Promoting IMGD Through Play

This paper covers our research into creating an exhibit to showcase the Interactive Media and Game Development program at WPI. After considering a variety of technologies, we settled on using HoloPlayer One, a new autostereoscopic device that projects interactive 3D images into the space between the screen and viewer. Because of its wide range of software support, this device has the potential to provide an attractive, accessible way for IMGD students to showcase their work

The Computational Complexity of Portal and Other 3D Video Games

We classify the computational complexity of the popular video games Portal and Portal 2. We isolate individual mechanics of the game and prove NP-hardness, PSPACE-completeness, or pseudo-polynomiality depending on the specific game mechanics allowed. One of our proofs generalizes to prove NP-hardness of many other video games such as Half-Life 2, Halo, Doom, Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Grand Theft Auto, Left 4 Dead, Mass Effect, Deus Ex, Metal Gear Solid, and Resident Evil. These results build on the established literature on the complexity of video games [Aloupis et al., 2014][Cormode, 2004][Forisek, 2010][Viglietta, 2014]

Vector synthesis: a media archaeological investigation into sound-modulated light

Vector Synthesis is a computational art project inspired by theories of media archaeology, by the history of computer and video art, and by the use of discarded and obsolete technologies such as the Cathode Ray Tube monitor. This text explores the military and techno-scientific legacies at the birth of modern computing, and charts attempts by artists of the subsequent two decades to decouple these tools from their destructive origins. Using this history as a basis, the author then describes a media archaeological, real time performance system using audio synthesis and vector graphics display techniques to investigate direct, synesthetic relationships between sound and image. Key to this system, realized in the Pure Data programming environment, is a didactic, open source approach which encourages reuse and modification by other artists within the experimental audiovisual arts community.Holzer, Dere

Tangible user interfaces : past, present and future directions

In the last two decades, Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs) have emerged as a new interface type that interlinks the digital and physical worlds. Drawing upon users' knowledge and skills of interaction with the real non-digital world, TUIs show a potential to enhance the way in which people interact with and leverage digital information. However, TUI research is still in its infancy and extensive research is required in or- der to fully understand the implications of tangible user interfaces, to develop technologies that further bridge the digital and the physical, and to guide TUI design with empirical knowledge. This paper examines the existing body of work on Tangible User In- terfaces. We start by sketching the history of tangible user interfaces, examining the intellectual origins of this field. We then present TUIs in a broader context, survey application domains, and review frame- works and taxonomies. We also discuss conceptual foundations of TUIs including perspectives from cognitive sciences, phycology, and philoso- phy. Methods and technologies for designing, building, and evaluating TUIs are also addressed. Finally, we discuss the strengths and limita- tions of TUIs and chart directions for future research

Flipping the world upside down: Using eye tracking in virtual reality to study visual search in inverted scenes

Image inversion is a powerful tool for investigating cognitive mechanisms of visual perception. However, studies have mainly used inversion in paradigms presented on two-dimensional computer screens. It remains open whether disruptive effects of inversion also hold true in more naturalistic scenarios. In our study, we used scene inversion in virtual reality in combination with eye tracking to investigate the mechanisms of repeated visual search through three-dimensional immersive indoor scenes. Scene inversion affected all gaze and head measures except fixation durations and saccade amplitudes. Our behavioral results, surprisingly, did not entirely follow as hypothesized: While search efficiency dropped significantly in inverted scenes, participants did not utilize more memory as measured by search time slopes. This indicates that despite the disruption, participants did not try to compensate the increased difficulty by using more memory. Our study highlights the importance of investigating classical experimental paradigms in more naturalistic scenarios to advance research on daily human behavior

3D Recording and Interpretation for Maritime Archaeology

This open access peer-reviewed volume was inspired by the UNESCO UNITWIN Network for Underwater Archaeology International Workshop held at Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia in November 2016. Content is based on, but not limited to, the work presented at the workshop which was dedicated to 3D recording and interpretation for maritime archaeology. The volume consists of contributions from leading international experts as well as up-and-coming early career researchers from around the globe. The content of the book includes recording and analysis of maritime archaeology through emerging technologies, including both practical and theoretical contributions. Topics include photogrammetric recording, laser scanning, marine geophysical 3D survey techniques, virtual reality, 3D modelling and reconstruction, data integration and Geographic Information Systems. The principal incentive for this publication is the ongoing rapid shift in the methodologies of maritime archaeology within recent years and a marked increase in the use of 3D and digital approaches. This convergence of digital technologies such as underwater photography and photogrammetry, 3D sonar, 3D virtual reality, and 3D printing has highlighted a pressing need for these new methodologies to be considered together, both in terms of defining the state-of-the-art and for consideration of future directions. As a scholarly publication, the audience for the book includes students and researchers, as well as professionals working in various aspects of archaeology, heritage management, education, museums, and public policy. It will be of special interest to those working in the field of coastal cultural resource management and underwater archaeology but will also be of broader interest to anyone interested in archaeology and to those in other disciplines who are now engaging with 3D recording and visualization

ATHENA Research Book

The ATHENA European University is an alliance of nine Higher Education Institutions with the mission of fostering excellence in research and innovation by facilitating international cooperation. The ATHENA acronym stands for Advanced Technologies in Higher Education Alliance. The partner institutions are from France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, and Slovenia: the University of Orléans, the University of Siegen, the Hellenic Mediterranean University, the Niccolò Cusano University, the Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, the Polytechnic Institute of Porto, and the University of Maribor. In 2022 institutions from Poland and Spain joined the alliance: the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University and the University of Vigo. This research book presents a selection of the ATHENA university partners' research activities. It incorporates peer-reviewed original articles, reprints and student contributions. The ATHENA Research Book provides a platform that promotes joint and interdisciplinary research projects of both advanced and early-career researchers

Advanced characterisation methods for the analysis of nanoformulations and extracellular vesicles

Nanomedicine represents a challenging and highly multidisciplinary research field, concerned with the development and study of nanoformulations for diagnostic and/or therapeutic purposes. The nano-sized particles of interest are increasingly complex. Their translational potential has been hampered by difficulties in their thorough characterisation. On the nano scale, small variations in size and composition can have large implications for their pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic behaviour. More precise techniques are therefore required to address these challenges. This thesis describes novel, advanced characterisation methods designed for the detailed study of single nanoparticles and their interaction and uptake behaviour with cells. A platform technology for Single Particle Automated Raman Trapping Analysis – SPARTA - was developed, capable of non-destructive, label-free and automated comprehensive single particle analysis. With the SPARTA system, the composition, functionalisation, size and dynamic reactions on the surface can be investigated in detail, of a wide variety of nanoparticles, through their Raman spectra. A further improved, custom designed SPARTA 2.0 platform was built, optimised for the analysis of complex biological particles, such as EVs. EVs represent a high potential as biomarkers, studied here in the context of breast cancer. The SPARTA 2.0 platform was able to resolve compositional differences between non-cancerous and cancer cell-derived EVs with excellent sensitivity and specificity. This highlights the possibility for development of new minimally invasive diagnostic approaches. In addition, a new imaging strategy for investigation of the EV-cellular interaction is presented, based on 3D Focused Ion Beam – Scanning Electron Microscopy (FIB-SEM). FIB-SEM allows the generation of 3D models of the subcellular structure and visualisation of the cellular trafficking of nanoparticles. This represents a powerful new approach for investigating EV uptake. The methods developed in this thesis allow for the single particle-based analysis of a wide variety of nanoformulations and EVs, to aid in understanding their composition, applicability and cellular interactions.Open Acces