Conclusion
In this last article in the case story on "Robot Mask & The University of Tsukuba", we'll take a look on other projects that Kenji Suzuki has been involved in.
Beacon:
Beacon is an interface for socio-musical interaction. It is made
by Takahiro Kamatani, Miho Kyoya, Toshiaki Uchiyama and Kenji
Suzuki. They think that more and more digital musical instruments
have been developed for individual use. With Beacon they wants to
activate many people at the same time around a musical
instrument.
Beacon represent a platform for social interaction through music, and it is expected to be used in activities such as school education, recreation, fitness, rehabilitation, games, competitions, and new artistic expressions.
Cololo:
Makiko Hoshikawa, Fumitoshi Ogaki, Toshiaki Uchiyama and Keji
Suzuki has created Cololo, which is interface that enables a simple
and seamless remote interaction for general to toddler, elderly and
disabled people in distant places.
By using Cololo, people can not only feel the communication partner closer through the lights, movement and vibration, but also feel a sense of connectedness by a user's active action.
Air Tiles:
The last project Kenji Suzuki is a part of is Air Tiles, which is
a modular device he has developed together with Kazuki Iida, Junki
Ikeuchi and Toshiaki Uchiyama. Air Tiles allows users to create
geometric shapes in the real world and also a flexible sensing
space within the created shape.
The Group behind Air Tiles thinks that it can be used as a social interaction tool. For example children could play together by creating shapes on the ground or floor. Other potential applications that the modular device can be used in, is human-behaviour measurement, motion guidance and therapeutic exercise.
Conclusion:
It was quite impressive experience to discover the campus
exhibition by the University of Tsukuba during the Ars Electronica
Festival in Linz, september 2011. Most of all because all the works
represented a high standard, especially when you're thinking on
that most of it was made by students. The title of the exhibition
was Seriously playful / Playfully serious, and you could feel that
there has been thinking of making fun, educational products that
can help many people to have a better everyday life. But the
challenge is still, how can you create some products that is cool
to interact with more than one or two times. In this perspective
seems "Robot Mask" to be a product that can be more than a concept
and a prototype, because of its serious and innovative design, that
can very useful for people who has problems with their facial
expressions.
Links:
Ars Electronica
University of Tsukuba
Kenji
Suzuki
Similar case
stories:
RoboLift
Futur En Seine: Follow
the Robots
Enter:
Datapolis: 5th Art:Sci:Tech Biennale Prague
The
Robotinity Exhibition at Ars Electronica Center
[image source: Vive Les Robots!, Ars
Electronica]
[source: Vive Les Robots!]
Novmichi Tosa from Maywa Denki is
interacting with Beacon, which is a musical social interaction
device.
Cololo is an interface that enables a simple and seamless remote interaction for general to toddler, elderly and disabled people in distant places.
Kenji Suzuki is playing with the Air Tiles
project.
Anna Gruebler with the Robot Mask device.