Monday, October 18, 2004

Forthcoming IDC seminar

IDC Research Seminar
Friday, November 12, at 2.00PM

Venue to be confirmed.


Programme
2.00-2.30 Ian O'Keeffe
"A Video-Driven Soundtrack Composition System Utilizing Video Stream Event Detection And Automated Music Generation"
Current soundtrack composition practice relies either on the use of a contracted composer to write from scratch or the use of music excerpt libraries to select the type of music required, with related costs linked with such an approach, royalties and musicians rights issues (IMRO). It is proposed that a new approach be taken for the generation of such incidental music, by composing or generating suitable music, probably driven by a 'wizard'-style interface or prompting method, which would be influenced by the content of the selected video stream with regard to rate of change, shot rate, and so on. After further investigation it has transpired that the alternative of applying more direct control over the marking of events would also be desirable, as would the facility to input EDL (Edit Decision List) files, these being a de-facto standard across the video industry. A number of approaches for the music generation are being investigated, the heuristic and statistical techniques being most prevalent.


2.30-3.00 Darragh Murphy
"Use of Biometrics as a database security measure" Goal of this project was to investigate the use of fingerprint recognition as a suitable
biometric measure for an authorized secured access to a database. The project entailed research into methods of fingerprint recognition and how it
has been developed and improved since its conception. While on co-operative education, Darragh was involved in Web Development and
maintenance, Developing online surveys, Software testing, Online services evaluation and he orchestrated the organizations computer auditing project.


3.00-3.30 Iride Bartolucci
"Interactive Playgrounds: how to stimulate the physical activity of children through playing, using new technologies"
Iride's role on the project was to formulate activity scenarios, with the aim to try and define necessary requirements for the implementation
of a novel playground. In particular, Iride designed a game to be implemented on the tiles-platform, that had the goal to develop the physical and cognitive
activity of children. Iride tested the game with children and also videotaped the activity to analyse the video through an ad hoc
observation grid she developed. The video-analysis activity was important to find new requirements about the prototype and to have significant data
about the physical performance and the cognitive activity of children and also about the design of the artefact.


3.30-4.30 Tony Hall
"Disappearing technology, emerging interactivity: A study of the design of novel computing to enhance children's learning experience in museums"
Museums are key sites of children's learning. However, they increasingly face competition for children's attention from other edutainment
activities and centres. In order to make their museums more appealing to children, curators and museum designers and educators are installing
computers in their galleries and exhibition spaces. However, the way in which this technology has been deployed in museums has often proven
problematic, serving to detract from, rather than enhance the interpretive experience of children. This has largely been the result of the inherent
limitations of standard computing. However, can novel computing (pervasive and ubiquitous computing), with
its potential to transcend problematic constraints of the desktop PC, be designed to enhance children's learning experience in museums? This is
the question that this thesis explores through development and evaluation of an innovative computer-supported exhibition, which was
designed to enhance children's museum learning. Emerging from the analysis of children's experience of the exhibition, the thesis firstly
proves that there are new interactive possibilities with novel computing to enhance the educational potential of museums. The thesis also
produces design guidelines, which identify the criteria of an effective computer-augmented museum educational experience for children. These
guidelines furthermore clarify the design informants and resources, which need to be consulted in order to effectively create such an
experience.

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