Computational haptics : the Sandpaper system for synthesizing texture for a force-feedback display

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Media Arts & Sciences, 1995.Includes bibliographical references (p. 155-180).by Margaret Diane Rezvan Minsky.Ph.D

Computational Systems for Music Improvisation

Computational music systems that afford improvised creative interaction in real time are often designed for a specific improviser and performance style. As such the field is diverse, fragmented and lacks a coherent framework. Through analysis of examples in the field we identify key areas of concern in the design of new systems, which we use as categories in the construction of a taxonomy. From our broad overview of the field we select significant examples to analyse in greater depth. This analysis serves to derive principles that may aid designers scaffold their work on existing innovation. We explore successful evaluation techniques from other fields and describe how they may be applied to iterative design processes for improvisational systems. We hope that by developing a more coherent design and evaluation process, we can support the next generation of improvisational music systems

Combining prototypes: A selective modification model

We propose a model that accounts for how people construct prototypes for composite concepts out of prototypes for simple concepts. The first component of the model is a prototype representation for simple, noun concepts, such as fruit, which specifies: (1) the relevant attributes of the concepts, (2) the possible values of each attribute, (3) the salience of each value, and (4) the diagnosticity of each attribute. The second component of the model specifies procedures for modifying simple prototypes so that they represent new, composite concepts. The procedure for adjectival modification, as when red modifies fruit, consists of selecting the relevant attribute(s) in the noun concept (color), boosting the diagnosticity of that attribute, and increasing the salience of the value named by the adjective (red). The procedure for adverbial modification, as in very red fruit, consists of multiplication-by-o-scalar of the salience of the relevant value (red). The outcome of these procedures is a new prototype representation. The third component of the model is [Tversky, 1977] contrast rule for determining the similarity between a representation for a prototype and one for an instance. The model is shown to be consistent with previous findings about prototypes in general, as well as with specific findings about typicality judgments for adjective-noun conjunctions. Four new experiments provide further detailed support for the model.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/27126/1/0000118.pd

Overcoming the Variability of Fingertip Friction with Surface-Haptic Force-Feedback

International audienceTouch screens have pervaded our lives as the most widely used human-machine interface, and much research has focused recently on producing vivid tactile sensations on these flat panels. One of the main methods used for this purpose is based on ultrasonic vibration to controllably reduce the friction experienced by a finger touching a glass plate. Typically, these devices modulate the amplitude of the vibration in order to control the frictional force that the finger experiences without monitoring the actual output. However, since friction is a complex physical process, the open-loop transfer function is not stationary and varies with a wide range of external parameters such as the velocity of exploration or the ambient moisture. The novel interface we present here incorporates a force sensor which measures subtle changes of the frictional force on a wide frequency bandwidth including static forces. This force sensor is the basis for real time control of the frictional force of the finger, which reduces significantly the inherent variability of ultrasonic friction modulation while maintaining a noise level below human perception thresholds. The interface is able to render of precise and sharp frictional patterns directly on the user's fingertip