Open studio event at Distance Lab
| Open studio event at Distance Lab | |
| 10 September 2007
Two cutting edge researchers will present their ideas on Wednesday 12 September at Distance Lab, Horizon Scotland, Forres- the Highlands and Islands' digital media and communications technology research institute. Florian 'Floyd' Mueller will talk about his work on 'Sport over a Distance' which allows people who are miles apart to play a physically exhausting ball game. He spent the summer at Distance Lab working on a new prototype that will be on display. Floyd has more than seven years of work experience inventing new products and ideas and is currently studying a PhD on interaction design at the University of Melbourne, Australia. He has been awarded multiple prestigious scholarships and has received several international awards for his work. Susanne Seitinger will talk about several projects she is investigating in the Smart Cities group at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), including solar powered lighting units called urban pixels. When programmed to communicate with each other, the lights can run synchronously to achieve different moods or highlight specific areas of the city over time. Supported by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Lab has the remit of developing new digital technologies to overcome the disadvantages of distance for people and businesses in remote and rural areas. It is hoped its work will have major implications in rural health care, distance learning, and tourism. Distance Lab chief executive Dr Stefan Agamanolis said that the event has been organised to keep the local community informed of what is happening at the Lab. He said: "It's a chance for anyone to check out what we're doing in the opening months of our existence." The event starts at 12pm and ends at 5pm. It is free of charge, however places are limited. | |