This short video shows a sampling of the many diverse, creative and innovative projects in the GRAND network. Descriptions and links are provided below for further information.

PaperTab: The Next Generation of Tablet Technology
Creators: Jesse Burstyn (Queens University), Audrey Girouard (Carleton University), David Holman (Queens University), Kibum Kim (Queens University), Derek Reilly (OCAD University and Dalhousie University), Paul Strohmeier (Queens University), Aneesh Tarun (Queens University), Roel Vertegaal (Queens University), Peng Wang (Queens University), and Doug Wightman (Queens University).

Developed at the Queen’s University Human Media Lab, in partnership with Intel Labs and Plastic Logic, PaperTabs promise to radically change the way users interact with digital media. The thin flexible tablets look and feel like sheets of paper and offer a robust, shatterproof alternative to conventional glass-based displays. Its touchscreen interface, powered by the Intel i5 processor, allows users to navigate through a document by bending the corners of the tablet, similar to the turning of pages in a magazine. It includes several interactive features: by tapping one tablet to another, a user can instantly transfer data, or by placing two tablets side by side, enlarge an image across both screens. PaperTabs are also able to locate themselves relative to each other and to the user, providing a seamless user experience across apps. The device was officially introduced at the 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

Web: http://www.humanmedialab.org/papertab


Tweetris: Kinetic Game combining Tetris, Twitter and yoga
Creators: Fanny Chevalier (University of Toronto), Kyle Duffield (Artist), Dustin Freeman (University of Toronto), Kate Hartman (OCAD University), Derek Reilly (OCAD University and Emma Westecott (OCAD University).

Tweetris is a Kinect-based two-player game that involves the whole body. Players move into various positions to match Tetris brick shapes or “tetrominos” shown on a display. Snapshots of the players in position are then tweeted to become blocks for a separate game of Tetris played in real-time at a nearby kiosk, or on mobile devices. The game offers researchers a potentially useful design protocol for developers of similar interactive systems. The collaborative art project involved researchers at the Digital Futures Initiative (OCAD University), computer scientists at the Dynamic Graphics Project Lab (University of Toronto), and independent artists. Launched at Nuit Blanche as part of Toronto’s 2011 LEITMOTIF exhibition, Tweetris has entertained participants at Digifest, TEI 2012 as well as Halifax's 2012 Nocturne: Art at Night festival, featured in the video clip.

Web: http://www.lri.fr/~chevalie/projects/tweetris


Stereoscopic 3D (S3D): Hyper-real, immersive film with HFR (High Frame Rate) technology
Creators: Sean Arden (Emily Carr University), Alan Goldman (Emily Carr University), Maria Lantin (Emily Carr University), Denise Quesnel (Emily Carr University) and Richard Overington (Emily Carr University).

At Emily Carr University's Stereoscopic 3D (S3D) Centre, researchers are testing variable frame rates with the production of "L'âme Soeur (Soul Mate) 3D" featured in the video.  The short film incorporates scenes at 24, 48, and 60 fps to demonstrate the creative potential of variable frame rates within a narrative context for both 3DTV and Cinema. Motion artifacts such as judder and blur are often visible at standard frame rates like the 24fps of traditional cinema. Productions shot at higher frame rates create a different viewing experience by showing fine movement detail – instead of more resolution in the image there is more resolution in time. HFR research evaluates, for the creative community, how the technology can be used to tell compelling stories. The Centre’s research suggests that the choice of frame rate influences viewer comfort and become another cue in the perception of narrative in live action films.

Web: http://www.s3dcentre.ca


Sonic Cradle: Meditative experiences through respiratory-musical interaction
Creators: Diane Gromala (Simon Fraser University), Bernhard E. Riecke (Simon Fraser University) and Jay Vidyarthi (Simon Fraser University).

Sonic Cradle is an interactive system to help “meditation for the non-meditator.” While suspended in total darkness, users create musical soundscapes using biofeedback technology that responds to their breathing. The system uses a compendium of sounds from across North America, including recordings of falling rain, flute and guitar arrangements, meditative chimes and even spoken poetry. The immersive and minimalist experience helps alleviate stress and induce a sense of calm in users. The project breaks new ground in encouraging people to adopt and psychologically benefit from contemplative practices like meditation. With the involvement of medical researchers, Sonic Cradle is also being developed to treat chronic pain, utilizing immersive media and meditation as a therapeutic tool for psychological self-regulation. Sonic Cradle was exhibited last year at TEDActive 2012 in Palm Springs, California.

Web: http://ispace.iat.sfu.ca/project/sonic-cradle

pCubee: Virtual cubic display
Creators: Andrew Carter (University of British Columbia), Sidney Fels (University of British Columbia), Billy Shiu Fai Lam (University of British Columbia), and Ian Stavness (University of Saskatchewan)

pCubee is virtual reality you can hold in your hand. The cubic display allows users to see and interact with objects inside a virtual 3D space. Each side of pCubee renders a “perspective-corrected” image that uses real-time physics simulation to give the sense of real objects inside a physical box that is light and compact enough to be held in one hand. The device uses magnetic sensors to simulate real interactions and to render a coherent perspective for the observer. The 3D effect is a result of motion parallax that is also used in Fish Tank Virtual Reality (FTVR). pCubee is being developed in the Human Communication Technologies Lab at the University of British Columbia. Researchers are exploring cubic displays of different sizes with potential applications in teleconferencing, physics-based games, perspective-based 3D entertainment, CAD and architectural design, and interactive museum displays.

Web: http://hct.ece.ubc.ca/cubee


Propinquity: Full-body sensor-based game
Creators: Lynn Hughes (Concordia University), Bart Simon (Concordia University), The Modern Nomads: Jane Tingley (Concordia University), Marius Kintel, Severin Smith, and Anouk Wipprecht.

Propinquity is a choreography of bodies-in-relation that combines the rhythms and movements of dancing and fighting games. A two-person interactive experience, Propinquity (meaning “proximity”) is focused on the actions of the body rather than on the screen, using sound and game mechanics to produce an intensely social and physical experience. Players wear soft patches with proximity sensors and a glove that provides tactile feedback. As players move to music, different sensors on their bodies light up to indicate activity. The patches are programmed to light up in patterns and for different lengths of time to provide various types and levels of gameplay. To score points, a player must get as close as possible to his or her partner to activate patches on the other’s body. The longer she or he can stay “in the sweet spot” (without actually touching), the higher the score. Propinquity can be played as a competitive or cooperative game, but provides a lively and expressive spectacle. Propinquity was showcased at La Gaîté lyrique, Joue le jeu / Play Along in Paris last year.

Web: http://www.propinquity.ca

P.o.E.M.M. (Poems for Excitable Mobile Media): Touch interactive poems designed for mobile devices
Creators: Jason E. Lewis (Concordia University) and Bruno Nadeau (Designer and Software Developer, Wyld Collective)

Poems for Excitable [Mobile] Media is a series of poems written and designed to be read on touchscreen devices, from large-scale exhibition surfaces to mobile screens. In the exhibition version of the work entitled "The Great Migration," featured in the video, an interactive diptych display is presented with a wide digital print text-image. Participants read the poem using touch to capture floating text “creatures” each composed of one line, and assembled from a fluctuating set of values dictating its morphology. As a line is held, it slowly sheds its words, but continues its migration when let go. The work was developed for the Words on an Empty Beach solo exhibition in Ottawa, presented as part of the Objet Indirect Object project.

Web: http://www.poemm.net


Virtual Meditative Chamber: Pain self-management through biofeedback technologies
Creators: Diane Gromala (Simon Fraser University), Larry Hodges (Georgia Tech), Fleming Seay (University of Texas) and Chris Shaw (Simon Fraser University).

The Meditation Chamber is an immersive virtual environment (VE) created to relax the body and promote pain self-management through visual biofeedback. Fitted with a head-mounted display and three biometric sensors (to measure skin response, respiration and heart rate), users sit in a comfortable chair while presented with a visual display of a sun. As the user is encouraged to relax, the display responds to the biometric signals by changing the scenery. The greater the relaxation indicated by the signals, the faster the sun descended until it has gone below the horizon, giving way to a peaceful night scene. If unable to relax, the user's signals would slow down the sunset. Users reported an awareness of their efforts to relax because they understood the visuals were responding to their physiological state.

Web: http://www.confrontingpain.com


Lost Rivers: Mobile “virtual daylighting” app for historical landmarks
Creators: Kim Sawchuk (Concordia University) and Katarina Soukup.

Connected to the documentary film of the same name, Lost Rivers is a playful but enlightening mobile application for urban dwellers to discover the lost rivers of Montreal. The app allows GPS-enabled smartphones to discover historical and geographical landmarks concealed by years of development. Like a digital dowsing rod, the iPhone app allows users to locate the many ancient watercourses that still flow beneath the streets of the city, linking specific geographic “hot spots" loaded with fascinating historical lore, urban legends, 3-dimensional soundscapes, photos, and extracts from the documentary film. Virtual daylighting combines physical and computer-generated content and uses mobile phones for art and research, all while raising awareness of historical and environmental issues. The Lost Rivers app is produced by Catbird Productions, Inc in collaboration with Radio-Canada, Mobile Media Lab (Concordia University), and the Canada Media Fund.

Web: http://rivieresperdues.radio-canada.ca/en


Digital Tables: Multi-touch table tops for individual and collaborative activities
Creators: Sheelagh T. Carpendale (University of Calgary) and Uta Hinrichs (University of Calgary)

Founded and directed by GRAND researcher Dr. Sheelagh Carpendale, InnoVis (Innovations in Visualization Laboratory) at the University of Calgary is developing innovations in the areas of information visualization and Human Computer Interaction. Among the lab's numerous projects, researchers are exploring the effective use of display space, such as interactive table top displays, that have transformed the navigation, exploration, and manipulation of information spaces. In the context of Human Computer Interaction the lab is designing new best support collaborative work on large displays. Multi-touch tables were also field tested at the Vancouver Aquarium to investigate how visitors explore horizontal interactive exhibits.

Web: http://innovis.cpsc.ucalgary.ca/research


Gaming for Fitness: Motion-based games for older adults
Creators: Kathrin Gerling (University of Saskatchewan), Ian Livingston (Ubisoft Entertainment), Regan Mandryk (University of Saskatchewan), and Lennart Nacke (University of Ontario Institute of Technology, University of Saskatchewan).

Many older adults in nursing homes lead sedentary lifestyles that result in a diminished quality of life and decreased life expectancy. Full-body motion-control games provide an opportunity for older adults, and in particular those experiencing age-related changes and impairments, to remain active and engaged. Studies undertaken at the Interaction Lab at the University of Saskatchewan have developed specific guidelines for the design of full-body games that can accommodate a variety of levels of ability. The research has shown these games can have a positive effect on mood and the emotional well-being of older adults, and will help foster safe physical activity among older adults and increase their quality of life.

Web: http://hci.usask.ca/research