August 06, 2005
Remote Controlled Humans
The "Tele-Actor" is a skilled human with cameras and microphones connected to a wireless digital network. Live video and audio are broadcast to participants via the Internet or interactive television. Participants not only view, but interact with each other and with the Tele-Actor by voting on what to do next. The "Spatial Dynamic Voting" (SDV) interface incorporates group dynamics into a variety of online experiences.
The Tele-Actor Project is sponsored by the National Science Foundation, Intel Corporation, UC Berkeley's Interactive University Project, and UC Berkeley's Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS).
And a similar technology - GVS
At the 2005 SIGGRAPH computer graphics conference in Los Angeles this week, Nippon Telegraph & Telephone (NTT) researchers debuted a device designed to exploit the effects of Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation (GVS). Known as "Shaking the World," the project is the result of research carried out by NTT researcher Taro Maeda. Maeda and his colleagues constructed a headphone-like apparatus to deliver the electrical current and a small radio control to direct the strength and direction of the signal. Whoever wears such headphones can be steered by remote control. When a weak DC current is delivered to the mastoid behind your ear, your body responds by shifting your balance toward the anode. The stronger the current, the more powerful its pull. If it is strong enough, it not only throws you off balance but alters the course of your movement.
The most persuasive commercial applications of this GVS device will most likely be in gaming; researchers put together a crude virtual racing game to demonstrate how GVS heightened the perception of centrifugal force as users watch the car wind its way around the track on a video screen. Using GVS for flight simulators are another area of interest. According to the researchers, "because GVS causes you to feel the same kinds of motion as a large-scale flight simulator, it could be a much simpler and more cost-effective way to train people."