Research Areas

Upwell

Interactive + Mixed Reality Arts

Interactive Arts and Technology Initiative (IATI) funded by TOP is a new collaboration group for interdisciplinary research and creative activities. This initiative is designed for active engagement from three colleges through a new course, existing undergraduate/graduate courses, graduate research, faculty research, and external events. The initial funding from the TOP grant helped us to construct a technical playground for artists and scientists. Many Interactive performances have been produced, modified as participatory artworks and exhibited at various local venues (Children’s Museum of Brazos Valley, Art Council of Brazos Valley, First Fridays in Downtown Bryan). The study also explores how technology affects a dancer’s cognitive process improvisation.

Projects: Upwell, Rainy Garden, inTouch

Upwell_02

Interactive Performance

New technology often creates a distance between young people and their parents or grandparents. Creating soft tangible objects for various interactive systems has a potential to connect two generations through craft/fabrication techniques. The older generation has knowledge and skills to create tangible objects and young generation knows how to integrate technology to the tangible objects. In the process of creating personal objects, families can share their memories and create emotional attachments. We focus on holding maker workshops and creating wearable projects that hold shared moments in ambient ways.

Projects: Upwell, Lavishly Light, LED Dress 2014, LED Dress 2013, Hope Life

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Immersive / Interaction Learning in Medical and Nursing Education

Computer visualization techniques have been popularized in various areas: education, entertainment and interactive art. In addition, they are becoming more approachable and adapted to many different disciplines in an interdisciplinary sense. We focus on integrating tangible aesthetics to scientific and technological inquiry and practice. Our goal is to develop a Tangible Augmented-Reality Interface for mobile devices to enhance the effectiveness of learning scientific concepts including Gross Anatomy. Learning anatomy is fundamental to every health profession and related domains (Dance Science and Visual Art). However, many students spend most of their time memorizing anatomical terms shown in 2D in a textbook without learning or understanding the spatial relationships.

Projects: InNervate VR, InNervate AR, Muscle Action VR, Creative Anatomy Collective, ARnatomy, FlexAR, Kinetic Pelvic Model

stampies

Immersive Design for Good

Soft Interaction Research on Children with Autism: Haptic Soft Toy, Soft Robot, Touchology

Education: Touchwire, Stampies

Creative Aging Research using Interactive Arts: Creative Aging

Social Justice