Brygg Ullmer

Ambient Displays: Turning Architectural Space into an Interface between People and Digital Information

We envision that the architectural space we inhabit will be a new form of interface between humans and online digital information. This paper discusses Ambient Displays: a new approach to interfacing people with online digital information. Ambient Displays present information within a space through subtle changes in light, sound, and movement, which can be processed in the background of awareness. We describe the design and implementation of two example Ambient Displays, the ambientROOM and Ambient Fixtures. Additionally, we discuss applications of Ambient Displays and propose theories of design of such interfaces based on our initial experiences.

Comparative and demographic analysis of orang-utan genomes

‘Orang-utan’ is derived from a Malay term meaning ‘man of the forest’ and aptly describes the southeast Asian great apes native to Sumatra and Borneo. The orang-utan species, Pongo abelii (Sumatran) and Pongo pygmaeus (Bornean), are the most phylogenetically distant great apes from humans, thereby providing an informative perspective on hominid evolution. Here we present a Sumatran orang-utan draft genome assembly and short read sequence data from five Sumatran and five Bornean orang-utan genomes. Our analyses reveal that, compared to other primates, the orang-utan genome has many unique features. Structural evolution of the orang-utan genome has proceeded much more slowly than other great apes, evidenced by fewer rearrangements, less segmental duplication, a lower rate of gene family turnover and surprisingly quiescent Alu repeats, which have played a major role in restructuring other primate genomes. We also describe a primate polymorphic neocentromere, found in both Pongo species, emphasizing the gradual evolution of orang-utan genome structure. Orang-utans have extremely low energy usage for a eutherian mammal, far lower than their hominid relatives. Adding their genome to the repertoire of sequenced primates illuminates new signals of positive selection in several pathways including glycolipid metabolism. From the population perspective, both Pongo species are deeply diverse; however, Sumatran individuals possess greater diversity than their Bornean counterparts, and more species-specific variation. Our estimate of Bornean/Sumatran speciation time, 400,000 years ago, is more recent than most previous studies and underscores the complexity of the orang-utan speciation process. Despite a smaller modern census population size, the Sumatran effective population size (Ne) expanded exponentially relative to the ancestral Ne after the split, while Bornean Ne declined over the same period. Overall, the resources and analyses presented here offer new opportunities in evolutionary genomics, insights into hominid biology, and an extensive database of variation for conservation efforts.

mediaBlocks: physical containers, transports, and controls for online media

We present a tangible user interface based upon mediaBlocks: small, electronically tagged wooden blocks that serve as physical icons (“phicons”) for the containment, transport, and manipulation of online media. MediaBlocks interface with media input and output devices such as video cameras and projectors, allowing digital media to be rapidly “copied” from a media source and “pasted” into a media display. MediaBlocks are also compatible with traditional GUIs, providing seamless gateways between tangible and graphical interfaces. Finally, mediaBlocks act as physical “controls” in tangible interfaces for tasks such as s equencing collections of media elements. CR Categories and Subject Descriptors: H.5.2 [User Interfaces] Input devices and strategies; H.5.1 [Multimedia Information Systems] Artificial, augmented, and virtual realities Additional Keywords: tangible user interface, tangible bits, phicons, physical constraints, ubiquitous compu ting

ambientROOM: integrating ambient media with architectural space

We envision that the physical architectural space we inhabit will be a new form of interface between humans and digital information. This paper and video present the design of the ambientROOM, an interface to information for processing in the background of awareness. This information is displayed through various subtle displays of light, sound, and movement. Physical objects are also employed as controls for these “ambient media.”

DataTiles: a modular platform for mixed physical and graphical interactions

The DataTiles system integrates the benefits of two major interaction paradigms: graphical and physical user interfaces. Tagged transparent tiles are used as modular construction units. These tiles are augmented by dynamic graphical information when they are placed on a sensor-enhanced flat panel display. They can be used independently or can be combined into more complex configurations, similar to the way language can express complex concepts through a sequence of simple words. In this paper, we discuss our design principles for mixing physical and graphical interface techniques, and describe the system architecture and example applications of the DataTiles system.

Emancipated pixels: real-world graphics in the luminous room

We describe a conceptual infrastructure – the Luminous Room – for providing graphical display and interaction at each of an interior architectural spaces various surfaces, arguing that pervasive environmental output and input is one natural heir to todays rather more limited notion of spatially-confined, output-only display (the CRT). We discuss the requirements of such real-world graphics, including computational & networking demands; schemes for spatially omnipresent capture and display ; and issues of design and interaction that emerge under these new circumstances. These discussions are both illustrated and motivated by five particular applications that have been built for a real, experimental Luminous Room space, and by details of the current technical approach to its construction (involving a two-way optical transducer called an I/O Bulb that projects and captures pixels).

Token+constraint systems for tangible interaction with digital information

We identify and present a major interaction approach for tangible user interfaces based upon systems of tokens and constraints. In these interfaces, tokens are discrete physical objects which represent digital information. Constraints are confining regions that are mapped to digital operations. These are frequently embodied as structures that mechanically channel how tokens can be manipulated, often limiting their movement to a single degree of freedom. Placing and manipulating tokens within systems of constraints can be used to invoke and control a variety of computational interpretations.We discuss the properties of the token+constraint approach; consider strengths that distinguish them from other interface approaches; and illustrate the concept with eleven past and recent supporting systems. We present some of the conceptual background supporting these interfaces, and consider them in terms of Bellotti et al.s [2002] five questions for sensing-based interaction. We believe this discussion supports token+constraint systems as a powerful and promising approach for sensing-based interaction.

Gibbon genome and the fast karyotype evolution of small apes.

Gibbons are small arboreal apes that display an accelerated rate of evolutionary chromosomal rearrangement and occupy a key node in the primate phylogeny between Old World monkeys and great apes. Here we present the assembly and analysis of a northern white-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys) genome. We describe the propensity for a gibbon-specific retrotransposon (LAVA) to insert into chromosome segregation genes and alter transcription by providing a premature termination site, suggesting a possible molecular mechanism for the genome plasticity of the gibbon lineage. We further show that the gibbon genera (Nomascus, Hylobates, Hoolock and Symphalangus) experienced a near-instantaneous radiation ∼5 million years ago, coincident with major geographical changes in southeast Asia that caused cycles of habitat compression and expansion. Finally, we identify signatures of positive selection in genes important for forelimb development (TBX5) and connective tissues (COL1A1) that may have been involved in the adaptation of gibbons to their arboreal habitat.

Tangible interfaces in perspective: Guest editors’ introduction

The use of physical objects as manipulable representations of information extends back to the dawn of civilization. Early research efforts toward tangible interfaces appear to have developed in par ...

Distributed and collaborative visualization of large data sets using high-speed networks

We describe an architecture for distributed collaborative visualization that integrates video conferencing, distributed data management and grid technologies as well as tangible interaction devices for visualization. High-speed, low-latency optical networks support high-quality collaborative interaction and remote visualization of large data.