Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-97). / Commercially available ankle-foot prostheses are passive when in contact with the ground surface, and thus, their mechanical properties remain fixed across different terrains and walking speeds. The passive nature of these prostheses causes many problems for lower extremity amputees, such as a lack of adequate balance control during standing and walking. The ground reaction force (GRF) and the zero moment point (ZMP) are known to be basic parameters in bipedal balance control. This thesis focuses on the estimation of these parameters using two prostheses, a powered ankle-foot prototype and an instrumented, mechanically-passive prosthesis worn by a transtibial amputee. The main goal of this research is to determine the feasibility of estimating the GRF and ZMP primarily using sensory information from a force/torque transducer positioned proximal to the ankle joint. The location of this sensor is ideal because it allows the use of a compliant artificial foot to be in contact with the ground, in contrast to rigid foot structures employed by walking robots. Both, the active and passive, instrumented prostheses were monitored with a wearable computing system designed to serve as a portable control unit for the active prototype and as an ambulatory gait analysis tool. / (cont.) A set of experiments were conducted at MIT's gait laboratory whereby a below-knee amputee subject, using the prosthetic devices, was asked to perform single-leg standing tests and slow-walking trials. For each experiment, the GRF and ZMP were computed by combining the kinetic and kinematic information recorded from a force platform and a 3D motion capture system. These values were statistically compared to the GRF and ZMP estimated from the data collected by the embedded prosthetic sensory system and portable computing unit. The average RMS error and correlation factor were calculated for all experimental sessions. Using a static analysis procedure, the estimation of the vertical component of GRF had an averaged correlation coefficient higher than 0.96. The estimated ZMP location had a distance error of less than 1 cm, equal to 4% of the anterior-posterior foot length or 12% of the mediolateral foot width. These results suggest that it is possible to estimate the GRF between the ground and a compliant artificial prosthesis with a sensor positioned between the knee and the ankle joint. / (cont.) Moreover, this sensory information is sufficient to closely estimate the ZMP location during the single support phase of slow walking and while standing on one leg. This research contributes to the development of fully integrated artificial extremities that mimic the behavior of the human ankle-foot complex, especially to help improve the postural stability of lower extremity amputees. / by Ernesto Carlos Martinez Villalpando. / S.M.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [157]-161). / This thesis develops techniques and methods that extend the art and craft of storytelling, and in particular enable the creation of mobile cinema. Stories are always constrained by the medium in which they are told and the mode by which they are delivered to an audience. This dissertation addresses the design of content, systems, and tools that facilitate the emerging type of computational audio-visual narrative that we call mobile cinema. Storytelling in this medium requires temporally and spatially encoded narrative segments that are delivered over a wireless channel to mobile devices such as PDAs and mobile phones. These devices belong to "the audience," individuals who are navigating physical space and interact with local circumstances in the environment. This thesis examines the underlying requirements for coherent mobile narrative and explores two particular challenges which must be solved in order to make a reliable and scalable stream of content for mobile cinema: technology uncertainty (the fact that what the mobile cinema system presents may not be what the creator intends) and participation uncertainty (the fact that what the audience does may not be what the creator expects). The exploration and analysis of these problems involved prototyping two versions of the M-Views system for mobile cinema and three prototype cinematic narratives. Small user studies accompanied each production. The iterative process enabled the author to explore both aspects of uncertainty and to introduce innovations in four key areas to help address these uncertainties: practical location detection, authoring tools designed for mobile channels, responsive story presentation mechanisms, and creative story production strategies. / y Pengkai Pan. / Ph.D.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2009. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 151-156). / Telepresence refers to a set of technologies that allow users to feel present at a distant location, telerobotics is a subfield of telepresence. Much work has been done in telerobotics through the years to provide safer working environments for people or to reach locations that would otherwise be inaccessible. More recently telerobots have been developed for communication purposes but as of yet they have not accommodated for other channels of communication than audio or video. The design and evaluation of a telepresence robot that allows for social expression is the content of this thesis. Our claim is that a telerobot that communicates more than simply audio or video but also expressive gestures, body language or pose and proxemics will allow for a more engaging and enjoyable interaction. An iterative design process of the MeBot platform is described in detail as well as the design of supporting systems and various control interfaces. A human subject study was conducted where the effects of expressivity were measured. Our results show that a socially expressive robot was found to be more engaging and likable than a static one. It was also found that expressiveness contributes to more psychological involvement and better cooperation. / by Sigurđur Örn Ađalgeirsson. / S.M.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2010. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 137-142). / My research efforts focus primarily on two areas: (1) developing engaging technological tools that promote learning and creative expression and (2) designing supportive environments that invite broad participation with these technologies. In this dissertation, I argue that the ways in which people use chalk (e.g., drawing hopscotch grids) can serve as an inspiration for rethinking how people can harness the expressive power of computational technologies. Today's computing devices have the potential to enhance expressive activities for diverse groups in similar ways that chalk does, but that potential has yet to be realized. At the core of my research is the Hook-ups System, a set of technologies and activities designed to enable young people to create interactive experiences by programming connections between physical and digital media. With it, young people integrate sensors with various materials to create tangible interfaces for controlling images and sounds in computer programs that they themselves create. For example, a 10-year-old created a paper-plate-based flying saucer, added a sensor, then wrote a program to control an animated flying saucer image on the computer screen. A framework called the Constellation of Connected Creators emerged from my work with the Hook-ups System. It provides facilitators with strategies for introducing technological tools and activities to communities of learners. It identifies several roles that both facilitators and participants adopt over time to sustain youth engagement in technology-rich learning activities: creator, co-learner, collaborator, coach, and colleague. This dissertation reports on my investigation that took place in two after-school technology centers over a five-year period. Two sets of questions guided my inquiry. The first set probed how attributes of the Hook-ups System enabled diverse audiences to engage in building personally meaningful projects, express themselves, and transform how they approached design. The second set examined which strategies were successful for using the Constellation of Connected Creators to establish a culture in which facilitators engaged groups of newcomers, cultivated future facilitators and supported their successors. / by Amon Millner. / Ph.D.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 81-88). / This thesis presents new methods designed for the deconstruction and reassembly of musical works based on a target emotional contour. Film soundtracks provide an ideal testing ground for organizing music around strict timing and emotional criteria. The approach to media analysis applies Minsky's ideas of frame-arrays to the context of film music, revealing musical and emotional cue points of a work. Media deconstructions provide a framework for the assembly of new musical material, leading to the creation of soundtracks using musical commonsense. / by G. Scott Vercoe. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 87-92). / by Nelson Minar. / S.M.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Media Arts & Sciences, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 159-164). / by Ali Jerome Azarbayejani. / Ph.D.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Media Arts & Sciences, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 89-94). / by Atty Thomas Mullins. / M.S.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 123-126). / This thesis defines collective systems as a unique category of creative expression through the procedures of micro and macro cycles that address the transition from connectivity to collectivity. This thesis discusses the necessary technology, context, and terminology, and provides a conceptual structure for the execution, discussion and evaluation of these procedures. This is supported through discussing the author's contribution to the OPENSTUDIO project and the Open I/O system. / by Harun Burak Arıkan. / S.M.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Media Arts & Sciences, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 53-54). / by Matthew Wayne Krom. / M.S.