Microsoft researchers have developed Sensecam, a system for creating digital archives of a person’s experiences that could help people suffering from memory disorders. Sensecam features a small black box containing a digital camera and an accelerometer to measure movement. Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) researchers had one subject go on three excursions with a Sensecam, a voice recorder, and a global positioning system (GPS) unit. The researchers found that the best way to help the subject remember the experiences was to focus on a few key images that might unlock the memories related to it. For a location-based experience, Sensecam uses data provided by the GPS and the accelerometer to determine which images might be the most salient. “The design is intended to give the patient the ability to engage actively with the experience instead of simply flipping through some pictures,” says CMU’s Matthew Lee. At Dublin City University, Alan Smeaton compares Sensecam images to categorize them by activity. At the University of Toronto, Ronald Baecker is studying the usefulness of complementing Sensecam images with an audio narrative created by a loved one.
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University of British Columbia’s (UBC’s) Steve DiPaola has uncovered a technique that he believes is responsible for making Rembrandt’s portraits so popular. DiPaola says Rembrandt may have created a technique that guides the viewer’s gaze around a portrait, creating a special narrative and calmer viewing experience. To isolate and pinpoint factors that contribute to the “magic” of Rembrandt’s portraits, DiPaola used computer-rendering programs to recreate four of the artist’s most famous portraits. DiPaola then tracked the viewer’s eye movements while they examined the original photographs and the Rembrandt-like portraits. “When viewing the Rembrandt-like portraits, viewers fixated on the detailed eye faster and stayed there for longer periods of time, resulting in calmer eye movements,” he says. The study is the first to scientifically verify the impact of these “eye guiding” techniques on viewers and to attribute its origin to Rembrandt.
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