questioning in a group e. Submit your images for voting and discussion ................ Invitation to the screening I am happy to Welcome you to the screening of LILJA, on 28th of Febuary 18.00 at the University of Art and Design in Helsinki, Finland.
Hämeentie 135 C, in Sampo-sali "Lilja" is a shortfilm of 7,25 minutes. It's a story about loyalty towards the ones you love the most. Liljas parents are divorced. She is pushed by her mother to reject the father if he comes to the door. One afternoon when she is home alone, he is there again. Sincerly,
Anna Maria Joakimsdottir ................ FLE3 GOING PUBLIC 15.2.2002 On Friday 15th of February Learning Environments for Progressive Inquiry research groups releases new version of the Future Learning Environment software, Fle3. Fle3 is a web-based learning environment. To be more specific, Fle3 is a server software for computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL). With the Fle3 Knowledge Building Tool groups may carry out knowledge building dialogues, theory building and debates by storing their thoughts into a shared database. In the knowledge building groups may use knowledge types (also called thinking types) to scaffold and structure their dialogues. Fle3 WebTops can be used by teachers and students to store different items (documents, files, links, knowledge building notes) related to their studies, organize them to folders and share them with others. The items in the WebTops can be called learning objects - if you wish. For teachers and administrators Fle3 offers tools to manage users and courses. The administrator may also export and import the content of the Fle3 database in XML format (compatible with the Educational Modelling Language - EML). Fle3 is Open Source and Free Software released under GNU the General Public Licence (GPL). The licence is protecting your freedom to use, modify and distribute Fle3. See also http://www.cetis.ac.uk/ ................ Application time 1.2.- 15.3.2002
Go to see the application procedure: ................ Media Lab at MILIA 2002 The Media Lab's two official projects in the New Talent Competition at MILIA 2002 in Cannes are Kiia Kallio's Mixed Reality Pong and Perttu Hämäläinen's and Johanna Höysniemi's 'QuiQui's Giant Bounce. Kiia Kallio's Mixed Reality Pong Mixed Reality Pong is a mixed reality version of the classic "Pong" game. The aim of the game is to score goals by hitting a virtual ball over the other end of the game area protected by the opponent player. The game counts the goals the players have scored, and they can agree to play either for a limited amount of time, or until either of them has scored a certain amount of goals. The players can play the game with their hands or other real-world objects. The game physics simulate the behaviour of a real ball, except that the virtual ball doesn't slow down at all. The computer is completely hidden in Mixed Reality Pong. The system runs on a normal PC, but the input is handled only by a web camera capturing the playing table. The output is handled by projecting the computer-generated image onto the game area. No specially marked objects are required, so any objects with enough contrast to the background can be used in the game. Mixed Reality Pong started as a technological experiment, but it has proven to be an enjoyable game, both for kids and adults. Mixed Reality Pong is written in C and C++, and runs on Windows platform using DirectX. The game also uses Allegro game programming library and a video capture library by Perttu Hämäläinen. Perttu Hämäläinen's and Johanna Höysniemi's 'QuiQui's Giant Bounce QuiQui's Giant Bounce is a physically and vocally interactive computer game aimed at 4 to 9 year old children. The game is not controlled using a joystick or a keyboard. Instead, the user's body movements and voice are sensed via a webcam and a microphone. The main character QuiQui is a curious little green dragon that mimics the user's movements and shouts and exhales sparkles when the user shouts. The game is based on research on children's physical development, augmented with usability tests and interviews at schools and daycare centers. The goal is to provide an immersive and physically engaging alternative to traditional computer games: QuiQui activates children to use their whole body and develops their physical abilities like coordination and balance. The ways of moving are motivated by an enticing storyline and rich audiovisual content. The game features technological innovations that enable physical interaction in every home. Compared to games based on sensory devices like a dance mat, QuiQui's user interface is full-body and wireless. Our technology tolerates various operating environments and requires no configuration by the user, which separates QuiQui's Giant Bounce from physically interactive museum installations. ................
Entry *
Media Lab *
Studies *
People *
Facilities |