This event is part of the Brunch Bytes programme of technical briefings, aimed at digital and creative companies across the Northwest. The series is running parallel at both Lancaster University's InfoLab21 and Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus. To view the entire programme go to:

Brunch Bytes

NB. To be eligible to attend this free event you should be from a northwest SME from the digital and creative sector. Priority will be given to Northwest based SMEs from the digital and creative sectors. Places can only be guaranteed to companies booked onto 3 or more briefings.

Gesture Based Computing and Devices

The increase in number of sensors on computing and mobile devices has fuelled the growth on more naturalistic gesture and mimetic forms of interaction - touch screen phones, tablet devices and gaming systems such as the Wii, Playstaion Move or Xbox Kinect. This technology offers new interaction mechanisms for a variety of scenarios.

Gesture recognition enables individuals to interact directly with what is displayed and can be attached to computers, work stations, satellite navigation devices, mobile phones and video games. 

The gaming industry has, in particular, embraced this progression as seen with the Xbox Kinect. This has a sophisticated depth off-field camera which could be used without an Xbox to map 3D environments and create more accurate 3D representations of buildings. This can be used as a training tool for a particular physical activity whereby the user’s whole body movements can be monitored and analysed at a level once requiring sophisticated motion capture techniques.

Current innovations include use by surgeons in operating theatres and an aid to locating earthquake survivors. This technology presents great opportunities for all industires - come to this briefing to find out more.

Why attend and what will you get out of it?

• Discuss this technological development with an academic expert and like minded businesses
• Consider how these developments could impact a variety of industries, devices and the outcomes of such developments
• Explore the effects of gesture recognition on human-computer interaction

Who should attend?

• SME owner/managers in the digital and creative industries
• Companies looking to gain insight into emerging technologies
• SME Owner/managers wanting to apply new technologies within their company 
• Companies looking to utilise academic expertise from InfoLab21

Dr. Paul Coulton

Paul Coulton has over 15 years' research experience in mobile and is Senior Lecturer at Lancaster University and leads the Mobile Experiences Group for the Nokia Innovation Network which is an elite group of 20 universities around the world selected by Nokia . Paul has published extensively in mobile both in terms of both academic papers was selected as one of 50 most talented mobile developers worldwide from a community of over 2 million to be a founding Nokia Champion in 2006 and was re-selected for this honor in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010. The main focus of his research surrounds innovative mobile experiences design with an emphasis on mobile entertainment in the form of games and play. Paul was the first academic invited to speak at the Mobile section of the Game Developers Conference and seen as a leading innovator in the field both within industry and academia. Paul’s long term relationship with Nokia has meant research projects encompass novel uses of the latest technologies such as RFID/NFC, cameras, GPS, 3-D accelerometers, and magnetometers in mobile phones and many of his projects have won a number of international awards for innovation.

Agenda

10:00 - Registration and refreshments

10:30 - Gesture based computing and devices- Dr. Paul Coulton & Dan Burnett, InfoLab21

11:30 - Q & A

12:00 - Lunch and networking

13:00 - Close

Please contact Carolyn Hayes c.hayes2@lancaster.ac.uk or 01524 510465 if you have any problems with registering.

ISTEP at InfoLab21
This event is supported by InfoLab21 as part of  ISTEP's regional events programme.

About ISTEP

ISTEP is a project designed to indentify and support interactions between the North West’s Digital and Creative industries and InfoLab21’s Departments of Computing and Communication Systems, directly helping businesses to collaborate with the 270+ strong research community at InfoLab21.

ISTEP is delivered under the “Innovation, Advice and Guidance” product, part of the Government’s Solutions for Business portfolio, a highly targeted, publically funded suit of products and services offering solutions to real business needs.

More about ISTEP