Chamari Priyange Edirisinghe

Magnetic field based near surface haptic and pointing interface

Magnetic field based Near Surface Haptic and Pointing Interface is a new type of pointing interface which provides mouse interactions, haptic feedback and other enhanced features. It could also be configured as a haptic display, where users can feel the basic geometrical shapes in the GUI by moving the finger on top of the device surface. These functionalities are attained by tracking 3D position of a neodymium magnet, using Hall Effect sensors grid and generating like polarity haptic feedback using an electromagnet array.

Modeling literary culture through interactive digital media

In the rapidly transforming landscape of modern world, people unconsciously refrain from interacting in public spaces, containing their communications that are extensive and universal, within home and relatively individually. The mass connectivity and technological advancement created new cultural values, thus altering the human perception of the world around him. This state of affairs is jeopardizing some of the cultural identities that have surmounted few centuries, shaping the values and associated customs of numerous generations. Furthermore, the computer technology became integrated exceedingly with the modern culture, which prompted us to introduce and explore the avenues of cultural computing that is the familiar ground of the modern society. With the intention of promoting values of distinct cultures, which will greatly assist in enhancing the social relationship, we have developed a framework to communicate literature through digital media, which introduced the platform to create Poetry Mix-up.

Confucius computer: a philosophical digital agent for intergenerational philosophical play

Abstract Confucianism is commonly defined as “... a system of philosophical, ethical and political thought based on the teachings of Confucius,” which originated through the teachings of Confucius during the sixth-century BCE. It is a way of life or a philosophy of human nature that considers human relationships as the foundation of the society. Confucius teachings had highly influenced the development of several cultures in Asia, making Confucianism an intangible cultural heritage. In this paper, we are re-acquainting users with an intangible heritage that is part of their everyday, by developing a system that permits experiencing Confucius teachings virtually and interactively. The system can measure philosophical intent of the human and generate meaningful philosophical answers. It is also aimed for intergenerational sharing of Confucius heritage through a simple interactive process with the virtual sage making the experience enjoyable and entertaining. Previous research in natural language processing (NLP) mainly focused on the understanding and delivering of human natural language accurately. In this research, we explored how to apply NLP to model the knowledge and teachings of Confucius, through the natural conversation between human and computer. This virtual Confucius, a chat agent that generates outputs based on Confucius teachings, using a series of algorithms and techniques to improve the matching accuracy between user input and computer output, introduces a novel way of interacting with intangible cultures. Our user evaluation results revealed that there is a positive correlation between relevance and enjoyment, finding their experiences interacting with virtual Confucius very encouraging. Adults who participated in experiencing the virtual Confucius together with their children believed that this system has the potential to improve intergenerational interactions through shared play.

Robots and Intimacies: A Preliminary Study of Perceptions, and Intimacies with Robots

When David Levy first introduced the subject of ‘love and sex with robots’, he became a provocateur of a conversation that spread from morality to the rights of robots. With the rapid development in Artificial Intelligence, love and sex with robots is expected to be a reality in near future. However, the question remains, how much humans understand and accept intimacies with robots. We argue that perceptions of human-robot interactions (HRI) have a certain impact on how individuals comprehend intimacies with robots. In this study, a pilot study of first stage of a series of studies, we examined the perception of robots, and intimacies with robots, and realized our sample created a ‘self and other’, and ‘over there, but not here’ distinction when it comes to the perception of HRI. This stance, we like to identify as an adoption of a moral position, not simply with regards to love and sex with robots, but also communicating to HRI.

Changing Behavior Patterns of New Media Users: A Case Study in Singapore

The behavior patterns of social beings have been transforming and evolving constantly due to the emergence of new communication media such as chat, blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc. To determine patterns of behavior in relation to the use of new social media, authors have decided to experiment with a qualitative study of individuals from a new media savvy environment. The data reveals that certain behavior traits that have been consciously adopted or transformed and that the new media has inadvertently created a line of confusion between the formal and informal communication.

Petimo: children's companion for safe social networking

A novel interactive approach that helps children make friends in safe social networks and reassures parents that their children are protected.

Perceptions and Responsiveness to Intimacy with Robots; A User Evaluation

In human-robot interactions research it is significant to question what measures humans will take to contest the challenges and what will become of them. Levy hypothesizes that robots will stimulate human senses with their many capabilities and humans will accept them as intimate companions because the human perception of intimacy will transform to accommodate various nuances. However, the question remains, how much humans understand and accept intimacies with robots. We argue that perceptions of human-robot interactions (HRI) and intimate interactions with robots have a certain impact on how individuals comprehend intimacies with robots. Long term contact with robots, in terms of robotic technology and conversations, will change our views and practices regarding intimacy with robots. Our study revealed that lack of awareness of the potentials of future AI robots has created a fear; fear of losing both tangible, intangible, and the sense of dominance. Yet, our participants’ intimate interactions with robots produced varying degree of responses that, we believe are revealing another scope of human-robot interactions.

From playable to playful: The humorous city

This writing is focusing on the concept of play in the city. In pursuit of ideal city, the concept of play has been neglected, pushed to labelled corners, assigned to certain age bracket. Playable city movement has brought the play in to the dialogue on city, the contemporary smart city, underlining the factors such as humor, spontaneity and pleasure. This paper introduces taking the playable city a step further towards a playful city, where play is a continuous process of city living, seamlessly integrated into the smart structure of the city, where citizens can reinvent the infrastructure for humorous purposes.

Empathy as a Factor for a New Social Contract

This short paper is aiming at examining how empathy can be an engaging factor for a mutually beneficial exchange which could lead to a new social contract. Empathy has been discussed as the ability to see things from the other persons point of view, which will ensure a more effective communications, understandings and practices. Social contract is the individuals surrender of certain freedoms to the sovereignty, in exchange for the protection of natural rights that would improve the relationship. A grounded theory analysis of Singapores socio-political blogs and readership (blogosphere) were conducted to substantiate the supposition.

Towards a Proactive Social Contract: Examining Blogosphere for Engaging Factors

This study is aiming at examining how social media can reveal engaging factors for a mutually beneficial exchange which could lead to a proactive social contract. To accomplish this hypothetical position a grounded theory analysis of Singapores socio-political blogs and readership (blogosphere) was performed. Empathy has been discussed as the ability to see things from the other persons point of view, which will ensure more effective communications, understandings and practices. Social contract is the individuals surrender of certain freedoms to a higher authority, in exchange for the protection of natural rights. It is an exchange between two parties for the improvement of the existing status. The authors maintain that empathy is the engaging factor that would lead to a proactive social contract that consecutively would re-structure changes in the relationship between citizenry & governing bodies.