Interactive examples

Interactive media solutions for collaborative academia initiatives

This post is also available in: Spanish

Although my multimedia background is in journalism, interactive multimedia technology is present in numerous professional fields, including advertising and academia, among others. I was recently contacted by Lynn Marentette, a North Carolina school psychologist who blogs about how the use and integration of interactive media can impact the social, behavioral, and learning process. She also introduced me to NUI (Natural User Interface) group, an online community engaged in researching and constructing new HCI (human-computer interaction) solutions.

Lynn is “interested in accessible off-the-desktop natural-user interfaces and UX/interaction design that supports collaboration, communication, information visualization, knowledge-sharing, education, creativity, and leisure.” You can read more about her area of interest at her blog, Interactive Multimedia Technology. Recent topics have included “Interactive Mobile Multimedia,” “Interactive Collaborative Multimedia Content,” and “Multimedia-User Interaction,” to name a few.

Kevin O’ Mahony, a digital media designer based in Cork City, Ireland, also wrote to me about his work in collaborative multimedia. For his master’s project, he “developed a multi-user, multi-touch meeting room table to support collaborative design planning meetings specifically for 3D animation projects.” You can read more about his thesis on his blog. In addition to commending the NUI group for helping him during his thesis work, he also mentioned garnering inspiration from Reactable and Multitouch Barcelona, two interactive media initiatives in Spain.

I also recently met two researchers from RENCI, the Renaissance Computing Institute in North Carolina, who are working on visualization and collaborative environment solutions. You can see how they build multi-touch walls on their vis group blog. I also included a demo of their multitouch table below:

For an overview of what the NUI group and others are researching, check out the following video posted on the NUI blog discussing the release of the Multitouch Media Application Pro v3. It was posted by Laurence Muller, a research fellow at Harvard University who is “working on innovative scientific software for multi-touch devices and display wall systems” over at his blog Multigesture.net.

Needless to say, regardless if you are interested in multimedia for journalism, advertising, or academia, these innovative technologies and collaborative user groups are definitely worth checking out. As I delve further into the world of Information Science in my masters program, I am beginning to realize how topics such as HCI, UX/UI design, information retrieval, and systems analysis greatly impact all professionals interested in advancing multimedia technology. Therefore, I will periodically blog about interactive solutions from a variety of professional fields to hopefully connect and advance the work of all multimedia aficionados.

Thanks for the inspiration Lynn and Kevin!

Other posts that might interest you:

• The 3D Evolution: Part I, Introduction
• Multi-touch inspiration from digital technology company Osmosis
• Multimedia must-see: NFB’s interactive 360 panorama documentary “Out my window”

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