[Art_beyond_sight_theory_and_research] Twitter, haptic glove, photography, Sound imaging:

[Lisa Yayla]

Hi,

Wonder how Twitter could be utilized in the discussion, understanding of 
tactiles, any ideas - public information etc?
Link to an essay contest about the possible uses of a haptic glove, some 
blogs excerpts and exhibitions, and the
Cognitive aid system for blind People project.

Regards,

Lisa


http://www.twitip.com/twitter-remaking-the-persona-of-the-physically-challenged/
Twitter: Remaking the Persona of the Physically Challenged

One person already shaping her community’s identity is blogger Sandi 
Wassmer (@sandiwassmer), owner of Copious Ltd., a digital agency in the 
UK. Sandi, who is visually impaired, wanted to advance the work of 
Action for Blind People, a charity providing support services for blind 
and partially sighted people. She decided to blog for the organization, 
writing on all aspects of living with a disability-from the practical to 
the sublime. Unexpectedly, she has learned that, “my musings seem to be 
hitting home pan-disability,” she says. By promoting her blog on 
Twitter, she has expanded traditional views of what visually challenged 
people can do and demonstrated first-hand that all people have more in 
common than what our physical differences indicate.


http://www.actionforblindpeople.org.uk/


blog

http://mojoey.blogspot.com/2009/07/ucr-california-museum-of-photography.html

I went to see Sight Unseen on the advice of my friend Imogen. The 
exhibit was worth the trip. I could not understand how a blind 
photographer would produce images worth viewing. I was stunned by what I 
found. I particularly enjoyed the work of Pete Eckert.

Gerardo Nigenda incorporates brail into his printed works. The Patio at 
the Manuel Alvarez Bravo Photography Center, featured on the left, is a 
great example of excellent photography and tactile modification. You can 
touch the image while viewing it. I enjoyed the process.


http://www.cmp.ucr.edu/

California Museum of Photography

Sight Unseen

SIGHT UNSEEN
International Photography by Blind Artists
May 02, 2009 - August 29, 2009
Opening Reception: May 02, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Curated by Douglas McCulloh

Introduction | Shooting Blind | Blind to Our Own Blindness | Seeing 
Beyond Sight

Introduction
SIGHT UNSEEN presents work by the most accomplished blind photographers 
in the world. It is the first major museum exhibition on a rich subject 
full of paradox and revelation. This exhibition occupies the ground zero 
of photography.

Artists

Ralph Baker, New York, New York
Evgen Bavcar, Paris, France
Henry Butler, New Orleans, Louisiana
Pete Eckert, Sacramento, California
Bruce Hall, Irvine, California
Annie Hesse, Paris, France
Rosita McKenzie, Edinburgh, Scotland
Gerardo Nigenda, Oaxaca, México
Michael Richard, Los Angeles, California
Seeing With Photography Collective, New York, New York
Kurt Weston, Huntington Beach, California
Alice Wingwall, Berkeley, California



article excerpt

CyberGlove Systems Hosts Worldwide Contest for New Motion Capture 
Technology Applications
CyberGlove Systems is hosting a worldwide contest for the best new 
industry application of its hand-centric motion capture and haptic 
products. CyberGlove Systems is the worldwide leader in data glove 
technology and offers the most sophisticated hand-centric motion capture 
solutions in the marketplace. The winner of this contest will receive 
their choice of one of our products for free use for 12 months to 
develop their winning industry-application concept!

San Jose, CA (PRWEB) July 2, 2009 -- CyberGlove Systems LLC, CyberGlove 
Systems is hosting a worldwide contest for the best new industry 
application of its hand-centric motion capture and haptic products. The 
winner of this contest will receive their choice of one of our products 
for free use for 12 months to develop their winning industry-application 
concept! Winners will be chosen based on their submitted essays, which 
are due on September 4, 2009.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/technology/cyberglove/prweb2526334.htm

http://cyberglovesystems.com/company/winafreecyberglove.php




article excerpt

Sound imaging: clever acoustics help blind people see the world

Video from portable cameras is analysed to calculate the distance of 
obstacles and predict the movements of people and cars. This information 
is then transformed and relayed to a blind person as a three-dimensional 
‘picture’ of sound.
The concept is apparently simple and two prototypes have been 
successfully tested. Laser and digital video cameras become the eyes for 
the blind man and see the objects and activity going on around him.

Researchers from the University of Bristol have developed powerful 
real-time image processing and some clever algorithms to then identify 
objects and obstacles, such as trees, street furniture, vehicles and 
people. The system uses the stereo images to create a “depth map” for 
calculating distances. The system can also analyse moving objects and 
predict where they are going.

So much for the image processing, but how do you present this visual 
information to a blind person? Technology developed at the University of 
Laguna in Spain makes it possible to transform spatial information into 
three-dimensional acoustic maps.

A blind person wears headphones and hears how sounds change as they move 
around. The stereo audio system makes it possible to place sounds so 
that the brain can interpret them as a point in space. Sounds get louder 
as you walk towards objects, quieter as you move away. Objects to your 
right are heard on your right, and if you move your head the sound moves 
too. And if something is heading right for you, you'll hear it coming, 
with a tone that tells you to get out of the way.

The full picture
The EU-funded CASBLiP project was conceived to integrate the image 
processing and acoustic mapping technologies into a single, portable 
device that could be worn by blind people and help them to navigate 
outdoors.

The University of Laguna worked to adapt its acoustic mapping system and 
the University of Bristol refined its image processing algorithms. The 
device also incorporates a gyroscopic sensor developed by the University 
of Marche, Italy. This component, called the head-positioning sensor, 
detects how the wearer moves his head. It feeds back the position of the 
head and the direction it is facing, so that the relative position of 
the sounds being played to the wearer also move as expected. For 
example, if you turn your head towards a sound on the right, the sound 
must move left towards the centre of the sound picture.

http://cordis.europa.eu/ictresults/index.cfm?section=news&tpl=article&BrowsingType=Features&ID=90729

Project site
Cognitive aid system for blind People

http://casblipdif.webs.upv.es/



exhibition

Gallery hosts three-artist opening
Palmer paints his contemporary landscapes in acrylic medium with accents 
in pen and ink. Splitting his time between Ogunquit, Maine, and Key 
West, Fla., Palmer’s themes are landscapes mostly seen from a 
bird’s-eye-view. Palmer is totally blind in one eye and legally blind in 
the other. As a result, he paints about 10 inches from the canvas. While 
Palmer will not be present for the opening, his new work will be displayed.
http://www.hollandsentinel.com/lifestyle/x631610607/Gallery-hosts-three-artist-opening



excerpt blog


Holey Vision
Actually there were a couple of endings this week. On Tuesday the 
photographic workshops came to the close of the first phase. The 
participants had selected a photo and we had made them each posters and 
the ensuing exhibition was joyful in the extreme. Their friends, family 
and colleagues wandered around the room continuously saying how 
astounded they were. how they had never imagined that blind and visually 
impaired people could take such remarkable shots (sorry i can't show you 
yet but I hope soon some will be on an on -line exhibition!)
‘This is my photo of a thrown away piece of wood,’ said Mr. O. ‘When I 
saw the photo I realised it had bought out something beautiful in the 
wood and it made me think that all thrown away things have something 
beautiful still to be found. I have called this photo ‘Hope’. ‘


excerpt
Blog Holy Vision
So I was thoughtful when I arrived at Kennington and slid into my role 
as a volunteer facilitator. We (from the charity Photovoice) are running 
a series of photographic workshops for blind and VI people. We are in 
the 4th week of a new course but on this Tuesday three new people stood 
patiently waiting to join in. A tall Jamaican lad, blind from birth, a 
short, streetwise North African with his guide dog Frankie and a gentle 
Haitian-English man with his dog Bill. As everyone else was hyped up to 
go on a field trip I stayed in to work with the three new men.

The older man asks what is often the first question. ‘Why should blind 
people take photographs’?’ I roll up my sleeves and begin.
Over the two hours we explore the possibilities of communication between 
sighted and non-sighted communities, discuss language and how emotion 
can be conveyed through image and combinations of image, touch, scent 
and sound.
We discuss sight; our sight, how we lost or are losing it, what limits 
us. Then we explore the camera basics through touch and take the first 
series of photographs using touch and sound to establish the composition 
and I show them how to place the camera on heart, chin or nose (using 
the head as a tripod pivot) to take steady and simple pictures.


http://holeyvision.blogspot.com/