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Latest Episodes:

The Incredible Machine Nov 25, 2020

Show notes

A. Michael Noll is a pioneer of interactive technologies and computer graphics. He is credited with being one of the earliest digital artists, and is named on the first patent for an immersive interface device that combines virtual reality, 3D input, and haptics. Topics include Bell Labs, the origins of VR, texting, and video calls, and how to create an organization that cultivates creative collaboration.

Special Guest: A. Michael Noll.

Textiles and Tech Nov 10, 2020

Show notes

Virginia Postrel is an author, columnist, and speaker who focuses on the intersection of culture, commerce, and technology. In this episode, we talk about her new book, The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World. Topics discussed include Neanderthal string, ancient spinning machines, the link between the abundance of thread and the Great Enrichment, the digital nature of weaving, the dye industry and the rise of modern chemistry, and the advent of 3D knitting and smart fabrics.

Special Guest: Virginia Postrel.

Links:

Virginia Postrel – Website

Panel – Multisensory Design Sep 15, 2020

Show notes

This episode features the audio from a webinar called Design for Multisensory Experiences that was co-created by companies Immersion and Punchcut. Topics include 5G, voice agent design, spatial computing, haptics, automotive interfaces, and more. You can view the entire webinar here: https://punchcut.com/multisensory-experience-design-webinar/

Special Guests: Ken Olewiler, Reggie Wirjadi, and Vicky Knoop.

Spatial Awareness Sep 02, 2020

Show notes

Bri Scully is the Customer Experience Manager at Spatial, a startup that creates AR collaboration tools and software. Discussion topics include XR for productivity and remote work, the cognitive effects of body movement and spatial computing, how to get a job in the tech industry, the first generation of "XR natives," AR as enabling analog-like user experience, and the social consequences of the convergence of AR and 5G.

Special Guest: Bri Scully.

The Brain Gym Aug 17, 2020

Show notes

Amir Bozorgzadeh is the cofounder and CEO of Virtuleap, which uses neuroscience to create VR games that aim to improve cognitive performance.

Special Guest: Amir Bozorgzadeh.

Keeping In Touch in the Digital Age Jul 16, 2020

Show notes

Carey Jewitt is Professor of Technology and Learning at University College London, UK. As Director of the IN-TOUCH project, her work explores how digital technologies shape communication, design, and the arts.

Special Guest: Carey Jewitt.

Links:

Communicating by touch: the final frontier? | UCL Institute of Education — "Sometimes we don't even really understand why we're kind of reaching out to touch..." Find out why Professor Carey Jewitt and her team are looking into digital touch technologies and their potential in transforming the ways we communicate.
How digital touch can help people connect | UCL Institute of Education — The REMOTE CONTACT exhibition explores how creative uses of technology might enhance feelings of connection between families and relatives in care and tackle isolation. Created by interactive arts studio Invisible Flock and co-designed with individuals and their families living with dementia, the exhibition was commissioned by the IN-TOUCH project based at the IOE's UCL Knowledge Lab. Lead by Professor Carey Jewitt, IN-TOUCH seeks to explore how digital touch can redefine our experience of communication with those close and distant, and how this may change communicative norms and ethics. More info at http://bit.ly/2E9AZ08 and follow the project on Twitter @IN_TOUCH_UCL.
Imaginations of Remote Personal Touch Communication, Carey Jewitt — How is haptics involved in knowledge creation? What knowledge is produced in reconceptualizing touch through other means? There is a humanist privileging of a certain kind of knowledge gained directly through the hands in craftsmanship, painting, and skillful training. Some see this as partially translating into digital craftsmanship and computer-aided design. The engineering of force feedback (haptics) involves hands, muscles, and skin in active engagement with digital sensation for the purposes of the design of objects and textiles, then, but also for more wholly embodied entertainment and performance experiences. Videogame controllers buzz in our hands, while haptic bodysuits stimulate hands and other body parts for fun or art. Scientific processes of sensory mapping, the engineering of the interface, electrical and electronic entertainments, and the use of the body in performance each in their own way involve a creative approach to knowledge production: creative arrangements of the senses, translations between modalities, a realm of experimentation in the service of knowing more about bodies, senses, and space – what Michel Serres describes as a ‘mingling’ of the senses. Increasingly, social science understands the importance of such sensory knowledge production, and involves its own creative methodologies and approaches when it comes to bodies and their boundaries. The day will consist of talks and demonstrations around touch, haptics, and performance.

Sensory History Jun 23, 2020

Show notes

Mark Smith is Carolina Distinguished Professor of History at the University of South Carolina and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Topics discussed in this episode include historical reenactment, immersive technology applied to historical studies, and the sensory revolution brought about by the global pandemic.

Read the article on SingularityHub that triggered this interview here.

You can purchase Professor Smith's book, The Smell of Battle, The Taste of Siege, here.

Special Guest: Mark Smith.

Design for the Sense of Touch Jun 03, 2020

Show notes

Oliver Schneider is an Assistant Professor, HCI researcher, and haptician at the University of Waterloo. Discussion topics include juicy design, measuring the haptic user experience, standardization, tools, virtual humans, and the impact of the pandemic and tactile internet technology on the future of work.

Special Guest: Oliver Schneider.

The Art of Haptics May 11, 2020

Show notes

Daniel Belquer is an award winning composer and intermedia artist. Discussion topics include the use of haptics in live events and concerts, creative tools for tactile art, the state of wearable devices, therapeutic haptics, and COVID-19 and what it means for the tactile internet.

Special Guest: Daniel Belquer.

Touchy Subjects Feb 27, 2020

Show notes

Robby Hoffman is an award-winning stand-up comedian and writer. Discussion topics include sex tech, television, haptics in mobile phones, plumbing, VR, and Mars settlement. This episode contains explicit content.

Robby was named one of Comedy Central's UP NEXT comedians and was listed on Conan O’Brien’s Comics to Watch list. She headlined for the New York Comedy Festival and recorded her first one-hour TV special, "I’m Nervous," at JFL42 in Toronto for Crave TV in 2019. An ex-Chasidic queer Jew, Robby is a fixture at the Just for Laughs comedy festival in her hometown of Montreal, and has written for The Chris Gethard Show (TruTV), Workin' Moms (Netflix), Baroness Von Sketch Show (IFC), and Odd Squad (PBS), for which she won a Daytime Emmy Award in 2019.

Special Guest: Robby Hoffman.

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