Tangible auditory interfaces : combining auditory displays and tangible interfaces

Bovermann T. Tangible auditory interfaces : combining auditory displays and tangible interfaces. Bielefeld (Germany): Bielefeld University; 2009.Tangible Auditory Interfaces (TAIs) investigates into the capabilities of the interconnection of Tangible User Interfaces and Auditory Displays. TAIs utilise artificial physical objects as well as soundscapes to represent digital information. The interconnection of the two fields establishes a tight coupling between information and operation that is based on the human's familiarity with the incorporated interrelations. This work gives a formal introduction to TAIs and shows their key features at hand of seven proof of concept applications

The sound effect: a study in radical sound design

This research project combines a theoretical intervention into sound ontology, with an empirical investigation into listening experience, in parallel with two technologically focused, research-led creative practice projects. The design follows an iterative cycle of research and creative practice that integrates theory, practice and empirical approaches. The research makes an initial contribution to the field of sound studies by re-appraising the work of pioneers in the field—Pierre Schaeffer and R. Murray Schafer—in light of the concept of the sonic effect. This concept is developed as an effective tool for both sound studies and sound design. This theoretical work attempts to critically and creatively examine the ontology or mode of existence of sonic phenomena and is informed by the post-structural theory of the effect. The theory of the sonic effect is empirically investigated by examining verbal accounts of listening experience elicited by semi-structured interview. Finally, having deconstructed sonic phenomena in terms of their potential to be actualised in diverse contexts, sonic effects are interrogated as a creative strategy in the field of sound design for performance and installed sonic art. Two projects are documented. One is a hybrid live performance installation utilising a novel software design for sound composition and projection. The other is a sound installation work demonstrating a novel loudspeaker design for the creation of very dense sound fields. In this context, design occurs as an effect at the intersection of new technologies of sound production and the production of audible sense. This approach enacts a radical pragmatism that underlies the radical sound design strategy outlined in the thesis

Development of PVDF tactile dynamic sensing in a behaviour-based assembly robot

The research presented in this thesis focuses on the development of tactile event sig¬ nature sensors and their application, especially in reactive behaviour-based robotic assembly systems.In pursuit of practical and economic sensors for detecting part contact, the application ofPVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) film, a mechanical vibration sensitive piezo material, is investigated. A Clunk Sensor is developed which remotely detects impact vibrations, and a Push Sensor is developed which senses small changes in the deformation of a compliant finger surface. The Push Sensor is further developed to provide some force direction and force pattern sensing capability.By being able to detect changes of state in an assembly, such as a change of contact force, an assembly robot can be well informed of current conditions. The complex structure of assembly tasks provides a rich context within which to interpret changes of state, so simple binary sensors can conveniently supply a lot more information than in the domain of mobile robots. Guarded motions, for example, which require sensing a change of state, have long been recognised as very useful in part mating tasks. Guarded motions are particularly well suited to be components of assembly behavioural modules.In behaviour-based robotic assembly systems, the high level planner is endowed with as little complexity as possible while the low level planning execution agent deals with actual sensing and action. Highly reactive execution agents can provide advantages by encapsulating low level sensing and action, hiding the details of sensori-motor complexity from the higher levels.Because behaviour-based assembly systems emphasise the utility of this kind of quali¬ tative state-change sensor (as opposed to sensors which measure physical quantities), the robustness and utility of the Push Sensor was tested in an experimental behaviourbased system. An experimental task of pushing a ring along a convoluted stiff wire is chosen, in which the tactile sensors developed here are aided by vision. Three differ¬ ent methods of combining these different sensors within the general behaviour-based paradigm are implemented and compared. This exercise confirms the robustness and utility of the PVDF-based tactile sensors. We argue that the comparison suggests that for behaviour-based assembly systems using multiple concurrent sensor systems, bottom-level motor control in terms of force or velocity would be more appropriate than positional control. Behaviour-based systems have traditionally tried to avoid symbolic knowledge. Considering this in the light of the above work, it was found useful to develop a taxonomy of type of knowledge and refine the prohibition

DRONE DELIVERY OF CBNRECy – DEW WEAPONS Emerging Threats of Mini-Weapons of Mass Destruction and Disruption (WMDD)

Drone Delivery of CBNRECy – DEW Weapons: Emerging Threats of Mini-Weapons of Mass Destruction and Disruption (WMDD) is our sixth textbook in a series covering the world of UASs and UUVs. Our textbook takes on a whole new purview for UAS / CUAS/ UUV (drones) – how they can be used to deploy Weapons of Mass Destruction and Deception against CBRNE and civilian targets of opportunity. We are concerned with the future use of these inexpensive devices and their availability to maleficent actors. Our work suggests that UASs in air and underwater UUVs will be the future of military and civilian terrorist operations. UAS / UUVs can deliver a huge punch for a low investment and minimize human casualties.https://newprairiepress.org/ebooks/1046/thumbnail.jp

Remote assessment of Varroa presence in honey bee colonies using vibration measurements

Honey bee colony monitoring techniques that use hive-based sensors to continuously and remotely measure a range of parameters are increasingly being published. Non-invasive surveillance methods for the identification of Varroa destructor presence and infestation levels are, however, not as well-studied. Varroa mites adversely affect honey bees in several ways, and regular monitoring of their population is critical for successful control. The work carried out in this thesis explores the use of accelerometer sensors and vibration measurements as a non-invasive Varroa detection method. The capture of honey bee vibrations associated with infections of a bee virus (Chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV)) is also investigated, as Varroa are known to vector approximately 20 honey bee diseases and their associated variants. The answers to three main questions are sought throughout this work: 1) can accelerometers be used to detect vibrations originating from Varroa?, 2) if so, can these vibrations be used as a remote mite monitoring tool?, and 3) do observable honey bee virus symptoms produce detectable vibrations? To conduct this investigation, accelerometers were attached to a variety of substrates and linked to a camera, for simultaneous video and vibration capture, allowing the characterisation of numerous Varroa and honey bee vibrations. The waveform data was transformed into spectrogram and two-dimensional-Fourier-transform (2DFT) images, which were used as a main analysis tool for vibrational feature identification. Principal component and discriminant function analyses were implemented for the purpose of discriminating between groups of vibrational signals and for automatic detection using machine learning within long-term recordings of freshly collected, capped brood-comb. This work demonstrates that accelerometers can detect vibrations generated by minute (1-2mm, 0.42mg) mite individuals, and in the process has enabled the discovery of a novel Varroa behaviour (jolting) that produces a unique vibrational trace. Pulses of interest were carefully characterised in terms of their visible features, periodicity, strength, and time duration. These were then used as search tools for mite detection purposes. The exciting discovery of the jolting behaviour strongly suggests that Varroa can transmit functional vibrations. Continuing to investigate and understand this phenomenon may lead, amongst other things, to novel methods of mite control in the future. These explorations showcase the potential for Varroa vibration capture in remote mite monitoring, laying the groundwork for future analysis. This thesis also demonstrates the many advantages of the lesser used 2DFT image in animal vibration research, promoting its use. In relation to question 3 and the capture of vibrations associated with viral symptoms, no specific vibrational features were identified that could be linked to honey bee trembling, an observable symptom of CBPV. Nevertheless, the results of this chapter (4) promoted the use of 2DFTs in honey bee vibrational monitoring and endorsed solutions for future improvement to this analysis. The 2DFT was also successfully implemented following the discovery of a novel honey bee vibration, here coined the 'purr' (chapter 5). This work encompasses the pursuit of knowledge in the recently evolved subject of biotremology, to compliment the growing field of remote honey bee colony monitoring, and particularly that of non-invasive Varroa detection. A better understanding of both honey bee and Varroa behaviours and biology has been established, promoting the importance of vibration research in these closely entwined species. The value and scope of accelerometer use has here been strengthened through the detection of Varroa vibrations, supporting its growing application in colony monitoring

Voice and presence

De que forma pode a voz ser considerada enquanto tema de investigação filosófica? Utilizando principalmente aproximações fenomenológicas, esta tese é uma tentativa de mapear uma constelação transdisciplinar de pontos-­‐chave temáticos, onde a voz surge como uma manifestação expressa de presença e de processos vitais. Simultaneamente situada, corpórea e transgressora no contexto da noção de território acústico, a ambiguidade da voz e o seu potencial enquanto fenómeno, conceito e ressonância tangível de subjetividade, são explorados através do recurso a análise de fontes pertencentes à Filosofia Antiga, aos Estudos Sonoros, à Ciência Acústica, à Fenomenologia e à Pesquisa Artística.How can voice be understood as a theme for philosophical inquiry? Using mostly phenomenological strategies and approximations, this thesis attempts to map a transdisciplinar constellation of nexus points, where voice emerges as na expressive manifestation of presence and living processes. Simultaneously situated, bodily and transgressive in the contexto of the notion of acoustic territories, the ambiguity of the voice and its potential as a both phenomenon, concept and tangible resonance of subjectivity, are explored via an inquiry informed by Ancient Philosophy, Sound Studies, Acoustics, Phenomenology and Artistic Research

The Sampling of Bodily Sound in Contemporary Composition: towards an embodied analysis

Full version unavailable due to 3rd party copyright restrictions.The listener’s experience as an embodied subject is at the centre of this work. Embodied experience forms the basis for analyses of three contemporary compositions that sample bodily sound, in order to question how such works represent and mediate the body. The possible applications of this embodied methodology are illustrated through three case studies: Crackers by Christof Migone (2001), A Chance to Cut is a Chance to Cure by Matmos (2001) and Ground Techniques (2009) by Neil Luck. The findings of each analysis are placed within discussion of critical and theoretical concerns related to the (re)presentation, mediation and manipulation of the body both as materiality and as social construct, using, in particular, work by Hansen (2004) and Wegenstein (2006). The sampling practices of these works lead to the fragmentation of the represented bodies, in which margins between bodily interiors and exteriors are frequently crossed, bringing about a reconfiguration of the musical subject. Furthermore, the celebration of the bodily origins of these works complicates notions of recorded sound as disembodied. The analytical methodology developed in this thesis derives from a consideration of approaches in a number of fields: feminist musicology, music psychology, embodied cognition, phenomenology, music and gesture and new media theory. The sensations and affective responses of the listening body are discussed alongside an examination of how listening is shaped by processes of technological mediation. This thesis attends to both the body that is listening and the body that is listened to. I argue that it is not adequate to understand the works studied as merely representing the body, but suggest it would be more appropriate to understand the relationship between work and body as multi-faceted, conceptualising the body and recorded sound as mutually framing. This uncovers not only technology as mediation, but also the body as mediation. Finally, the case studies are used to reflect upon the limits of the embodied analysis methodology and its potential for wider application.This study was part-financed with the aid of a studentship from University College Falmouth and a grant from The Sir Richard Stapley Educational Trust

Journeys through Architecture: the Body, Spaces, and Arts in Dorothy Richardson’s Pilgrimage

The inter-arts potential of Dorothy Miller Richardson’s life’s work, Pilgrimage, has been gaining critical attention since the end of the twentieth century, with continuous scholarly efforts dedicated in revealing the cinematic, painterly, and musical depths of the novel sequence. Building on such established foundation, this study responds to this inter-arts call of Richardson scholarship by taking an architectural turn, and contends Pilgrimage as a piece of architectural construct—a literary work that demonstrates the coming together of the body, spaces, and arts. Interdisplinary in nature, this study draws on diverse fields of inquiry in its configuration of the architectural as manifested in Pilgrimage, with two interconnecting sections. Merleau-Ponty’s perceptual phenomenology and recent theorisations of body-space interaction in various disciplines, such as cultural geography and anthropology, underpin the first section of the discussion, which attempts to explicate the spatial significance implied in Miriam’s (the protagonist) sensuous interactions with the different kinds of space around or within her. While the first section underscores how the art of literature embodies Miriam’s sensuous-spatial dynamics, the second section illuminates how the spatial arts of painting and architecture come into contact with Pilgrimage. Collaborating biographical, painterly, literary, and phenomenological approaches, the thesis considers the sequence’s manoeuver over the issues of simultaneity, instaneity, moment, and subject matter as the manifestation of literary impressionism. After contemplating Pilgrimage as a piece of literary impressionism, the discussion concludes by considering the sequence as a piece of haptic architecture, with the notion of ‘fragile architecture’ formulated by Juhani Pallasmaa. By re-examining how Miriam’s body, spaces, and arts interact and integrate throughout Pilgrimage, the thesis aspires to bring to light its architectural disposition

Application of Remote Sensing to the Chesapeake Bay Region. Volume 2: Proceedings

A conference was held on the application of remote sensing to the Chesapeake Bay region. Copies of the papers, resource contributions, panel discussions, and reports of the working groups are presented