Hakoniwa: A sonification art installation consists of sand and woodblocks

Presented at the 19th International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD2013) on July 6-9, 2013 in Lodz, Poland.In this research we present an interactive tabletop installation ÒHakoniwaÓ. It consists of a wooden box, white sand and painted woodblocks. In this system, corresponding to the arrangement of woodblocks, a ceiling-mounted projector shows visual effects on the sand surface. At the same time, generative music is composed in a computer corresponding to the arrangement of woodblocks and modeling of the sand. This is an attempt of sonification of miniature garden. We studied Sandtray therapy, one of a famous form of art therapy, as a motif of the installation. We directed our attention to tactile sensation of sand and woodblocks, and tried to extend sandtray using computer vision processing and multi-media output. In this paper we describe details of the interactive system and discuss the possibility of supporting primitive play using such interactive systems

Mag-B

In this work, we have developed technology for tactile presentations. The aim here is to provide a new form of tactile communication that can be used in everyday activities. We hope that this innovative product will have a major impact in a wide variety of fields, providing a new medium for creativity

Validity of Spatio-Temporal Gait Parameters in Healthy Young Adults Using a Motion-Sensor-Based Gait Analysis System (ORPHE ANALYTICS) during Walking and Running

Motion sensors are widely used for gait analysis. The validity of commercial gait analysis systems is of great interest because calculating position/angle-level gait parameters potentially produces an error in the integration process of the motion sensor data; moreover, the validity of ORPHE ANALYTICS, a motion-sensor-based gait analysis system, has not yet been examined. We examined the validity of the gait parameters calculated using ORPHE ANALYTICS relative to those calculated using conventional optical motion capture. Nine young adults performed gait tasks on a treadmill at speeds of 2–12 km/h. The three-dimensional position data and acceleration and angular velocity data of the feet were collected. The gait parameters were calculated from motion sensor data using ORPHE ANALYTICS, and optical motion capture data. Intraclass correlation coefficients [ICC(2,1)] were calculated for relative validities. Eight items, namely, stride duration, stride length, stride frequency, stride speed, vertical height, stance phase duration, swing phase duration, and sagittal angleIC exhibited excellent relative validities [ICC(2,1) > 0.9]. In contrast, sagittal angleTO and frontal angleIC demonstrated good [ICC(2,1) = 0.892–0.833] and moderate relative validity [ICC(2,1) = 0.566–0.627], respectively. ORPHE ANALYTICS was found to exhibit excellent relative validities for most gait parameters. These results suggest its feasibility for gait analysis outside the laboratory setting