Detailed SESSION INFORMATION
JULY 16, 2020: 9:15-10:15 AM EDT (UTC -4)
DogDog: Soma-Based Interface Design for an Improvising Musician
Francesco Bigoni and Cumhur Erkut
ABSTRACT
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Improvisation is embodied thought and expression. This paper outlines strategies and tactics to design expressive musical interfaces for improvisers. Some of these strategies are explored through a case study: a non-tactile hand-arm movement interface controlling a granular synthesizer (DogDog), based on high-level movement descriptors. The research through design and performance expe- rience indicates that movement quality descriptors are inherently scalable from hand-arm movements to full body interaction, and that a textural approach to motion tracking fits well the morphing sonic masses generated through granular sound synthesis.
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The Effects of Visual Feedback Complexity on Training the Two-Legged Squat Exercise
Sean Sanford, Mingxiao Liu, Thomas Selvaggi and Raviraj Nataraj
ABSTRACT
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We investigated the effects of visual feedback (VF) complexity and visual mode of body-discernibility for training the two-legged squat exercise. Our objective was to identify features for optimizing VF-based movement rehabilitation paradigms. We evaluated four unique VF cases with unique combination of VF complexity type (simple, complex) and visual mode of display (abstract, representative). We evaluated the effects of VF during training (real-time VF) and post-assessment (no-VF, immediately following training) for increasing motion and muscle activity consistency. Eighteen able-bodied subjects completed training and post-assessment with all four VF cases in a single-training session. We demonstrated that Complex-representative VF has potential to elicit more consistent motion and muscle activity patterns during rehabilitative training.
Real-Time Optical Motion Capture Balance Sonification System
Mitchell Tillman, Luke Dahl, Christopher B. Knowlton and Antonia Zaferiou
ABSTRACT
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In this study, we explored the effects of a motion capture-based real-time sonified biofeedback system on balance. We present the initial efforts towards developing a task-independent optical motion capture based real-time balance sonification system. Five healthy young adults (two female; 24 +/- 2.65 years) stood on one foot before and during listening to sonified biofeedback that expressed information in real-time about the state of their balance. In two of five participants, interacting with our sonified biofeedback system resulted in increased “Margin of Stability”, a metric indicative of how well the body center of mass is supported by a person’s stance. This result indicates our system’s initial promise towards training balance strategies. Qualitatively, the participants who increased the Margin of Stability during sonification reported enjoying the experience more and were more aware of changes in their behavior, compared to those who did not increase their Margin of Stability. We also learned that our sonification system has design elements that are incompatible with the stationary tasks in the present study, which will inform our next iteration of sonification design. Future work will examine sonifying balance in dynamic balance tasks, with the goal of aiding clinical balance training.
Inducing Cognition of Secure Grasp and Agency to Accelerate Motor Rehabilitation from an Instrumented Glove
Mingxiao Liu, Samuel Wilder, Sean Sanford and Raviraj Nataraj
ABSTRACT
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Improving grasp performance for activities of daily living is an essential objective following neuromuscular trauma such as spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, stroke or amputations. Traditional rehabilitation methods involve intensive or repetitive physical training to relearn motor skills. Few of them consider or leverage cognitive factors to better motivate and engage individuals during training. Novel cognitive-based approaches could better motivate individuals to engage in training paradigms and facilitate rehabilitation procedure. Sense of agency (agency) is the neural perception of the true authorship of a neuromuscular action and its related consequence. Possessing greater agency as a basis for improved functional performance appears as an intuitive concept since the higher agency one has, the better movement control one perceives. In this project, we developed an instrumented glove that aimed to predict secure grasping and to improve grasp performance with onboard sensory feedback by inducing agency. Participants received visual and audio feedback during a training session across three distinct conditions: ‘Decay feedback’, ‘Instant feedback’ and ‘No feedback’. Overall, grasp performance including completion time and pathlength significantly improved (p < 0.05) after the training with ‘Decay feedback’, comparing to training without feedback (i.e. ‘No feedback’). The results of this study may foster user-device integration at a cognitive level and facilitate greater clinical retention for rehabilitation following neurotrauma.
VIDEO
Movement detection software to enhance autism assessment processes
Roberta Simeoli, Miriana Arnucci, Angelo Rega and Davide Marocco
ABSTRACT
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Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder evident from infancy. It has been, typically, assessed and diagnosed through observational behavioral analysis. However, new evidence showed that motor abnormalities might underpin the disorder and provide a computational marker to enhance assessment and diagnostic processes. In this study, we used tablets with touch-sensitive screens to record movement kinematics in children with autism compared to typically developing children. The analysis of the trajectories indicated that a measure of straightness could identify the difference between the groups.
Evaluation of Movement and Motor Skills for Early Diagnosis and Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder
Louise B. Ribeiro, Antonia Zaferiou and Manoel Da Silva Filho
ABSTRACT
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Early diagnosis for the young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is essential, ensuring that the interventions necessary to develop children’s skills are adopted early when brain plasticity is much more accentuated, and therapy is more effective. Past research has established that poor motor skills are related to broader social behavioral challenges. To effectively diagnose ASD at an earlier stage of an individual’s life, it is important to identify motor skills deficits. Therefore, the paper provides a analysis of the role of motor problems in ASD for early diagnosis. We found that developmental sensorimotor deficits during early childhood are significant predictors of a potential diagnosis of ASD. Motor deficits are usually the first sign of atypical development and are intrinsically linked to other developmental domains. However, there are still significant gaps to assess the motor function in children with ASD, given the heterogeneity found and individual or global limitations of these assessments. We conclude that studies using quantitative computational methods to assess and evaluate movement are encouraged for early diagnosis and customized therapies to cover the broader range of atypical neurodevelopment within ASD.
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Designing Human-Object Performances using Theatre Practices and Machine Learning
Joanne L Martin
ABSTRACT
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The research project, through experimentation with computer vision tools integrating machine learning models, will investigate how this technology can be used to develop human-object based theatrical performances. Using three case studies, a range of human-object interactions will be identified and explored for the development of a collaborative performance work, incorporating elements of improvised theatre, dance and interactive scenography. Theatrical practices, such as Overlie’s Six Viewpoints, will be adopted in case study workshops and their utility in the design process assessed. The studies will investigate the processes of devised theatre and the potential role machine learning tools can play in providing creatives and museum curators with new modes of expression and discovery.
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