Catch the move - digital sensory workshop

In the week between 09/02 and 13/02 MMC Kibla in cooperation with CIANT of Prague organised a digital sensory workshop of capturing the move/body in virtual environment - Catch the move.

Schedule of presentations:
Monday, Feb 9, from 4PM - discussion
Tuesday, Feb 10, from 4PM - motion capture and 3D workshop
Wednesday, Feb 11, from 4PM - Hallerstein motion capture and 3D workshop
Thursday, Feb 12, from 4PM - public presentations and motion capture demo
Friday, Feb 13, from 4PM - motion capture public workshop

Brain Interfaces in Art (Pavel Smetana)
This reflection on brain interfaces will deal with explorations and aspirations of artists to employ bio signals in cultural productions. Recently, neuroscientists have significantly advanced brain-machine interface (BMI) technology to the point where severely disabled people who cannot contract even one leg or arm muscle now can independently compose and send e-mails and operate a TV in their homes. They are using only their thoughts to execute these actions. Thanks to the rapid pace of research on the BMI, one day, individuals may be able to feed themselves with a robotic arm and hand that moves according to their mental commands. The potential of bringing practical behavioral acts to more people is growing. What is the current state-of-the-art of research and creative exploration of the BMI technology? What are the emerging and future visions of controlling machines with brains and brains with machines?

Pavel Smetana Director of CIANT (Centre International d`Art et des Nouvelles Technologies). He has managed European projects supported within CULTURE 2000/7, MEDIA Training and the Framework Programmes. He was an expert on new technologies and arts at the Council of Europe. H directed ENTERmultimediale festival (2000, 2005, 2007). He is an artist in the field of virtual and mixed reality, interested in the development of interfac technologies. He is author of installations and performances, e.g. "Room of Desires", "The Mirror", "Lilith" some of which were awarded prizes such as Grand Prix de Locarno or UNESCO Prize.
pavel.smetana@ciant.cz

Motion Capture: Principles and Practice (Michal Masa)
Motion capture technology has become an inevitable tool for production of games and movies featuring CG animations. The presentation will describe fundamentals of the technology and list several different solutions based on different physical principles. This will be followed by practical demonstration of Polhemus electromagnetic motion capture system. In the final part we wil show how we employ the technology for new media performances with the software tool we have developed to animate 3D objects and characters in real time.

Michal Masa Graduated with his PhD in Computer Science at Czech Technical University in Prague in 2007. CIANT Lab senior programmer, he is currently researching the area of new media art preservation with special focus on multimedia performances based on motion tracking devices and interactive 3D projections. Over the past several years, he has been working with Polhemus electromagnetic motion capture systems. He has published several papers at various international conferences including Eurographics. michal@ciant.cz

Digitalization of Langweil Model of Prague (Michal Mariánek)
The presentation describes the project, which goal was to create a 3D digital representation of the paper Langweil model of Prague so that the model could be looked at, examined and described on a computer. The original model made from paperboard on a wooden construction was created in 1826-1837 by Antonín Langweil, an assistant at the university library in the Klementinum. It contains over two thousand buildings from the historic hear of Prague in a detailed and realistic state, in scale 1/400.Ivan Klíma: Mechanical engineer by education, after ten years in nuclear industry was lured by fast development of computer technology and defected into the realm of 3D modeling and computer graphics. CIANT Lab associated programmer, his current activities reach from development of educational multimedia CDs for schools to interactive technical visualizations and 3D digitalization.

Microwave
Creative methods and practical tools of DSP (digital signal processing) for creating and performing micro-electronic music.

Michal Mariánek Studied at University of Technology Brno and Faculty of Fine Arts and Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.Electronic experimentalist, CIANT associated producer, his artistic projects always contain both visual and musical aspects such as digital image, videoart, computer games design or music composing.
michal.marianek@ciant.cz