Meng-Chieh Yu

Noncontact respiratory measurement of volume change using depth camera

In this study, a system is developed to measure human chest wall motion for respiratory volume estimation without any physical contact. Based on depth image sensing technique, respiratory volume is estimated by measuring morphological changes of the chest wall. We evaluated the system and compared with a standard reference device, and the results show strong agreement in respiratory volume measurement [correlation coefficient: r=0.966]. The isovolume test presents small variations of the total respiratory volume during the isovolume maneuver (standard deviation <;107 ml). Then, a regional pulmonary measurement test is evaluated by a patient, and the results show visibly difference of pulmonary functional between the diseased and the contralateral sides of the thorax after the thoracotomy. This study has big potential for personal health care and preventive medicine as it provides a novel, low-cost, and convenient way to measure users respiration volume.

Gesture-based interaction for a magic crystal ball

Crystal balls are generally considered as media to perform divination or fortune-telling. These imaginations are mainly from some fantasy films and fiction, in which an augur can see into the past, the present, or the future through a crystal ball. With the distinct impressions, crystal ball has revealed itself as a perfect interface for the users to access and to manipulate visual media in an intuitive, imaginative and playful manner. We developed an interactive visual display system named Magic Crystal Ball (MaC Ball). MaC Ball is a spherical display system, which allows the users to see a virtual object/scene appearing inside a transparent sphere, and to manipulate the displayed content with barehanded interactions. Interacting with MaC Ball makes the users feeling acting with magic power. With MaC Ball, user can manipulate the display with touch and hover interactions. For instance, the user waves hands above the ball, causing clouds blowing from bottom of the ball, or slides fingers on the ball to rotate the displayed object. In addition, the user can press single finger to select an object or to issue a button. MaC Ball takes advantages on the impressions of crystal balls, allowing the users acting with visual media following their imaginations. For applications, MaC Ball has high potential to be used for advertising and demonstration in museums, product launches, and other venues.

Multiparameter Sleep Monitoring Using a Depth Camera

In this study, a depth analysis technique was developed to monitor user’s breathing rate, sleep position, and body movement while sleeping without any physical contact. A cross-section method was proposed to detect user’s head and torso from the sequence of depth images. In the experiment, eight participants were asked to change the sleep positions (supine and side-lying) every fifteen breathing cycles on the bed. The results showed that the proposed method is promising to detect the head and torso with various sleeping postures and body shapes. In addition, a realistic over-night sleep monitoring experiment was conducted. The results demonstrated that this system is promising to monitor the sleep conditions in realistic sleep conditions and the measurement accuracy was better than the first experiment. This study is important for providing a non-contact technology to measure multiple sleep conditions and assist users in better understanding of his sleep quality.

Multimedia-Assisted Breathwalk-Aware System

Breathwalk is a science of combining specific patterns of footsteps synchronized with the breathing. In this study, we developed a multimedia-assisted Breathwalk-aware system which detects users walking and breathing conditions and provides appropriate multimedia guidance on the smartphone. Through the mobile device, the system enhances users awareness of walking and breathing behaviors. As an example application in slow technology, the system could help meditator beginners learn “walking meditation,” a type of meditation which aims to be as slow as possible in taking pace, to synchronize footstep with breathing, and to land every footstep with toes first. In the pilot study, we developed a walking-aware system and evaluated whether multimedia-assisted mechanism is capable of enhancing beginners walking awareness while walking meditation. Experimental results show that it could effectively assist beginners in slowing down the walking speed and decreasing incorrect footsteps. In the second experiment, we evaluated the Breathwalk-aware system to find a better feedback mechanism for learning the techniques of Breathwalk while walking meditation. The experimental results show that the visual-auditory mechanism is a better multimedia-assisted mechanism while walking meditation than visual mechanism and auditory mechanism.

Multimedia feedback for improving breathing habit

Breathing is one of the most important functions in human body. Usually, people do not know enough about how to breathe. Therefore, we develop a system which can detect the userpsilas breathing status and assist him by multimedia. Our system allows a user to know their bodypsilas physical conditions and, through the multimedia interactive feedback of the sense, the user can check weather their physical conditions are normal. This physiological biofeedback system provides users an effective way to learn efficient breathing and emotional control, and finally it helps to improve physical and mental health. In this way, it can help the users to remain in relaxed condition most of the time. By combining smart clothing, interactive multimedia, and expert knowledge of medical research and clinics, we build a smart clothing system which can amend the userpsilas breathing habit, strengthen his immunity and improve his physical and mental health in a friendly and natural way.

Interacting with the past: Creating a time perception journey experience using kinect-based breath detection and deterioration and recovery simulation technologies

We propose an application that allows a museum audience to interact with the past and to appreciate the value of antique objects through multimedia installations. Discussions in this article are based on our experiences in developing the Mao-Kung Cauldron time perception journey multimedia application. This installation was inspired by the Mao-Kung Cauldron, an ancient bronze cauldron in the collection of the National Palace Museum known for its historical significance. The question, however, lies in how to create an experience in which the audiences can interact with the past. To address this issue, the research team used the Kinect-based breath detection and deterioration/recovery simulation technologies to develop the application. This installation is the first application linked to Kinect-based breath detection and deterioration/recovery simulation technologies. The main contribution of this work is the analysis of design concepts, design decisions, and evaluations in a museum setting. We conduct a control group study to compare the outcomes between the experimental group (Mao-Kung Cauldron time perception journey multimedia application) and control group (asynchronous web-based kiosk). Both the quantitative (questionnaire survey) and qualitative methods (observation) are used to analyze the collected data. This work proposes a feasibility design to let museum audiences experience the features of cultural object by the virtual time perception journey application.

i-m-breath: the effect of multimedia biofeedback on learning abdominal breath

Breathing is a natural and important exercise for human beings, and the right breath method can make people healthier and even happier. i-m-Breath was developed to assist users in learning of abdominal breath, which used Respiration Girth Sensors (RGS) to measure users breath pattern and provided visual feedback to assist in learning abdominal breath. In this paper, we tried to study the effect of biofeedback mechanism on learning of abdominal breath. We cooperated with College of Medicine in National Taiwan University to take the experiments to explore whether the biofeedback mechanism affect the learning of abdominal breath. The results of the experiments showed that i-m-Breath could help people in improving the breath habit from chest breath to abdominal breath, and in the future the system will be used the hospital. Finally, this study is important for providing a biofeedback mechanism to assist users in better understanding of his breath pattern and improving the breath habit.

Turning Rust into Gold: An ancient artifact as an interactive artwork

Turning Rust into Gold is inspired by a Chinese antique Mao-Kung Ting (cauldron) treasured by the National Palace Museum in Taiwan. Having a five-hundred-character inscription cast inside, and its weathered appearance made the Mao-Kung very unique. Motivated by revealing the great nature of the artifact and interpreting it into a meaningful narrative, we have proposed an interactive multimedia system that facilitates effective communication between museum audiences and the Mao-Kung Ting. Three technologies have been implemented to emphasize the weathered appearance of the bronze. De-/weathering simulation techniques have been deployed to revive the bronze to its original shiny gold color; while breath-based biofeedback and haptic technology have been utilized as user interfaces to trigger the de-weathering process of the Mao-Kung Ting. Also, the interactive scenarios have been designed with the Chinese cultural context and philosophy Qi, enabling users more easily fall into the Chinese civilization. The paper aims to present the development of the artwork Turing Rust into Gold, in order to further contribute to the feasibility of incorporating new media art in a historical museum context, and bring a new horizon in the museum sector.

Transformational breathing between present and past: virtual exhibition system of the mao-kung ting

The Mao-Kung Ting is one of the most precious artifacts in the National Palace Museum. Having five-hundred-character inscription cast inside, the Mao-Kung Ting is regarded as a very important historical document, dating back to 800 B.C.. Motivated by revealing the great nature of the artifact and interpreting it into a meaningful narrative, we have proposed an innovative Virtual Exhibition System to facilitate communication between the Mao-Kung Ting and audiences. Consequently, we develop the Virtual Exhibition system into the following scenarios: “Breathing through the History” and “View-dependent display”.