Leading research lab explores the nuances of Slow Technology

Scientists, entrepreneurs, designers and academics will be heading to Distance Lab on November 13, where acclaimed researchers will take an innovative look at the concept of Slow Technology.

Distance Lab is a unique research institute based at Horizon Scotland in Forres, Moray which uses digital media and communications technology to challenge the way we all think about distance.

Initially a reaction to the fast food culture, the 'Slow Food' movement quickly spawned the 'Slow Cities' movement as people reacted to the trade-off between quality and convenience that pervades many areas of modern life. The 'Slow Movement' has been gathering momentum across Europe and North America, expanding into areas as diverse as travel, education, money and books.

Distance Lab prides itself on being ahead of the curve on lifestyle change and the Open Studio event in November highlights the effect of this cultural shift on developments in technology. Glorianna Davenport, Head of the Media Fabrics Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology looks at the impact of technology on our experience of time in storytelling.

Industrial designer Costas Bissas and artist / designer Tomoko Hayashi, both Research Associates at Distance Lab, will showcase their research into Slow Technology with a presentation of their project Neuromantic, which aims to encourage rural modern life through use of new technologies without altering the authenticity of the environment, local uniqueness and resources.

A light lunch and presentations will be followed by a two hour open-house, during which attendees can examine a variety of projects all linked by the theme of overcoming the challenges of distance.

Located in Forres, 26 miles east of Inverness, the Lab is an incubator for innovation in digital media technology.

Interviewed recently by a Sunday newspaper, Chief Executive Stefan Agamanolis commented: "We have to have visionary themes. In the same way that John F Kennedy decided that we should go to the moon in the 1960s, people need to dream and think positively about the future."

To find out more about the event at Distance Lab, visit the web site: http://www.distancelab.org/events/openstudio004/