Pro-Am

Peer Audience

In the movie Total Recall a virtual tennis instructor shows Sharon Stone the finer points of how to serve. Twenty-one years later the reality of such a virtual tutor is right around the corner. Virtual technology that was once so expensive as to be reserved for pilot training on flight simulators, or to train surgeons on delicate procedures, is more readily available on a consumer level.

But, these are not video games. At least not the way we think of video games today; simply played on a screen with a controller. They will be whole body participations that include systems for feedback with physical actions: feedback that will lead to enhancement of human coordinations

The Interdisciplinary Computing and the Arts degree from UCSD provides the education to excel in this growing area. This program has an emphasis the computer skills necessary to implement computer technology with artistic considerations. A main focus of the program is the interactivity of the percipient. The combination on both of these areas of study provide expertise for user centered design, where the user of these novel technologies is the prime consideration.

Professional Audience

Neural plasticity is an exciting new field. Where once it was accepted that the nervous system became solidified upon adolescence, it is now clear that the brain can adapt and reorganize itself through out our life span. In motor therapy and relearning there is a process involving the brain to re-acquire lost motor control caused by a damaged area to the brain. A cortical reorganization can permit the nervous system to accommodate control over the consequently affected parts of the body.

Bodily augmentation is not new. A blind man uses a cane to navigate his way around. Cognitive scientists argue that the users somatic senses extend to the cane. The myriad of muscular controls necessary to operate the cane synthesize to a simple awareness for the tip of the cane. Motor rehabilitation, motor learning and augmentation are all on the same axis of neural plasticity.

For example, in surgical simulators sensors are incorporated into a data-collecting glove at the level of the articulations of the hand. As sensors monitor each articulation, information is sent to controls that operate a mechanical hand. Haptic response systems are incorporated into the glove to encourage the user's corrections. This technology can be used to compare the user’s movements to those of experts. Their skill level is then scored accordingly. Research has shown such systems to be highly effective in training.

The sciences that permit these technological innovations often lack the design perspective of artists. The interdisciplinary natue of art combined with a science background offers unique considerations for user centered design. The ICAM program at UCSD has provides exactly these skills to understand and manipulate technology for the use in interactive design.