Gestures and Tools for Kinect - Eternal Coding - HTML5 / Windows / Kinect / 3D development You have certainly not missed (as a regular reader of this blog ) that the Kinect for Windows SDK is out! For now, however, no gestures recognition services are available. So throughout this paper we will create our own library that will automatically detect simple movements such as swipe but also movements more complex such as drawing a circle with your hand. The detection of such gestures enable Powerpoint control the Jedi way ! If you are not familiar with the Kinect for Windows SDK, you should read a previous post that addressed the topic: There is an infinite number of solutions for detecting a gesture. Algorithmic search Template based search Note that these two techniques have many variants and refinements. You can find the code used in this article just here: GestureDetector class In the end, all the work is done in the Add method: Recording Replay
Cinematics case study: Mass Effect 3 Earlier this year, Budapest studio Digic Pictures produced a stunning three minute trailer for the Bioware game Mass Effect 3. The trailer, dubbed 'Take Earth Back', tells the story of an alien invasion as Earth is attacked by the game's Reapers. We go in-depth with Digic to show how the cinematic was made - in stereo - featuring behind the scenes video breakdowns, images and commentary from several of the artists involved. Above: watch 'Take the Earth Back' Motion capture Artists: Csaba Kovari (Mocap TD), Istvan Gindele (Mocap TD), Gyorgy Toth (animator) We used Vicon’s T160 camera system to record all motion for this piece. In general we capture 2-3 or sometimes even 4 actors’ movements at once together with their props (swords, shields etc). Usually the mocap shooting days are preceded by rehearsal days, for example if we have a two day mocap shooting session then the actors need at least two-three days rehearsal with the director. Character animation Earth shot Blood effects 1.
IIC_kinesthetic_cognition IIC. Kinesthetic Spatial Cognition “Kinesthetic spatial cognition” can be defined as referring to the perception, memory, and recall of spatial information via the kinesthetic perceptual-motor system. IIC.10 Spatial Cognition versus Verbal Cognition A great deal of research has demonstrated that spatial cognitive processes and verbal cognitive processes use separate cognitive resources. Other evidence for multi-channel models comes from studies of patients with neurological disease or injury. The right-brain spatial, left-brain verbal specialisation is not a fixed relationship but appears to be based on more fundamental differences in processing styles of the two cerebral hemispheres such as sequential processes of the left hemisphere versus holistic processes of the right hemisphere (Bradshaw and Nettleton, 1981; Luria, 1970; Trevarthen, 1978). However, in some cases when verbal labels are attached to stimuli the memory for those stimuli does not necessarily improve.
Photography. Else Ernestine Neulander-Simon (A.k.a. YVA) Else Ernestine Neulander-Simon (Aka YVA) was a german photographer. Yva came from a Jewish middle-class family. She worked for many of the illustrated magazines and periodicals of the time. Towards the end of the 1920s, Yva began focusing on the commercial aspect of photography, specializing in advertising and photography. Yva’s innovative, and experimental work with multiple exposures became a hallmark of her work. Yva died at Sobibor extermination camp in 1944. More images>>>
The Geek Movement » UIST 2009 SIC: Laban Gestures for Expressive Keyboarding On October 5th, we participated in the Student Innovation Contest at the 2009 User Interface Software and Technology conference (UIST) in Victoria, BC. Student teams were given about a month to develop a novel use for a pressure sensitive keyboard developed by Microsoft Research, and all the entries were demonstrated and voted upon at the conference. Our submission is detailed below and in this demo video. Laban Gestures for Expressive Keyboarding Karen Tanenbaum, Josh Tanenbaum & Johnny Rodgers Simon Fraser University-School of Interactive Arts + Technology Keyboards tend to be discrete input devices, capable of multiple isolated interactions. Theatre and dance use movement frameworks to understand gesture. To situate our gestures in a mood space, we adopted Russell’s classic “circumplex” model of affect. By combining these two models, we have arrived at a framework for expressive gestures. We believe that this framework has applications wherever computation and emotion intersect.
Within the Kinesphere In the last set of articles I discussed and summarized Ed Hooks’ indispensable book Acting for Animators. A particular chapter of the book deals with a system of describing human movement called Laban Movement Analysis or LMA. LMA is a notation tool that dancers, physical therapists and athletes often use to describe the motion of the human body over time. Mr. Rudolf Laban was a Hungarian dancer and theorist who studied movement patterns and applied his findings not only to dance but to workplace energy and effort. Rudolf Laban showing off some Labanotation symbols LMA has five key categories: Space, Body, Effort, Phrasing, and Shape. Space defines the movement of a body within its environment. The "Kinesphere" is the LMA term for the zone of possible movement of a human subject Body refers to the individual biomechanical movements of the kinematics (joints) of the body — which parts are moving, which parts are held. Effort is possibly the most crucial aspect of LMA for animators to grasp.
Laban 1926 Choreographie Analysis of Movement Laban Analysis Reviews The concept of a direction requires an origin from which the direction is judged, this origin is often conceived to be a center of the kinesphere (movement space). Rudolf Laban's choreutics frequently uses a full-body sized kinesphere surrounding the person, with directions judged from an an egocentric reference system with center conceived to be the center of the body. This creates a global system where the directional orientation of the entire body is considered as a whole. Sometimes Rudolf Laban explicitly specified that "the direction c [center] is always in the body center" (Laban, 1963, p. 93) and others reaffirm that "Laban placed ‘centre’ at the body’s centre, which is approximately at the navel. Medium level directions were thence, on level with the navel or waist and this applied to all limbs” (Preston-Dunlop (1978, p. 70). However, it is a common misperception that choreutics always or only places the center of the kinesphere at the body center.
What Educators and Parents Should Know About Neuroplasticity, Learning and Dance — The Dance for Athletes class at Glen Burnie High School performs a swing piece Dance. Is it merely art? Is it just recreation? Dance is now being studied as a pathway to enhance learning. Recently at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting, more than 6,800 attendees paid rapt attention to renowned choreographer Mark Morris as he answered questions about the relationship between creativity and dance. Scientists are turning to dance because it is a multifaceted activity that can help them—and ultimately educators and even parents– demystify how the brain coordinates the body to perform complex, precise movements that express emotion and convey meaning. The brain hides from our sight the wondrously complex operations that underlie this feat. More than 400 studies related to interdisciplinary neuroscience reveal the hidden value of dance. Dance is a language of physical exercise that sparks new brain cells (neurogenesis) and their connections. Fodder for the Brain
Neuroplasticity: think on purpose and change your brain “The brain is neuroplastic,” says world renowned cognitive neuroscientist, Dr. Caroline Leaf. Her research proves that brain structures can be changed at the intersection of faith and science. Dr. Dr. A toxic thought literally equates to brain damage because the brain is not wired to naturally accept negativity. In order to even host a toxic thought, the brain – which is naturally wired for thoughts that extend from love, must translate toxic thoughts into some representation that it can understand. Toxic thoughts create disorder in the brain because the natural brain language of love and life is violated. Expanding Dr. Dr. In fact, Dr. When Dr. The science of neuroplasticity is the study of how the brain physically changes. In her private practice, Dr. Dr. According to Dr. Repetitions of the brain’s 63 day regenerative cycle, using directed positive thinking, dramatically changes the structure of the brain.