Feedbackmaschinen

Wie erleben wir Interaktion? Wie kommen die Bewegungen unserer Hand an der Maus und die bewegten symbolischen Darstellungen auf einem Bildschirm zusammen, um als einheitliche Handlung erlebt zu werden: etwas anklicken? Und wie bekommt dieses Etwas seine Gestalt? Ausgehend von dieser Frage entwickelt die Arbeit einen neuen Blick auf das Interagieren, der sich wesentlich auf den Feedbackbegriff und die Kybernetik stützt. Dazu wird einerseits die Geschichte der Kybernetik als Vorgeschichte des interaktiven Rechnens selbst rekonstruiert, andererseits wird kybernetisches Denken für ein Verstehen von Interaktion reaktiviert. Unter Bezugnahme auf die akademische Human-Computer Interaction, sowie Technik- und Wissenschaftsgeschichte, Medienwissenschaften und Semiotik, aber auch auf empirische Psychologie und künstlerische Praxis, entsteht so ein Verständnis von Interaktion, das als Kritik an kognitionswissenschaftlichen Theorien der Interaktion, sowie auch am Vorwurf einer Konditionierung durch Interaktion zu verstehen ist, wie ihn Medienkunst oder Medienwissenschaften formulieren. Zugleich funktioniert dieses Verständnis als Ergänzung zu Theorien „direkter Manipulation“ oder „greifbarer Schnittstellen“, als Einbeziehung post-kognitivistischer Positionen wie „Embodiment“ und „Enactivism“ in den Interaktionsdiskurs, und schließlich als mögliche Antwort auf die Frage, wie körperliche Aktivität und Wahrnehmung beim Interagieren zusammenkommen, um dabei die Gegenstände der Interaktion erst zu erzeugen. Interaktion, so das Fazit der Arbeit, erzeugt Schnittstellen.How do we experience interaction? How is moving our hand on a computer mouse and looking at moving symbolic representations on a computer screen perceived as one coherent action: clicking on something? How is the Gestalt of this something constituted? Starting from this question, a novel understanding of interaction is developed that focuses on the notion of feedback and on cybernetics. To this end, the history of cybernetics is reconstructed as a history of interactive computing while cybernetic thought is reactivated as a tool for understanding interaction. Drawing on human-computer interaction (HCI), science and technology studies, media studies, semiotics, empirical psychology and artistic practice, this understanding of interaction can be seen as a critique of cognitivist theories of interaction and of the idea that interaction constitutes a form of conditioning, as put forward by media art and media studies. At the same time, it aims at complementing theories of direct manipulation and tangible interaction, incorporating post-cognitivist theories such as “embodiment” and “enaction” into the HCI discourse. Ultimately, it offers an answer to the question how interaction fuses bodily activity and perception into one experience, which in turn creates the very objects of interaction. Interaction, it is concluded, creates interfaces

Bacteria Hunt: Evaluating multi-paradigm BCI interaction

The multimodal, multi-paradigm brain-computer interfacing (BCI) game Bacteria Hunt was used to evaluate two aspects of BCI interaction in a gaming context. One goal was to examine the effect of feedback on the ability of the user to manipulate his mental state of relaxation. This was done by having one condition in which the subject played the game with real feedback, and another with sham feedback. The feedback did not seem to affect the game experience (such as sense of control and tension) or the objective indicators of relaxation, alpha activity and heart rate. The results are discussed with regard to clinical neurofeedback studies. The second goal was to look into possible interactions between the two BCI paradigms used in the game: steady-state visually-evoked potentials (SSVEP) as an indicator of concentration, and alpha activity as a measure of relaxation. SSVEP stimulation activates the cortex and can thus block the alpha rhythm. Despite this effect, subjects were able to keep their alpha power up, in compliance with the instructed relaxation task. In addition to the main goals, a new SSVEP detection algorithm was developed and evaluated

Moving into View: Enacting Virtual Reality

How do we perceive virtual reality? This simple question takes the reader on a journey into the physiology of perception, following cybernetic models that regard spatial perception as an activity that presupposes bodily motion. In this discussion, head-mounted displays (HMDs) are reconstructed not only as visual but also as relational devices, closer to cybernetic augmentation of the human body than to pictorial traditions. The condition of possibility of virtual reality, as embodied by HMDs, is reconstructed as the circular coupling of machine response to human action and perception, in contrast to perception of space through the eyes

Moving into View: Enacting Virtual Reality

How do we perceive virtual reality? This simple question takes the reader on a journey into the physiology of perception, following cybernetic models that regard spatial perception as an activity that presupposes bodily motion. In this discussion, head-mounted displays (HMDs) are reconstructed not only as visual but also as relational devices, closer to cybernetic augmentation of the human body than to pictorial traditions. The condition of possibility of virtual reality, as embodied by HMDs, is reconstructed as the circular coupling of machine response to human action and perception, in contrast to perception of space through the eyes.How do we perceive virtual reality? This simple question takes the reader on a journey into the physiology of perception, following cybernetic models that regard spatial perception as an activity that presupposes bodily motion. In this discussion, head-mounted displays (HMDs) are reconstructed not only as visual but also as relational devices, closer to cybernetic augmentation of the human body than to pictorial traditions. The condition of possibility of virtual reality, as embodied by HMDs, is reconstructed as the circular coupling of machine response to human action and perception, in contrast to perception of space through the eyes

Signal to noise: a live interface based on analog radio interference

“Signal to Noise” is a sound installation using radio transmissions and mobile radio receivers as an interface for audience-based performance. Carrying radio receivers, the audience moves through the space created by two overlapping radio transmissions that broadcast on the same frequency, creating a volatile acoustic space of radio interference that changes with each motion of every participant. The result is an embodied and interactive creation of a soundscape which is shaped by the unpredictability of interference and noise in analog radio. The installation deals with the battleground of ideological discourses, broadcasting archived radio programs of the Cold War era. Listeners move through the space in which transmissions from the East and West jam and disrupt each other and with every motion enact an ever-changing soundscape. The resulting choreography technologically reenacts the “fight over hearts and minds” at the border between East and West, recallingthe technological and ideological mechanisms used during the Cold War, where Western propaganda radio was jammed by Eastern authorities

Nomadic, migrating, commuting, wearable technologies and their infrastructures

One of the central issues of the present political agenda is the migration crisis. Apart from economic and environmental migration, we experienced in the latest years the exacerbation of some political conflicts and implicitly a political-based migration too. Tragic images of migrants’ attempts to cross the Mediterranean Sea or traversing other migration corridors were doubled by welcomed or hostile reactions of authorities in the countries of destination. The press did not spare us details about the migration routes, infrastructures, migrants’ pack-sacks, clothes and their smart technologies (see, for example, Meyer, 2015). But even for those who are not obliged to migrate, the present work flexibility pushes them to a rather increased commute between their homes and their working places. New economies started to take roots and support such developments as Airbnb hosting models or low-cost flights

The Unfolding Space Glove: A Wearable Spatio-Visual to Haptic Sensory Substitution Device for Blind People

This paper documents the design, implementation and evaluation of the Unfolding Space Glove—an open source sensory substitution device. It transmits the relative position and distance of nearby objects as vibratory stimuli to the back of the hand and thus enables blind people to haptically explore the depth of their surrounding space, assisting with navigation tasks such as object recognition and wayfinding. The prototype requires no external hardware, is highly portable, operates in all lighting conditions, and provides continuous and immediate feedback—all while being visually unobtrusive. Both blind (n = 8) and blindfolded sighted participants (n = 6) completed structured training and obstacle courses with both the prototype and a white long cane to allow performance comparisons to be drawn between them. The subjects quickly learned how to use the glove and successfully completed all of the trials, though still being slower with it than with the cane. Qualitative interviews revealed a high level of usability and user experience. Overall, the results indicate the general processability of spatial information through sensory substitution using haptic, vibrotactile interfaces. Further research would be required to evaluate the prototype’s capabilities after extensive training and to derive a fully functional navigation aid from its features

Nomadic, Migrating, Commuting,Wearable Technologies and Their Infrastructures, in STUDIA UBB. PHILOSOPHIA,Vol.62 (2 01 7),3, p. 130

International audienc

Bacteria Hunt: A multimodal, multiparadigm BCI game

Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) allow users to control applications by brain activity. Among their possible applications for non-disabled people, games are promising candidates. BCIs can enrich game play by the mental and affective state information they contain. During the eNTERFACE'09 workshop we developed the Bacteria Hunt game which can be played by keyboard and BCI, using SSVEP and relative alpha power. We conducted experiments in order to investigate what difference positive vs. negative neurofeedback would have on subjects' relaxation states and how well the different BCI paradigms can be used together. We observed no significant difference in mean alpha band power, thus relaxation, and in user experience between the games applying positive and negative feedback. We also found that alpha power before SSVEP stimulation was significantly higher than alpha power during SSVEP stimulation indicating that there is some interference between the two BCI paradigms