STEIM Lecture series  STEIM presents on wednesday, 15th april at 20:00: 
Ben Knapp & Nick Gillian on Eyesweb, sensor acquisition and gesture recognitionAdinda van 't Klooster on her project Emotion Lights
STEIM presents on Wednesday April 15 at 20h:
Lectures on Eyesweb and Bio sensors

With the presence of Atau Tanaka as artistic director in 2007, STEIM was introduced to bio sensors in a performative environment. Ben Knapp worked with STEIM on the revised version of Dick Raaijmakers` Grafische Methode Fiets, utilizing Infusion Systems` BioBeat sensor, which is also used in Tanaka`s BioMuse instrument. Together with Nick Gillian, Ben will talk about the SARC Eyesweb toolkit in STEIM`s Lecture Series. Adinda van `t Klooster has been working on her projects at STEIM regularly, and she will present her current work, Emotion Lights, which also uses bio sensors to track the visitor`s emotional state. 

Date: Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Venue: STEIM, Utrechtsedwarsstraat 134, Amsterdam
Time: 20.00hrs.
Entrance: FREE
Reservations and more information: [log in to unmask] or 020-6228690


Ben Knapp & Nick Gillian 
Controlling Music and Sound Using the Recognition of Physical Gestures and Emotional State

This talk will first explore the broad area of using kinematic (motion) and physiological sensors (motion and emotion) for interacting with sound.  Then, the details of the measurement and recognition of these signals and the patterns within them during performance will be discussed.  The talk will focus on three areas:
1) Understanding Gestures and Emotion
2) Simple Pattern Recognition Techniques
3) The SARC Eyesweb Toolkit

www.sarc.qub.ac.uk




Adinda van `t Klooster / Artist talk: Emotion Lights

Adinda van `t Klooster is a UK based artist who has worked with a wide range of media such as video and sound installation, animation, sculpture, and computer generated performance. In her work she creates a multi-sensory experience and explores the areas where art & science overlap. In her AHRC funded doctoral research with CRUMB at the University of Sunderland she is exploring the creation of new tactile interfaces using biofeedback. At STEIM she is collaborating with programmer Vincent Akkermans to create a first prototype of the Emotion Lights project.

Vincent Akkermans is a Dutch music technologist specialising in system architecture for adaptive representation of media. Throughout his MA at the Utrecht School of Arts he has focused on algorithmic composition and adaptive music systems for videogames. He recently finished a research internship focusing on methods for music information retrieval at the Music Technology Group in Barcelona.

The Emotion Light will be a light emitting sculpture, with sensors embedded in its handlebars. The holder’s heart rate and GSR (galvanic skin response) will be tracked live and analysed by bespoke software to create changing light patterns that respond closely to the users feelings. Building a classifier will be the first line of approach during the residency. As input (to generate emotions in the viewer) van ‘t Klooster will create an emotive sound sequence. The outcome of the work created during the residency will be exhibited at ISEA09 in Belfast.

During the talk at STEIM Adinda will talk about the development of the interdisciplinary Emotion Lights project and other recent projects like RAINBOW CODE and HEARIMPROV.

This project is looking for volunteers who are willing to test the system and for their GSR and heart rate to be used in building the classifier. It will require about half an hour of your time and will take place at STEIM between 13-15 April. If you are willing to participate in this please contact: [log in to unmask]

The Emotion Lights residency is funded by the arts Council England (http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/).



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