Improved Communication

Social communication involves showing and understanding emotions with gesture, voice and words, touch and look.
Touching each other is a way to enhance the communication between human. When friends or relatives are staying in different countries, keeping in touch with them on the screens (which can only deliver voice and look) may seem less emotional.
Through a webcam, voice call or chat, people can see or hear each other, however, it is only inside a boundary of computer screen.
Especially, for children with busy parents, they may have contact with parents through phone or internet but they may not pay attention. The child can think what he/she viewing is some kind of show. It would be better if parents and children can touch each other through internet.
To make this dreams come true, we're implementing the Internet Pajama Project which senses and transfer human touch.

On one side, there will be something like a bear to represent the other party and the sensors embedded on it will capture and send the touch to the other side.

On the other side, there will be a jacket which will be made with actuators to simulate the touch on each side of arms and the body.

Each side of the parties will be having one jacket and one bear to communicate with each other.

Trouble-shooting

When James was away, Cherith helped us to reassemble the input kit for User Test.


According to the diagram, we connected the modules, and tested.
Inside the input acceptor box, there are 4 parts, power supply, pressure sensor, circuit, controller circuit and RS232 connectors.

Each RS232 head is conncted to Log computer and Presentation Computer.
Log monitors the input value from the pressure sensor.
Presentation PC reads the signal sent from the input side and gives commands to the output arm-band to inflate or deflate.

Project Pajama EE3789

Proposal Code 3789
Title Affective and emotional communication toolkit
Synopsis Communication is one of the most fundamental needs and desire of human beings. The
convergence of the Internet, broadband and mobile devices make remote communication
easily available, even while on the move. In human communications, body gestures, and
touch can sometimes more deeply explain the intended mind and provide intrinsic
information. Our research seeks to propose and develop communication methods that allow
for affective, emotional and individual expressions.
In this project, students will develop a simple toolkit that allows users to easily make their
own affective communication interface. This communication interface should work in a "plug
and play" manner with existing mobile devices. Students are to demonstrate with a few types
simple, self-made interface using this toolkit to communicate between two people.
Skills required: Embedded systems, hardware programming, C++ or Java
Nature Innovative
Pre-requisite Embedded systems, hardware programming, C++ or Java

First Meeting with Mentor at the Lab

Mr. James Teh K S
given seniors thesis to have more idea about the project.
I will be taking care of the Input part of this cyber-jacket-like device.

The Mixed Reality Lab (MXR) is located at the back of LT7.

I'll be concentrating on Developing the Input side of this Project.
My title is Affective and Emotional Communication toolkit.

Meanwhile, I need to help rewiring the disambled tool kit and arm-band of pajama for UserTest Program.