WorldWideScience

Sample records for audio platform game

  1. Categorizing Video Game Audio

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Westerberg, Andreas Rytter; Schoenau-Fog, Henrik

    2015-01-01

    they can use audio in video games. The conclusion of this study is that the current models' view of the diegetic spaces, used to categorize video game audio, is not t to categorize all sounds. This can however possibly be changed though a rethinking of how the player interprets audio.......This paper dives into the subject of video game audio and how it can be categorized in order to deliver a message to a player in the most precise way. A new categorization, with a new take on the diegetic spaces, can be used a tool of inspiration for sound- and game-designers to rethink how...

  2. Audio Visual Media Components in Educational Game for Elementary Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meilani Hartono

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this research was to review and implement interactive audio visual media used in an educational game to improve elementary students’ interest in learning mathematics. The game was developed for desktop platform. The art of the game was set as 2D cartoon art with animation and audio in order to make students more interest. There were four mini games developed based on the researches on mathematics study. Development method used was Multimedia Development Life Cycle (MDLC that consists of requirement, design, development, testing, and implementation phase. Data collection methods used are questionnaire, literature study, and interview. The conclusion is elementary students interest with educational game that has fun and active (moving objects, with fast tempo of music, and carefree color like blue. This educational game is hoped to be an alternative teaching tool combined with conventional teaching method.

  3. New musical organology : the audio-games

    OpenAIRE

    Zénouda , Hervé

    2012-01-01

    International audience; This article aims to shed light on a new and emerging creative field: " Audio Games, " a crossroad between video games and computer music. Today, a plethora of tiny applications, which propose entertaining audiovisual experiences with a preponderant sound dimension, are available for game consoles, computers, and mobile phones. These experiences represent a new universe where the gameplay of video games is applied to musical composition, hence creating new links betwee...

  4. The Success of Free to Play Games and Possibilities of Audio Monetization

    OpenAIRE

    Hahl, Kalle

    2014-01-01

    Video games are a huge business – nearly four times greater than film and music business combined. Free to play is the fastest growing category in video gaming. Game audio is part of the development of every game having a direct correlation between the growth of gaming industry and the growth of gaming audio industry. Games have inherently different goals for the players and the developers. Players are consumers seeking for entertainment. Developers are content producers trying to moneti...

  5. Implementing Audio-CASI on Windows’ Platforms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooley, Philip C.; Turner, Charles F.

    2011-01-01

    Audio computer-assisted self interviewing (Audio-CASI) technologies have recently been shown to provide important and sometimes dramatic improvements in the quality of survey measurements. This is particularly true for measurements requiring respondents to divulge highly sensitive information such as their sexual, drug use, or other sensitive behaviors. However, DOS-based Audio-CASI systems that were designed and adopted in the early 1990s have important limitations. Most salient is the poor control they provide for manipulating the video presentation of survey questions. This article reports our experiences adapting Audio-CASI to Microsoft Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 platforms. Overall, our Windows-based system provided the desired control over video presentation and afforded other advantages including compatibility with a much wider array of audio devices than our DOS-based Audio-CASI technologies. These advantages came at the cost of increased system requirements --including the need for both more RAM and larger hard disks. While these costs will be an issue for organizations converting large inventories of PCS to Windows Audio-CASI today, this will not be a serious constraint for organizations and individuals with small inventories of machines to upgrade or those purchasing new machines today. PMID:22081743

  6. Dynamic Gaming Platform (DGP)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-04-01

    GAMING PLATFORM (DGP) Lockheed Martin Corporation...YYYY) APR 09 2. REPORT TYPE Final 3. DATES COVERED (From - To) Jul 07 – Mar 09 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE DYNAMIC GAMING PLATFORM (DGP) 5a...CMU Carnegie Mellon University DGP Dynamic Gaming Platform GA Genetic Algorithm IARPA Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity LM ATL Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories PAINT ProActive INTelligence

  7. GOLIAH: A Gaming Platform for Home-Based Intervention in Autism - Principles and Design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bono, Valentina; Narzisi, Antonio; Jouen, Anne-Lise; Tilmont, Elodie; Hommel, Stephane; Jamal, Wasifa; Xavier, Jean; Billeci, Lucia; Maharatna, Koushik; Wald, Mike; Chetouani, Mohamed; Cohen, David; Muratori, Filippo

    2016-01-01

    Children with Autism need intensive intervention and this is challenging in terms of manpower, costs, and time. Advances in Information Communication Technology and computer gaming may help in this respect by creating a nomadically deployable closed-loop intervention system involving the child and active participation of parents and therapists. An automated serious gaming platform enabling intensive intervention in nomadic settings has been developed by mapping two pivotal skills in autism spectrum disorder: Imitation and Joint Attention (JA). Eleven games - seven Imitations and four JA - were derived from the Early Start Denver Model. The games involved application of visual and audio stimuli with multiple difficulty levels and a wide variety of tasks and actions pertaining to the Imitation and JA. The platform runs on mobile devices and allows the therapist to (1) characterize the child's initial difficulties/strengths, ensuring tailored and adapted intervention by choosing appropriate games and (2) investigate and track the temporal evolution of the child's progress through a set of automatically extracted quantitative performance metrics. The platform allows the therapist to change the game or its difficulty levels during the intervention depending on the child's progress. Performance of the platform was assessed in a 3-month open trial with 10 children with autism (Trial ID: NCT02560415, Clinicaltrials.gov). The children and the parents participated in 80% of the sessions both at home (77.5%) and at the hospital (90%). All children went through all the games but, given the diversity of the games and the heterogeneity of children profiles and abilities, for a given game the number of sessions dedicated to the game varied and could be tailored through automatic scoring. Parents (N = 10) highlighted enhancement in the child's concentration, flexibility, and self-esteem in 78, 89, and 44% of the cases, respectively, and 56% observed an enhanced parents

  8. Real-Time Audio Processing on the T-CREST Multicore Platform

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ausin, Daniel Sanz; Pezzarossa, Luca; Schoeberl, Martin

    2017-01-01

    of the audio signal. This paper presents a real-time multicore audio processing system based on the T-CREST platform. T-CREST is a time-predictable multicore processor for real-time embedded systems. Multiple audio effect tasks have been implemented, which can be connected together in different configurations...... forming sequential and parallel effect chains, and using a network-onchip for intercommunication between processors. The evaluation of the system shows that real-time processing of multiple effect configurations is possible, and that the estimation and control of latency ensures real-time behavior.......Multicore platforms are nowadays widely used for audio processing applications, due to the improvement of computational power that they provide. However, some of these systems are not optimized for temporally constrained environments, which often leads to an undesired increase in the latency...

  9. Procedural Audio in Computer Games Using Motion Controllers: An Evaluation on the Effect and Perception

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Niels Böttcher

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available A study has been conducted into whether the use of procedural audio affects players in computer games using motion controllers. It was investigated whether or not (1 players perceive a difference between detailed and interactive procedural audio and prerecorded audio, (2 the use of procedural audio affects their motor-behavior, and (3 procedural audio affects their perception of control. Three experimental surveys were devised, two consisting of game sessions and the third consisting of watching videos of gameplay. A skiing game controlled by a Nintendo Wii balance board and a sword-fighting game controlled by a Wii remote were implemented with two versions of sound, one sample based and the other procedural based. The procedural models were designed using a perceptual approach and by alternative combinations of well-known synthesis techniques. The experimental results showed that, when being actively involved in playing or purely observing a video recording of a game, the majority of participants did not notice any difference in sound. Additionally, it was not possible to show that the use of procedural audio caused any consistent change in the motor behavior. In the skiing experiment, a portion of players perceived the control of the procedural version as being more sensitive.

  10. Design of batch audio/video conversion platform based on JavaEE

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Yansong; Jiang, Lianpin

    2018-03-01

    With the rapid development of digital publishing industry, the direction of audio / video publishing shows the diversity of coding standards for audio and video files, massive data and other significant features. Faced with massive and diverse data, how to quickly and efficiently convert to a unified code format has brought great difficulties to the digital publishing organization. In view of this demand and present situation in this paper, basing on the development architecture of Sptring+SpringMVC+Mybatis, and combined with the open source FFMPEG format conversion tool, a distributed online audio and video format conversion platform with a B/S structure is proposed. Based on the Java language, the key technologies and strategies designed in the design of platform architecture are analyzed emphatically in this paper, designing and developing a efficient audio and video format conversion system, which is composed of “Front display system”, "core scheduling server " and " conversion server ". The test results show that, compared with the ordinary audio and video conversion scheme, the use of batch audio and video format conversion platform can effectively improve the conversion efficiency of audio and video files, and reduce the complexity of the work. Practice has proved that the key technology discussed in this paper can be applied in the field of large batch file processing, and has certain practical application value.

  11. GOLIAH: A gaming platform for home based intervention in Autism - Principles and Design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valentina eBono

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Meeting the required intensive intervention hour for treating children with autism is challenging in terms of trained manpower needed and costs. Advances in Information Communication Technology and computer gaming may help in this respect by creating a nomadically deployable closed loop intervention system involving the child and active participation of parents and therapists.An automated serious gaming platform enabling intensive intervention in nomadic settings has been developed by mapping two pivotal skills in autism spectrum disorder: Imitation and Joint Attention (JA. Eleven games – seven Imitation and four JA – were derived from the Early Start Denver Model. The games involved application of visual and audio stimuli with multiple difficulty levels and a wide variety of tasks and actions pertaining to the Imitation and JA. The platform runs on mobile devices and allows the therapist to (1 characterize the child’s initial difficulties/strengths, ensuring tailored and adapted intervention by choosing appropriate games and (2 investigate and track the temporal evolution of the child’s progress through a set of automatically extracted quantitative performance metrics. The platform allows the therapist to change the game or its difficulty levels during the intervention depending on the child’s progress. Performance of the platform was assessed in a 3-month open trial with 10 children with autism. The children and the parents participated in 80% of the sessions both at home (77.5% and at hospital (90%. All children went through all games but, given the diversity of the games and the heterogeneity of children profiles and abilities, for a given game the number of sessions dedicated to the game varied and could be tailored through automatic scoring. Parents (N = 10 highlighted enhancement in the child’s concentration, flexibility and self-esteem in 78%, 89% and 44% of the cases respectively and 56% observed an enhanced parents

  12. The use of ambient audio to increase safety and immersion in location-based games

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurczak, John Jason

    The purpose of this thesis is to propose an alternative type of interface for mobile software being used while walking or running. Our work addresses the problem of visual user interfaces for mobile software be- ing potentially unsafe for pedestrians, and not being very immersive when used for location-based games. In addition, location-based games and applications can be dif- ficult to develop when directly interfacing with the sensors used to track the user's location. These problems need to be addressed because portable computing devices are be- coming a popular tool for navigation, playing games, and accessing the internet while walking. This poses a safety problem for mobile users, who may be paying too much attention to their device to notice and react to hazards in their environment. The difficulty of developing location-based games and other location-aware applications may significantly hinder the prevalence of applications that explore new interaction techniques for ubiquitous computing. We created the TREC toolkit to address the issues with tracking sensors while developing location-based games and applications. We have developed functional location-based applications with TREC to demonstrate the amount of work that can be saved by using this toolkit. In order to have a safer and more immersive alternative to visual interfaces, we have developed ambient audio interfaces for use with mobile applications. Ambient audio uses continuous streams of sound over headphones to present information to mobile users without distracting them from walking safely. In order to test the effectiveness of ambient audio, we ran a study to compare ambient audio with handheld visual interfaces in a location-based game. We compared players' ability to safely navigate the environment, their sense of immersion in the game, and their performance at the in-game tasks. We found that ambient audio was able to significantly increase players' safety and sense of immersion compared to a

  13. A conceptual framework for the design and analysis of first-person shooter audio and its potential use for game engines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grimshaw, Mark Nicholas; Schott, Gareth

    2007-01-01

    We introduce and describe a new conceptual framework for the design and analysis of audio for immersive first-person shooter games, and discuss its potential implications for the development of the audio component of game engines. The framework was created in order to illustrate and acknowledge...... the direct role of in-game audio in shaping player-player interactions and in creating a sense of immersion in the game world. Furthermore, it is argued that the relationship between player and sound is best conceptualized theoretically as an acoustic ecology. Current game engines are capable of game world...... spatiality through acoustic shading, but the ideas presented here provide a framework to explore other immersive possibilities for game audio through realtime synthesis....

  14. GOLIAH: A Gaming Platform for Home-Based Intervention in Autism – Principles and Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bono, Valentina; Narzisi, Antonio; Jouen, Anne-Lise; Tilmont, Elodie; Hommel, Stephane; Jamal, Wasifa; Xavier, Jean; Billeci, Lucia; Maharatna, Koushik; Wald, Mike; Chetouani, Mohamed; Cohen, David; Muratori, Filippo

    2016-01-01

    Children with Autism need intensive intervention and this is challenging in terms of manpower, costs, and time. Advances in Information Communication Technology and computer gaming may help in this respect by creating a nomadically deployable closed-loop intervention system involving the child and active participation of parents and therapists. An automated serious gaming platform enabling intensive intervention in nomadic settings has been developed by mapping two pivotal skills in autism spectrum disorder: Imitation and Joint Attention (JA). Eleven games – seven Imitations and four JA – were derived from the Early Start Denver Model. The games involved application of visual and audio stimuli with multiple difficulty levels and a wide variety of tasks and actions pertaining to the Imitation and JA. The platform runs on mobile devices and allows the therapist to (1) characterize the child’s initial difficulties/strengths, ensuring tailored and adapted intervention by choosing appropriate games and (2) investigate and track the temporal evolution of the child’s progress through a set of automatically extracted quantitative performance metrics. The platform allows the therapist to change the game or its difficulty levels during the intervention depending on the child’s progress. Performance of the platform was assessed in a 3-month open trial with 10 children with autism (Trial ID: NCT02560415, Clinicaltrials.gov). The children and the parents participated in 80% of the sessions both at home (77.5%) and at the hospital (90%). All children went through all the games but, given the diversity of the games and the heterogeneity of children profiles and abilities, for a given game the number of sessions dedicated to the game varied and could be tailored through automatic scoring. Parents (N = 10) highlighted enhancement in the child’s concentration, flexibility, and self-esteem in 78, 89, and 44% of the cases, respectively, and 56% observed an enhanced

  15. Design for game based learning platforms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Birgitte Holm; Meyer, Bente

    2010-01-01

    This paper focuses on the challenges related to the design of game based learning platforms for formal learning contexts that are inspired by the pupil's leisure time related use of web 2.0. The paper is based on the project Serious Games on a Global Market Place (2007-2011) founded by the Danish...... of web 2.0 and integrates theories of learning, didactics, games, play, communication, multimodality and different pedagogical approaches. In relation to the introduced model the teacher role is discussed.......This paper focuses on the challenges related to the design of game based learning platforms for formal learning contexts that are inspired by the pupil's leisure time related use of web 2.0. The paper is based on the project Serious Games on a Global Market Place (2007-2011) founded by the Danish...... Council for Strategic Research, in which an online game-based platform for English as a foreign language in primary school is studied. The paper presents a model for designing for game based learning platforms. This design is based on cultural and ethnographic based research on children's leisure time use...

  16. Games and Platform Decisions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Poul H. Kyvsgård; Mikkola, Juliana Hsuan

    2007-01-01

    is the application of on-line games in order to provide training for decision makers and in order to generate overview over the implications of platform decisions. However, games have to be placed in a context with other methods and we argue that a mixture of games, workshops, and simulations can provide improved...

  17. Towards gaze-controlled platform games

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Muñoz, Jorge; Yannakakis, Georgios N.; Mulvey, Fiona

    2011-01-01

    This paper introduces the concept of using gaze as a sole modality for fully controlling player characters of fast-paced action computer games. A user experiment is devised to collect gaze and gameplay data from subjects playing a version of the popular Super Mario Bros platform game. The initial...... analysis shows that there is a rather limited grid around Mario where the efficient player focuses her attention the most while playing the game. The useful grid as we name it, projects the amount of meaningful visual information a designer should use towards creating successful player character...... controllers with the use of artificial intelligence for a platform game like Super Mario. Information about the eyes' position on the screen and the state of the game are utilized as inputs of an artificial neural network, which is trained to approximate which keyboard action is to be performed at each game...

  18. The Association Between Video Game Play and Cognitive Function: Does Gaming Platform Matter?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Vivian; Young, Michaelia; Fiocco, Alexandra J

    2017-11-01

    Despite consumer growth, few studies have evaluated the cognitive effects of gaming using mobile devices. This study examined the association between video game play platform and cognitive performance. Furthermore, the differential effect of video game genre (action versus nonaction) was explored. Sixty undergraduate students completed a video game experience questionnaire, and we divided them into three groups: mobile video game players (MVGPs), console/computer video game players (CVGPs), and nonvideo game players (NVGPs). Participants completed a cognitive battery to assess executive function, and learning and memory. Controlling for sex and ethnicity, analyses showed that frequent video game play is associated with enhanced executive function, but not learning and memory. MVGPs were significantly more accurate on working memory performances than NVGPs. Both MVGPs and CVGPs were similarly associated with enhanced cognitive function, suggesting that platform does not significantly determine the benefits of frequent video game play. Video game platform was found to differentially associate with preference for action video game genre and motivation for gaming. Exploratory analyses show that sex significantly effects frequent video game play, platform and genre preference, and cognitive function. This study represents a novel exploration of the relationship between mobile video game play and cognition and adds support to the cognitive benefits of frequent video game play.

  19. Platform for Distributed 3D Gaming

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Jurgelionis

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Video games are typically executed on Windows platforms with DirectX API and require high performance CPUs and graphics hardware. For pervasive gaming in various environments like at home, hotels, or internet cafes, it is beneficial to run games also on mobile devices and modest performance CE devices avoiding the necessity of placing a noisy workstation in the living room or costly computers/consoles in each room of a hotel. This paper presents a new cross-platform approach for distributed 3D gaming in wired/wireless local networks. We introduce the novel system architecture and protocols used to transfer the game graphics data across the network to end devices. Simultaneous execution of video games on a central server and a novel streaming approach of the 3D graphics output to multiple end devices enable the access of games on low cost set top boxes and handheld devices that natively lack the power of executing a game with high-quality graphical output.

  20. Crowd-Sourcing the Aesthetics of Platform Games

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shaker, Noor; Yannakakis, Georgios N.; Togelius, Julian

    2014-01-01

    What are the aesthetics of platform games and what makes a platform level engaging, challenging and/or frustrating? We attempt to answer such questions through mining a large-set of crowd-sourced gameplay data of a clone of the classic platform game Super Mario Bros. The data consists of 40 short...... game levels that differ along six key level design parameters. Collectively, these levels are played 1560 times over the Internet and the perceived experience is annotated by experiment participants via self-reported ranking (pairwise preferences). Given the wealth of this crowd-sourced data, as all...... details about players’ in-game behaviour are logged, the problem becomes one of extracting meaningful numerical features at the appropriate level of abstraction for the construction of generic computational models of player experience and, thereby, game aesthetics. We explore dissimilar types of features...

  1. Platform development supportedby gaming

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mikkola, Juliana Hsuan; Hansen, Poul H. Kyvsgård

    2007-01-01

    The challenge of implementing industrial platforms in practice can be described as a configuration problem caused by high number of variables, which often have contradictory influences on the total performance of the firm. Consequently, the specific platform decisions become extremely complex......, possibly increasing the strategic risks for the firm. This paper reports preliminary findings on platform management process at LEGO, a Danish toy company.  Specifically, we report the process of applying games combined with simulations and workshops in the platform development. We also propose a framework...

  2. Tabletop Games: Platforms, Experimental Games and Design Recommendations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haller, Michael; Forlines, Clifton; Koeffel, Christina; Leitner, Jakob; Shen, Chia

    While the last decade has seen massive improvements in not only the rendering quality, but also the overall performance of console and desktop video games, these improvements have not necessarily led to a greater population of video game players. In addition to continuing these improvements, the video game industry is also constantly searching for new ways to convert non-players into dedicated gamers. Despite the growing popularity of computer-based video games, people still love to play traditional board games, such as Risk, Monopoly, and Trivial Pursuit. Both video and board games have their strengths and weaknesses, and an intriguing conclusion is to merge both worlds. We believe that a tabletop form-factor provides an ideal interface for digital board games. The design and implementation of tabletop games will be influenced by the hardware platforms, form factors, sensing technologies, as well as input techniques and devices that are available and chosen. This chapter is divided into three major sections. In the first section, we describe the most recent tabletop hardware technologies that have been used by tabletop researchers and practitioners. In the second section, we discuss a set of experimental tabletop games. The third section presents ten evaluation heuristics for tabletop game design.

  3. Game Anti Narkoba Berbasis Multi-Platform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aziz Mufa’adhi

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Narkoba memiliki dampak buruk bagi generasi muda kita. Pencegahan dan pemberantasan penyalahgunaan narkoba harus dilakukan untuk melindungi masa depan bangsa. Pengenalan dampak negative dari penyalahgunaan narkoba melalui game sebagai sarana sosialisasi untuk menekan jumlah penyalahgunaan narkoba. Dalam pembuatannya game ini membahas tentang dampak buruk dari Narkoba. Game ini dibuat dengan metode SDLC (System Development Life Cycle yang diturunkan menjadi tahapan sistem secara berurutan diawali dengan membuat storyboard permainan, kemudian diimplementasikan dengan software pendukung untuk membuat aplikasi game. Berdasarkan  pengujian black box dan pengujian calon pengguna dilakukan dengan cara meminta responden untuk mencoba game yang dibuat kemudian mengisi kuesioner yang disediakan dapat disimpulkan bahwa game ini berjalan dengan baik. Game ini bertujuan untuk mengenalkan dampak buruk narkoba dan menghidarkan orang untuk menyalahgunakan atau memakai narkoba. Game ini akan dioperasikan di software, android dan computer, sehingga mampu untuk menjadi multi-platform

  4. Open soundcard as a platform for practical, laboratory study of digital audio

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dimitrov, Smilen; Serafin, Stefania

    2014-01-01

    This article investigates how lacking suitable platforms for laboratory exercises becomes a learning problem, limiting the practical experience students gain. In engineering education, laboratory demonstration difficulty of issues like real-time streaming in digital signal and audio processing...... afforded by such laboratories, and their open nature, could testably improve the diversity of demonstrated practical topics, while maintaining engineering students' motivation....

  5. "The Source": An Alternate Reality Game to Spark STEM Interest and Learning among Underrepresented Youth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilliam, Melissa; Bouris, Alida; Hill, Brandon; Jagoda, Patrick

    2016-01-01

    Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) are multiplayer role-playing games that use the real world as their primary platform and incorporate a range of media, including video, audio, email, mobile technologies, websites, live performance, and social networks. This paper describes the development, implementation, and player reception of "The…

  6. A Serious Games Platform for Cognitive Rehabilitation with Preliminary Evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rego, Paula Alexandra; Rocha, Rui; Faria, Brígida Mónica; Reis, Luís Paulo; Moreira, Pedro Miguel

    2017-01-01

    In recent years Serious Games have evolved substantially, solving problems in diverse areas. In particular, in Cognitive Rehabilitation, Serious Games assume a relevant role. Traditional cognitive therapies are often considered repetitive and discouraging for patients and Serious Games can be used to create more dynamic rehabilitation processes, holding patients' attention throughout the process and motivating them during their road to recovery. This paper reviews Serious Games and user interfaces in rehabilitation area and details a Serious Games platform for Cognitive Rehabilitation that includes a set of features such as: natural and multimodal user interfaces and social features (competition, collaboration, and handicapping) which can contribute to augment the motivation of patients during the rehabilitation process. The web platform was tested with healthy subjects. Results of this preliminary evaluation show the motivation and the interest of the participants by playing the games.

  7. Artificial and Computational Intelligence for Games on Mobile Platforms

    OpenAIRE

    Congdon, Clare Bates; Hingston, Philip; Kendall, Graham

    2013-01-01

    In this chapter, we consider the possibilities of creating new and innovative games that are targeted for mobile devices, such as smart phones and tablets, and that showcase AI (Artificial Intelligence) and CI (Computational Intelligence) approaches. Such games might take advantage of the sensors and facilities that are not available on other platforms, or might simply rely on the "app culture" to facilitate getting the games into users' hands. While these games might be profitable in themsel...

  8. The Effects of Musical Experience and Hearing Loss on Solving an Audio-Based Gaming Task

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kjetil Falkenberg Hansen

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available We conducted an experiment using a purposefully designed audio-based game called the Music Puzzle with Japanese university students with different levels of hearing acuity and experience with music in order to determine the effects of these factors on solving such games. A group of hearing-impaired students (n = 12 was compared with two hearing control groups with the additional characteristic of having high (n = 12 or low (n = 12 engagement in musical activities. The game was played with three sound sets or modes; speech, music, and a mix of the two. The results showed that people with hearing loss had longer processing times for sounds when playing the game. Solving the game task in the speech mode was found particularly difficult for the group with hearing loss, and while they found the game difficult in general, they expressed a fondness for the game and a preference for music. Participants with less musical experience showed difficulties in playing the game with musical material. We were able to explain the impacts of hearing acuity and musical experience; furthermore, we can promote this kind of tool as a viable way to train hearing by focused listening to sound, particularly with music.

  9. Character Play – The use of game characters in multi- player Role Playing Games across platforms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tychsen, Anders; Hitchens, M.; Brolund, T.

    2008-01-01

    histories of game characters. This article presents results from a comprehensive empirical study of the way complex game characters are utilized by players in multiplayer role-playing games across two different media platforms. The results indicate that adult players are capable of comprehending...... and utilizing game characters with well-defined personalities and backgrounds, as well as rules-based components. Furthermore, that the game format plays a significant role in the pattern of usage of the character elements. This pattern appears directly linked with variations in the way that the different game...

  10. TEACHING LEARNING MATERIALS: THE REVIEWS COURSEBOOKS, GAMES, WORKSHEETS, AUDIO VIDEO FILES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anak Agung Sagung Shanti Sari Dewi

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Teaching learning materials (TLM has been widely recognised as one of most important components in language teaching to support the success of language learning. TLM is essential for teachers in planning their lessons, assisting them in their professional duty, and use them as rosources to describe instructions. This writing reviews 10 (ten teaching learning materials in the form of cousebooks, games, worksheets, and audio video files. The materials were chosen randomly and were analysed qualitatively. The discussion of the materials is done individually by presenting their target learners, how they are applied by teachers and students, the aims of the use of the materials, and the role of teachers and learners in different kind of TLM.

  11. High-Fidelity Piezoelectric Audio Device

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woodward, Stanley E.; Fox, Robert L.; Bryant, Robert G.

    2003-01-01

    ModalMax is a very innovative means of harnessing the vibration of a piezoelectric actuator to produce an energy efficient low-profile device with high-bandwidth high-fidelity audio response. The piezoelectric audio device outperforms many commercially available speakers made using speaker cones. The piezoelectric device weighs substantially less (4 g) than the speaker cones which use magnets (10 g). ModalMax devices have extreme fabrication simplicity. The entire audio device is fabricated by lamination. The simplicity of the design lends itself to lower cost. The piezoelectric audio device can be used without its acoustic chambers and thereby resulting in a very low thickness of 0.023 in. (0.58 mm). The piezoelectric audio device can be completely encapsulated, which makes it very attractive for use in wet environments. Encapsulation does not significantly alter the audio response. Its small size (see Figure 1) is applicable to many consumer electronic products, such as pagers, portable radios, headphones, laptop computers, computer monitors, toys, and electronic games. The audio device can also be used in automobile or aircraft sound systems.

  12. Innovation Opportunities: An Overview of Standards and Platforms in the Video Game Industry

    OpenAIRE

    Laakso, Mikael; Nyman, Linus Morten

    2014-01-01

    The video game industry offers insights into the significance of standards and platforms. Furthermore, it shows examples of how new entrants can offer innovative services, while reducing their own risk, through bridging the boundaries between standards. Through an exploration of both past and present, this article aims to serve as a primer for understanding, firstly, the technological standards and platforms of the video game industry, and secondly, the recent innovations within the video gam...

  13. Digging deeper into platform game level design: session size and sequential features

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shaker, Noor; Yannakakis, Georgios N.; Togelius, Julian

    2012-01-01

    A recent trend within computational intelligence and games research is to investigate how to affect video game players’ in-game experience by designing and/or modifying aspects of game content. Analysing the relationship between game content, player behaviour and self-reported affective states...... constitutes an important step towards understanding game experience and constructing effective game adaptation mechanisms. This papers reports on further refinement of a method to understand this relationship by analysing data collected from players, building models that predict player experience...... and analysing what features of game and player data predict player affect best. We analyse data from players playing 780 pairs of short game sessions of the platform game Super Mario Bros, investigate the impact of the session size and what part of the level that has the major affect on player experience...

  14. Audio Interaction in Computer Mediated Games

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. R. Parker

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available The use of sound in an interactive media environment has not been advanced, as a technology, as far as graphics or artificial intelligence. This discussion will explore the use of sound as a way to influence the player of a computer game, will show ways that a game can use sound as input, and will describe ways that the player can influence sound in a game. The role of sound in computer games will be explored some practical design ideas that can be used to improve the current state of the art will be given.

  15. ABOUT SOUNDS IN VIDEO GAMES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Denikin Anton A.

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The article considers the aesthetical and practical possibilities for sounds (sound design in video games and interactive applications. Outlines the key features of the game sound, such as simulation, representativeness, interactivity, immersion, randomization, and audio-visuality. The author defines the basic terminology in study of game audio, as well as identifies significant aesthetic differences between film sounds and sounds in video game projects. It is an attempt to determine the techniques of art analysis for the approaches in study of video games including aesthetics of their sounds. The article offers a range of research methods, considering the video game scoring as a contemporary creative practice.

  16. Towards Automatic Personalized Content Generation for Platform Games

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shaker, Noor; Yannakakis, Georgios N.; Togelius, Julian

    2010-01-01

    In this paper, we show that personalized levels can be automatically generated for platform games. We build on previous work, where models were derived that predicted player experience based on features of level design and on playing styles. These models are constructed using preference learning...... mechanism using both algorithmic and human players. The results indicate that the adaptation mechanism effectively optimizes level design parameters for particular players....

  17. Guess who? An interactive and entertaining game-like platform for investigating human emotions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ahmad, M.I.; Tariq, H.; Saeed, M.; Shahid, S.; Krahmer, E.J.

    2011-01-01

    In this paper, we discuss the design and the development of a highly customizable interactive platform ‘Guess Who’, which was designed as a tool for investigating human emotions in a variety of experimental setups. In its essence, ‘Guess Who?’ is actually a game, which includes typical game elements

  18. Exploration of a digital audio processing platform using a compositional system level performance estimation framework

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tranberg-Hansen, Anders Sejer; Madsen, Jan

    2009-01-01

    This paper presents the application of a compositional simulation based system-level performance estimation framework on a non-trivial industrial case study. The case study is provided by the Danish company Bang & Olufsen ICEpower a/s and focuses on the exploration of a digital mobile audio...... processing platform. A short overview of the compositional performance estimation framework used is given followed by a presentation of how it is used for performance estimation using an iterative refinement process towards the final implementation. Finally, an evaluation in terms of accuracy and speed...

  19. AudioMUD: a multiuser virtual environment for blind people.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sánchez, Jaime; Hassler, Tiago

    2007-03-01

    A number of virtual environments have been developed during the last years. Among them there are some applications for blind people based on different type of audio, from simple sounds to 3-D audio. In this study, we pursued a different approach. We designed AudioMUD by using spoken text to describe the environment, navigation, and interaction. We have also introduced some collaborative features into the interaction between blind users. The core of a multiuser MUD game is a networked textual virtual environment. We developed AudioMUD by adding some collaborative features to the basic idea of a MUD and placed a simulated virtual environment inside the human body. This paper presents the design and usability evaluation of AudioMUD. Blind learners were motivated when interacted with AudioMUD and helped to improve the interaction through audio and interface design elements.

  20. Parametric time-frequency domain spatial audio

    CERN Document Server

    Delikaris-Manias, Symeon; Politis, Archontis

    2018-01-01

    This book provides readers with the principles and best practices in spatial audio signal processing. It describes how sound fields and their perceptual attributes are captured and analyzed within the time-frequency domain, how essential representation parameters are coded, and how such signals are efficiently reproduced for practical applications. The book is split into four parts starting with an overview of the fundamentals. It then goes on to explain the reproduction of spatial sound before offering an examination of signal-dependent spatial filtering. The book finishes with coverage of both current and future applications and the direction that spatial audio research is heading in. Parametric Time-frequency Domain Spatial Audio focuses on applications in entertainment audio, including music, home cinema, and gaming--covering the capturing and reproduction of spatial sound as well as its generation, transduction, representation, transmission, and perception. This book will teach readers the tools needed...

  1. B - is for Bird - A game-audio musical work for resynthesized syrinx

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ricardo Climent

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Birdsongs have inspired humans and informed musical compositions and other art forms for centuries. This paper discusses preliminary conclusions deriving from the design of an interactive music system for mimicking birds' vocal anatomy. It aims to drive a modular synthesizer, as the basis for a multiplayer game-audio environment. The piece is partially controlled by audience's interaction using mobile devices equipped with an Augmented Reality tool. When the tablet / smartphone detects the markers, it generates singing meta-birds which will become players on a game-engine server platform. The creative outcome is an evolutionary aural ecosystem entitled B - is for Bird - mostly generated with pure analogue synthesis driven by birdsongs and rendered in 3D. Its premiere is aimed at the Sines-Squares(.org event in November 2016. B's system flow includes four block components: a Syrinx Recognition Scheme (SRS, a Mapping-to-Modular Tool (MTM, a Compositional Navigation Artefact (CNA and a Structural Evolutionary Device (SED. The piece aims to build on existing musical repertoire and tradition emerging from composers who, in one way or another, were fascinated by birds and in some cases, became amateur ornithologists. The author's preliminary field-recording work for B in Manchester's peak district's natural reservoir strengthened his personal connection with nature. It also raised his self-awareness on the importance of preserving of our sonic environment and it provided ideas for the game-audio chronicle in B. The piece's narrative unfolds during the colonisation of a new planet, where humans had to artificially rebuild aspects of our ecosystem, including the construction of a virtual habitat for meta-birds singing and calls. RESUMO Cantos dos pássaros têm inspirado os seres humanos e fomentado composições musicais e outras formas de arte ao longo dos séculos. Este artigo discute algumas conclusões preliminares derivadas do

  2. Rehabilitation of balance-impaired stroke patients through audio-visual biofeedback

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gheorghe, Cristina; Nissen, Thomas; Juul Rosengreen Christensen, Daniel

    2015-01-01

    This study explored how audio-visual biofeedback influences physical balance of seven balance-impaired stroke patients, between 33–70 years-of-age. The setup included a bespoke balance board and a music rhythm game. The procedure was designed as follows: (1) a control group who performed a balance...... training exercise without any technological input, (2) a visual biofeedback group, performing via visual input, and (3) an audio-visual biofeedback group, performing via audio and visual input. Results retrieved from comparisons between the data sets (2) and (3) suggested superior postural stability...

  3. Aurally Aided Visual Search Performance Comparing Virtual Audio Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Camilla Horne; Lauritsen, David Skødt; Larsen, Jacob Junker

    2014-01-01

    Due to increased computational power, reproducing binaural hearing in real-time applications, through usage of head-related transfer functions (HRTFs), is now possible. This paper addresses the differences in aurally-aided visual search performance between a HRTF enhanced audio system (3D) and an...... with white dots. The results indicate that 3D audio yields faster search latencies than panning audio, especially with larger amounts of distractors. The applications of this research could fit virtual environments such as video games or virtual simulations.......Due to increased computational power, reproducing binaural hearing in real-time applications, through usage of head-related transfer functions (HRTFs), is now possible. This paper addresses the differences in aurally-aided visual search performance between a HRTF enhanced audio system (3D...

  4. Aurally Aided Visual Search Performance Comparing Virtual Audio Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Camilla Horne; Lauritsen, David Skødt; Larsen, Jacob Junker

    2014-01-01

    Due to increased computational power reproducing binaural hearing in real-time applications, through usage of head-related transfer functions (HRTFs), is now possible. This paper addresses the differences in aurally-aided visual search performance between an HRTF enhanced audio system (3D) and an...... with white dots. The results indicate that 3D audio yields faster search latencies than panning audio, especially with larger amounts of distractors. The applications of this research could fit virtual environments such as video games or virtual simulations.......Due to increased computational power reproducing binaural hearing in real-time applications, through usage of head-related transfer functions (HRTFs), is now possible. This paper addresses the differences in aurally-aided visual search performance between an HRTF enhanced audio system (3D...

  5. Serious Games: improving the Learning Effect with Hybrid Games

    OpenAIRE

    Barhaug, Martin

    2017-01-01

    Previous work at NTNU has sparked an interest in hybrid board games. These kinds of games combine elements in digital and board games together. This has resulted in a platform called AnyBoard, which is a platform that makes it easier for developers to create and develop hybrid board games. The platform was created at NTNU and has been worked on by students and employees at the IDI institute. This thesis aims to investigate this platform, and look at the potential it has to influence learn...

  6. Parametric Audio Based Decoder and Music Synthesizer for Mobile Applications

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oomen, A.W.J.; Szczerba, M.Z.; Therssen, D.

    2011-01-01

    This paper reviews parametric audio coders and discusses novel technologies introduced in a low-complexity, low-power consumption audiodecoder and music synthesizer platform developed by the authors. Thedecoder uses parametric coding scheme based on the MPEG-4 Parametric Audio standard. In order to

  7. Hierarchical structure for audio-video based semantic classification of sports video sequences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kolekar, M. H.; Sengupta, S.

    2005-07-01

    A hierarchical structure for sports event classification based on audio and video content analysis is proposed in this paper. Compared to the event classifications in other games, those of cricket are very challenging and yet unexplored. We have successfully solved cricket video classification problem using a six level hierarchical structure. The first level performs event detection based on audio energy and Zero Crossing Rate (ZCR) of short-time audio signal. In the subsequent levels, we classify the events based on video features using a Hidden Markov Model implemented through Dynamic Programming (HMM-DP) using color or motion as a likelihood function. For some of the game-specific decisions, a rule-based classification is also performed. Our proposed hierarchical structure can easily be applied to any other sports. Our results are very promising and we have moved a step forward towards addressing semantic classification problems in general.

  8. The effect of points and audio on concentration, engagement, enjoyment, learning, motivation, and classroom dynamics using Kahoot!

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Alf Inge; Lieberoth, Andreas

    2016-01-01

    There are many examples on the use of game-based learning in and outside the classroom, along with evaluation of their effect in terms of engagement, learning, classroom dynamics, concentration, motivation and enjoyment. Most of the research in this area focuses on evaluations of the use of game...... that produce a positive effect on engagement, motivation, enjoyment, concentration, classroom dynamics and learning. In this paper, we present an experiment where we investigated how the use of points and audio affect the learning environment. Specifically, the paper presents results from an experiment where...... points and audio. The results from the experiment reveal that there are some significant differences whether audio and points are used in game-based learning in the areas of concentration, engagement, enjoyment, and motivation. The most surprising finding was how the classroom dynamics was positively...

  9. Dynamically-Loaded Hardware Libraries (HLL) Technology for Audio Applications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Esposito, A.; Lomuscio, A.; Nunzio, L. Di

    2016-01-01

    In this work, we apply hardware acceleration to embedded systems running audio applications. We present a new framework, Dynamically-Loaded Hardware Libraries or HLL, to dynamically load hardware libraries on reconfigurable platforms (FPGAs). Provided a library of application-specific processors......, we load on-the-fly the specific processor in the FPGA, and we transfer the execution from the CPU to the FPGA-based accelerator. The proposed architecture provides excellent flexibility with respect to the different audio applications implemented, high quality audio, and an energy efficient solution....

  10. Can audio recording improve patients' recall of outpatient consultations?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wolderslund, Maiken; Kofoed, Poul-Erik; Axboe, Mette

    Introduction In order to give patients possibility to listen to their consultation again, we have designed a system which gives the patients access to digital audio recordings of their consultations. An Interactive Voice Response platform enables the audio recording and gives the patients access...... and those who have not (control).The audio recordings and the interviews are coded according to six themes: Test results, Treatment, Risks, Future tests, Advice and Plan. Afterwards the extent of patients recall is assessed by comparing the accuracy of the patient’s statements (interview...

  11. Developing scenario-based serious games for complex cognitive skills acquisition: Design, development and evaluation of the EMERGO platform

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Slootmaker, Aad; Kurvers, Hub; Hummel, Hans; Koper, Rob

    2014-01-01

    Serious games are considered to provide powerful and attractive ways to acquire complex cognitive skills for education and training. But existing platforms for development of game-based e-learning often appear either not to be very user-friendly or too rigid or costly. This article addresses the

  12. A game-based platform for crowd-sourcing biomedical image diagnosis and standardized remote training and education of diagnosticians

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Steve; Woo, Minjae; Chandramouli, Krithika; Ozcan, Aydogan

    2015-03-01

    Over the past decade, crowd-sourcing complex image analysis tasks to a human crowd has emerged as an alternative to energy-inefficient and difficult-to-implement computational approaches. Following this trend, we have developed a mathematical framework for statistically combining human crowd-sourcing of biomedical image analysis and diagnosis through games. Using a web-based smart game (BioGames), we demonstrated this platform's effectiveness for telediagnosis of malaria from microscopic images of individual red blood cells (RBCs). After public release in early 2012 (http://biogames.ee.ucla.edu), more than 3000 gamers (experts and non-experts) used this BioGames platform to diagnose over 2800 distinct RBC images, marking them as positive (infected) or negative (non-infected). Furthermore, we asked expert diagnosticians to tag the same set of cells with labels of positive, negative, or questionable (insufficient information for a reliable diagnosis) and statistically combined their decisions to generate a gold standard malaria image library. Our framework utilized minimally trained gamers' diagnoses to generate a set of statistical labels with an accuracy that is within 98% of our gold standard image library, demonstrating the "wisdom of the crowd". Using the same image library, we have recently launched a web-based malaria training and educational game allowing diagnosticians to compare their performance with their peers. After diagnosing a set of ~500 cells per game, diagnosticians can compare their quantified scores against a leaderboard and view their misdiagnosed cells. Using this platform, we aim to expand our gold standard library with new RBC images and provide a quantified digital tool for measuring and improving diagnostician training globally.

  13. Editing Audio with Audacity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brandon Walsh

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available For those interested in audio, basic sound editing skills go a long way. Being able to handle and manipulate the materials can help you take control of your object of study: you can zoom in and extract particular moments to analyze, process the audio, and upload the materials to a server to compliment a blog post on the topic. On a more practical level, these skills could also allow you to record and package recordings of yourself or others for distribution. That guest lecture taking place in your department? Record it and edit it yourself! Doing so is a lightweight way to distribute resources among various institutions, and it also helps make the materials more accessible for readers and listeners with a wide variety of learning needs. In this lesson you will learn how to use Audacity to load, record, edit, mix, and export audio files. Sound editing platforms are often expensive and offer extensive capabilities that can be overwhelming to the first-time user, but Audacity is a free and open source alternative that offers powerful capabilities for sound editing with a low barrier for entry. For this lesson we will work with two audio files: a recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations available from MusOpen and another recording of your own voice that will be made in the course of the lesson. This tutorial uses Audacity 2.1.2, released January 2016.

  14. Pro Android Games

    CERN Document Server

    Silva, Vladimir

    2010-01-01

    Do you remember landmark games like Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Asteroids? Well, here's an exciting opportunity to build and/or port these games to one of the hottest mobile and netbooks platforms today: Google's Android. Pro Android Games teaches you how to build cool games like Space Blaster and the classic Asteroids from scratch on the latest Android platform. This book also shows you how to port other classic freeware/shareware games like Doom and Wolfenstein 3D from C using the Java Native Interface (JNI) for Android. This book is all about a unique perspective in Android game development:

  15. Introduction: towards a polyphonic approach to games and music studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hillegonda Rietveld

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Sound has, of course, always been a crucial aspect of gaming audio-visuals. Far from merely accompanying a game, the auditory elements bring life into the game interface. There is a growing recognition of the role of music in games by the gaming industry, game fans, and journalists. Several conferences have been established on the roles of music and sound in video games, such as the industry-focused GameSoundCon, first initiated in Los Angeles in 2009, and Game Music Connect, that has taken place annually between 2013-15 in London. Simultaneously, the study of music and audio in games is gaining interest in game studies. For example, Rob Hubbard, most famous for his work on the Commodore 64 system, has been recognized with an honorary degree by Abertay University in Dundee, Scotland (Wawro, 2016. The tendency, however, is not only in response to the industry. It is also in line with an “Auditory Turn” in the humanities and social sciences, providing an alternative sensory approach to a notable visual dominance in the humanities and in media and cultural studies (Herzogenrath, 2017.

  16. WebGL and web audio software lightweight components for multimedia education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Xin; Yuksel, Kivanc; Skarbek, Władysław

    2017-08-01

    The paper presents the results of our recent work on development of contemporary computing platform DC2 for multimedia education usingWebGL andWeb Audio { the W3C standards. Using literate programming paradigm the WEBSA educational tools were developed. It offers for a user (student), the access to expandable collection of WEBGL Shaders and web Audio scripts. The unique feature of DC2 is the option of literate programming, offered for both, the author and the reader in order to improve interactivity to lightweightWebGL andWeb Audio components. For instance users can define: source audio nodes including synthetic sources, destination audio nodes, and nodes for audio processing such as: sound wave shaping, spectral band filtering, convolution based modification, etc. In case of WebGL beside of classic graphics effects based on mesh and fractal definitions, the novel image processing analysis by shaders is offered like nonlinear filtering, histogram of gradients, and Bayesian classifiers.

  17. Can audio recording of outpatient consultations improve patient outcome?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wolderslund, Maiken; Kofoed, Poul-Erik; Axboe, Mette

    different departments: Orthopedics, Urology, Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. A total of 5,460 patients will be included from the outpatient clinics. All patients randomized to an intervention group are offered audio recording of their consultation. An Interactive Voice Response platform enables an audio....... The intervention will be evaluated using a questionnaire measuring different aspect of patients recall and understanding of the information given, patients need for additional information subsequent to the consultation and their overall satisfaction with the consultation. Results The study will be conducted from...

  18. The use of a game-based learning platform to engage nursing students: A descriptive, qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallegos, Cara; Tesar, Abigail J; Connor, Kelley; Martz, Kim

    2017-11-01

    Baccalaureate nursing programs require students to complete a research course, and faculty find it challenging to engage students. Educational gaming has recently gained attention as a technique to motivate students and enhance learning. The purpose of this pilot study was to describe undergraduate nursing students' reflections of their experiences with 3D Gamelab © , a game-based learning platform. A descriptive qualitative research design was used to elicit students' reflections of their experiences. Educational content such as handouts, videos, activities, and recommended resources for a required junior level nursing research course was organized into quests for use in 3D GameLab © . At the end of the semester, students were invited to give their feedback through a survey with open-ended questions. Thematic analysis resulted in the following components of the game-based learning experience: navigation, motivation, gaming concept, knowledge, technology, and target population. Although the overall response to 3D GameLab © in this course was negative, game-based learning does have the potential to engage students and enhance learning. To better understand how educational gaming could be used in nursing, further research should be conducted to determine the most motivating elements and the types of course content best delivered in this manner. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Game Edukasi Pengenalan Cerita Rakyat Lampung Pada Platform Android

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ardi Zulkarnais

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Folklore is an oral tradition story passed down from generation to generation in the life of society. But today, folklore is less popular than abroad cinema which is packed with interesting form. In the Lampung region there is many people who do not know the folklore story about Lampung. In fact, folklore has a moral value, and also as a cultural heritage of the region. The purpose of this research is to design and build an educational game application of Lampung folklore to increase the interest of children and society to know and read Lampung folklore which is a cultural heritage that must be preserved. The development of educational folklore game application constructed from web and mobile platforms. The testing method that is done on aspects of Usability, Functionality, Portability, and Efficiency. Based on the results of usability testing on 5th and 6th grade elementary students using a questionnaire obtained 92.44% results, the functionality tested by 2 experts in the field of software engineering obtained 100% results, portability performed on the smartphone android version of gingerbread until marshmallow obtained 80% , and testing efficiency using Testdroid gets 15% average CPU usage results and an average memory of 175 MB.

  20. Automating Commercial Video Game Development using Computational Intelligence

    OpenAIRE

    Tse G. Tan; Jason Teo; Patricia Anthony

    2011-01-01

    Problem statement: The retail sales of computer and video games have grown enormously during the last few years, not just in United States (US), but also all over the world. This is the reason a lot of game developers and academic researchers have focused on game related technologies, such as graphics, audio, physics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) with the goal of creating newer and more fun games. In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in game AI for pro...

  1. Computer Game Lugram - Version for Blind Children

    OpenAIRE

    V. Delić; N. Vujnović Sedlar; B. Lučić

    2011-01-01

    Computer games have undoubtedly become an integral part of educational activities of children. However, since computer games typically abound with audio and visual effects, most of them are completely useless for children with disabilities. Specifically, computer games dealing with the basics of geometry can contribute to mathematics education, but they require significant modifications in order to be suitable for the visually impaired children. The paper presents the results of research and ...

  2. Designing Game Analytics For A City-Builder Game

    OpenAIRE

    Korppoo, Karoliina

    2015-01-01

    The video game industry continues to grow. Competition is tough as games become more and more popular and easier for the users to get, thanks to digital distribution and social media platforms that support games. Thanks to the readily available internet connections and games using them, data of player behaviour can be acquired. This is where game analytics come in. What sort of player actions provide meaningful information that can be used to iterate the game? Typically game analytics is appl...

  3. Wavelet-based audio embedding and audio/video compression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendenhall, Michael J.; Claypoole, Roger L., Jr.

    2001-12-01

    Watermarking, traditionally used for copyright protection, is used in a new and exciting way. An efficient wavelet-based watermarking technique embeds audio information into a video signal. Several effective compression techniques are applied to compress the resulting audio/video signal in an embedded fashion. This wavelet-based compression algorithm incorporates bit-plane coding, index coding, and Huffman coding. To demonstrate the potential of this audio embedding and audio/video compression algorithm, we embed an audio signal into a video signal and then compress. Results show that overall compression rates of 15:1 can be achieved. The video signal is reconstructed with a median PSNR of nearly 33 dB. Finally, the audio signal is extracted from the compressed audio/video signal without error.

  4. Mobile Rhythmic Interaction in a Sonic Tennis Game

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baldan, Stefano; Götzen, Amalia De; Serafin, Stefania

    2013-01-01

    on the display, the device can be used as a motion-based controller, exploiting its internal motion sensors to their full potential. The game aims to be useful for both entertainment and educational purposes, and enjoyable both by visually-impaired (the main target audience for audio-based games nowadays...

  5. D.E.E.P. Learning: Promoting Informal STEM Learning through a Popular Gaming Platform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simms, E.; Rohrlick, D.; Layman, C.; Peach, C. L.; Orcutt, J. A.

    2011-12-01

    The research and development of educational games, and the study of the educational value of interactive games in general, have lagged far behind efforts for games created for the purpose of entertainment. But evidence suggests that digital simulations and games have the "potential to advance multiple science learning goals, including motivation to learn science, conceptual understanding, science process skills, understanding of the nature of science, scientific discourse and argumentation, and identification with science and science learning." (NRC, 2011). It is also generally recognized that interactive digital games have the potential to promote the development of valuable learning and life skills, including data processing, decision-making, critical thinking, planning, communication and collaboration (Kirriemuir and MacFarlane, 2006). Video games are now played in 67% of American households (ESA, 2010), and across a broad range of ages, making them a potentially valuable tool for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) learning among the diverse audiences associated with informal science education institutions (ISEIs; e.g., aquariums, museums, science centers). We are attempting to capitalize on this potential by developing games based on the popular Microsoft Xbox360 gaming platform and the free Microsoft XNA game development kit. The games, collectively known as Deep-sea Extreme Environment Pilot (D.E.E.P.), engage ISEI visitors in the exploration and understanding of the otherwise remote deep-sea environment. Players assume the role of piloting a remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) to explore ocean observing systems and hydrothermal vent environments, and are challenged to complete science-based objectives in order to earn points under timed conditions. The current games are intended to be relatively brief visitor experiences (on the order of several minutes) that support complementary exhibits and programming, and promote interactive visitor

  6. Good clean fun? A content analysis of profanity in video games and its prevalence across game systems and ratings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ivory, James D; Williams, Dmitri; Martins, Nicole; Consalvo, Mia

    2009-08-01

    Although violent video game content and its effects have been examined extensively by empirical research, verbal aggression in the form of profanity has received less attention. Building on preliminary findings from previous studies, an extensive content analysis of profanity in video games was conducted using a sample of the 150 top-selling video games across all popular game platforms (including home consoles, portable consoles, and personal computers). The frequency of profanity, both in general and across three profanity categories, was measured and compared to games' ratings, sales, and platforms. Generally, profanity was found in about one in five games and appeared primarily in games rated for teenagers or above. Games containing profanity, however, tended to contain it frequently. Profanity was not found to be related to games' sales or platforms.

  7. The Technology Enhanced Conference - A Board Game!

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Annette

    ITMEDIA at the University of Copenhagen have been working with taking the academic conference online for years. Streaming events, using backchannel chat systems and Twitter, producing introductory pre-event videos, setting up audio debates with keynotes to enrich and prolong the conference...... aid: turning it into a board game simply called The Conference Game. By making a children's board game, we let organizers play around with the options, get an overview – and the game element makes it just a little bit less dangerous, and more fun to play around with new technologies. Reception has...

  8. Designing Shared Virtual Reality Gaming Experiences in Local Multi-platform Games

    OpenAIRE

    Liszio , Stefan; Masuch , Maic

    2016-01-01

    Part 4: Short Papers; International audience; Designing multiplayer virtual reality games is a challenging task since immersion is easily destroyed by real world influences. However, providing fun and social virtual reality experiences is inevitable for establishing virtual reality gaming as a convincing new medium. We propose a design approach to integrate social interactions into the game design while retaining immersion, and present design methods to implement this approach. Furthermore, w...

  9. Audio Papers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Groth, Sanne Krogh; Samson, Kristine

    2016-01-01

    With this special issue of Seismograf we are happy to present a new format of articles: Audio Papers. Audio papers resemble the regular essay or the academic text in that they deal with a certain topic of interest, but presented in the form of an audio production. The audio paper is an extension...

  10. Computer Game Play as an Imaginary Stage for Reading: Implicit Spatial Effects of Computer Games Embedded in Hard Copy Books

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Glenn Gordon

    2012-01-01

    This study compared books with embedded computer games (via pentop computers with microdot paper and audio feedback) with regular books with maps, in terms of fifth graders' comprehension and retention of spatial details from stories. One group read a story in hard copy with embedded computer games, the other group read it in regular book format…

  11. Simulating Auditory Hallucinations in a Video Game

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Weinel, Jonathan; Cunningham, Stuart

    2017-01-01

    In previous work the authors have proposed the concept of 'ASC Simulations': including audio-visual installations and experiences, as well as interactive video game systems, which simulate altered states of consciousness (ASCs) such as dreams and hallucinations. Building on the discussion...... of the authors' previous paper, where a large-scale qualitative study explored the changes to auditory perception that users of various intoxicating substances report, here the authors present three prototype audio mechanisms for simulating hallucinations in a video game. These were designed in the Unity video...... that make up the player character, and in future developments of this type of work we foresee a more advanced, standardised interface that models the senses, emotions and state of consciousness of player avatars....

  12. Play a Starring Role in Your Textbook: A Digital Web Platform with an Embedded Role-Playing Game

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spielvogel, Laura; Spielvogel, Christian

    2014-01-01

    In this report, we introduce our digital e-textbook web platform with an integrated role-playing game, which has been created for "introduction to anthropology" courses. We believe that textbooks have the potential to do more to motivate students' pursuit of learning if their material (topically organised chapters supported by…

  13. Design of a WAV audio player based on K20

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xu Yu

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The designed player uses the Freescale Company’s MK20DX128VLH7 as the core control ship, and its hardware platform is equipped with VS1003 audio decoder, OLED display interface, USB interface and SD card slot. The player uses the open source embedded real-time operating system μC/OS-II, Freescale USB Stack V4.1.1 and FATFS, and a graphical user interface is developed to improve the user experience based on CGUI. In general, the designed WAV audio player has a strong applicability and a good practical value.

  14. Serious games for upper limb rehabilitation: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Proença, João Pedro; Quaresma, Cláudia; Vieira, Pedro

    2018-01-01

    The aim of this research is to carry out a systematic review of the use of technological gaming platforms with serious games in the upper limb rehabilitation of patients with neuromotor disorders. Through a systematic review, the first two authors defined the inclusion criteria and extracted the data, resulting in 38 studies collected from B-On, PubMed and Medline. Ninety-two per cent of the selected articles were published since 2010. This review documents 35 different gaming platforms types. Twenty-one of the 38 articles included in this review conducted a clinical trial and of those only eight report improvements in the target population following the use of the games and platforms. This review concludes that a new paradigm is emerging in the rehabilitation field, characterized by the systematic use of technological gaming platforms with serious games in/for rehabilitation. The use of this approach seems to be beneficial. However, to facilitate the full integration of these platforms, it is necessary to conduct more research in this area, explore new approaches and carry out in-depth clinical studies into the benefits of these platforms. Implications for rehabilitation This review states that the use serious games and gaming platforms for upper limb rehabilitation are starting a new paradigm in the rehabilitation. For a full integration of this technologies in the rehabilitation field more studies are needed.

  15. Intelligent audio analysis

    CERN Document Server

    Schuller, Björn W

    2013-01-01

    This book provides the reader with the knowledge necessary for comprehension of the field of Intelligent Audio Analysis. It firstly introduces standard methods and discusses the typical Intelligent Audio Analysis chain going from audio data to audio features to audio recognition.  Further, an introduction to audio source separation, and enhancement and robustness are given. After the introductory parts, the book shows several applications for the three types of audio: speech, music, and general sound. Each task is shortly introduced, followed by a description of the specific data and methods applied, experiments and results, and a conclusion for this specific task. The books provides benchmark results and standardized test-beds for a broader range of audio analysis tasks. The main focus thereby lies on the parallel advancement of realism in audio analysis, as too often today’s results are overly optimistic owing to idealized testing conditions, and it serves to stimulate synergies arising from transfer of ...

  16. A Study of the Correlation between Computer Games and Adolescent Behavioral Problems

    OpenAIRE

    Shokouhi-Moqhaddam, Solmaz; Khezri-Moghadam, Noshiravan; Javanmard, Zeinab; Sarmadi-Ansar, Hassan; Aminaee, Mehran; Shokouhi-Moqhaddam, Majid; Zivari-Rahman, Mahmoud

    2013-01-01

    Background Today, due to developing communicative technologies, computer games and other audio-visual media as social phenomena, are very attractive and have a great effect on children and adolescents. The increasing popularity of these games among children and adolescents results in the public uncertainties about plausible harmful effects of these games. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between computer games and behavioral problems on male guidance school students. Methods Th...

  17. pyAudioAnalysis: An Open-Source Python Library for Audio Signal Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giannakopoulos, Theodoros

    2015-01-01

    Audio information plays a rather important role in the increasing digital content that is available today, resulting in a need for methodologies that automatically analyze such content: audio event recognition for home automations and surveillance systems, speech recognition, music information retrieval, multimodal analysis (e.g. audio-visual analysis of online videos for content-based recommendation), etc. This paper presents pyAudioAnalysis, an open-source Python library that provides a wide range of audio analysis procedures including: feature extraction, classification of audio signals, supervised and unsupervised segmentation and content visualization. pyAudioAnalysis is licensed under the Apache License and is available at GitHub (https://github.com/tyiannak/pyAudioAnalysis/). Here we present the theoretical background behind the wide range of the implemented methodologies, along with evaluation metrics for some of the methods. pyAudioAnalysis has been already used in several audio analysis research applications: smart-home functionalities through audio event detection, speech emotion recognition, depression classification based on audio-visual features, music segmentation, multimodal content-based movie recommendation and health applications (e.g. monitoring eating habits). The feedback provided from all these particular audio applications has led to practical enhancement of the library.

  18. Procedural Generation of Levels with Controllable Difficulty for a Platform Game Using a Genetic Algorithm

    OpenAIRE

    Classon, Johan; Andersson, Viktor

    2016-01-01

    This thesis describes the implementation and evaluation of a genetic algorithm (GA) for procedurally generating levels with controllable difficulty for a motion-based 2D platform game. Manually creating content can be time-consuming, and it may be desirable to automate this process with an algorithm, using Procedural Content Generation (PCG). An algorithm was implemented and then refined with an iterative method by conducting user tests. The resulting algorithm is considered a success and sho...

  19. Game Development with The Frozenbyte Engine for the Game Consoles of the Eighth Generation

    OpenAIRE

    Kiesiläinen, Tia

    2014-01-01

    This thesis was commissioned by Frozenbyte Ltd, who have a history of publishing games on multiple platforms. The subject was decided when the author worked on Trine Enchanted Edition during their internship. The decision was supported by the upcoming launch of the game for multiple platforms and the opportunities it allowed for learning. The goal of the thesis is to further the author's knowledge and skills regarding development for multiple platforms. The practical goal is to...

  20. Computer Game Lugram - Version for Blind Children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Delić

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Computer games have undoubtedly become an integral part of educational activities of children. However, since computer games typically abound with audio and visual effects, most of them are completely useless for children with disabilities. Specifically, computer games dealing with the basics of geometry can contribute to mathematics education, but they require significant modifications in order to be suitable for the visually impaired children. The paper presents the results of research and adaptation of the educational computer game Lugram to the needs of completely blind children, as well as the testing of the prototype, whose results are encouraging to further research and development in the same direction.

  1. The audio expert everything you need to know about audio

    CERN Document Server

    Winer, Ethan

    2012-01-01

    The Audio Expert is a comprehensive reference that covers all aspects of audio, with many practical, as well as theoretical, explanations. Providing in-depth descriptions of how audio really works, using common sense plain-English explanations and mechanical analogies with minimal math, the book is written for people who want to understand audio at the deepest, most technical level, without needing an engineering degree. It's presented in an easy-to-read, conversational tone, and includes more than 400 figures and photos augmenting the text.The Audio Expert takes th

  2. Criteria for Evaluating a Game-Based CALL Platform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ní Chiaráin, Neasa; Ní Chasaide, Ailbhe

    2017-01-01

    Game-based Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is an area that currently warrants attention, as task-based, interactive, multimodal games increasingly show promise for language learning. This area is inherently multidisciplinary--theories from second language acquisition, games, and psychology must be explored and relevant concepts from…

  3. Platform decisions supported by gaming

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Poul H. Kyvsgård; Mikkola, Juliana Hsuan

    2007-01-01

    Platform is an ambiguous multidisciplinary concept. The philosophy behind it is easy to communicate and makes intuitively sense. However, the ease in communication does overshadow the high complexity when the concept is implemented. The practical industrial platform implementation challenge can...... be described as being a configuration problem with a high number of variables. These variables are different in nature; they have contradictory influence on the total performance, and, their importance change over time. Consequently, the specific platform decisions become highly complex and the consequences...

  4. Mining Experiential Patterns from Game-Logs of Board Game

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liang Wang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available In board games, game-logs record past game processes, which can be regarded as an accumulation of experience. Similar to a real person, a computer player can gradually increase its skill by learning from game-logs. Therefore, the game becomes more interesting. This paper proposes an extensible approach to mine experiential patterns from increasing game-logs. The computer player improves its strategies by utilizing these growing patterns, just as it acquires experience. To evaluate the effect and performance of the approach, we designed a sample board game as a test platform and elaborated an experiment consisting of a series of tests. Experimental results show that our approach is effective and efficient.

  5. Evaluating the Effectiveness of Game-Based Training: A Controlled Study with Dismounted Infantry Teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    use of a multiplayer game to train infantry company commanders. Proceedings of the 2009 Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation, and Education...Gigabyte RAM Video/Graphics Card NVIDIA Geforce 7900 GTX Audio Legacy audio; stereo sound (non-3D) Software Version VBS2 VTK Release 1.4 - BIA

  6. A scheme for racquet sports video analysis with the combination of audio-visual information

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xing, Liyuan; Ye, Qixiang; Zhang, Weigang; Huang, Qingming; Yu, Hua

    2005-07-01

    As a very important category in sports video, racquet sports video, e.g. table tennis, tennis and badminton, has been paid little attention in the past years. Considering the characteristics of this kind of sports video, we propose a new scheme for structure indexing and highlight generating based on the combination of audio and visual information. Firstly, a supervised classification method is employed to detect important audio symbols including impact (ball hit), audience cheers, commentator speech, etc. Meanwhile an unsupervised algorithm is proposed to group video shots into various clusters. Then, by taking advantage of temporal relationship between audio and visual signals, we can specify the scene clusters with semantic labels including rally scenes and break scenes. Thirdly, a refinement procedure is developed to reduce false rally scenes by further audio analysis. Finally, an exciting model is proposed to rank the detected rally scenes from which many exciting video clips such as game (match) points can be correctly retrieved. Experiments on two types of representative racquet sports video, table tennis video and tennis video, demonstrate encouraging results.

  7. The effect of points and audio on concentration, engagement, enjoyment, learning, motivation, and classroom dynamics using Kahoot!

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Alf Inge; Lieberoth, Andreas

    2016-01-01

    There are many examples on the use of game-based learning in and outside the classroom, along with evaluation of their effect in terms of engagement, learning, classroom dynamics, concentration, motivation and enjoyment. Most of the research in this area focuses on evaluations of the use of game-...... affected by use of audio. A total of 593 students participated in this experiment with a gender distribution of 44% female and 56 male students. Contribution: Factorial design method, lit review...

  8. Adaptivity to Age, Gender, and Gaming Platform Topology in Physical Multi-Player Games

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lund, Henrik Hautop; Friðriksson, Rafn Vídalín; Björnsson, Davíð Þór

    2012-01-01

    In games where players are competing against each other, it can be of interest to ensure that all players are challenged according to their individual skills. In order to investigate such adaptivity to the individual player in physical multi-player games, we developed a game on modular interactive...... tiles which can be used in both single-player and multi-player mode. We implemented simple adaptivity methods and tested these with different user groups including children and adults of both genders. The results show statistically significant differences in the game interactions between children...... and adults, and between male and female players. Also, results show statistically significant differences in the game interactions between different physical set-ups of the modular interactive tiles, i.e. the interaction depended on the topology of the modular tiles set-up. Changing the physical set...

  9. The RAGE Game Software Components Repository for Supporting Applied Game Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krassen Stefanov

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the architecture of the RAGE repository, which is a unique and dedicated infrastructure that provides access to a wide variety of advanced technology components for applied game development. The RAGE project, which is the principal Horizon2020 research and innovation project on applied gaming, develops up to three dozens of software components (RAGE software assets that are reusable across a wide diversity of game engines, game platforms and programming languages. The RAGE repository provides storage space for assets and their artefacts and is designed as an asset life-cycle management system for defining, publishing, updating, searching and packaging for distribution of these assets. It will be embedded in a social platform for asset developers and other users. A dedicated Asset Repository Manager provides the main functionality of the repository and its integration with other systems. Tools supporting the Asset Manager are presented and discussed. When the RAGE repository is in full operation, applied game developers will be able to easily enhance the quality of their games by including selected advanced game software assets. Making available the RAGE repository system and its variety of software assets aims to enhance the coherence and decisiveness of the applied game industry.

  10. An Open Platform for Full Body Interactive Sonification Exergames

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simone Ghisio

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper addresses the use of a remote interactive platform to support home-based rehabilitation for children with motor and cognitive impairment. The interaction between user and platform is achieved on customizable full-body interactive serious games (exergames. These exergames perform real-time analysis of multimodal signals to quantify movement qualities and postural attitudes. Interactive sonification of movement is then applied for providing a real-time feedback based on “aesthetic resonance” and engagement of the children. The games also provide log file recordings therapists can use to assess the performance of the children and the effectiveness of the games. The platform allows the customization of the games to address the children’s needs. The platform is based on the EyesWeb XMI software, and the games are designed for home usage, based on Kinect for Xbox One and simple sensors including 3-axis accelerometers available in low-cost Android smartphones.

  11. Comparison of Learning Software Architecture by Developing Social Applications versus Games on the Android Platform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bian Wu

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes an empirical study where the focus was on discovering differences and similarities in students working on development of social applications versus students working on development of games using the same Android development platform. In 2010-2011, students attending the software architecture course at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU could choose between four types of projects. Independently of the chosen type of project, all students had to go through the same phases, produce the same documents based on the same templates, and follow exactly the same process. This study focuses on one of projects—Android project, to see how much the application domain affects the course project independently of the chosen technology. Our results revealed some positive effects for the students doing game development compared to social application development to learn software architecture, like motivated to work with games, a better focus on quality attributes such as modifiability and testability during the development, production of software architectures of higher complexity, and more productive coding working for the project. However, we did not find significant differences in awarded grade between students choosing the two different domains.

  12. Weaving together peer assessment, audios and medical vignettes in teaching medical terms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Lateef M.

    2015-01-01

    Objectives The current study aims at exploring the possibility of aligning peer assessment, audiovisuals, and medical case-report extracts (vignettes) in medical terminology teaching. In addition, the study wishes to highlight the effectiveness of audio materials and medical history vignettes in preventing medical students' comprehension, listening, writing, and pronunciation errors. The study also aims at reflecting the medical students' attitudes towards the teaching and learning process. Methods The study involved 161 medical students who received an intensive medical terminology course through audio and medical history extracts. Peer assessment and formative assessment platforms were applied through fake quizzes in a pre- and post-test manner. An 18-item survey was distributed amongst students to investigate their attitudes and feedback towards the teaching and learning process. Quantitative and qualitative data were analysed using the SPSS software. Results The students did better in the posttests than on the pretests for both the quizzes of audios and medical vignettes showing a t-test of -12.09 and -13.60 respectively. Moreover, out of the 133 students, 120 students (90.22%) responded to the survey questions. The students gave positive attitudes towards the application of audios and vignettes in the teaching and learning of medical terminology and towards the learning process. Conclusions The current study revealed that the teaching and learning of medical terminology have more room for the application of advanced technologies, effective assessment platforms, and active learning strategies in higher education. It also highlights that students are capable of carrying more responsibilities of assessment, feedback, and e-learning. PMID:26637986

  13. Gendered Conversation in a Social Game-Streaming Platform

    OpenAIRE

    Nakandala, Supun; Ciampaglia, Giovanni Luca; Su, Norman Makoto; Ahn, Yong-Yeol

    2016-01-01

    Online social media and games are increasingly replacing offline social activities. Social media is now an indispensable mode of communication; online gaming is not only a genuine social activity but also a popular spectator sport. With support for anonymity and larger audiences, online interaction shrinks social and geographical barriers. Despite such benefits, social disparities such as gender inequality persist in online social media. In particular, online gaming communities have been crit...

  14. Pengembangan Game Castle Defense “Jagaraga” pada Platform Android

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wiliem Indy

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Video game merupakan permainan dalam bentuk digital dan melakukan pengolahan pengubahan gambar. Game dengan judul “Jagaraga” merupakan game dengan genre Castle Defense dengan tema fantasy Bali dan penyisipan cerita Puputan Jagaraga. Cerita dalam permainan merupakan gabungan cerita fiksi dan beberapa kejadian atau event sejarah yang terjadi di Jagaraga. Pengembangan game memanfaatkan beberapa metode. Pergerakan animasi menggunakan pembuatan Kurva Bezier. Artificial Intelegent musuh dalam permainan memanfaatkan metode forward chaining yang sederhana dan penggunaan metode skala likert untuk format form penilaian game untuk mengukur tingkat keberhasilan pengembangan game. Pengembangan game pada penelitian ini sudah mencapai tahap yang memuaskan. Hasil perhitungan form penilaian, jumlah responden sebanyak 23 orang menyatakan aspek grafis bertemakan pasukan Bali mencapai nilai 88.70% yang termasuk dalam kategori sangat baik. Aspek cerita permainan yang menceritakan Puputan Jagaraga juga mendapat respon yang sangat positif dengan nilai 86.96% yang juga termasuk dalam kategori sangat baik. Kata kunci: Jagaraga, Forward Chaining, Bezier, skala Likert

  15. Audio Conferencing Enhancements

    OpenAIRE

    VESTERINEN, LEENA

    2006-01-01

    Audio conferencing allows multiple people in distant locations to interact in a single voice call. Whilst it can be very useful service it also has several key disadvantages. This thesis study investigated the options for improving the user experience of the mobile teleconferencing applications. In particular, the use of 3D, spatial audio and visualinteractive functionality was investigated as the means of improving the intelligibility and audio perception during the audio...

  16. A Platform Independent Game Technology Model for Model Driven Serious Games Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Stephen; Hanneghan, Martin; Carter, Christopher

    2013-01-01

    Game-based learning (GBL) combines pedagogy and interactive entertainment to create a virtual learning environment in an effort to motivate and regain the interest of a new generation of "digital native" learners. However, this approach is impeded by the limited availability of suitable "serious" games and high-level design…

  17. Korean Online Game's Platform Competition under Two-Sided Market Characteristic

    OpenAIRE

    SeonJun Kang; Sang-Yong Tom Lee

    2014-01-01

    While the growth of total game market size slowed down and the arcade game industry started to shrink, the online game market keeps increasing, attaining 26.5% annual growth rate for the early 2010's. Korea's online game business is especially popular, so that the size is about US$ 4 billion, which is 64.2% of Korea's total game industry. In 2013, Game market size and online game market size were estimated to be about US$ 9 billion and US$ 7 billion, respectively. From a standpoint of sales, ...

  18. Measuring self-esteem with games

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Santos, C.; Hutchinson, K.; Khan, J.V.; Markopoulos, P.

    Self-esteem is a personality trait utilized to support the diagnosis of several psychological conditions. With this study we investigate the potential that computer games can have in assessing self-esteem. To that end, we designed and developed a platformer game and analyzed how in-game behavior

  19. Serious Gaming and Social Connect—Games for Good (SGSC 2012)

    CERN Document Server

    Ko, Ryan; Marsh, Tim; Trends and Applications of Serious Gaming and Social Media

    2014-01-01

    This book highlights the challenges and potential of educational learning or industry-based training using serious games and social media platforms. In particular, the book addresses applications used in businesses and education-related organizations in Asia, where the framework and experience of serious games have been used to address specific problems in the real world.  The topics that will be present in this book includes future of serious games and immersive technologies and their impact on society; online and mobile games; achievement systems in serious games; persuasive technology and games for saving and money management; malware analytics for social networking; serious games for mental health interventions; educational implications of social network games; learning and acquiring subject knowledge using serious games in classrooms. The target audience for this book includes scientists, engineers and practitioners involved in the field of Serious Games. The major part of this book comprises of papers ...

  20. Efficiency analysis on platform over the top (OTT) to deploy content and applications (edutainment) in digital television on optical network link

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puche, William S.; Sierra, Javier E.; Moreno, Gustavo A.

    2014-08-01

    The convergence of new technologies in the digital world has made devices with internet connectivity such as televisions, smatphone, Tablet, Blu-ray, game consoles, among others, to increase more and more. Therefore the major research centers are in the task of improving the network performance to mitigate the bottle neck phenomenon regarding capacity and high transmission rates in information and data. The implementation of standard HbbTV (Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV), and technological platforms OTT (Over the Top), capable of distributing video, audio, TV, and other Internet services via devices connected directly to the cloud. Therefore a model to improve the transmission capacity required by content distribution networks (CDN) for online TV, with high-capacity optical networks is proposed.

  1. Audio Twister

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cermak, Daniel; Moreno Garcia, Rodrigo; Monastiridis, Stefanos

    2015-01-01

    Daniel Cermak-Sassenrath, Rodrigo Moreno Garcia, Stefanos Monastiridis. Audio Twister. Installation. P-Hack Copenhagen 2015, Copenhagen, DK, Apr 24, 2015.......Daniel Cermak-Sassenrath, Rodrigo Moreno Garcia, Stefanos Monastiridis. Audio Twister. Installation. P-Hack Copenhagen 2015, Copenhagen, DK, Apr 24, 2015....

  2. Back to basics audio

    CERN Document Server

    Nathan, Julian

    1998-01-01

    Back to Basics Audio is a thorough, yet approachable handbook on audio electronics theory and equipment. The first part of the book discusses electrical and audio principles. Those principles form a basis for understanding the operation of equipment and systems, covered in the second section. Finally, the author addresses planning and installation of a home audio system.Julian Nathan joined the audio service and manufacturing industry in 1954 and moved into motion picture engineering and production in 1960. He installed and operated recording theaters in Sydney, Austra

  3. Using Video Games to Enhance Motivation States in Online Education: Protocol for a Team-Based Digital Game.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janssen, Anna; Shaw, Tim; Goodyear, Peter

    2015-09-28

    Video and computer games for education have been of interest to researchers for several decades. Over the last half decade, researchers in the health sector have also begun exploring the value of this medium. However, there are still many gaps in the literature regarding the effective use of video and computer games in medical education, particularly in relation to how learners interact with the platform, and how the games can be used to enhance collaboration. The objective of the study is to evaluate a team-based digital game as an educational tool for engaging learners and supporting knowledge consolidation in postgraduate medical education. A mixed methodology will be used in order to establish efficacy and level of motivation provided by a team-based digital game. Second-year medical students will be recruited as participants to complete 3 matches of the game at spaced intervals, in 2 evenly distributed teams. Prior to playing the game, participants will complete an Internet survey to establish baseline data. After playing the game, participants will voluntarily complete a semistructured interview to establish motivation and player engagement. Additionally, metrics collected from the game platform will be analyzed to determine efficacy. The research is in the preliminary stages, but thus far a total of 54 participants have been recruited into the study. Additionally, a content development group has been convened to develop appropriate content for the platform. Video and computer games have been demonstrated to have value for educational purposes. Significantly less research has addressed how the medium can be effectively utilized in the health sector. Preliminary data from this study would suggest there is an interest in games for learning in the medical student body. As such, it is beneficial to undertake further research into how these games teach and engage learners in order to evaluate their role in tertiary and postgraduate medical education in the future.

  4. Neuromorphic Audio-Visual Sensor Fusion on a Sound-Localising Robot

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vincent Yue-Sek Chan

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the first robotic system featuring audio-visual sensor fusion with neuromorphic sensors. We combine a pair of silicon cochleae and a silicon retina on a robotic platform to allow the robot to learn sound localisation through self-motion and visual feedback, using an adaptive ITD-based sound localisation algorithm. After training, the robot can localise sound sources (white or pink noise in a reverberant environment with an RMS error of 4 to 5 degrees in azimuth. In the second part of the paper, we investigate the source binding problem. An experiment is conducted to test the effectiveness of matching an audio event with a corresponding visual event based on their onset time. The results show that this technique can be quite effective, despite its simplicity.

  5. Online Crowdfunding Campaign for an Independent Video Game

    OpenAIRE

    Kivikangas, Inessa

    2014-01-01

    Over the past several years online reward-model crowdfunding platforms have become a popular tool for raising funds among independent game developers. Big success of several brilliant indie titles brought to the online crowdfunding platforms Kickstarter and Indiegogo hundreds of hopeful independent developers. However, apart from creating an excellent game indie developers have to be able to reach out to their audience and capture attention of potential supporters and gaming media. Time and e...

  6. Mobile Gaming and Student Interactions in a Science Center: The Future of Gaming in Science Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atwood-Blaine, Dana; Huffman, Douglas

    2017-01-01

    This article explores the impact of an augmented reality iPad-based mobile game, called The Great STEM Caper, on students' interaction at a science center. An open-source, location-based game platform called ARIS (i.e. Augmented Reality and Interactive Storytelling) was used to create an iPad-based mobile game. The game used QR scan codes and a…

  7. The development of indonesian traditional bekel game in android platform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahmat, R. F.; Fahrani, O. R.; Purnamawati, S.; Pasha, M. F.

    2018-03-01

    Bekel is one of traditional Indonesian game that is rarely played nowadays. Bekel is a game to test dexterity level using a bekel ball and 6 to10 seeds. The game is played by throwing the ball up in the air, spreading the seeds randomly on the floor then picking the seeds up until the ground is clear. This game application is an adaptation of Bekel game focusing on the movements of the ball and the randomization of the seed positions. This game application has three levels of difficulty based on the basic rules of the actual Bekel game. The focus of the study is the free fall method of the ball and the random function of the seeds in the Android environment. The result show the Bekel application has sensitivity level of 71% for the ball movements and the probability rate of the random event occurrence is at 23%.

  8. Results of a Dietitian Survey About Nutrition Games.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frederico, Catherine

    2012-02-01

    Registered dietitians are the nutrition experts in America. As such, their opinions about using technology-based nutrition games as teaching tools are important. The purpose of this study was to query registered dietitians about their experience and recommendations for topics, age, and platforms for future nutrition game development. The author gave a 1-hour talk to two state dietetic conference groups about nutrition games and their efficacy, concerns, and hopes and opportunities for their future as viable nutrition teaching tools. After the talks attendees completed a five-question survey about nutrition games, including if they played nutrition games, if they thought games could possibly help in their work, and preferences for topics, ages, and platforms for which they wanted to see priority development. Although only 4% of respondents played nutrition games, 79% thought they could be of benefit, and 21% felt that "maybe" they could be beneficial educational tools. Games on all nutrition topics were welcome, with preference for computers and smartphone apps. After a lengthy presentation on the new genre of technology-based nutrition games, registered dietitians reported that they are open to using technology-based nutrition education apps and feel they could have some benefit in educating the public about nutrition, even though dietitians presently have little experience with them. The talk was successful in informing dietitians about this new game genre, and their suggestions for topics, target ages, and tech platforms will be helpful to nutrition game developers and designers.

  9. Gaming Research for Technology Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, Aaron C.; Ernst, Jeremy

    2009-01-01

    This study assesses the use of gaming to teach Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in public education. The intent of the investigation was to identify attitudes about gaming and its use in education, as well as the need to utilize gaming as a platform to serve as an integrator of STEM subject matter. Participants included…

  10. Social Interactions and Games

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uz, Cigdem; Cagiltay, Kursat

    2015-01-01

    Digital games have become popular due to great technological improvements in recent years. They have been increasingly transformed from co-located experiences into multi-played, socially oriented platforms (Herodotou, 2009). Multi-User Online Games provide the opportunity to create a social environment for friendships and strengthen the…

  11. Pro Android games

    CERN Document Server

    Nardone, Massimo

    2016-01-01

    Combining actionable, real-world source code with graphics, Pro Android Games, Third Edition shows you how to build more sophisticated and addictive Android game apps with minimum effort. Harness the power of the latest Android 5.0 SDK to bring countless legendary, action-packed PC games to the Android platform. With actionable real-world source code, this one of a kind book shows you how to build more sophisticated and addictive Android game apps, by leveraging the power of the recent advancements found in the new Android 5.0 software development kit as well as those you've counted on in e

  12. Interactive Football-Training Based on Rebounders with Hit Position Sensing and Audio-Visual Feedback

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Mads Møller; Grønbæk, Kaj; Thomassen, Nikolaj

    2014-01-01

    . However, most of these tools are created with a single goal, either to measure or train, and are often used and tested in very controlled settings. In this paper, we present an interactive football-training platform, called Football Lab, featuring sensor- mounted rebounders as well as audio-visual...

  13. Multiplayer computer games as youth's leisure phenomenon

    OpenAIRE

    HADERKOVÁ, Barbora

    2016-01-01

    The thesis is dedicated to multiplayer computer games as youth's leisure phenomenon of this time. The theoretical part is focused on computer games history, multiplayer computer games and their types, gaming platforms, community of multiplayer games players and potential negatives and positives, which follows from playing this type of games. The practical part contains a qualitative survey using interviews with multiplayer computer games players aged from 15 to 26 years from city of České Bud...

  14. Audio-visual biofeedback for respiratory-gated radiotherapy: Impact of audio instruction and audio-visual biofeedback on respiratory-gated radiotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    George, Rohini; Chung, Theodore D.; Vedam, Sastry S.; Ramakrishnan, Viswanathan; Mohan, Radhe; Weiss, Elisabeth; Keall, Paul J.

    2006-01-01

    Purpose: Respiratory gating is a commercially available technology for reducing the deleterious effects of motion during imaging and treatment. The efficacy of gating is dependent on the reproducibility within and between respiratory cycles during imaging and treatment. The aim of this study was to determine whether audio-visual biofeedback can improve respiratory reproducibility by decreasing residual motion and therefore increasing the accuracy of gated radiotherapy. Methods and Materials: A total of 331 respiratory traces were collected from 24 lung cancer patients. The protocol consisted of five breathing training sessions spaced about a week apart. Within each session the patients initially breathed without any instruction (free breathing), with audio instructions and with audio-visual biofeedback. Residual motion was quantified by the standard deviation of the respiratory signal within the gating window. Results: Audio-visual biofeedback significantly reduced residual motion compared with free breathing and audio instruction. Displacement-based gating has lower residual motion than phase-based gating. Little reduction in residual motion was found for duty cycles less than 30%; for duty cycles above 50% there was a sharp increase in residual motion. Conclusions: The efficiency and reproducibility of gating can be improved by: incorporating audio-visual biofeedback, using a 30-50% duty cycle, gating during exhalation, and using displacement-based gating

  15. Can audio recording of outpatient consultations improve patients recall and understanding?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wolderslund, Maiken

    of the dialogue between the patient and the clinician via the telephone in the consultation room. By dialing a dedicated number, patients can get access to an audio recording of their consultation by entering their social security number along with a PIN. The primary objective of this study is to determine......Introduction Information provided in an outpatient consultation concerns medication, diagnostic tests, treatment and rehabilitation, all of which are crucial knowledge with regards to patient compliance, decision making and general patient satisfaction. Despite good communication skills among...... clinicians, the communication is challenged by the fact that patients tend to forget or misunderstand parts of the information given. Thus we have designed a study which gives the patients a possibility to hear their consultation again. An Interactive Voice Response platform enables an audio recording...

  16. A game-based crowdsourcing platform for rapidly training middle and high school students to perform biomedical image analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Steve; Woo, Min-jae; Kim, Hannah; Kim, Eunso; Ki, Sojung; Shao, Lei; Ozcan, Aydogan

    2016-03-01

    We developed an easy-to-use and widely accessible crowd-sourcing tool for rapidly training humans to perform biomedical image diagnostic tasks and demonstrated this platform's ability on middle and high school students in South Korea to diagnose malaria infected red-blood-cells (RBCs) using Giemsa-stained thin blood smears imaged under light microscopes. We previously used the same platform (i.e., BioGames) to crowd-source diagnostics of individual RBC images, marking them as malaria positive (infected), negative (uninfected), or questionable (insufficient information for a reliable diagnosis). Using a custom-developed statistical framework, we combined the diagnoses from both expert diagnosticians and the minimally trained human crowd to generate a gold standard library of malaria-infection labels for RBCs. Using this library of labels, we developed a web-based training and educational toolset that provides a quantified score for diagnosticians/users to compare their performance against their peers and view misdiagnosed cells. We have since demonstrated the ability of this platform to quickly train humans without prior training to reach high diagnostic accuracy as compared to expert diagnosticians. Our initial trial group of 55 middle and high school students has collectively played more than 170 hours, each demonstrating significant improvements after only 3 hours of training games, with diagnostic scores that match expert diagnosticians'. Next, through a national-scale educational outreach program in South Korea we recruited >1660 students who demonstrated a similar performance level after 5 hours of training. We plan to further demonstrate this tool's effectiveness for other diagnostic tasks involving image labeling and aim to provide an easily-accessible and quickly adaptable framework for online training of new diagnosticians.

  17. A Video Game Platform for Exploring Satellite and In-Situ Data Streams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Y.

    2014-12-01

    Exploring spatiotemporal patterns of moving objects are essential to Earth Observation missions, such as tracking, modeling and predicting movement of clouds, dust, plumes and harmful algal blooms. Those missions involve high-volume, multi-source, and multi-modal imagery data analysis. Analytical models intend to reveal inner structure, dynamics, and relationship of things. However, they are not necessarily intuitive to humans. Conventional scientific visualization methods are intuitive but limited by manual operations, such as area marking, measurement and alignment of multi-source data, which are expensive and time-consuming. A new development of video analytics platform has been in progress, which integrates the video game engine with satellite and in-situ data streams. The system converts Earth Observation data into articulated objects that are mapped from a high-dimensional space to a 3D space. The object tracking and augmented reality algorithms highlight the objects' features in colors, shapes and trajectories, creating visual cues for observing dynamic patterns. The head and gesture tracker enable users to navigate the data space interactively. To validate our design, we have used NASA SeaWiFS satellite images of oceanographic remote sensing data and NOAA's in-situ cell count data. Our study demonstrates that the video game system can reduce the size and cost of traditional CAVE systems in two to three orders of magnitude. This system can also be used for satellite mission planning and public outreaching.

  18. Integrating Usability Evaluation into Model-Driven Video Game Development

    OpenAIRE

    Fernandez , Adrian; Insfran , Emilio; Abrahão , Silvia; Carsí , José ,; Montero , Emanuel

    2012-01-01

    Part 3: Short Papers; International audience; The increasing complexity of video game development highlights the need of design and evaluation methods for enhancing quality and reducing time and cost. In this context, Model-Driven Development approaches seem to be very promising since a video game can be obtained by transforming platform-independent models into platform-specific models that can be in turn transformed into code. Although this approach is started to being used for video game de...

  19. [Online gaming. Potential risk and prevention programs].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malischnig, Doris

    2014-12-01

    Online gaming is more and more common and increasingly accessible. Due to a lack of social control the participation could be a potential risk for certain customers. The given article focuses on prevention measures that are provided by the Austrian online gaming operator, the Austrian Lotteries, provider of the online gaming platform win2day, in the light of the specifics of Internet gaming in order to avoid problems with gaming.

  20. Digital signal processor for silicon audio playback devices; Silicon audio saisei kikiyo digital signal processor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2000-03-01

    The digital audio signal processor (DSP) TC9446F series has been developed silicon audio playback devices with a memory medium of, e.g., flash memory, DVD players, and AV devices, e.g., TV sets. It corresponds to AAC (advanced audio coding) (2ch) and MP3 (MPEG1 Layer3), as the audio compressing techniques being used for transmitting music through an internet. It also corresponds to compressed types, e.g., Dolby Digital, DTS (digital theater system) and MPEG2 audio, being adopted for, e.g., DVDs. It can carry a built-in audio signal processing program, e.g., Dolby ProLogic, equalizer, sound field controlling, and 3D sound. TC9446XB has been lined up anew. It adopts an FBGA (fine pitch ball grid array) package for portable audio devices. (translated by NEDO)

  1. Archetypal Game Recommender Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sifa, Rafet; Bauckhage, C.; Drachen, Anders

    2014-01-01

    Contemporary users (players, consumers) of digital games have thousands of products to choose from, which makes nding games that t their interests challenging. Towards addressing this challenge, in this paper two dierent formulations of Archetypal Analysis for Top-L recommender tasks using implicit...... feedback are presented: factor- and neighborhood-oriented models. These form the rst application of rec- ommender systems to digital games. Both models are tested on a dataset of 500,000 users of the game distribution platform Steam, covering game ownership and playtime data across more than 3000 games....... Compared to four other recommender models (nearest neighbor, two popularity mod- els, random baseline), the archetype based models provide the highest recall rates showing that Archetypal Analysis can be successfully applied for Top-L recommendation purposes...

  2. Robot Games for Elderly

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Søren Tranberg

    2011-01-01

    improve a person’s overall health, and this thesis investigates how games based on an autonomous, mobile robot platform, can be used to motivate elderly to move physically while playing. The focus of the investigation is on the development of games for an autonomous, mobile robot based on algorithms using...... spatio-temporal information about player behaviour - more specifically, I investigate three types of games each using a different control strategy. The first game is based on basic robot control which allows the robot to detect and follow a person. A field study in a rehabilitation centre and a nursing....... The robot facilitates interaction, and the study suggests that robot based games potentially can be used for training balance and orientation. The second game consists in an adaptive game algorithm which gradually adjusts the game challenge to the mobility skills of the player based on spatio...

  3. Games as a Platform for Student Participation in Authentic Scientific Research

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Magnussen, Rikke; Damgaard Hansen, Sidse; Planke, Tilo

    2014-01-01

    for student-research collaboration is to investigate if and how this type of game concept can strengthen authentic experimental practice and the creation of new knowledge in science education. Researchers and game developers tested the game in three separate high school classes (Class 1, 2, and 3). The tests...... were documented using video observations of students playing the game, qualitative interviews, and qualitative and quantitative questionnaires. The focus of the tests has been to study players' motivation and their experience of learning through participation in authentic scientific inquiry....... In questionnaires conducted in the two first test classes students found that the aspects of doing “real scientific research” and solving physics problems were the more interesting aspects of playing the game. However, designing a game that facilitates professional research collaboration while simultaneously...

  4. A Survey of Open Source Products for Building a SIP Communication Platform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pavel Segec

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The Session Initiation Protocol (SIP is a multimedia signalling protocol that has evolved into a widely adopted communication standard. The integration of SIP into existing IP networks has fostered IP networks becoming a convergence platform for both real-time and non-real-time multimedia communications. This converged platform integrates data, voice, video, presence, messaging, and conference services into a single network that offers new communication experiences for users. The open source community has contributed to SIP adoption through the development of open source software for both SIP clients and servers. In this paper, we provide a survey on open SIP systems that can be built using publically available software. We identify SIP features for service development and programming, services and applications of a SIP-converged platform, and the most important technologies supporting SIP functionalities. We propose an advanced converged IP communication platform that uses SIP for service delivery. The platform supports audio and video calls, along with media services such as audio conferences, voicemail, presence, and instant messaging. Using SIP Application Programming Interfaces (APIs, the platform allows the deployment of advanced integrated services. The platform is implemented with open source software. Architecture components run on standardized hardware with no need for special purpose investments.

  5. Adding Social Elements to Game-Based Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chien-Hung Lai

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Game-based learning is to present the instruction by games in learning, with the main purpose of triggering learners’ motives instead of instructing the courses. Thus, increasing learning motive by game-based learning becomes a common instructional strategy to enhance learning achievement. However, it is not easy to design interesting games combined with courses. In 2011, Echeverria proposed a design to combine characteristics of games with elements of courses by matching the virtual scenarios in games with proper courses. However, in the past game-based learning, students were gathered in regular places for several times of game-based learning. Students’ learning was limited by time and space. Therefore, for students’ game-based learning at any time and in any places, based on theories of design elements of online community game Aki Järvinen, this study treats Facebook as the platform of games. The development by online community game is easier, faster and cheaper than traditional video games. In 2006, Facebook allowed API program of the third party. Therefore, by Facebook, this study provides the platform for students to learn in social lives to explore students’ activities in online community games. Questionnaire survey is conducted to find out if the design of non-single user game is attractive for students to participate in game-based learning. In order to make sure that the questionnaires can be the criteria to investigate students’ intention to play games, by statistical program of social science; this study validates reliability and validity of items of questionnaire to effectively control the effect of online community games on students’ learning intention.

  6. Salapiggy: Usability Test of the Sifteo Cubes as a Game Interface for the Money Counting Game for Preschoolers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orense, Adrian; Decena, Berlyn Anne; Feria, Rommel

    2013-01-01

    Kinesthetic learning, one of the VAK learning styles, is now also being adapted by different gaming consoles and platforms. This paper presents Salapiggy, a two-part kinesthetic educational Sifteo game that has both a tutorial on money and sorting game. It is localized in the Philippines and uses Filipino as the User Interface Language and the…

  7. Games and Agents: Designing Intelligent Gameplay

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Dignum

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available There is an attention shift within the gaming industry toward more natural (long-term behavior of nonplaying characters (NPCs. Multiagent system research offers a promising technology to implement cognitive intelligent NPCs. However, the technologies used in game engines and multiagent platforms are not readily compatible due to some inherent differences of concerns. Where game engines focus on real-time aspects and thus propagate efficiency and central control, multiagent platforms assume autonomy of the agents. Increased autonomy and intelligence may offer benefits for a more compelling gameplay and may even be necessary for serious games. However, it raises problems when current game design techniques are used to incorporate state-of-the-art multiagent system technology. In this paper, we will focus on three specific problem areas that arise from this difference of view: synchronization, information representation, and communication. We argue that the current attempts for integration still fall short on some of these aspects. We show that to fully integrate intelligent agents in games, one should not only use a technical solution, but also a design methodology that is amenable to agents. The game design should be adjusted to incorporate the possibilities of agents early on in the process.

  8. Paratextual play: Unlocking the nature of making-of material of games

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Glas, M.A.J.

    Similar as to how films are accompanied with bonus features and extras on their dvd release, digital games too are sometimes released with supplemental materials which provide insight in the creative development process. Examples of these are behind-the-scenes documentaries, concept art, audio

  9. Anger, fear and games

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mortensen, Torill

    2016-01-01

    The event known as #GamerGate (GG) emphasized the need to take the study of game culture seriously and pursue it across several platforms. It demonstrated how seemingly ephemeral media created echo chambers of anger, and how the outbursts of hypermasculine aggression exemplified by hooligans also...... can connect to games and play. Starting from how GG gained popular attention, this article outlines and discusses the nature of GG, the relation to the victims, the sense of victimization among the participants, and how it may have been provoked by the long-standing, general disregard of games...... the image of game culture as mainly a culture of isolated consumption...

  10. Online Games as a Component of School Textbooks: A Test Predicting the Diffusion of Interactive Online Games Designed for the Textbook Reformation in South Korea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Do Kyun; Dinu, Lucian F.; Chung, Wonjon

    2013-01-01

    Currently, the South Korean government is in the process of transforming school textbooks from a paper-based platform to a computer-based digital platform. Along with this effort, interactive online educational games (edu-games) have been examined as a potential component of the digital textbooks. Based on the theory of diffusion of innovations,…

  11. A Joint Audio-Visual Approach to Audio Localization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Jesper Rindom; Christensen, Mads Græsbøll

    2015-01-01

    Localization of audio sources is an important research problem, e.g., to facilitate noise reduction. In the recent years, the problem has been tackled using distributed microphone arrays (DMA). A common approach is to apply direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation on each array (denoted as nodes), a...... time-of-flight cameras. Moreover, we propose an optimal method for weighting such DOA and range information for audio localization. Our experiments on both synthetic and real data show that there is a clear, potential advantage of using the joint audiovisual localization framework....

  12. Playing new music with old games: The chiptune subculture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Israel Márquez

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Although video games have been studied from a wide range of perspectives, from film to literature, little attention has been given to the role of music and sound in games. Not only to the role of music and sound within games, but also to the many different forms in which video games are influencing the development of popular music. One of these forms is the so-called “chiptune music”. Chiptune (also known as chip music or 8-bit music is electronic music that uses the microchip-based audio hardware of early home computers and gaming consoles and repurposes it for artistic expression. Chiptune artists reinvent the technology found in old computers such as Commodore 64, Amiga and ZX Spectrum as well as in outdated video game consoles such as Nintendo Game Boy or Mega Drive/Genesis in order to create new music. This paper is an attempt to document the chiptune phenomena and the subculture scene that has been created around it during the last years: a subculture that is resuscitating and redefining old and “dead” gaming devices to play new music at the periphery of mainstream culture.

  13. Modeling Audio Fingerprints : Structure, Distortion, Capacity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Doets, P.J.O.

    2010-01-01

    An audio fingerprint is a compact low-level representation of a multimedia signal. An audio fingerprint can be used to identify audio files or fragments in a reliable way. The use of audio fingerprints for identification consists of two phases. In the enrollment phase known content is fingerprinted,

  14. Introduction to audio analysis a MATLAB approach

    CERN Document Server

    Giannakopoulos, Theodoros

    2014-01-01

    Introduction to Audio Analysis serves as a standalone introduction to audio analysis, providing theoretical background to many state-of-the-art techniques. It covers the essential theory necessary to develop audio engineering applications, but also uses programming techniques, notably MATLAB®, to take a more applied approach to the topic. Basic theory and reproducible experiments are combined to demonstrate theoretical concepts from a practical point of view and provide a solid foundation in the field of audio analysis. Audio feature extraction, audio classification, audio segmentation, au

  15. Advances in audio source seperation and multisource audio content retrieval

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vincent, Emmanuel

    2012-06-01

    Audio source separation aims to extract the signals of individual sound sources from a given recording. In this paper, we review three recent advances which improve the robustness of source separation in real-world challenging scenarios and enable its use for multisource content retrieval tasks, such as automatic speech recognition (ASR) or acoustic event detection (AED) in noisy environments. We present a Flexible Audio Source Separation Toolkit (FASST) and discuss its advantages compared to earlier approaches such as independent component analysis (ICA) and sparse component analysis (SCA). We explain how cues as diverse as harmonicity, spectral envelope, temporal fine structure or spatial location can be jointly exploited by this toolkit. We subsequently present the uncertainty decoding (UD) framework for the integration of audio source separation and audio content retrieval. We show how the uncertainty about the separated source signals can be accurately estimated and propagated to the features. Finally, we explain how this uncertainty can be efficiently exploited by a classifier, both at the training and the decoding stage. We illustrate the resulting performance improvements in terms of speech separation quality and speaker recognition accuracy.

  16. Learning Java by building Android games

    CERN Document Server

    Horton, John

    2015-01-01

    If you are completely new to either Java, Android, or game programming and are aiming to publish Android games, then this book is for you. This book also acts as a refresher for those who already have experience in Java on another platforms or other object-oriented languages.

  17. Roundtable Audio Discussion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chris Bigum

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available RoundTable on Technology, Teaching and Tools. This is a roundtable audio interview conducted by James Farmer, founder of Edublogs, with Anne Bartlett-Bragg (University of Technology Sydney and Chris Bigum (Deakin University. Skype was used to make and record the audio conference and the resulting sound file was edited by Andrew McLauchlan.

  18. ALICE Connex : Mobile Volunteer Computing and Edutainment Platform

    CERN Document Server

    Chalumporn, Gantaphon

    2016-01-01

    Mobile devices are very powerful and trend to be developed. They have functions that are used in everyday life. One of their main tasks is to be an entertainment devices or gaming platform. A lot of technologies are now accepted and adopted to improve the potential of education. Edutainment is a combination of entertainment and education media together to make use of both benefits. In this work, we introduce a design of edutainment platform which is a part of mobile volunteer computing and edutainment platform called ‘ALICE Connex’ for ALICE at CERN. The edutainment platform focuses to deliver enjoyment and education, while promotes ALICE and Volunteer Computing platform to general public. The design in this work describes the functionality to build an effective edutainment with real-time multiplayer interaction on round-based gameplay, while integrates seamless edutainment with basic particle physic content though game mechanism and items design. For the assessment method we will observe the enjoyment o...

  19. Virtual Reality as a Story Telling Platform for Geoscience Communication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lazar, K.; Moysey, S. M.

    2017-12-01

    Capturing the attention of students and the public is a critical step for increasing societal interest and literacy in earth science issues. Virtual reality (VR) provides a means for geoscience engagement that is well suited to place-based learning through exciting and immersive experiences. One approach is to create fully-immersive virtual gaming environments where players interact with physical objects, such as rock samples and outcrops, to pursue geoscience learning goals. Developing an experience like this, however, can require substantial programming expertise and resources. At the other end of the development spectrum, it is possible for anyone to create immersive virtual experiences with 360-degree imagery, which can be made interactive using easy to use VR editing software to embed videos, audio, images, and other content within the 360-degree image. Accessible editing tools like these make the creation of VR experiences something that anyone can tackle. Using the VR editor ThingLink and imagery from Google Maps, for example, we were able to create an interactive tour of the Grand Canyon, complete with embedded assessments, in a matter of hours. The true power of such platforms, however, comes from the potential to engage students as content authors to create and share stories of place that explore geoscience issues from their personal perspective. For example, we have used combinations of 360-degree images with interactive mapping and web platforms to enable students with no programming experience to create complex web apps as highly engaging story telling platforms. We highlight here examples of how we have implemented such story telling approaches with students to assess learning in courses, to share geoscience research outcomes, and to communicate issues of societal importance.

  20. Game-Based Evacuation Drill Using Augmented Reality and Head-Mounted Display

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawai, Junya; Mitsuhara, Hiroyuki; Shishibori, Masami

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: Evacuation drills should be more realistic and interactive. Focusing on situational and audio-visual realities and scenario-based interactivity, the authors have developed a game-based evacuation drill (GBED) system that presents augmented reality (AR) materials on tablet computers. The paper's current research purpose is to improve…

  1. Ludic Educational Game Creation Tool

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vidakis, Nikolaos; Syntychakis, Efthimios; Kalafatis, Konstantinos

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents initial findings and ongoing work of the game creation tool, a core component of the IOLAOS(IOLAOS in ancient Greece was a divine hero famed for helping with some of Heracles’s labors.) platform, a general open authorable framework for educational and training games. The game...... creation tool features a web editor, where the game narrative can be manipulated, according to specific needs. Moreover, this tool is applied for creating an educational game according to a reference scenario namely teaching schoolers road safety. A ludic approach is used both in game creation and play....... Helping children staying safe and preventing serious injury on the roads is crucial. In this context, this work presents an augmented version of the IOLAOS architecture including an enhanced game creation tool and a new multimodality module. In addition presents a case study for creating educational games...

  2. Rangku Alu - A Traditional East Nusa Tenggara Game in Android Platform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahmat, R. F.; Ramadhan, R.; Arisandi, D.; Syahputra, M. F.; Sheta, O.

    2018-03-01

    Rangku Alu is a traditional Indonesian game originated from Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara, which is played using two pairs of bamboos or sticks in motion until the opponent’s foot is wedged by the bamboos. However, nowadays the game is rarely played, as the rapid development of technology, the game can be played individually by anyone through an online game using media devices such as mobile or PC. Rangku Alu is a game where the moves of a dancer or player varied in each dance. In this research, Fisher-Yates Shuffle algorithm was used as a randomization method to determine the next moves to prevent the tap areas to appear at the same place more than once in a row. From the results, it shows that the tap areas have never been appeared at the same place in succession twice or more.

  3. Architecturally Reconfigurable Development of Mobile Games

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Weishan

    2005-01-01

    . Mobile game domain variants could be handled uniformly and traced across all kinds of software assets. The architecture and configuration mechanism in our approach make optimizations that built into meta-components propagated to all product line members. We show this approach with an industrial Role-Playing-Game......Mobile game development must face the problem of multiple hardware and software platforms, which will bring large number of variants. To cut the development and maintenance efforts, in this paper, we present an architecturally reconfigurable software product line approach to develop mobile games...

  4. Motion Detection Implementation on a Game Using Raspberry Pi

    OpenAIRE

    Gunawan Putra Gozali

    2017-01-01

    Along with the development of advanced gaming technology, we can play the game with so many tools or platforms such as console games, PC games, mobile games and handheld games. The disadvantage of those games is the difficulty to connect additional sensors to the PC computer. Large power requirements will also be a constraint. Besides, the size of the PC could be a weakness that makes it difficult to carry and play anytime. Raspberry is a small computer that can be added with motion detection...

  5. Crushing Candy: The Free-to-Play Game in Its Connective Commodity Form

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David B. Nieborg

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The goal of this article is to add a complementary perspective to the study of social network sites by surveying how the political economy of social media platforms relates to the structure of free-to-play games in their commodity form. Drawing on the theory of multisided markets and critical political economy, this article surveys the political economy of game apps and investigates how it is symbiotically related to the technological and economic logic underlying connective platforms operated by Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon. These social media platforms operate app stores that sustain the transformation of games as fixed, physically distributed products that follow a transaction logic, into digitally distributed, freely accessible, or “free-to-play” apps. Through a case study of the popular casual game Candy Crush Saga it is contended that the connective properties of social media platforms affect the form and format of game apps as cultural commodities. Candy Crush Saga developer King Digital Entertainment has been able to attract hundreds of millions of players and build a business model that combines the commodification of virtual items, connectivity, user attention, user data, and play. It is argued that the free-to-play commodity form comprises three commodity types: the product commodity, the “prosumer commodity,” and the player commodity. Furthermore, Candy Crush Saga ’s commodity form is structured by a platformed modality of cultural production and circulation and therefore embedded in the political economy of its host platform.

  6. Teaching the blind to find their way by playing video games.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lotfi B Merabet

    Full Text Available Computer based video games are receiving great interest as a means to learn and acquire new skills. As a novel approach to teaching navigation skills in the blind, we have developed Audio-based Environment Simulator (AbES; a virtual reality environment set within the context of a video game metaphor. Despite the fact that participants were naïve to the overall purpose of the software, we found that early blind users were able to acquire relevant information regarding the spatial layout of a previously unfamiliar building using audio based cues alone. This was confirmed by a series of behavioral performance tests designed to assess the transfer of acquired spatial information to a large-scale, real-world indoor navigation task. Furthermore, learning the spatial layout through a goal directed gaming strategy allowed for the mental manipulation of spatial information as evidenced by enhanced navigation performance when compared to an explicit route learning strategy. We conclude that the immersive and highly interactive nature of the software greatly engages the blind user to actively explore the virtual environment. This in turn generates an accurate sense of a large-scale three-dimensional space and facilitates the learning and transfer of navigation skills to the physical world.

  7. Teaching the blind to find their way by playing video games.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merabet, Lotfi B; Connors, Erin C; Halko, Mark A; Sánchez, Jaime

    2012-01-01

    Computer based video games are receiving great interest as a means to learn and acquire new skills. As a novel approach to teaching navigation skills in the blind, we have developed Audio-based Environment Simulator (AbES); a virtual reality environment set within the context of a video game metaphor. Despite the fact that participants were naïve to the overall purpose of the software, we found that early blind users were able to acquire relevant information regarding the spatial layout of a previously unfamiliar building using audio based cues alone. This was confirmed by a series of behavioral performance tests designed to assess the transfer of acquired spatial information to a large-scale, real-world indoor navigation task. Furthermore, learning the spatial layout through a goal directed gaming strategy allowed for the mental manipulation of spatial information as evidenced by enhanced navigation performance when compared to an explicit route learning strategy. We conclude that the immersive and highly interactive nature of the software greatly engages the blind user to actively explore the virtual environment. This in turn generates an accurate sense of a large-scale three-dimensional space and facilitates the learning and transfer of navigation skills to the physical world.

  8. Review of Never Alone [game

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew Reinhard

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Review of Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna, an atmospheric platformer and puzzle game (built on the Unity engine released in late 2014 by Upper One Games and education company E-Line Media. It invites one or two players to explore a central story from the Iñupiat, Native Alaskans, with the rewards of additional storytelling by elders and community members.

  9. Could Audio-Described Films Benefit from Audio Introductions? An Audience Response Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romero-Fresco, Pablo; Fryer, Louise

    2013-01-01

    Introduction: Time constraints limit the quantity and type of information conveyed in audio description (AD) for films, in particular the cinematic aspects. Inspired by introductory notes for theatre AD, this study developed audio introductions (AIs) for "Slumdog Millionaire" and "Man on Wire." Each AI comprised 10 minutes of…

  10. A Method to Detect AAC Audio Forgery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qingzhong Liu

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Advanced Audio Coding (AAC, a standardized lossy compression scheme for digital audio, which was designed to be the successor of the MP3 format, generally achieves better sound quality than MP3 at similar bit rates. While AAC is also the default or standard audio format for many devices and AAC audio files may be presented as important digital evidences, the authentication of the audio files is highly needed but relatively missing. In this paper, we propose a scheme to expose tampered AAC audio streams that are encoded at the same encoding bit-rate. Specifically, we design a shift-recompression based method to retrieve the differential features between the re-encoded audio stream at each shifting and original audio stream, learning classifier is employed to recognize different patterns of differential features of the doctored forgery files and original (untouched audio files. Experimental results show that our approach is very promising and effective to detect the forgery of the same encoding bit-rate on AAC audio streams. Our study also shows that shift recompression-based differential analysis is very effective for detection of the MP3 forgery at the same bit rate.

  11. Evaluating the Usability of Authoring Environments for Serious Games.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slootmaker, Aad; Hummel, Hans; Koper, Rob

    2017-08-01

    Background . The EMERGO method and online platform enable the development and delivery of scenario-based serious games that foster students to acquire professional competence. One of the main goals of the platform is to provide a user-friendly authoring environment for creating virtual environments where students can perform authentic tasks. Aim . We present the findings of an in-depth qualitative case study of the platform's authoring environment and compare our findings on usability with those found for comparable environments in literature. Method . We carried out semi-structured interviews, with two experienced game developers who have authored a game for higher education, and a literature review of comparable environments. Findings . The analysis shows that the usability of the authoring environment is problematic, especially regarding understandability and learnability , which is in line with findings of comparable environments. Other findings are that authoring is well integrated with the EMERGO method and that functionality and reliability of the authoring environment are valued. Practical implications . The lessons learned are presented in the form of general guidelines to improve the understandability and learnability of authoring environments for serious games .

  12. Location audio simplified capturing your audio and your audience

    CERN Document Server

    Miles, Dean

    2014-01-01

    From the basics of using camera, handheld, lavalier, and shotgun microphones to camera calibration and mixer set-ups, Location Audio Simplified unlocks the secrets to clean and clear broadcast quality audio no matter what challenges you face. Author Dean Miles applies his twenty-plus years of experience as a professional location operator to teach the skills, techniques, tips, and secrets needed to produce high-quality production sound on location. Humorous and thoroughly practical, the book covers a wide array of topics, such as:* location selection* field mixing* boo

  13. Computerized J-H loop tracer for soft magnetic thick films in the audio frequency range

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Loizos G.

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available A computerized J-H loop tracer for soft magnetic thick films in the audio frequency range is described. It is a system built on a PXI platform combining PXI modules for control signal generation and data acquisition. The physiscal signals are digitized and the respective data strems are processed, presented and recorded in LabVIEW 7.0.

  14. The application of controlled source audio frequency magnetotelluric method to prospecting for uranium and gold

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guan Taiping

    1992-01-01

    The controlled source audio frequency magnetotelluric method is a new geophysical method which is rapid, effective and economical and can be used for studying the structural pattern of underground strata (rock bodies). This method provides the basis for the determination of the deeper part and structures within the unconformity-related uranium deposit in North China Platform and the result of application is optimal

  15. Smartphone audio port data collection cookbook

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kyle Forinash

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available The audio port of a smartphone is designed to send and receive audio but can be harnessed for portable, economical, and accurate data collection from a variety of sources. While smartphones have internal sensors to measure a number of physical phenomena such as acceleration, magnetism and illumination levels, measurement of other phenomena such as voltage, external temperature, or accurate timing of moving objects are excluded. The audio port cannot be only employed to sense external phenomena. It has the additional advantage of timing precision; because audio is recorded or played at a controlled rate separated from other smartphone activities, timings based on audio can be highly accurate. The following outlines unpublished details of the audio port technical elements for data collection, a general data collection recipe and an example timing application for Android devices.

  16. Structure Learning in Audio

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Andreas Brinch

    By having information about the setting a user is in, a computer is able to make decisions proactively to facilitate tasks for the user. Two approaches are taken in this thesis to achieve more information about an audio environment. One approach is that of classifying audio, and a new approach...... investigated. A fast and computationally simple approach that compares recordings and classifies if they are from the same audio environment have been developed, and shows very high accuracy and the ability to synchronize recordings in the case of recording devices which are not connected. A more general model...

  17. Platform intermediation in a market for differentiated products

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Galeotti, Andrea; Moraga-González, José Luis

    We study a two-sided market where a platform attracts firms selling differentiated products and buyers interested in those products. In the subgame perfect equilibrium of the game, the platform fully internalises the network externalities present in the market and firms and consumers all participate

  18. Platform development: implications for portfolio management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hsuan, Juliana; Hansen, Poul H. Kyvsgård

    2007-01-01

    " The challenge of implementing industrial platforms in practice can be described as a configuration problem caused by a considerable number of variables, which often have contradictory influences on the total performance of the firm. Consequently, the specific platform decisions become extremely...... complex, possibly increasing the strategic risks for the firm. This paper reports preliminary findings on platform management process at LEGO, a Danish toy company. Specifically, we report the process of applying games combined with simulations and workshops in the platform development. We also propose...... a framework, based on the portfolio management thinking to evaluate the degree of modularity embedded in a given platform and to which extent it is aligned with other platforms."...

  19. Knitting Relational Documentary Networks: The Database Meta-Documentary Filming Revolution as a paradigm of bringing interactive audio-visual archives alive

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wiehl, Anna

    2016-01-01

    abstractOne phenomenon in the emerging field of digital documentary are experiments with rhizomatic interfaces and database-logics to bring audio-visual archives 'alive'. A paradigm hereof is Filming Revolution (2015), an interactive platform which gathers and interlinks films of the uprisings in

  20. A centralized audio presentation manager

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Papp, A.L. III; Blattner, M.M.

    1994-05-16

    The centralized audio presentation manager addresses the problems which occur when multiple programs running simultaneously attempt to use the audio output of a computer system. Time dependence of sound means that certain auditory messages must be scheduled simultaneously, which can lead to perceptual problems due to psychoacoustic phenomena. Furthermore, the combination of speech and nonspeech audio is examined; each presents its own problems of perceptibility in an acoustic environment composed of multiple auditory streams. The centralized audio presentation manager receives abstract parameterized message requests from the currently running programs, and attempts to create and present a sonic representation in the most perceptible manner through the use of a theoretically and empirically designed rule set.

  1. Instrumental Landing Using Audio Indication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burlak, E. A.; Nabatchikov, A. M.; Korsun, O. N.

    2018-02-01

    The paper proposes an audio indication method for presenting to a pilot the information regarding the relative positions of an aircraft in the tasks of precision piloting. The implementation of the method is presented, the use of such parameters of audio signal as loudness, frequency and modulation are discussed. To confirm the operability of the audio indication channel the experiments using modern aircraft simulation facility were carried out. The simulated performed the instrument landing using the proposed audio method to indicate the aircraft deviations in relation to the slide path. The results proved compatible with the simulated instrumental landings using the traditional glidescope pointers. It inspires to develop the method in order to solve other precision piloting tasks.

  2. Bit rates in audio source coding

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Veldhuis, Raymond N.J.

    1992-01-01

    The goal is to introduce and solve the audio coding optimization problem. Psychoacoustic results such as masking and excitation pattern models are combined with results from rate distortion theory to formulate the audio coding optimization problem. The solution of the audio optimization problem is a

  3. Why are some languages confused for others? Investigating data from the Great Language Game.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hedvig Skirgård

    Full Text Available In this paper we explore the results of a large-scale online game called 'the Great Language Game', in which people listen to an audio speech sample and make a forced-choice guess about the identity of the language from 2 or more alternatives. The data include 15 million guesses from 400 audio recordings of 78 languages. We investigate which languages are confused for which in the game, and if this correlates with the similarities that linguists identify between languages. This includes shared lexical items, similar sound inventories and established historical relationships. Our findings are, as expected, that players are more likely to confuse two languages that are objectively more similar. We also investigate factors that may affect players' ability to accurately select the target language, such as how many people speak the language, how often the language is mentioned in written materials and the economic power of the target language community. We see that non-linguistic factors affect players' ability to accurately identify the target. For example, languages with wider 'global reach' are more often identified correctly. This suggests that both linguistic and cultural knowledge influence the perception and recognition of languages and their similarity.

  4. Why are some languages confused for others? Investigating data from the Great Language Game.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skirgård, Hedvig; Roberts, Seán G; Yencken, Lars

    2017-01-01

    In this paper we explore the results of a large-scale online game called 'the Great Language Game', in which people listen to an audio speech sample and make a forced-choice guess about the identity of the language from 2 or more alternatives. The data include 15 million guesses from 400 audio recordings of 78 languages. We investigate which languages are confused for which in the game, and if this correlates with the similarities that linguists identify between languages. This includes shared lexical items, similar sound inventories and established historical relationships. Our findings are, as expected, that players are more likely to confuse two languages that are objectively more similar. We also investigate factors that may affect players' ability to accurately select the target language, such as how many people speak the language, how often the language is mentioned in written materials and the economic power of the target language community. We see that non-linguistic factors affect players' ability to accurately identify the target. For example, languages with wider 'global reach' are more often identified correctly. This suggests that both linguistic and cultural knowledge influence the perception and recognition of languages and their similarity.

  5. Experimenting with Educational Games using the Xbox, PC, and iPad

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rohrlick, D.; Kilb, D. L.; Peach, C. L.; Simms, E.; Yang, A.; Layman, C.; Deutscher, R.

    2012-12-01

    Daniel Rohrlick, Alan Yang, Eric Simms, Debi Kilb, Cheryl Peach, Charina Layman, Rebecca Deutscher 1. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA, USA 2. Harvard University Center for the Environment, Cambridge, MA, USA 3. Birch Aquarium at Scripps, La Jolla, CA, USA 4. The Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA As videogames continue to grow in popularity, especially with today's youth, it is becoming clear that gaming can be a potent learning tool. But what is the best way to engage a player in learning from a videogame? Based on our five years of developing and testing our own educational games, we experimented with various forms of gaming techniques and player interaction. Our first game, "Deep-sea Extreme Environment Pilot (DEEP)", is an Xbox 360 game where players learn about deep-sea environments while controlling a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV). DEEP is a "traditional" videogame where players interact with a controller and a TV screen. The second game we developed for the PC is called the "Quake Catcher Network (QCN)" game. With the gameplay focused on earth sciences, players must quickly deploy seismic sensors to record aftershocks from a large earthquake. Instead of using a game controller to play the QCN game, we instead incorporate the Microsoft Kinect motion sensor for the game input. Finally, the "Glider Game" is our third and most recent game designed for use on the mobile device platform such as iPods and iPads. In this game players control ocean gliders and must complete missions while battling ocean currents, power consumption, and other unanticipated problems. Here, the gameplay is aimed toward the casual gamer using touch-screen based controls in the hope that players can easily pick up and play this game with little gaming experience. After testing our games numerous times in museums, informal science learning centers, and classrooms we have been able to track qualitatively which educational

  6. TimeMesh – A Serious Game for European Citizenship

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ricardo Baptista

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Serious games are games where the entertainment aspect is not the most relevant motivation or objective. TimeMesh is an online, multi-language, multiplayer, collaborative and social game platform for sharing and acquiring knowledge of the history of European regions. As such it is a serious game with educational characteristics. This article evaluates the use of TimeMesh with students of 13 and 14 years-old. It shows that this game is already a significant learning tool about European citizenship.

  7. Marketing analytics for Free-to-Play Games

    OpenAIRE

    Kuokka, Ari

    2013-01-01

    This thesis deals with free to play marketing analytics in the light of mobile iOS games. Other platforms will be also discussed as well as mobile marketing aspects such as user acquisition, big data and metrics. The case company is a Finnish game startup which is about to release their first game The Supernauts. The objective of this thesis was to research what kind of analytics and metrics are needed in the marketing of free-to-play games as well as to examine what are the best practices...

  8. Audio-based detection and evaluation of eating behavior using the smartwatch platform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalantarian, Haik; Sarrafzadeh, Majid

    2015-10-01

    In recent years, smartwatches have emerged as a viable platform for a variety of medical and health-related applications. In addition to the benefits of a stable hardware platform, these devices have a significant advantage over other wrist-worn devices, in that user acceptance of watches is higher than other custom hardware solutions. In this paper, we describe signal-processing techniques for identification of chews and swallows using a smartwatch device׳s built-in microphone. Moreover, we conduct a survey to evaluate the potential of the smartwatch as a platform for monitoring nutrition. The focus of this paper is to analyze the overall applicability of a smartwatch-based system for food-intake monitoring. Evaluation results confirm the efficacy of our technique; classification was performed between apple and potato chip bites, water swallows, talking, and ambient noise, with an F-measure of 94.5% based on 250 collected samples. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Video Game Rehabilitation of Velopharyngeal Dysfunction: A Case Series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cler, Gabriel J; Mittelman, Talia; Braden, Maia N; Woodnorth, Geralyn Harvey; Stepp, Cara E

    2017-06-22

    Video games provide a promising platform for rehabilitation of speech disorders. Although video games have been used to train speech perception in foreign language learners and have been proposed for aural rehabilitation, their use in speech therapy has been limited thus far. We present feasibility results from at-home use in a case series of children with velopharyngeal dysfunction (VPD) using an interactive video game that provided real-time biofeedback to facilitate appropriate nasalization. Five participants were recruited across a range of ages, VPD severities, and VPD etiologies. Participants completed multiple weeks of individual game play with a video game that provides feedback on nasalization measured via nasal accelerometry. Nasalization was assessed before and after training by using nasometry, aerodynamic measures, and expert perceptual judgments. Four participants used the game at home or school, with the remaining participant unwilling to have the nasal accelerometer secured to his nasal skin, perhaps due to his young age. The remaining participants showed a tendency toward decreased nasalization after training, particularly for the words explicitly trained in the video game. Results suggest that video game-based systems may provide a useful rehabilitation platform for providing real-time feedback of speech nasalization in VPD. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.5116828.

  10. A Study of the Correlation between Computer Games and Adolescent Behavioral Problems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shokouhi-Moqhaddam, Solmaz; Khezri-Moghadam, Noshiravan; Javanmard, Zeinab; Sarmadi-Ansar, Hassan; Aminaee, Mehran; Shokouhi-Moqhaddam, Majid; Zivari-Rahman, Mahmoud

    2013-01-01

    Today, due to developing communicative technologies, computer games and other audio-visual media as social phenomena, are very attractive and have a great effect on children and adolescents. The increasing popularity of these games among children and adolescents results in the public uncertainties about plausible harmful effects of these games. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between computer games and behavioral problems on male guidance school students. This was a descriptive-correlative study on 384 randomly chosen male guidance school students. They were asked to answer the researcher's questionnaire about computer games and Achenbach's Youth Self-Report (YSR). The Results of this study indicated that there was about 95% direct significant correlation between the amount of playing games among adolescents and anxiety/depression, withdrawn/depression, rule-breaking behaviors, aggression, and social problems. However, there was no statistically significant correlation between the amount of computer game usage and physical complaints, thinking problems, and attention problems. In addition, there was a significant correlation between the students' place of living and their parents' job, and using computer games. Computer games lead to anxiety, depression, withdrawal, rule-breaking behavior, aggression, and social problems in adolescents.

  11. A Study of the Correlation between Computer Games and Adolescent Behavioral Problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shokouhi-Moqhaddam, Solmaz; Khezri-Moghadam, Noshiravan; Javanmard, Zeinab; Sarmadi-Ansar, Hassan; Aminaee, Mehran; Shokouhi-Moqhaddam, Majid; Zivari-Rahman, Mahmoud

    2013-01-01

    Background Today, due to developing communicative technologies, computer games and other audio-visual media as social phenomena, are very attractive and have a great effect on children and adolescents. The increasing popularity of these games among children and adolescents results in the public uncertainties about plausible harmful effects of these games. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between computer games and behavioral problems on male guidance school students. Methods This was a descriptive-correlative study on 384 randomly chosen male guidance school students. They were asked to answer the researcher's questionnaire about computer games and Achenbach’s Youth Self-Report (YSR). Findings The Results of this study indicated that there was about 95% direct significant correlation between the amount of playing games among adolescents and anxiety/depression, withdrawn/depression, rule-breaking behaviors, aggression, and social problems. However, there was no statistically significant correlation between the amount of computer game usage and physical complaints, thinking problems, and attention problems. In addition, there was a significant correlation between the students’ place of living and their parents’ job, and using computer games. Conclusion Computer games lead to anxiety, depression, withdrawal, rule-breaking behavior, aggression, and social problems in adolescents. PMID:24494157

  12. Audio wiring guide how to wire the most popular audio and video connectors

    CERN Document Server

    Hechtman, John

    2012-01-01

    Whether you're a pro or an amateur, a musician or into multimedia, you can't afford to guess about audio wiring. The Audio Wiring Guide is a comprehensive, easy-to-use guide that explains exactly what you need to know. No matter the size of your wiring project or installation, this handy tool provides you with the essential information you need and the techniques to use it. Using The Audio Wiring Guide is like having an expert at your side. By following the clear, step-by-step directions, you can do professional-level work at a fraction of the cost.

  13. DEVELOPING VISUAL NOVEL GAME WITH SPEECH-RECOGNITION INTERACTIVITY TO ENHANCE STUDENTS’ MASTERY ON ENGLISH EXPRESSIONS

    OpenAIRE

    Elizabeth Anggraeni Amalo; Imam Dui Agusalim; Citra Devi Murdaningtyas

    2017-01-01

    The teaching of English-expressions has always been done through conversation samples in form of written texts, audio recordings, and videos. In the meantime, the development of computer-aided learning technology has made autonomous language learning possible. Game, as one of computer-aided learning technology products, can serve as a medium to provide educational contents like that of language teaching and learning. Visual Novel is considered as a conversational game that is suitable to be c...

  14. Design and Evaluation of a Pervasive Coaching and Gamification Platform for Young Diabetes Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klaassen, Randy; Bul, Kim C M; Op den Akker, Rieks; van der Burg, Gert Jan; Kato, Pamela M; Di Bitonto, Pierpaolo

    2018-01-30

    Self monitoring, personal goal-setting and coaching, education and social support are strategies to help patients with chronic conditions in their daily care. Various tools have been developed, e.g., mobile digital coaching systems connected with wearable sensors, serious games and patient web portals to personal health records, that aim to support patients with chronic conditions and their caregivers in realizing the ideal of self-management. We describe a platform that integrates these tools to support young patients in diabetes self-management through educational game playing, monitoring and motivational feedback. We describe the design of the platform referring to principles from healthcare, persuasive system design and serious game design. The virtual coach is a game guide that can also provide personalized feedback about the user's daily care related activities which have value for making progress in the game world. User evaluations with patients under pediatric supervision revealed that the use of mobile technology in combination with web-based elements is feasible but some assumptions made about how users would connect to the platform were not satisfied in reality, resulting in less than optimal user experiences. We discuss challenges with suggestions for further development of integrated pervasive coaching and gamification platforms in medical practice.

  15. Design and Evaluation of a Pervasive Coaching and Gamification Platform for Young Diabetes Patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Randy Klaassen

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Self monitoring, personal goal-setting and coaching, education and social support are strategies to help patients with chronic conditions in their daily care. Various tools have been developed, e.g., mobile digital coaching systems connected with wearable sensors, serious games and patient web portals to personal health records, that aim to support patients with chronic conditions and their caregivers in realizing the ideal of self-management. We describe a platform that integrates these tools to support young patients in diabetes self-management through educational game playing, monitoring and motivational feedback. We describe the design of the platform referring to principles from healthcare, persuasive system design and serious game design. The virtual coach is a game guide that can also provide personalized feedback about the user’s daily care related activities which have value for making progress in the game world. User evaluations with patients under pediatric supervision revealed that the use of mobile technology in combination with web-based elements is feasible but some assumptions made about how users would connect to the platform were not satisfied in reality, resulting in less than optimal user experiences. We discuss challenges with suggestions for further development of integrated pervasive coaching and gamification platforms in medical practice.

  16. A Three Pronged Approach for Improved Data Understanding: 3-D Visualization, Use of Gaming Techniques, and Intelligent Advisory Agents

    Science.gov (United States)

    2006-10-01

    Pronged Approach for Improved Data Understanding: 3-D Visualization, Use of Gaming Techniques, and Intelligent Advisory Agents. In Visualising Network...University at the start of each fall semester, when numerous new students arrive on campus and begin downloading extensive amounts of audio and...SIGGRAPH ’92 • C. Cruz-Neira, D.J. Sandin, T.A. DeFanti, R.V. Kenyon and J.C. Hart, "The CAVE: Audio Visual Experience Automatic Virtual Environment

  17. Strategy2D: Turn-based Strategy Video Game Engine for Mobile Devices

    OpenAIRE

    Calvo Villazón, Javier

    2014-01-01

    Multi-platform video game engine for the development of turn-based strategy games for mobile devices. Developed in C++ within the Cocos2d-x framework, It provides a scalable and configurable tool for the creation of this type of games.

  18. Using Music to Communicate Geoscience in Films, Videos and Interactive Games

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerlow, I.

    2017-12-01

    Music is a powerful storytelling device and an essential component in today's movies and interactive games. Communicating Earth science can be enhanced and focused with the proper use of a musical score, particularly in the context of documentary films, television programs, interactive games and museum installations. This presentation presents five simple professional techniques to integrate music, visuals and voice-over narration into a single cohesive story that is emotionally engaging. It also presents five practical tips to improve the success of a musical collaboration. The concepts in question are illustrated with practical audio and video examples from real science projects.

  19. Toward Game-Based Digital Mental Health Interventions: Player Habits and Preferences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandryk, Regan Lee; Birk, Max Valentin

    2017-04-20

    Designers of digital interventions for mental health often leverage interactions from games because the intrinsic motivation that results from game-based interventions may increase participation and translate into improved treatment efficacy. However, there are outstanding questions about the suitability (eg, are desktop or mobile interventions more appropriate?) and intervention potential (eg, do people with depression activate enough to play?) of games for mental health. In this paper, we aimed to describe the presently unknown relationship between gaming activity and indicators of well-being so that designers make informed choices when designing game-based interventions for mental health. We gathered validated scales of well-being (Beck's Depression Inventory [BDI-II], Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ-9], trait anxiety [TA], and basic psychological needs satisfaction [BPNS]), play importance (control over game behavior: control; gamer identity: identity), and play behavior (play frequency, platform preferences, and genre preferences) in a Web-based survey (N=491). The majority of our participants played games a few times a week (45.3%, 222/490) or daily (34.3%, 168/490). In terms of depression, play frequency was associated with PHQ-9 (P=.003); PHQ-9 scores were higher for those who played daily than for those who played a few times a week or less. Similarly, for BDI-II (P=.01), scores were higher for those who played daily than for those who played once a week or less. Genre preferences were not associated with PHQ-9 (P=.32) or BDI-II (P=.68); however, platform preference (ie, mobile, desktop, or console) was associated with PHQ-9 (P=.04); desktop-only players had higher PHQ-9 scores than those who used all platforms. Platform preference was not associated with BDI-II (P=.18). In terms of anxiety, TA was not associated with frequency (P=.23), platform preference (P=.07), or genre preference (P=.99). In terms of needs satisfaction, BPNS was not associated with

  20. Comparative evaluation of audio and audio - tactile methods to improve oral hygiene status of visually impaired school children

    OpenAIRE

    R Krishnakumar; Swarna Swathi Silla; Sugumaran K Durai; Mohan Govindarajan; Syed Shaheed Ahamed; Logeshwari Mathivanan

    2016-01-01

    Background: Visually impaired children are unable to maintain good oral hygiene, as their tactile abilities are often underdeveloped owing to their visual disturbances. Conventional brushing techniques are often poorly comprehended by these children and hence, it was decided to evaluate the effectiveness of audio and audio-tactile methods in improving the oral hygiene of these children. Objective: To evaluate and compare the effectiveness of audio and audio-tactile methods in improving oral h...

  1. Interactive game programming with Python (CodeSkulptor)

    OpenAIRE

    Ajayi, Richard Olugbenga

    2014-01-01

    Over the years, several types of gaming platforms have been created to encourage a more organised and friendly atmosphere for game lovers in various works of life, culture, and environment. This thesis focuses on the concept of interactive programming using Python. It encourages the use of Python to create simple interactive games applications based on basic human concept and ideas. CodeSkulptor is a browser-based IDE programming environment and uses the Python programming language. O...

  2. WLAN Technologies for Audio Delivery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicolas-Alexander Tatlas

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Audio delivery and reproduction for home or professional applications may greatly benefit from the adoption of digital wireless local area network (WLAN technologies. The most challenging aspect of such integration relates the synchronized and robust real-time streaming of multiple audio channels to multipoint receivers, for example, wireless active speakers. Here, it is shown that current WLAN solutions are susceptible to transmission errors. A detailed study of the IEEE802.11e protocol (currently under ratification is also presented and all relevant distortions are assessed via an analytical and experimental methodology. A novel synchronization scheme is also introduced, allowing optimized playback for multiple receivers. The perceptual audio performance is assessed for both stereo and 5-channel applications based on either PCM or compressed audio signals.

  3. Gamers as Designers: A Framework for Investigating Design in Gaming Affinity Spaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duncan, Sean C.

    2010-01-01

    This article addresses recent approaches to uncovering and theorizing the design activities that occur in online gaming affinity spaces. Examples are presented of productive d/Discourse present within online forums around three video game series, video games, or game platforms, and key design practices engaged upon by gamers in these spaces. It is…

  4. Learn 2D game development with C# for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Playstation mobile and more

    CERN Document Server

    Sung, Kelvin; Zhu, Rob; Pavleas, Jebediah

    2014-01-01

    Focuses on teaching key game programming principles and techniques rather than platform specifics, which makes it very appealing to hobbyists and game enthusiasts, and anyone who is thinking about a future career in game development. Uses the free, open source MonoGame framework to make it easy to target a wide range of platforms including Windows 8, Windows Phone, iOS, Android, MacOSX and Playstation Mobile. There are currently no books on the market covering this framework. By the end of the book, readers will have built a full working game and they'll have their own game library of build

  5. The problematic coexistence of "internet gaming disorder" and esports

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Rune Kristian Lundedal; Karhulahti, Veli-Matti

    2017-01-01

    Whether or not gaming causes addiction continues to be debated in the scholarly literature. The American Psychiatric Association has proposed "Internet gaming disorder," a non-substance addictive disorder, in order to encourage further research on the subject. We suggest that competitive gaming......, better known as esports, might provide a unique platform on which to discuss the validity of the proposed disorder....

  6. The problematic coexistence of "internet gaming disorder" and esports

    OpenAIRE

    Nielsen, Rune Kristian Lundedal; Karhulahti, Veli-Matti

    2017-01-01

    Whether or not gaming causes addiction continues to be debated in the scholarly literature. The American Psychiatric Association has proposed "Internet gaming disorder," a non-substance addictive disorder, in order to encourage further research on the subject. We suggest that competitive gaming, better known as esports, might provide a unique platform on which to discuss the validity of the proposed disorder.

  7. Audio Frequency Analysis in Mobile Phones

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aguilar, Horacio Munguía

    2016-01-01

    A new experiment using mobile phones is proposed in which its audio frequency response is analyzed using the audio port for inputting external signal and getting a measurable output. This experiment shows how the limited audio bandwidth used in mobile telephony is the main cause of the poor speech quality in this service. A brief discussion is…

  8. [Intermodal timing cues for audio-visual speech recognition].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hashimoto, Masahiro; Kumashiro, Masaharu

    2004-06-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the limitations of lip-reading advantages for Japanese young adults by desynchronizing visual and auditory information in speech. In the experiment, audio-visual speech stimuli were presented under the six test conditions: audio-alone, and audio-visually with either 0, 60, 120, 240 or 480 ms of audio delay. The stimuli were the video recordings of a face of a female Japanese speaking long and short Japanese sentences. The intelligibility of the audio-visual stimuli was measured as a function of audio delays in sixteen untrained young subjects. Speech intelligibility under the audio-delay condition of less than 120 ms was significantly better than that under the audio-alone condition. On the other hand, the delay of 120 ms corresponded to the mean mora duration measured for the audio stimuli. The results implied that audio delays of up to 120 ms would not disrupt lip-reading advantage, because visual and auditory information in speech seemed to be integrated on a syllabic time scale. Potential applications of this research include noisy workplace in which a worker must extract relevant speech from all the other competing noises.

  9. Presence and the utility of audio spatialization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bormann, Karsten

    2005-01-01

    The primary concern of this paper is whether the utility of audio spatialization, as opposed to the fidelity of audio spatialization, impacts presence. An experiment is reported that investigates the presence-performance relationship by decoupling spatial audio fidelity (realism) from task...... performance by varying the spatial fidelity of the audio independently of its relevance to performance on the search task that subjects were to perform. This was achieved by having conditions in which subjects searched for a music-playing radio (an active sound source) and having conditions in which...... supplied only nonattenuated audio was detrimental to performance. Even so, this group of subjects consistently had the largest increase in presence scores over the baseline experiment. Further, the Witmer and Singer (1998) presence questionnaire was more sensitive to whether the audio source was active...

  10. Modified BTC Algorithm for Audio Signal Coding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    TOMIC, S.

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes modification of a well-known image coding algorithm, named Block Truncation Coding (BTC and its application in audio signal coding. BTC algorithm was originally designed for black and white image coding. Since black and white images and audio signals have different statistical characteristics, the application of this image coding algorithm to audio signal presents a novelty and a challenge. Several implementation modifications are described in this paper, while the original idea of the algorithm is preserved. The main modifications are performed in the area of signal quantization, by designing more adequate quantizers for audio signal processing. The result is a novel audio coding algorithm, whose performance is presented and analyzed in this research. The performance analysis indicates that this novel algorithm can be successfully applied in audio signal coding.

  11. A game platform for treatment of amblyopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    To, Long; Thompson, Benjamin; Blum, Jeffrey R; Maehara, Goro; Hess, Robert F; Cooperstock, Jeremy R

    2011-06-01

    We have developed a prototype device for take-home use that can be used in the treatment of amblyopia. The therapeutic scenario we envision involves patients first visiting a clinic, where their vision parameters are assessed and suitable parameters are determined for therapy. Patients then proceed with the actual therapeutic treatment on their own, using our device, which consists of an Apple iPod Touch running a specially modified game application. Our rationale for choosing to develop the prototype around a game stems from multiple requirements that such an application satisfies. First, system operation must be sufficiently straightforward that ease-of-use is not an obstacle. Second, the application itself should be compelling and motivate use more so than a traditional therapeutic task if it is to be used regularly outside of the clinic. This is particularly relevant for children, as compliance is a major issue for current treatments of childhood amblyopia. However, despite the traditional opinion that treatment of amblyopia is only effective in children, our initial results add to the growing body of evidence that improvements in visual function can be achieved in adults with amblyopia.

  12. Robust audio-visual speech recognition under noisy audio-video conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewart, Darryl; Seymour, Rowan; Pass, Adrian; Ming, Ji

    2014-02-01

    This paper presents the maximum weighted stream posterior (MWSP) model as a robust and efficient stream integration method for audio-visual speech recognition in environments, where the audio or video streams may be subjected to unknown and time-varying corruption. A significant advantage of MWSP is that it does not require any specific measurements of the signal in either stream to calculate appropriate stream weights during recognition, and as such it is modality-independent. This also means that MWSP complements and can be used alongside many of the other approaches that have been proposed in the literature for this problem. For evaluation we used the large XM2VTS database for speaker-independent audio-visual speech recognition. The extensive tests include both clean and corrupted utterances with corruption added in either/both the video and audio streams using a variety of types (e.g., MPEG-4 video compression) and levels of noise. The experiments show that this approach gives excellent performance in comparison to another well-known dynamic stream weighting approach and also compared to any fixed-weighted integration approach in both clean conditions or when noise is added to either stream. Furthermore, our experiments show that the MWSP approach dynamically selects suitable integration weights on a frame-by-frame basis according to the level of noise in the streams and also according to the naturally fluctuating relative reliability of the modalities even in clean conditions. The MWSP approach is shown to maintain robust recognition performance in all tested conditions, while requiring no prior knowledge about the type or level of noise.

  13. Audio scene segmentation for video with generic content

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niu, Feng; Goela, Naveen; Divakaran, Ajay; Abdel-Mottaleb, Mohamed

    2008-01-01

    In this paper, we present a content-adaptive audio texture based method to segment video into audio scenes. The audio scene is modeled as a semantically consistent chunk of audio data. Our algorithm is based on "semantic audio texture analysis." At first, we train GMM models for basic audio classes such as speech, music, etc. Then we define the semantic audio texture based on those classes. We study and present two types of scene changes, those corresponding to an overall audio texture change and those corresponding to a special "transition marker" used by the content creator, such as a short stretch of music in a sitcom or silence in dramatic content. Unlike prior work using genre specific heuristics, such as some methods presented for detecting commercials, we adaptively find out if such special transition markers are being used and if so, which of the base classes are being used as markers without any prior knowledge about the content. Our experimental results show that our proposed audio scene segmentation works well across a wide variety of broadcast content genres.

  14. Video Game Rehabilitation of Velopharyngeal Dysfunction: A Case Series

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mittelman, Talia; Braden, Maia N.; Woodnorth, Geralyn Harvey; Stepp, Cara E.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose Video games provide a promising platform for rehabilitation of speech disorders. Although video games have been used to train speech perception in foreign language learners and have been proposed for aural rehabilitation, their use in speech therapy has been limited thus far. We present feasibility results from at-home use in a case series of children with velopharyngeal dysfunction (VPD) using an interactive video game that provided real-time biofeedback to facilitate appropriate nasalization. Method Five participants were recruited across a range of ages, VPD severities, and VPD etiologies. Participants completed multiple weeks of individual game play with a video game that provides feedback on nasalization measured via nasal accelerometry. Nasalization was assessed before and after training by using nasometry, aerodynamic measures, and expert perceptual judgments. Results Four participants used the game at home or school, with the remaining participant unwilling to have the nasal accelerometer secured to his nasal skin, perhaps due to his young age. The remaining participants showed a tendency toward decreased nasalization after training, particularly for the words explicitly trained in the video game. Conclusion Results suggest that video game–based systems may provide a useful rehabilitation platform for providing real-time feedback of speech nasalization in VPD. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.5116828 PMID:28655049

  15. POKEHEAD: An Open Source Interactive Headphone Based HCI Platform

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Højlund, Marie; Trento, Stefano; Goudarzi, Visda

    2012-01-01

    This paper introduces a novel interactive, human-computer interface and remote social communication system based on an augmented, hi-fidelity audio headphone platform. Specifically, this system- named Pokehead, currently utilizes the DUL embedded open-source accelerometer platform to gather 3-axis......, open source implementation. Our rapid prototype proved to be robust enough to work in performance for demonstration purposes and serves as a working proof of concept. In this paper we provide a technical description of our prototype, illustrate the context and motivation behind the project, and offer...

  16. Digital audio watermarking fundamentals, techniques and challenges

    CERN Document Server

    Xiang, Yong; Yan, Bin

    2017-01-01

    This book offers comprehensive coverage on the most important aspects of audio watermarking, from classic techniques to the latest advances, from commonly investigated topics to emerging research subdomains, and from the research and development achievements to date, to current limitations, challenges, and future directions. It also addresses key topics such as reversible audio watermarking, audio watermarking with encryption, and imperceptibility control methods. The book sets itself apart from the existing literature in three main ways. Firstly, it not only reviews classical categories of audio watermarking techniques, but also provides detailed descriptions, analysis and experimental results of the latest work in each category. Secondly, it highlights the emerging research topic of reversible audio watermarking, including recent research trends, unique features, and the potentials of this subdomain. Lastly, the joint consideration of audio watermarking and encryption is also reviewed. With the help of this...

  17. Design and Evaluation of a Pervasive Coaching and Gamification Platform for Young Diabetes Patients †

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klaassen, Randy; Bul, Kim C. M.; op den Akker, Rieks; van der Burg, Gert Jan; Di Bitonto, Pierpaolo

    2018-01-01

    Self monitoring, personal goal-setting and coaching, education and social support are strategies to help patients with chronic conditions in their daily care. Various tools have been developed, e.g., mobile digital coaching systems connected with wearable sensors, serious games and patient web portals to personal health records, that aim to support patients with chronic conditions and their caregivers in realizing the ideal of self-management. We describe a platform that integrates these tools to support young patients in diabetes self-management through educational game playing, monitoring and motivational feedback. We describe the design of the platform referring to principles from healthcare, persuasive system design and serious game design. The virtual coach is a game guide that can also provide personalized feedback about the user’s daily care related activities which have value for making progress in the game world. User evaluations with patients under pediatric supervision revealed that the use of mobile technology in combination with web-based elements is feasible but some assumptions made about how users would connect to the platform were not satisfied in reality, resulting in less than optimal user experiences. We discuss challenges with suggestions for further development of integrated pervasive coaching and gamification platforms in medical practice. PMID:29385750

  18. The Essential Guide to HTML5 Using Games to Learn HTML5 and JavaScript

    CERN Document Server

    Meyer, Jeanine

    2010-01-01

    HTML5 opens up a plethora of new avenues for application and game development on the web. Games can now be created and interacted with directly within HTML with no need for users to download extra plugins, or for developers to learn new languages. Important new features such as the Canvas tag enable drawing directly onto the web page, the Audio tag allows sounds to be triggered and played from within your HTML code, the web sockets API brings the facility for real-time communication, and the local storage API enables data such as high scores or game preferences to be kept on a user's computer

  19. Feasibility of using the Sony PlayStation 2 gaming platform for an individual poststroke: a case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flynn, Sheryl; Palma, Phyllis; Bender, Anneke

    2007-12-01

    Many Americans live with physical functional limitations stemming from stroke. These functional limitations can be reduced by task-specific training that is repetitive, motivating, and augmented with feedback. Virtual reality (VR) is reported to offer an engaging environment that is repetitive, safe, motivating, and gives task-specific feedback. The purpose of this case report was to explore the use of a low-cost VR device [Sony PlayStation 2 (PS2) EyeToy] for an individual in the chronic phase of stroke recovery. An individual two years poststroke with residual sensorimotor deficits completed 20 one-hour sessions using the PS2 EyeToy. The game's task requirements included target-based motion, dynamic balance, and motor planning. The feasibility of using the gaming platform was explored and a broad selection of outcomes was used to assess change in performance. Device use was feasible. Clinically relevant improvements were found on the Dynamic Gait Index and trends toward improvement on the Fugl-Meyer Assessment, Berg Balance Scale, UE Functional Index, Motor Activity Log, and Beck Depression Inventory. A low-cost VR system was easily used in the home. In the future it may be used to improve sensory/motor recovery following stroke as an adjunct to standard care physical therapy.

  20. Co-Evolution of Mobile Language Learning: Going Global with Games Consoles in Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hemmi, Akiko; Narumi-Munro, Fumiko; Alexander, Wilma; Parker, Helen; Yamauchi, Yoko

    2014-01-01

    Game consoles have been adopted as a learning platform in school education. However, there is a scarcity of studies examining the utility of games consoles with built-in WiFi as affordable learning platforms in universities. This paper contributes to knowledge about the capacity of the Nintendo DSi to create new learning spaces mediated and…

  1. Quality Evaluation of Mobile Game: Miftah Alfasaha

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ghada Alhuhud

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Due to evolution of digital games towards mobile platforms, a large exposure to mobile games is nowadays recorded. This is because of the availability of the cell phone with individuals anytime anywhere. Hence, a vital role of game quality assessment is raised. This is for the purpose of serving as a guide for developing healthy games. Accordingly, the mobile games would help in boosting the educational entertainment, healthy diets control, and behavioral sciences studies and research. This paper presents quality assurance and quality models for ISO based educational game. In this paper, an ISO quality model is presented and quality application behavioral impact measures are justified to evaluate the development quality of Miftah Alfasaha game. The quality model and proposed quality assessment plan are tested through a CodePro Analytix tool and six sigma evaluations.

  2. Web Audio/Video Streaming Tool

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guruvadoo, Eranna K.

    2003-01-01

    In order to promote NASA-wide educational outreach program to educate and inform the public of space exploration, NASA, at Kennedy Space Center, is seeking efficient ways to add more contents to the web by streaming audio/video files. This project proposes a high level overview of a framework for the creation, management, and scheduling of audio/video assets over the web. To support short-term goals, the prototype of a web-based tool is designed and demonstrated to automate the process of streaming audio/video files. The tool provides web-enabled users interfaces to manage video assets, create publishable schedules of video assets for streaming, and schedule the streaming events. These operations are performed on user-defined and system-derived metadata of audio/video assets stored in a relational database while the assets reside on separate repository. The prototype tool is designed using ColdFusion 5.0.

  3. Semantic Context Detection Using Audio Event Fusion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cheng Wen-Huang

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Semantic-level content analysis is a crucial issue in achieving efficient content retrieval and management. We propose a hierarchical approach that models audio events over a time series in order to accomplish semantic context detection. Two levels of modeling, audio event and semantic context modeling, are devised to bridge the gap between physical audio features and semantic concepts. In this work, hidden Markov models (HMMs are used to model four representative audio events, that is, gunshot, explosion, engine, and car braking, in action movies. At the semantic context level, generative (ergodic hidden Markov model and discriminative (support vector machine (SVM approaches are investigated to fuse the characteristics and correlations among audio events, which provide cues for detecting gunplay and car-chasing scenes. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approaches and provide a preliminary framework for information mining by using audio characteristics.

  4. Distortion Estimation in Compressed Music Using Only Audio Fingerprints

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Doets, P.J.O.; Lagendijk, R.L.

    2008-01-01

    An audio fingerprint is a compact yet very robust representation of the perceptually relevant parts of an audio signal. It can be used for content-based audio identification, even when the audio is severely distorted. Audio compression changes the fingerprint slightly. We show that these small

  5. Detecting double compression of audio signal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Rui; Shi, Yun Q.; Huang, Jiwu

    2010-01-01

    MP3 is the most popular audio format nowadays in our daily life, for example music downloaded from the Internet and file saved in the digital recorder are often in MP3 format. However, low bitrate MP3s are often transcoded to high bitrate since high bitrate ones are of high commercial value. Also audio recording in digital recorder can be doctored easily by pervasive audio editing software. This paper presents two methods for the detection of double MP3 compression. The methods are essential for finding out fake-quality MP3 and audio forensics. The proposed methods use support vector machine classifiers with feature vectors formed by the distributions of the first digits of the quantized MDCT (modified discrete cosine transform) coefficients. Extensive experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods. To the best of our knowledge, this piece of work is the first one to detect double compression of audio signal.

  6. Domesticating Digital Game-based Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helga Dís Sigurdardottir

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyses the use of digital game-based learning (DGBL in schools in Norway. It investigates the types of games used in Norwegian schools and how pupils experience that practice. Digital game-based learning is being widely employed throughout Norway as a result of the increased focus on digital skills in Norwegian education. This paper analyses that development by way of focus group interviews with a total of sixty-four pupils at four schools. Drawing upon domestication and actor-network theory, the paper provides a novel approach to the study of DGBL. The broad empirical investigation into DGBL practices furthermore provides a contribution to scholarly literature on the subject. A noteworthy finding of this study is the diversity of games employed in schools—around 30 different titles— indicating that the choice of games lies at the discretion of individual teachers. Findings from this research show that the domestication of digital game-based learning occurs through the construction of complex game-based learning assemblages. This includes the classroom and home as gaming sites, group work and individual assignments as practices, and PCs and iPads as platforms.

  7. Elicitation of attributes for the evaluation of audio-on audio-interference

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Francombe, Jon; Mason, R.; Dewhirst, M.

    2014-01-01

    procedure was used to reduce these phrases into a comprehensive set of attributes. Groups of experienced and inexperienced listeners determined nine and eight attributes, respectively. These attribute sets were combined by the listeners to produce a final set of 12 attributes: masking, calming, distraction......An experiment to determine the perceptual attributes of the experience of listening to a target audio program in the presence of an audio interferer was performed. The first stage was a free elicitation task in which a total of 572 phrases were produced. In the second stage, a consensus vocabulary...

  8. A Multimodal Robot Game for Seniors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Søren Tranberg; Krogsager, Anders; Fredslund, Jakob

    2017-01-01

    This paper describes the initial findings of a multimodal game which has been implemented on a humanoid robot platform and tested with seniors suffering from dementia. Physical and cognitive activities can improve the overall wellbeing of seniors, but it is often difficult to motivate seniors...... feedback and includes animated gestures and sounds. The game has been tested in a nursing home with four seniors suffering from moderate to severe dementia....

  9. Simulations, serious games and their applications

    CERN Document Server

    Goei, Sui

    2014-01-01

    This book presents the state of the art technology in Serious Games which is driven extensive by applications and research in simulation. The topics in this book include: (1) Fashion simulation; (2) Chinese calligraphy ink diffusion simulation; (3) Rehabilitation (4) Long vehicle turning simulation; (5) Marine traffic conflict control; (6) CNC simulation; (7) Special needs education. The book also addresses the fundamental issues in Simulation and Serious Games such as rapid collision detection, game engines or game development platforms. The target audience for this book includes scientists, engineers and practitioners involved in the field of Serious Games and Simulation. The major part of this book comprises of papers presented at the 2012 Asia-Europe Workshop on Serious Games and Simulation held in Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (May 9, 2012).  All the contributions have been peer reviewed and by scientific committee members with report about quality, content and originality.

  10. Recruitment Gaming: A New Tool at the Interface of Education and Employers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Porter, Gavin W.; Tanenbaum, Michael A.

    2015-01-01

    Recruitment gaming embodies an exciting new tool at the interface of the education and private sectors. Employers and recruitment platforms add new complications to the already problematic relationship between game designers and educators. To better understand the emerging recruitment aspects of gaming and identify areas for those in educational…

  11. Discoverability Problem of Free-to-Play Mobile Games

    OpenAIRE

    Koivisto, Maija

    2015-01-01

    Gaining visibility is crucial to a mobile game’s success. The competitive forces in mobile games market are strong, which pose challenges for game discovery. Low barriers to entry, minimal capital requirements and equal access to distribution platforms are some of the reasons the market is now flooded with staggering amounts of invisible, undifferentiated mobile games desperate for downloads. The thesis will give a holistic view of the current discovery landscape of free-to-play mobil...

  12. CERN automatic audio-conference service

    CERN Multimedia

    Sierra Moral, R

    2009-01-01

    Scientists from all over the world need to collaborate with CERN on a daily basis. They must be able to communicate effectively on their joint projects at any time; as a result telephone conferences have become indispensable and widely used. Managed by 6 operators, CERN already has more than 20000 hours and 5700 audio-conferences per year. However, the traditional telephone based audio-conference system needed to be modernized in three ways. Firstly, to provide the participants with more autonomy in the organization of their conferences; secondly, to eliminate the constraints of manual intervention by operators; and thirdly, to integrate the audio-conferences into a collaborative working framework. The large number, and hence cost, of the conferences prohibited externalization and so the CERN telecommunications team drew up a specification to implement a new system. It was decided to use a new commercial collaborative audio-conference solution based on the SIP protocol. The system was tested as the first Euro...

  13. CERN automatic audio-conference service

    CERN Document Server

    Sierra Moral, R

    2010-01-01

    Scientists from all over the world need to collaborate with CERN on a daily basis. They must be able to communicate effectively on their joint projects at any time; as a result telephone conferences have become indispensable and widely used. Managed by 6 operators, CERN already has more than 20000 hours and 5700 audio-conferences per year. However, the traditional telephone based audio-conference system needed to be modernized in three ways. Firstly, to provide the participants with more autonomy in the organization of their conferences; secondly, to eliminate the constraints of manual intervention by operators; and thirdly, to integrate the audio-conferences into a collaborative working framework. The large number, and hence cost, of the conferences prohibited externalization and so the CERN telecommunications team drew up a specification to implement a new system. It was decided to use a new commercial collaborative audio-conference solution based on the SIP protocol. The system was tested as the first Euro...

  14. Debugging of Class-D Audio Power Amplifiers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Crone, Lasse; Pedersen, Jeppe Arnsdorf; Mønster, Jakob Døllner

    2012-01-01

    Determining and optimizing the performance of a Class-D audio power amplier can be very dicult without knowledge of the use of audio performance measuring equipment and of how the various noise and distortion sources in uence the audio performance. This paper gives an introduction on how to measure...

  15. Creating e-learning games with Unity

    CERN Document Server

    Horachek, David

    2014-01-01

    Unity is a fully integrated development engine providing the required functionality to create games and interactive 3D content, while reducing the time, effort, and cost of developing the content. Nowadays, many people have started to use Unity in an eLearning setting as it allows them to create real-world scenarios, or models, for training purposes. With Unity, one can develop video games that are not only fun, but are also effective teaching and learning tools. When properly designed, an engaging game is an ideal platform for the presentation, testing, and application of learning objectives.

  16. Design of an audio advertisement dataset

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Yutao; Liu, Jihong; Zhang, Qi; Geng, Yuting

    2015-12-01

    Since more and more advertisements swarm into radios, it is necessary to establish an audio advertising dataset which could be used to analyze and classify the advertisement. A method of how to establish a complete audio advertising dataset is presented in this paper. The dataset is divided into four different kinds of advertisements. Each advertisement's sample is given in *.wav file format, and annotated with a txt file which contains its file name, sampling frequency, channel number, broadcasting time and its class. The classifying rationality of the advertisements in this dataset is proved by clustering the different advertisements based on Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The experimental results show that this audio advertisement dataset offers a reliable set of samples for correlative audio advertisement experimental studies.

  17. Making the Switch to Digital Audio

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shannon Gwin Mitchell

    2004-12-01

    Full Text Available In this article, the authors describe the process of converting from analog to digital audio data. They address the step-by-step decisions that they made in selecting hardware and software for recording and converting digital audio, issues of system integration, and cost considerations. The authors present a brief description of how digital audio is being used in their current research project and how it has enhanced the “quality” of their qualitative research.

  18. Towards Adaptive Virtual Camera Control In Computer Games

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Burelli, Paolo; Yannakakis, Georgios N.

    2011-01-01

    Automatic camera control aims to define a framework to control virtual camera movements in dynamic and unpredictable virtual environments while ensuring a set of desired visual properties. We inves- tigate the relationship between camera placement and playing behaviour in games and build a user...... model of the camera behaviour that can be used to control camera movements based on player preferences. For this purpose, we collect eye gaze, camera and game-play data from subjects playing a 3D platform game, we cluster gaze and camera information to identify camera behaviour profiles and we employ...... camera control in games is discussed....

  19. Motion Detection Implementation on a Game Using Raspberry Pi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gunawan Putra Gozali

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Along with the development of advanced gaming technology, we can play the game with so many tools or platforms such as console games, PC games, mobile games and handheld games. The disadvantage of those games is the difficulty to connect additional sensors to the PC computer. Large power requirements will also be a constraint. Besides, the size of the PC could be a weakness that makes it difficult to carry and play anytime. Raspberry is a small computer that can be added with motion detection sensors. By using the raspberry, the researchers managed to create a game "Crows Adventure" that uses motion detection sensor as the controller. Some of the sensors used in the game is UDS Sensor ( Ultrasonic Sensor disctance and touch sensors are applied to smarthphone to control the game. This allows the use of sensors in making more varied games by using raspberry devices.

  20. Efficient Audio Power Amplification - Challenges

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Michael Andreas E.

    2005-01-01

    For more than a decade efficient audio power amplification has evolved and today switch-mode audio power amplification in various forms are the state-of-the-art. The technical steps that lead to this evolution are described and in addition many of the challenges still to be faced and where...

  1. Adaptive Motion Gaming AI for Health Promotion

    OpenAIRE

    Paliyawan, Pujana; Kusano, Takahiro; Nakagawa, Yuto; Harada, Tomohiro; Thawonmas, Ruck

    2017-01-01

    This paper presents a design of a non-player character (AI) for promoting balancedness in use of body segments when engaging in full-body motion gaming. In our experiment, we settle a battle between the proposed AI and a player by using FightingICE, a fighting game platform for AI development. A middleware called UKI is used to allow the player to control the game by using body motion instead of the keyboard and mouse. During gameplay, the proposed AI analyze health states of the player; it d...

  2. Exploring a Narrative Game-based Learning Platform as a Vehicle for Inclusion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gjedde, Lisa

    2015-01-01

    for all types of learners irrespective of their capabilities or their challenges. Within the framework of a research project in Denmark, learning designs were developed that incorporated the entire curriculum for grade 9-10 in a narrative, game-based framework and based on this, design models were...... the opportunity to develop and experience new roles in the classroom that allowed for greater activity, joy of learning and learning experiences. This paper will report on aspects and implications of this type of narrarive game-based design for inclusion in the class-room. keywords: narrative learning, game...

  3. Consequence of audio visual collection in school libraries

    OpenAIRE

    Kuri, Ramesh

    2016-01-01

    The collection of Audio-Visual in library plays important role in teaching and learning. The importance of audio visual (AV) technology in education should not be underestimated. If audio-visual collection in library is carefully planned and designed, it can provide a rich learning environment. In this article, an author discussed the consequences of Audio-Visual collection in libraries especially for students of school library

  4. Teaching science through video games

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smaldone, Ronald A.; Thompson, Christina M.; Evans, Monica; Voit, Walter

    2017-02-01

    Imagine a class without lessons, tests and homework, but with missions, quests and teamwork. Video games offer an attractive educational platform because they are designed to be fun and engaging, as opposed to traditional approaches to teaching through lectures and assignments.

  5. New audio applications of beryllium metal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, M.

    1977-01-01

    The major applications of beryllium metal in the field of audio appliances are for the vibrating cones for the two types of speakers 'TWITTER' for high range sound and 'SQUAWKER' for mid range sound, and also for beryllium cantilever tube assembled in stereo cartridge. These new applications are based on the characteristic property of beryllium having high ratio of modulus of elasticity to specific gravity. The production of these audio parts is described, and the audio response is shown. (author)

  6. Vertical Relationships within Platform Marketplaces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mark J. Tremblay

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available In two-sided markets a platform allows consumers and sellers to interact by creating sub-markets within the platform marketplace. For example, Amazon has sub-markets for all of the different product categories available on its site, and smartphones have sub-markets for different types of applications (gaming apps, weather apps, map apps, ridesharing apps, etc.. The network benefits between consumers and sellers depend on the mode of competition within the sub-markets: more competition between sellers lowers product prices, increases the surplus consumers receive from a sub-market, and makes platform membership more desirable for consumers. However, more competition also lowers profits for a seller which makes platform membership less desirable for a seller and reduces seller entry and the number of sub-markets available on the platform marketplace. This dynamic between seller competition within a sub-market and agents’ network benefits leads to platform pricing strategies, participation decisions by consumers and sellers, and welfare results that depend on the mode of competition. Thus, the sub-market structure is important when investigating platform marketplaces.

  7. HTML5 games creating fun with HTML5, CSS3, and WebGL

    CERN Document Server

    Seidelin, Jacob

    2011-01-01

    Discover new opportunities for building 2D and 3D games with HTML5 The newest iteration of HTML, HTML5 can be used with JavaScript, CSS3, and WebGL to create beautiful, unique, engaging games that can be played on the web or mobile devices like the iPad or Android phones. Gone are the days where games were only possible with plugin technologies such as Flash and this cutting-edge book shows you how to utilize the latest open web technologies to create a game from scratch using Canvas, HTML5 Audio, WebGL, and WebSockets. You'll discover how to build a framework on which you will create your HTML5 game. Then each successive chapter covers a new aspect of the game, including user input, sound, multiplayer functionality, 2D and 3D graphics, and more. Aims directly at a new way to develop games for the web through the use of HTML5 Demonstrates how to make iOS and Android web apps Explains how to capture player input; create 3D graphics; and incorporate textures, lighting, and sound Guides you through the proce...

  8. Social gaming on the Spotify app platform

    OpenAIRE

    Jönsson, Martin

    2013-01-01

    Spotify wants to explore the possibilities of social gaming within their desktop client. Thanks to their Spotify Apps API it is possible to build applications that integrate with the Spotify library while using modern web technologies. This thesis work consists of exploring what is possible using the Spotify App API and the most modern web technologies available. The main theme and goal of the Spotify App is to engage users in a social context. Creating a quiz application, which users can pla...

  9. Experiments with Online Reinforcement Learning in Real-Time Strategy Games

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Toftgaard Andersen, Kresten; Zeng, Yifeng; Dahl Christensen, Dennis

    2009-01-01

    Real-time strategy (RTS) games provide a challenging platform to implement online reinforcement learning (RL) techniques in a real application. Computer, as one game player, monitors opponents' (human or other computers) strategies and then updates its own policy using RL methods. In this article......, we first examine the suitability of applying the online RL in various computer games. Reinforcement learning application depends on both RL complexity and the game features. We then propose a multi-layer framework for implementing online RL in an RTS game. The framework significantly reduces RL...... the effectiveness of our proposed framework and shed light on relevant issues in using online RL in RTS games....

  10. Tactile Radar: experimenting a computer game with visually disabled.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kastrup, Virgínia; Cassinelli, Alvaro; Quérette, Paulo; Bergstrom, Niklas; Sampaio, Eliana

    2017-09-18

    Visually disabled people increasingly use computers in everyday life, thanks to novel assistive technologies better tailored to their cognitive functioning. Like sighted people, many are interested in computer games - videogames and audio-games. Tactile-games are beginning to emerge. The Tactile Radar is a device through which a visually disabled person is able to detect distal obstacles. In this study, it is connected to a computer running a tactile-game. The game consists in finding and collecting randomly arranged coins in a virtual room. The study was conducted with nine congenital blind people including both sexes, aged 20-64 years old. Complementary methods of first and third person were used: the debriefing interview and the quasi-experimental design. The results indicate that the Tactile Radar is suitable for the creation of computer games specifically tailored for visually disabled people. Furthermore, the device seems capable of eliciting a powerful immersive experience. Methodologically speaking, this research contributes to the consolidation and development of first and third person complementary methods, particularly useful in disabled people research field, including the evaluation by users of the Tactile Radar effectiveness in a virtual reality context. Implications for rehabilitation Despite the growing interest in virtual games for visually disabled people, they still find barriers to access such games. Through the development of assistive technologies such as the Tactile Radar, applied in virtual games, we can create new opportunities for leisure, socialization and education for visually disabled people. The results of our study indicate that the Tactile Radar is adapted to the creation of video games for visually disabled people, providing a playful interaction with the players.

  11. Efficient audio power amplification - challenges

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Andersen, Michael A.E.

    2005-07-01

    For more than a decade efficient audio power amplification has evolved and today switch-mode audio power amplification in various forms are the state-of-the-art. The technical steps that lead to this evolution are described and in addition many of the challenges still to be faced and where extensive research and development are needed is covered. (au)

  12. Acoustic Heritage and Audio Creativity: the Creative Application of Sound in the Representation, Understanding and Experience of Past Environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Damian Murphy

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Acoustic Heritage is one aspect of archaeoacoustics, and refers more specifically to the quantifiable acoustic properties of buildings, sites and landscapes from our architectural and archaeological past, forming an important aspect of our intangible cultural heritage. Auralisation, the audio equivalent of 3D visualisation, enables these acoustic properties, captured via the process of measurement and survey, or computer-based modelling, to form the basis of an audio reconstruction and presentation of the studied space. This article examines the application of auralisation and audio creativity as a means to explore our acoustic heritage, thereby diversifying and enhancing the toolset available to the digital heritage or humanities researcher. The Open Acoustic Impulse Response (OpenAIR library is an online repository for acoustic impulse response and auralisation data, with a significant part having been gathered from a broad range of heritage sites. The methodology used to gather this acoustic data is discussed, together with the processes used in generating and calibrating a comparable computer model, and how the data generated might be analysed and presented. The creative use of this acoustic data is also considered, in the context of music production, mixed media artwork and audio for gaming. More relevant to digital heritage is how these data can be used to create new experiences of past environments, as information, interpretation, guide or artwork and ultimately help to articulate new research questions and explorations of our acoustic heritage.

  13. Detection Of Alterations In Audio Files Using Spectrograph Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anandha Krishnan G

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The corresponding study was carried out to detect changes in audio file using spectrograph. An audio file format is a file format for storing digital audio data on a computer system. A sound spectrograph is a laboratory instrument that displays a graphical representation of the strengths of the various component frequencies of a sound as time passes. The objectives of the study were to find the changes in spectrograph of audio after altering them to compare altering changes with spectrograph of original files and to check for similarity and difference in mp3 and wav. Five different alterations were carried out on each audio file to analyze the differences between the original and the altered file. For altering the audio file MP3 or WAV by cutcopy the file was opened in Audacity. A different audio was then pasted to the audio file. This new file was analyzed to view the differences. By adjusting the necessary parameters the noise was reduced. The differences between the new file and the original file were analyzed. By adjusting the parameters from the dialog box the necessary changes were made. The edited audio file was opened in the software named spek where after analyzing a graph is obtained of that particular file which is saved for further analysis. The original audio graph received was combined with the edited audio file graph to see the alterations.

  14. Towards a Low Cost Adaptation of Educational Games for People with Disabilities

    OpenAIRE

    Torrente, Javier; Del Blanco, Angel; Serrano-Laguna, Angel; Vallejo-Pinto, Jose Angel; Moreno-Ger, Pablo; Fernandez-Manjon, Baltasar

    2014-01-01

    In this paper we analyze how to increase the level of accessibility in videogames by adding support for it in game authoring software. This approach can reduce the effort required to make a game accessible for people with disabilities, resulting in significant savings. A case study is presented to support the approach based on the eAdventure educational game authoring platform, which allows semi-automatic adaptation of the games. The game, "My First Day At Work", was made accessible for stude...

  15. The Role of Auditory Features Within Slot-Themed Social Casino Games and Online Slot Machine Games.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bramley, Stephanie; Gainsbury, Sally M

    2015-12-01

    Over the last few years playing social casino games has become a popular entertainment activity. Social casino games are offered via social media platforms and mobile apps and resemble gambling activities. However, social casino games are not classified as gambling as they can be played for free, outcomes may not be determined by chance, and players receive no monetary payouts. Social casino games appear to be somewhat similar to online gambling activities in terms of their visual and auditory features, but to date little research has investigated the cross over between these games. This study examines the auditory features of slot-themed social casino games and online slot machine games using a case study design. An example of each game type was played on three separate occasions during which, the auditory features (i.e., music, speech, sound effects, and the absence of sound) within the games were logged. The online slot-themed game was played in demo mode. This is the first study to provide a qualitative account of the role of auditory features within a slot-themed social casino game and an online slot machine game. Our results found many similarities between how sound is utilised within the two games. Therefore the sounds within these games may serve functions including: setting the scene for gaming, creating an image, demarcating space, interacting with visual features, prompting players to act, communicating achievements to players, providing reinforcement, heightening player emotions and the gaming experience. As a result this may reduce the ability of players to make a clear distinction between these two activities, which may facilitate migration between games.

  16. Audio Recording of Children with Dyslalia

    OpenAIRE

    Stefan Gheorghe Pentiuc; Maria D. Schipor; Ovidiu A. Schipor

    2008-01-01

    In this paper we present our researches regarding automat parsing of audio recordings. These recordings are obtained from children with dyslalia and are necessary for an accurate identification of speech problems. We develop a software application that helps parsing audio, real time, recordings.

  17. Online-offline activities and game-playing behaviors of avatars in a massive multiplayer online role-playing game

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Zhi-Qiang; Zhou, Wei-Xing; Tan, Qun-Zhao

    2009-11-01

    Massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) are very popular in China, which provides a potential platform for scientific research. We study the online-offline activities of avatars in an MMORPG to understand their game-playing behavior. The statistical analysis unveils that the active avatars can be classified into three types. The avatars of the first type are owned by game cheaters who go online and offline in preset time intervals with the online duration distributions dominated by pulses. The second type of avatars is characterized by a Weibull distribution in the online durations, which is confirmed by statistical tests. The distributions of online durations of the remaining individual avatars differ from the above two types and cannot be described by a simple form. These findings have potential applications in the game industry.

  18. Predicting the Overall Spatial Quality of Automotive Audio Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koya, Daisuke

    The spatial quality of automotive audio systems is often compromised due to their unideal listening environments. Automotive audio systems need to be developed quickly due to industry demands. A suitable perceptual model could evaluate the spatial quality of automotive audio systems with similar reliability to formal listening tests but take less time. Such a model is developed in this research project by adapting an existing model of spatial quality for automotive audio use. The requirements for the adaptation were investigated in a literature review. A perceptual model called QESTRAL was reviewed, which predicts the overall spatial quality of domestic multichannel audio systems. It was determined that automotive audio systems are likely to be impaired in terms of the spatial attributes that were not considered in developing the QESTRAL model, but metrics are available that might predict these attributes. To establish whether the QESTRAL model in its current form can accurately predict the overall spatial quality of automotive audio systems, MUSHRA listening tests using headphone auralisation with head tracking were conducted to collect results to be compared against predictions by the model. Based on guideline criteria, the model in its current form could not accurately predict the overall spatial quality of automotive audio systems. To improve prediction performance, the QESTRAL model was recalibrated and modified using existing metrics of the model, those that were proposed from the literature review, and newly developed metrics. The most important metrics for predicting the overall spatial quality of automotive audio systems included those that were interaural cross-correlation (IACC) based, relate to localisation of the frontal audio scene, and account for the perceived scene width in front of the listener. Modifying the model for automotive audio systems did not invalidate its use for domestic audio systems. The resulting model predicts the overall spatial

  19. A Virtual Environment based Serious Game to Support Health Education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tiago Gomes

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available APEX was developed as a framework for ubiquitous computing (ubicomp prototyping through virtual environments. In this paper the framework is used as a platform for developing a serious game designed to instruct and to inform. The paper describes the Asthma game, a game aimed at raising awareness among children of asthma triggers in the home. It is designed to stimulate a healthier life-style for those with asthma and respiratory problems. The game was developed as the gamification of a checklist for the home environment of asthma patients.

  20. iOS Game Development using SpriteKit Framework with Swift Programming Language

    OpenAIRE

    Gurung, Lal

    2016-01-01

    iOS is a mobile operating system for Apple manufactured phones and tablets. Mobile Gaming Industries are growing very fast, and compatibility with iOS is becoming very popular among game developers. The aim of this Bachelor’s thesis was to find the best available game development tools for iOS platform. The 2D game named Lapland was developed using Apple’s own native framework, SpriteKit. The game was written with the SpriteKit programming language. The combination of SpriteKit and Swift...

  1. The effects of 5.1 sound presentations on the perception of stereoscopic imagery in video games

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cullen, Brian; Galperin, Daniel; Collins, Karen; Hogue, Andrew; Kapralos, Bill

    2013-03-01

    Stereoscopic 3D (S3D) content in games, film and other audio-visual media has been steadily increasing over the past number of years. However, there are still open, fundamental questions regarding its implementation, particularly as it relates to a multi-modal experience that involves sound and haptics. Research has shown that sound has considerable impact on our perception of 2D phenomena, but very little research has considered how sound may influence stereoscopic 3D. Here we present the results of an experiment that examined the effects of 5.1 surround sound (5.1) and stereo loudspeaker setups on depth perception in relation to S3D imagery within a video game environment. Our aim was to answer the question: "can 5.1 surround sound enhance the participant's perception of depth in the stereoscopic field when compared to traditional stereo sound presentations?" In addition, our study examined how the presence or absence of Doppler frequency shift and frequency fall-off audio effects can also influence depth judgment under these conditions. Results suggest that 5.1 surround sound presentations enhance the apparent depth of stereoscopic imagery when compared to stereo presentations. Results also suggest that the addition of audio effects such as Doppler shift and frequency fall-off filters can influence the apparent depth of S3D objects.

  2. Real-Time Transmission and Storage of Video, Audio, and Health Data in Emergency and Home Care Situations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Riccardo Stagnaro

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available The increase in the availability of bandwidth for wireless links, network integration, and the computational power on fixed and mobile platforms at affordable costs allows nowadays for the handling of audio and video data, their quality making them suitable for medical application. These information streams can support both continuous monitoring and emergency situations. According to this scenario, the authors have developed and implemented the mobile communication system which is described in this paper. The system is based on ITU-T H.323 multimedia terminal recommendation, suitable for real-time data/video/audio and telemedical applications. The audio and video codecs, respectively, H.264 and G723.1, were implemented and optimized in order to obtain high performance on the system target processors. Offline media streaming storage and retrieval functionalities were supported by integrating a relational database in the hospital central system. The system is based on low-cost consumer technologies such as general packet radio service (GPRS and wireless local area network (WLAN or WiFi for lowband data/video transmission. Implementation and testing were carried out for medical emergency and telemedicine application. In this paper, the emergency case study is described.

  3. Fusion for Audio-Visual Laughter Detection

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Reuderink, B.

    2007-01-01

    Laughter is a highly variable signal, and can express a spectrum of emotions. This makes the automatic detection of laughter a challenging but interesting task. We perform automatic laughter detection using audio-visual data from the AMI Meeting Corpus. Audio-visual laughter detection is performed

  4. AudioPairBank: Towards A Large-Scale Tag-Pair-Based Audio Content Analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Sager, Sebastian; Elizalde, Benjamin; Borth, Damian; Schulze, Christian; Raj, Bhiksha; Lane, Ian

    2016-01-01

    Recently, sound recognition has been used to identify sounds, such as car and river. However, sounds have nuances that may be better described by adjective-noun pairs such as slow car, and verb-noun pairs such as flying insects, which are under explored. Therefore, in this work we investigate the relation between audio content and both adjective-noun pairs and verb-noun pairs. Due to the lack of datasets with these kinds of annotations, we collected and processed the AudioPairBank corpus cons...

  5. Tourism research and audio methods

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Martin Trandberg

    2016-01-01

    Audio methods enriches sensuous tourism ethnographies. • The note suggests five research avenues for future auditory scholarship. • Sensuous tourism research has neglected the role of sounds in embodied tourism experiences.......• Audio methods enriches sensuous tourism ethnographies. • The note suggests five research avenues for future auditory scholarship. • Sensuous tourism research has neglected the role of sounds in embodied tourism experiences....

  6. Newnes audio and Hi-Fi engineer's pocket book

    CERN Document Server

    Capel, Vivian

    2013-01-01

    Newnes Audio and Hi-Fi Engineer's Pocket Book, Second Edition provides concise discussion of several audio topics. The book is comprised of 10 chapters that cover different audio equipment. The coverage of the text includes microphones, gramophones, compact discs, and tape recorders. The book also covers high-quality radio, amplifiers, and loudspeakers. The book then reviews the concepts of sound and acoustics, and presents some facts and formulas relevant to audio. The text will be useful to sound engineers and other professionals whose work involves sound systems.

  7. AN IMPLEMENTATION OF PACMAN GAME USING ROBOTS

    OpenAIRE

    Madhav. Rao

    2011-01-01

    As the field of robotics are advancing, robotics education needs to consider technological advances and societal level of interest. Realizing computer games in robotic platforms is one such technological advance for educating students in robotics science. Realizing computer games in robotics environment is still a challenge due to high investment factor in developing robot models. However the effort can lead to the enhanced interest in robotics education and further involvement in science and...

  8. DAFX Digital Audio Effects

    CERN Document Server

    2011-01-01

    The rapid development in various fields of Digital Audio Effects, or DAFX, has led to new algorithms and this second edition of the popular book, DAFX: Digital Audio Effects has been updated throughout to reflect progress in the field. It maintains a unique approach to DAFX with a lecture-style introduction into the basics of effect processing. Each effect description begins with the presentation of the physical and acoustical phenomena, an explanation of the signal processing techniques to achieve the effect, followed by a discussion of musical applications and the control of effect parameter

  9. MetaBlast! Virtual Cell: A Pedagogical Convergence between Game Design and Science Education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anson Call

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available Virtual Cell is a game design solution to a specific scientific and educational problem; expressly, how to make advanced, university level plant biology instruction on molecular and anatomical levels an exciting, efficient learning experience. The advanced technologies of 3D modeling and animation, computer programming and game design are united and tempered with strong, scientific guidance for accuracy and art direction for a powerful visual and audio simulation. The additional strength of intense gaming as a powerful tool aiding memory, logic and problem solving has recently become well recognized. Virtual Cell will provide a unique gaming experience, while transparently teaching scientifically accurate facts and concepts about, in this case, a soybean plant's inner workings and dependant mechanisms on multiple scales and levels of complexity. Virtual Cell (from now on referred to as VC in the future may prove to be a reference for other scientific/education endeavors as scientists battle for a more prominent mind share among average citizens. This paper will discuss the difficulties of developing VC, its structure, intended game and educational goals along with additional benefits to both the sciences and gaming industry.

  10. AUTOMATIC SEGMENTATION OF BROADCAST AUDIO SIGNALS USING AUTO ASSOCIATIVE NEURAL NETWORKS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Dhanalakshmi

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we describe automatic segmentation methods for audio broadcast data. Today, digital audio applications are part of our everyday lives. Since there are more and more digital audio databases in place these days, the importance of effective management for audio databases have become prominent. Broadcast audio data is recorded from the Television which comprises of various categories of audio signals. Efficient algorithms for segmenting the audio broadcast data into predefined categories are proposed. Audio features namely Linear prediction coefficients (LPC, Linear prediction cepstral coefficients, and Mel frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC are extracted to characterize the audio data. Auto Associative Neural Networks are used to segment the audio data into predefined categories using the extracted features. Experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithms can produce satisfactory results.

  11. Digital Gaming and Pediatric Obesity: At the Intersection of Science and Social Policy

    OpenAIRE

    Staiano, Amanda E.; Calvert, Sandra L.

    2012-01-01

    Children and adolescents in developed countries are heavily immersed in digital media, creating an inexpensive, far-reaching marketing opportunity for the food industry and the gaming industry. However, exposure to nonnutritious food and beverage advertisements combined with the use of stationary media create a conflict between entertainment and public health. Using the popular digital gaming platforms advergames (online games that market branded products) and exergames (video games that invo...

  12. 47 CFR 10.520 - Common audio attention signal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Common audio attention signal. 10.520 Section... Equipment Requirements § 10.520 Common audio attention signal. A Participating CMS Provider and equipment manufacturers may only market devices for public use under part 10 that include an audio attention signal that...

  13. Audio Recording of Children with Dyslalia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefan Gheorghe Pentiuc

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we present our researches regarding automat parsing of audio recordings. These recordings are obtained from children with dyslalia and are necessary for an accurate identification of speech problems. We develop a software application that helps parsing audio, real time, recordings.

  14. Audio Journal in an ELT Context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Neşe Aysin Siyli

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available It is widely acknowledged that one of the most serious problems students of English as a foreign language face is their deprivation of practicing the language outside the classroom. Generally, the classroom is the sole environment where they can practice English, which by its nature does not provide rich setting to help students develop their competence by putting the language into practice. Motivated by this need, this descriptive study investigated the impact of audio dialog journals on students’ speaking skills. It also aimed to gain insights into students’ and teacher’s opinions on keeping audio dialog journals outside the class. The data of the study developed from student and teacher audio dialog journals, student written feedbacks, interviews held with the students, and teacher observations. The descriptive analysis of the data revealed that audio dialog journals served a number of functions ranging from cognitive to linguistic, from pedagogical to psychological, and social. The findings and pedagogical implications of the study are discussed in detail.

  15. Virtual Microphones for Multichannel Audio Resynthesis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Athanasios Mouchtaris

    2003-09-01

    Full Text Available Multichannel audio offers significant advantages for music reproduction, including the ability to provide better localization and envelopment, as well as reduced imaging distortion. On the other hand, multichannel audio is a demanding media type in terms of transmission requirements. Often, bandwidth limitations prohibit transmission of multiple audio channels. In such cases, an alternative is to transmit only one or two reference channels and recreate the rest of the channels at the receiving end. Here, we propose a system capable of synthesizing the required signals from a smaller set of signals recorded in a particular venue. These synthesized “virtual” microphone signals can be used to produce multichannel recordings that accurately capture the acoustics of that venue. Applications of the proposed system include transmission of multichannel audio over the current Internet infrastructure and, as an extension of the methods proposed here, remastering existing monophonic and stereophonic recordings for multichannel rendering.

  16. Music Genre Classification Using MIDI and Audio Features

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cataltepe, Zehra; Yaslan, Yusuf; Sonmez, Abdullah

    2007-12-01

    We report our findings on using MIDI files and audio features from MIDI, separately and combined together, for MIDI music genre classification. We use McKay and Fujinaga's 3-root and 9-leaf genre data set. In order to compute distances between MIDI pieces, we use normalized compression distance (NCD). NCD uses the compressed length of a string as an approximation to its Kolmogorov complexity and has previously been used for music genre and composer clustering. We convert the MIDI pieces to audio and then use the audio features to train different classifiers. MIDI and audio from MIDI classifiers alone achieve much smaller accuracies than those reported by McKay and Fujinaga who used not NCD but a number of domain-based MIDI features for their classification. Combining MIDI and audio from MIDI classifiers improves accuracy and gets closer to, but still worse, accuracies than McKay and Fujinaga's. The best root genre accuracies achieved using MIDI, audio, and combination of them are 0.75, 0.86, and 0.93, respectively, compared to 0.98 of McKay and Fujinaga. Successful classifier combination requires diversity of the base classifiers. We achieve diversity through using certain number of seconds of the MIDI file, different sample rates and sizes for the audio file, and different classification algorithms.

  17. Realtime Audio with Garbage Collection

    OpenAIRE

    Matheussen, Kjetil Svalastog

    2010-01-01

    Two non-moving concurrent garbage collectors tailored for realtime audio processing are described. Both collectors work on copies of the heap to avoid cache misses and audio-disruptive synchronizations. Both collectors are targeted at multiprocessor personal computers. The first garbage collector works in uncooperative environments, and can replace Hans Boehm's conservative garbage collector for C and C++. The collector does not access the virtual memory system. Neither doe...

  18. Audio-Visual Classification of Sports Types

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gade, Rikke; Abou-Zleikha, Mohamed; Christensen, Mads Græsbøll

    2015-01-01

    In this work we propose a method for classification of sports types from combined audio and visual features ex- tracted from thermal video. From audio Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC) are extracted, and PCA are applied to reduce the feature space to 10 dimensions. From the visual modali...

  19. Emotion recognition in robots in a social game for autistic children

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Barakova, E.I.; Sturm, J.; Bekker, M.M.

    2008-01-01

    This paper provides a framcwork for a social game thar has as a goal improvillg the social interaction skilIs through associative play. It describes the design of the game: platform and an ongoing study on the perception of emotional expressioll from morion cues for communication alld social

  20. Unraveling "Braid": Puzzle Games and Storytelling in the Imperative Mood

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnott, Luke

    2012-01-01

    "Unraveling Braid" analyzes how unconventional, non-linear narrative fiction can help explain the ways in which video games signify. Specifically, this essay looks at the links between the semiotic features of Jonathan Blow's 2008 puzzle-platform video game Braid and similar elements in Georges Perec's 1978 novel "Life A User's Manual," as well as…

  1. Architecture for high performance stereoscopic game rendering on Android

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flack, Julien; Sanderson, Hugh; Shetty, Sampath

    2014-03-01

    Stereoscopic gaming is a popular source of content for consumer 3D display systems. There has been a significant shift in the gaming industry towards casual games for mobile devices running on the Android™ Operating System and driven by ARM™ and other low power processors. Such systems are now being integrated directly into the next generation of 3D TVs potentially removing the requirement for an external games console. Although native stereo support has been integrated into some high profile titles on established platforms like Windows PC and PS3 there is a lack of GPU independent 3D support for the emerging Android platform. We describe a framework for enabling stereoscopic 3D gaming on Android for applications on mobile devices, set top boxes and TVs. A core component of the architecture is a 3D game driver, which is integrated into the Android OpenGL™ ES graphics stack to convert existing 2D graphics applications into stereoscopic 3D in real-time. The architecture includes a method of analyzing 2D games and using rule based Artificial Intelligence (AI) to position separate objects in 3D space. We describe an innovative stereo 3D rendering technique to separate the views in the depth domain and render directly into the display buffer. The advantages of the stereo renderer are demonstrated by characterizing the performance in comparison to more traditional render techniques, including depth based image rendering, both in terms of frame rates and impact on battery consumption.

  2. CERN automatic audio-conference service

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sierra Moral, Rodrigo

    2010-01-01

    Scientists from all over the world need to collaborate with CERN on a daily basis. They must be able to communicate effectively on their joint projects at any time; as a result telephone conferences have become indispensable and widely used. Managed by 6 operators, CERN already has more than 20000 hours and 5700 audio-conferences per year. However, the traditional telephone based audio-conference system needed to be modernized in three ways. Firstly, to provide the participants with more autonomy in the organization of their conferences; secondly, to eliminate the constraints of manual intervention by operators; and thirdly, to integrate the audio-conferences into a collaborative working framework. The large number, and hence cost, of the conferences prohibited externalization and so the CERN telecommunications team drew up a specification to implement a new system. It was decided to use a new commercial collaborative audio-conference solution based on the SIP protocol. The system was tested as the first European pilot and several improvements (such as billing, security, redundancy...) were implemented based on CERN's recommendations. The new automatic conference system has been operational since the second half of 2006. It is very popular for the users and has doubled the number of conferences in the past two years.

  3. CERN automatic audio-conference service

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sierra Moral, Rodrigo, E-mail: Rodrigo.Sierra@cern.c [CERN, IT Department 1211 Geneva-23 (Switzerland)

    2010-04-01

    Scientists from all over the world need to collaborate with CERN on a daily basis. They must be able to communicate effectively on their joint projects at any time; as a result telephone conferences have become indispensable and widely used. Managed by 6 operators, CERN already has more than 20000 hours and 5700 audio-conferences per year. However, the traditional telephone based audio-conference system needed to be modernized in three ways. Firstly, to provide the participants with more autonomy in the organization of their conferences; secondly, to eliminate the constraints of manual intervention by operators; and thirdly, to integrate the audio-conferences into a collaborative working framework. The large number, and hence cost, of the conferences prohibited externalization and so the CERN telecommunications team drew up a specification to implement a new system. It was decided to use a new commercial collaborative audio-conference solution based on the SIP protocol. The system was tested as the first European pilot and several improvements (such as billing, security, redundancy...) were implemented based on CERN's recommendations. The new automatic conference system has been operational since the second half of 2006. It is very popular for the users and has doubled the number of conferences in the past two years.

  4. CERN automatic audio-conference service

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sierra Moral, Rodrigo

    2010-04-01

    Scientists from all over the world need to collaborate with CERN on a daily basis. They must be able to communicate effectively on their joint projects at any time; as a result telephone conferences have become indispensable and widely used. Managed by 6 operators, CERN already has more than 20000 hours and 5700 audio-conferences per year. However, the traditional telephone based audio-conference system needed to be modernized in three ways. Firstly, to provide the participants with more autonomy in the organization of their conferences; secondly, to eliminate the constraints of manual intervention by operators; and thirdly, to integrate the audio-conferences into a collaborative working framework. The large number, and hence cost, of the conferences prohibited externalization and so the CERN telecommunications team drew up a specification to implement a new system. It was decided to use a new commercial collaborative audio-conference solution based on the SIP protocol. The system was tested as the first European pilot and several improvements (such as billing, security, redundancy...) were implemented based on CERN's recommendations. The new automatic conference system has been operational since the second half of 2006. It is very popular for the users and has doubled the number of conferences in the past two years.

  5. Learning Management Platform for CyberCIEGE

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-01

    CLE is a platform that allows academic and research collaboration and it is built on open pedagogy and open standard [16]. In those situations...C. Irvine, “Active learning with the CyberCIEGE video game,” in Proceedings of the 4th Conference on Cyber Security Experimentation and Test, 2011

  6. Near-field Localization of Audio

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Jesper Rindom; Christensen, Mads Græsbøll

    2014-01-01

    Localization of audio sources using microphone arrays has been an important research problem for more than two decades. Many traditional methods for solving the problem are based on a two-stage procedure: first, information about the audio source, such as time differences-of-arrival (TDOAs......) and gain ratios-of-arrival (GROAs) between microphones is estimated, and, second, this knowledge is used to localize the audio source. These methods often have a low computational complexity, but this comes at the cost of a limited estimation accuracy. Therefore, we propose a new localization approach......, where the desired signal is modeled using TDOAs and GROAs, which are determined by the source location. This facilitates the derivation of one-stage, maximum likelihood methods under a white Gaussian noise assumption that is applicable in both near- and far-field scenarios. Simulations show...

  7. Games and gamification: an alternative for distance education models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eliane Schlemmer

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This article presents research about how the games and gamification can contribute to the creation of new drawings in distance education. The goal was to understand the contribution of games and gamification, thought from "Games for Change" movement in view of Hybrids, Multimodal and Pervasive Coexistence Spaces configuration for learning, an approach between initial training and basic education. The research is exploratory and qualitative, inspired by the cartographic method of intervention research. It uses participant observation, the logbook and text records, audio, photo and digital video. The data are interpreted from the theoretical framework. In conclusion, the results show that the games and gamification enabled the development of teaching and learning situations that are configured as Hybrid, Multimodal and Pervasive Coexistence Space, a process of co-creation, from the critical reading of the everyday basic education, which sought to identify problems and how games and gamification could contribute to changes in the school. There was a greater engagement of the subjects of learning and reframing of lived experience in the initial training for primary education, from the critical reading of the school routine. The discussion arises about the need for reconfiguration of the teaching and curriculum practices, and how to organize them in time and space, starting from everyday problems, enabling the construction of learning pathways to contribute to an emancipatory education and citizen.

  8. Musical Audio Synthesis Using Autoencoding Neural Nets

    OpenAIRE

    Sarroff, Andy; Casey, Michael A.

    2014-01-01

    With an optimal network topology and tuning of hyperpa-\\ud rameters, artificial neural networks (ANNs) may be trained\\ud to learn a mapping from low level audio features to one\\ud or more higher-level representations. Such artificial neu-\\ud ral networks are commonly used in classification and re-\\ud gression settings to perform arbitrary tasks. In this work\\ud we suggest repurposing autoencoding neural networks as\\ud musical audio synthesizers. We offer an interactive musi-\\ud cal audio synt...

  9. Spatial audio reproduction with primary ambient extraction

    CERN Document Server

    He, JianJun

    2017-01-01

    This book first introduces the background of spatial audio reproduction, with different types of audio content and for different types of playback systems. A literature study on the classical and emerging Primary Ambient Extraction (PAE) techniques is presented. The emerging techniques aim to improve the extraction performance and also enhance the robustness of PAE approaches in dealing with more complex signals encountered in practice. The in-depth theoretical study helps readers to understand the rationales behind these approaches. Extensive objective and subjective experiments validate the feasibility of applying PAE in spatial audio reproduction systems. These experimental results, together with some representative audio examples and MATLAB codes of the key algorithms, illustrate clearly the differences among various approaches and also help readers gain insights on selecting different approaches for different applications.

  10. Quantum computer games: Schrödinger cat and hounds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gordon, Michal; Gordon, Goren

    2012-05-01

    The quantum computer game 'Schrödinger cat and hounds' is the quantum extension of the well-known classical game fox and hounds. Its main objective is to teach the unique concepts of quantum mechanics in a fun way. 'Schrödinger cat and hounds' demonstrates the effects of superposition, destructive and constructive interference, measurements and entanglement. More advanced concepts, like particle-wave duality and decoherence, can also be taught using the game as a model. The game that has an optimal solution in the classical version, can have many different solutions and a new balance of powers in the quantum world. Game-aided lectures were given to high-school students which showed that it is a valid and entertaining teaching platform.

  11. Player experience and technical performance prospects for distributed 3D gaming in private and public settings

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jurgelionis, A.; Nap, H.H.; Gajadhar, B.J.; Bellotti, F.; Wang, A.I.; Berta, R.

    2011-01-01

    Distributed gaming enables access to interactive media from devices based on different platforms. It facilitates users to enjoy video games in various environments without the need for using a single device or operating system. Understanding the potential and limitations of such gaming-on-demand

  12. Web Services for the Management of Persistent Online Game Factions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Deliege, Francois; Zimanyi, Esteban

    2006-01-01

    complicated to manage it becomes. The goal of this work is to create an infrastructure to allow faction management tools to automatically update their data with the information maintained on the game server. The web services technology is chosen for the various advantages it offers. While this technology...... is already widely accepted in the business world, its use in a game context is totally new. It seems that web services have gained their place in the game world and will continue to be developed. Hopefully, this experiment will convince other game designers to adapt their platforms in a similar manner....

  13. Music Genre Classification Using MIDI and Audio Features

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdullah Sonmez

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available We report our findings on using MIDI files and audio features from MIDI, separately and combined together, for MIDI music genre classification. We use McKay and Fujinaga's 3-root and 9-leaf genre data set. In order to compute distances between MIDI pieces, we use normalized compression distance (NCD. NCD uses the compressed length of a string as an approximation to its Kolmogorov complexity and has previously been used for music genre and composer clustering. We convert the MIDI pieces to audio and then use the audio features to train different classifiers. MIDI and audio from MIDI classifiers alone achieve much smaller accuracies than those reported by McKay and Fujinaga who used not NCD but a number of domain-based MIDI features for their classification. Combining MIDI and audio from MIDI classifiers improves accuracy and gets closer to, but still worse, accuracies than McKay and Fujinaga's. The best root genre accuracies achieved using MIDI, audio, and combination of them are 0.75, 0.86, and 0.93, respectively, compared to 0.98 of McKay and Fujinaga. Successful classifier combination requires diversity of the base classifiers. We achieve diversity through using certain number of seconds of the MIDI file, different sample rates and sizes for the audio file, and different classification algorithms.

  14. An evaluation of mental health stigma perpetuated by horror video gaming.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dickens, E. G.

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Video games often feature mental patients in their storylines. This review is intended to test the hypothesis that these depictions potentially contribute to stigma surrounding mental health communities, and may negatively reflect on those with mental health difficulties. The criteria for evaluating the chosen games were created by combining elements from four separate academic papers. The games were analyzed via screenshots from online videos detailing a playthrough of chosen games, and text from the games themselves. The research within this paper suggests stigma can exist outside of conventional media platforms and highlights the availability of stigma-related horror video games inside the gaming market. This study also emphasizes how the depictions of those with mental health difficulties inside of video games have the capacity to harm mental health communities.

  15. Current-Driven Switch-Mode Audio Power Amplifiers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Knott, Arnold; Buhl, Niels Christian; Andersen, Michael A. E.

    2012-01-01

    The conversion of electrical energy into sound waves by electromechanical transducers is proportional to the current through the coil of the transducer. However virtually all audio power amplifiers provide a controlled voltage through the interface to the transducer. This paper is presenting...... a switch-mode audio power amplifier not only providing controlled current but also being supplied by current. This results in an output filter size reduction by a factor of 6. The implemented prototype shows decent audio performance with THD + N below 0.1 %....

  16. Game Design Jomblo Keren As a Startup Marketing Product

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Celvin Laviano

    2018-01-01

    ability to be able to take advantage of opportunities with the best. Bill Gates once quoted a word from Don Corleone that we must keep our friend close but our enemies even closer. Because of these competitors we will see various types of opportunities and opportunities that exist. The creation of "Jomblo Keren" game design will look at different types of aspects that can be used to get the right predictions to make the games acceptable by the market. These aspects include themes, games platform, visuals, gameplay, and stories.

  17. D.R.O.P. The Durable Reconnaissance and Observation Platform

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKenzie, Clifford; Parness, Aaron

    2012-01-01

    The Durable Reconnaissance and Observation Platform (DROP) is a prototype robotic platform with the ability to climb concrete surfaces up to 85deg at a rate of 25cm/s, make rapid horizontal to vertical transitions, carry an audio/visual reconnaissance payload, and survive impacts from 3 meters. DROP is manufactured using a combination of selective laser sintering (SLS) and shape deposition manufacturing (SDM) techniques. The platform uses a two-wheel, two-motor design that delivers high mobility with low complexity. DROP extends microspine climbing technology from linear to rotary applications, providing improved transition ability, increased speeds, and simpler body mechanics while maintaining microspines ability to opportunistically grip rough surfaces. Various aspects of prototype design and performance are discussed, including the climbing mechanism, body design, and impact survival.

  18. Research Game: an innovative educational tool for teachers and students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Franca Sangiorgio

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available This contribution describes ‘Research Game’, a game produced in a Lifelong Learning Programme-Comenius Project (The European Scientific Research Game which aims at motivating secondary school students through the experience of the excitement of scientific research. The project proposes practical and didactic works which combine theoretical activities with ICT in order to introduce students to the scientific research. Students collaborated internationally across Europe, to build hypotheses, carry out research, test the validity of their hypothesis and finalize a theory based on their findings. On the project platform (www.researchgame.eu/platform teachers and students registered, created a team, interacted on a forum space, played and learned science in a new innovative way. Here, the students shared their research findings with other groups of all Europe; finally competed online playing a serious game and showing to be able to apply the scientific method.

  19. Correlation Between Arthroscopy Simulator and Video Game Performance: A Cross-Sectional Study of 30 Volunteers Comparing 2- and 3-Dimensional Video Games.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jentzsch, Thorsten; Rahm, Stefan; Seifert, Burkhardt; Farei-Campagna, Jan; Werner, Clément M L; Bouaicha, Samy

    2016-07-01

    To investigate the association between arthroscopy simulator performance and video game skills. This study compared the performances of 30 volunteers without experience performing arthroscopies in 3 different tasks of a validated virtual reality knee arthroscopy simulator with the video game experience using a questionnaire and actual performances in 5 different 2- and 3-dimensional (D) video games of varying genres on 2 different platforms. Positive correlations between knee arthroscopy simulator and video game performances (ρ = 0.63, P video game skills, they show a correlation with 2-D tile-matching puzzle games only for easier tasks with a rather limited focus, and highly correlate with 3-D sports and first-person shooter video games. These findings show that experienced and good 3-D gamers are better arthroscopists than nonexperienced and poor 3-D gamers. Level II, observational cross-sectional study. Copyright © 2016 Arthroscopy Association of North America. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. High-Order Sparse Linear Predictors for Audio Processing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Giacobello, Daniele; van Waterschoot, Toon; Christensen, Mads Græsbøll

    2010-01-01

    Linear prediction has generally failed to make a breakthrough in audio processing, as it has done in speech processing. This is mostly due to its poor modeling performance, since an audio signal is usually an ensemble of different sources. Nevertheless, linear prediction comes with a whole set...... of interesting features that make the idea of using it in audio processing not far fetched, e.g., the strong ability of modeling the spectral peaks that play a dominant role in perception. In this paper, we provide some preliminary conjectures and experiments on the use of high-order sparse linear predictors...... in audio processing. These predictors, successfully implemented in modeling the short-term and long-term redundancies present in speech signals, will be used to model tonal audio signals, both monophonic and polyphonic. We will show how the sparse predictors are able to model efficiently the different...

  1. Audio Mining with emphasis on Music Genre Classification

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Meng, Anders

    2004-01-01

    Audio is an important part of our daily life, basically it increases our impression of the world around us whether this is communication, music, danger detection etc. Currently the field of Audio Mining, which here includes areas of music genre, music recognition / retrieval, playlist generation...... the world the problem of detecting environments from the input audio is researched as to increase the life quality of hearing-impaired. Basically there is a lot of work within the field of audio mining. The presentation will mainly focus on music genre classification where we have a fixed amount of genres...... to choose from. Basically every audio mining system is more or less consisting of the same stages as for the music genre setting. My research so far has mainly focussed on finding relevant features for music genre classification living at different timescales using early and late information fusion. It has...

  2. Subjective and Objective Assessment of Perceived Audio Quality of Current Digital Audio Broadcasting Systems and Web-Casting Applications

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pocta, P.; Beerends, J.G.

    2015-01-01

    This paper investigates the impact of different audio codecs typically deployed in current digital audio broadcasting (DAB) systems and web-casting applications, which represent a main source of quality impairment in these systems and applications, on the quality perceived by the end user. Both

  3. Augmenting Environmental Interaction in Audio Feedback Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seunghun Kim

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Audio feedback is defined as a positive feedback of acoustic signals where an audio input and output form a loop, and may be utilized artistically. This article presents new context-based controls over audio feedback, leading to the generation of desired sonic behaviors by enriching the influence of existing acoustic information such as room response and ambient noise. This ecological approach to audio feedback emphasizes mutual sonic interaction between signal processing and the acoustic environment. Mappings from analyses of the received signal to signal-processing parameters are designed to emphasize this specificity as an aesthetic goal. Our feedback system presents four types of mappings: approximate analyses of room reverberation to tempo-scale characteristics, ambient noise to amplitude and two different approximations of resonances to timbre. These mappings are validated computationally and evaluated experimentally in different acoustic conditions.

  4. Investigating the impact of audio instruction and audio-visual biofeedback for lung cancer radiation therapy

    Science.gov (United States)

    George, Rohini

    Lung cancer accounts for 13% of all cancers in the Unites States and is the leading cause of deaths among both men and women. The five-year survival for lung cancer patients is approximately 15%.(ACS facts & figures) Respiratory motion decreases accuracy of thoracic radiotherapy during imaging and delivery. To account for respiration, generally margins are added during radiation treatment planning, which may cause a substantial dose delivery to normal tissues and increase the normal tissue toxicity. To alleviate the above-mentioned effects of respiratory motion, several motion management techniques are available which can reduce the doses to normal tissues, thereby reducing treatment toxicity and allowing dose escalation to the tumor. This may increase the survival probability of patients who have lung cancer and are receiving radiation therapy. However the accuracy of these motion management techniques are inhibited by respiration irregularity. The rationale of this thesis was to study the improvement in regularity of respiratory motion by breathing coaching for lung cancer patients using audio instructions and audio-visual biofeedback. A total of 331 patient respiratory motion traces, each four minutes in length, were collected from 24 lung cancer patients enrolled in an IRB-approved breathing-training protocol. It was determined that audio-visual biofeedback significantly improved the regularity of respiratory motion compared to free breathing and audio instruction, thus improving the accuracy of respiratory gated radiotherapy. It was also observed that duty cycles below 30% showed insignificant reduction in residual motion while above 50% there was a sharp increase in residual motion. The reproducibility of exhale based gating was higher than that of inhale base gating. Modeling the respiratory cycles it was found that cosine and cosine 4 models had the best correlation with individual respiratory cycles. The overall respiratory motion probability distribution

  5. Mentoring and Argumentation in a Game-Infused Science Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gould, Deena L.; Parekh, Priyanka

    2018-04-01

    Engaging in argumentation from evidence is challenging for most middle school students. We report the design of a media-based mentoring system to support middle school students in engaging in argumentation in the context of a game-infused science curriculum. Our design emphasizes learners apprenticing with college student mentors around the socio-scientific inquiry of a designed video game. We report the results of a mixed-methods study examining the use of this media-based mentoring system with students ages 11 through 14. We observed that the discourse of groups of students that engaged with the game-infused science curriculum while interacting with college student mentors via a social media platform demonstrated statistically significant higher ratings of cognitive, epistemic, and social aspects of argumentation than groups of students that engaged with the social media platform and game-infused science curriculum without mentors. We further explored the differences between the Discourses of the mentored and non-mentored groups. This analysis showed that students in the mentored groups were invited, guided, and socialized into roles of greater agency than students in the non-mentored groups. This increased agency might explain why mentored groups demonstrated higher levels of scientific argumentation than non-mentored groups. Based on our analyses, we argue that media-based mentoring may be designed around a video game to support middle school students in engaging in argumentation from evidence.

  6. Fusion of audio and visual cues for laughter detection

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Petridis, Stavros; Pantic, Maja

    Past research on automatic laughter detection has focused mainly on audio-based detection. Here we present an audio- visual approach to distinguishing laughter from speech and we show that integrating the information from audio and video channels leads to improved performance over single-modal

  7. Digital Augmented Reality Audio Headset

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jussi Rämö

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Augmented reality audio (ARA combines virtual sound sources with the real sonic environment of the user. An ARA system can be realized with a headset containing binaural microphones. Ideally, the ARA headset should be acoustically transparent, that is, it should not cause audible modification to the surrounding sound. A practical implementation of an ARA mixer requires a low-latency headphone reproduction system with additional equalization to compensate for the attenuation and the modified ear canal resonances caused by the headphones. This paper proposes digital IIR filters to realize the required equalization and evaluates a real-time prototype ARA system. Measurements show that the throughput latency of the digital prototype ARA system can be less than 1.4 ms, which is sufficiently small in practice. When the direct and processed sounds are combined in the ear, a comb filtering effect is brought about and appears as notches in the frequency response. The comb filter effect in speech and music signals was studied in a listening test and it was found to be inaudible when the attenuation is 20 dB. Insert ARA headphones have a sufficient attenuation at frequencies above about 1 kHz. The proposed digital ARA system enables several immersive audio applications, such as a virtual audio tourist guide and audio teleconferencing.

  8. Perceptual Audio Hashing Functions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emin Anarım

    2005-07-01

    Full Text Available Perceptual hash functions provide a tool for fast and reliable identification of content. We present new audio hash functions based on summarization of the time-frequency spectral characteristics of an audio document. The proposed hash functions are based on the periodicity series of the fundamental frequency and on singular-value description of the cepstral frequencies. They are found, on one hand, to perform very satisfactorily in identification and verification tests, and on the other hand, to be very resilient to a large variety of attacks. Moreover, we address the issue of security of hashes and propose a keying technique, and thereby a key-dependent hash function.

  9. Horatio Audio-Describes Shakespeare's "Hamlet": Blind and Low-Vision Theatre-Goers Evaluate an Unconventional Audio Description Strategy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Udo, J. P.; Acevedo, B.; Fels, D. I.

    2010-01-01

    Audio description (AD) has been introduced as one solution for providing people who are blind or have low vision with access to live theatre, film and television content. However, there is little research to inform the process, user preferences and presentation style. We present a study of a single live audio-described performance of Hart House…

  10. Audio localization for mobile robots

    OpenAIRE

    de Guillebon, Thibaut; Grau Saldes, Antoni; Bolea Monte, Yolanda

    2009-01-01

    The department of the University for which I worked is developing a project based on the interaction with robots in the environment. My work was to define an audio system for the robot. This audio system that I have to realize consists on a mobile head which is able to follow the sound in its environment. This subject was treated as a research problem, with the liberty to find and develop different solutions and make them evolve in the chosen way.

  11. SEEK!: creating and crowdfunding a game-based open educational resource to improve information literacy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew Walsh

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Crowdfunding was used for the development and production of an information literacy game, SEEK!, in 2012. The game aims to build skills around creating a search strategy and is deliberately generic and adaptable. This article outlines the reasons for using such a game for the teaching of information skills, the process of gaining funding via the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo and some future developments that build on the initial game creation and use.

  12. 'Blue Whale Challenge': A Game or Crime?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukhra, Richa; Baryah, Neha; Krishan, Kewal; Kanchan, Tanuj

    2017-11-11

    A bewildering range of games are emerging every other day with newer elements of fun and entertainment to woo youngsters. Games are meant to reduce stress and enhance the cognitive development of children as well as adults. Teenagers are always curious to indulge in newer games; and e-gaming is one such platform providing an easy access and quicker means of entertainment. The particular game challenge which has taken the world by storm is the dangerous "Blue Whale Challenge" often involving vulnerable teenagers. The Blue Whale Challenge is neither an application nor internet based game but the users get a link through social media chat groups to enter this "deadly" challenge game. This probably is the only game where the participant has to end his/her life to complete the game. The innocent teenagers are being targeted based on their depressed psychology and are coercively isolated from their social milieux on the pretext of keeping the challenges confidential. To add to the woes, no option is offered to quit the challenge even if the contender is unable to complete the challenge. Blue Whale Challenge in its sheer form could be seen as an illegal, unethical and inhumane endeavor in our present society. The present communication discusses the severe effects of the game on teenagers, the ethical concerns involved and the preventive measures necessary to curb it.

  13. Challenges of Health Games in the Social Network Environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paredes, Hugo; Pinho, Anabela; Zagalo, Nelson

    2012-04-01

    Virtual communities and their benefits have been widely exploited to support patients, caregivers, families, and healthcare providers. The complexity of the social organization evolved the concept of virtual community to social networks, exploring the establishment of ties and relations between people. These technological platforms provide a way to keep up with one's connections network, through a set of communication and interaction tools. Games, as social interactive technologies, have great potential, ensuring a supportive community and thereby reducing social isolation. Serious social health games bring forward several research challenges. This article examines the potential benefits of the triad "health-serious games-social networks" and discusses some research challenges and opportunities of the liaison of serious health games and social networks.

  14. Instant HTMl5 2D platformer

    CERN Document Server

    Temple, Aidan

    2013-01-01

    Filled with practical, step-by-step instructions and clear explanations for the most important and useful tasks. The step-by-step approach taken by this book will show you how to develop a 2D HTML5 platformer-based game that you will be able to publish to multiple devices.This book is great for anyone who has an interest in HTML5 games development, and who already has a basic to intermediate grasp on both the HTML markup and JavaScript programming languages. Therefore, due to this requirement, the book will not discuss the inner workings of either of these languages but will instead attempt to

  15. EVALUASI KEPUASAN PENGGUNA TERHADAP APLIKASI AUDIO BOOKS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raditya Maulana Anuraga

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Listeno is the first application audio books in Indonesia so that the users can get the book in audio form like listen to music, Listeno have problems in a feature request Listeno offline mode that have not been released, a security problem mp3 files that must be considered, and the target Listeno not yet reached 100,000 active users. This research has the objective to evaluate user satisfaction to Audio Books with research method approach, Nielsen. The analysis in this study using Importance Performance Analysis (IPA is combined with the index of User Satisfaction (IKP based on the indicators used are: Benefit (Usefulness, Utility (Utility, Usability (Usability, easy to understand (Learnability, Efficient (efficiency , Easy to remember (Memorability, Error (Error, and satisfaction (satisfaction. The results showed Applications User Satisfaction Audio books are quite satisfied with the results of the calculation IKP 69.58%..

  16. Introducing Game Development into the University Curriculum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Peer*

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Integrating computer games development into computer science curriculum is gaining acceptance. However, the question is how this should be done. In our course on computer game development we present all necessary steps that a game project has to address, from design to publication and marketing, from the theoretical to the practical point of view. The goal is that each student makes a casual game for Apple iOS platform and possibly publishes it. The games are built on our xni framework for iOS, which is a subset of Microsoft’s xna. We take an iterative incremental approach to teaching game development, where we discuss a number of selected topics from various categories, such as gameplay design, graphics and artificial intelligence, each week. Thereafter the students receive mandatory and non-mandatory assignments that force them to add functionality to their game and, thus, steadily progress towards their goal. At the end of the course more than 20 % of all projects were ready for the Apple App Store, which, together with student pools saying that the course was one of the best executed courses they attended, confirms the viability of the suggested scheme.

  17. A Survey of Educational Games as Interaction Design Tools for Affective Learning: Thematic Analysis Taxonomy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yusoff, Zarwina; Kamsin, Amirrudin; Shamshirband, Shahaboddin; Chronopoulos, Anthony T.

    2018-01-01

    A Computer game is the new platform in generating learning experiences for educational purposes. There are many educational games that have been used as an interaction design tool in a learning environment to enhance students learning outcomes. However, research also claims that playing video games can have a negative impact on student behavior,…

  18. Mobile Game Development for Multiple Devices in Education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Baltasar Fernández-Manjón

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Mobile learning and educational gaming are two trends that are rapidly having an increasing impact in Technology-Enhanced Learning. However, both approaches present significant technological challenges. Mobile technologies are very diverse and the market pressure pushes the continuous development of new technologies and features. On the other hand, game-based learning needs to deal with enormous development costs and the problem of allowing instructors and experts to actively participate in the game development process. Moreover, there are numerous situations where bringing both approaches together could be very useful, but this combination magnifies the technological barriers previously described. In this work we present , an authoring environment for educational adventure games that supports the production of both desktop and mobile games. This framework provides a graphical environment that allows instructors to create their own educational games with a low cost. Then, the games can be exported to multiple formats, including support for diverse types of mobile platforms. This is achieved through a modular semi-automated exportation process, which is based on mobile device profiles.

  19. Musical examination to bridge audio data and sheet music

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Xunyu; Cross, Timothy J.; Xiao, Liangliang; Hei, Xiali

    2015-03-01

    The digitalization of audio is commonly implemented for the purpose of convenient storage and transmission of music and songs in today's digital age. Analyzing digital audio for an insightful look at a specific musical characteristic, however, can be quite challenging for various types of applications. Many existing musical analysis techniques can examine a particular piece of audio data. For example, the frequency of digital sound can be easily read and identified at a specific section in an audio file. Based on this information, we could determine the musical note being played at that instant, but what if you want to see a list of all the notes played in a song? While most existing methods help to provide information about a single piece of the audio data at a time, few of them can analyze the available audio file on a larger scale. The research conducted in this work considers how to further utilize the examination of audio data by storing more information from the original audio file. In practice, we develop a novel musical analysis system Musicians Aid to process musical representation and examination of audio data. Musicians Aid solves the previous problem by storing and analyzing the audio information as it reads it rather than tossing it aside. The system can provide professional musicians with an insightful look at the music they created and advance their understanding of their work. Amateur musicians could also benefit from using it solely for the purpose of obtaining feedback about a song they were attempting to play. By comparing our system's interpretation of traditional sheet music with their own playing, a musician could ensure what they played was correct. More specifically, the system could show them exactly where they went wrong and how to adjust their mistakes. In addition, the application could be extended over the Internet to allow users to play music with one another and then review the audio data they produced. This would be particularly

  20. Removable Watermarking Sebagai Pengendalian Terhadap Cyber Crime Pada Audio Digital

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reyhani Lian Putri

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Perkembangan teknologi informasi yang pesat menuntut penggunanya untuk lebih berhati-hati seiring semakin meningkatnya cyber crime.Banyak pihak telah mengembangkan berbagai teknik perlindungan data digital, salah satunya adalah watermarking. Teknologi watermarking berfungsi untuk memberikan identitas, melindungi, atau menandai data digital, baik audio, citra, ataupun video, yang mereka miliki. Akan tetapi, teknik tersebut masih dapat diretas oleh oknum-oknum yang tidak bertanggung jawab.Pada penelitian ini, proses watermarking diterapkan pada audio digital dengan menyisipkan watermark yang terdengar jelas oleh indera pendengaran manusia (perceptible pada audio host.Hal ini bertujuan agar data audio dapat terlindungi dan apabila ada pihak lain yang ingin mendapatkan data audio tersebut harus memiliki “kunci” untuk menghilangkan watermark. Proses removable watermarking ini dilakukan pada data watermark yang sudah diketahui metode penyisipannya, agar watermark dapat dihilangkan sehingga kualitas audio menjadi lebih baik. Dengan menggunakan metode ini diperoleh kinerja audio watermarking pada nilai distorsi tertinggi dengan rata-rata nilai SNR sebesar7,834 dB dan rata-rata nilai ODG sebesar -3,77.Kualitas audio meningkat setelah watermark dihilangkan, di mana rata-rata SNR menjadi sebesar 24,986 dB dan rata-rata ODG menjadi sebesar -1,064 serta nilai MOS sebesar 4,40.

  1. A listening test system for automotive audio

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Flemming; Geoff, Martin; Minnaar, Pauli

    2005-01-01

    This paper describes a system for simulating automotive audio through headphones for the purposes of conducting listening experiments in the laboratory. The system is based on binaural technology and consists of a component for reproducing the sound of the audio system itself and a component...

  2. Voice activity detection using audio-visual information

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petsatodis, Theodore; Pnevmatikakis, Aristodemos; Boukis, Christos

    2009-01-01

    An audio-visual voice activity detector that uses sensors positioned distantly from the speaker is presented. Its constituting unimodal detectors are based on the modeling of the temporal variation of audio and visual features using Hidden Markov Models; their outcomes are fused using a post...

  3. Audio-Visual Speech Recognition Using MPEG-4 Compliant Visual Features

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Petar S. Aleksic

    2002-11-01

    Full Text Available We describe an audio-visual automatic continuous speech recognition system, which significantly improves speech recognition performance over a wide range of acoustic noise levels, as well as under clean audio conditions. The system utilizes facial animation parameters (FAPs supported by the MPEG-4 standard for the visual representation of speech. We also describe a robust and automatic algorithm we have developed to extract FAPs from visual data, which does not require hand labeling or extensive training procedures. The principal component analysis (PCA was performed on the FAPs in order to decrease the dimensionality of the visual feature vectors, and the derived projection weights were used as visual features in the audio-visual automatic speech recognition (ASR experiments. Both single-stream and multistream hidden Markov models (HMMs were used to model the ASR system, integrate audio and visual information, and perform a relatively large vocabulary (approximately 1000 words speech recognition experiments. The experiments performed use clean audio data and audio data corrupted by stationary white Gaussian noise at various SNRs. The proposed system reduces the word error rate (WER by 20% to 23% relatively to audio-only speech recognition WERs, at various SNRs (0–30 dB with additive white Gaussian noise, and by 19% relatively to audio-only speech recognition WER under clean audio conditions.

  4. Impact of video games on plasticity of the hippocampus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    West, G L; Konishi, K; Diarra, M; Benady-Chorney, J; Drisdelle, B L; Dahmani, L; Sodums, D J; Lepore, F; Jolicoeur, P; Bohbot, V D

    2017-08-08

    The hippocampus is critical to healthy cognition, yet results in the current study show that action video game players have reduced grey matter within the hippocampus. A subsequent randomised longitudinal training experiment demonstrated that first-person shooting games reduce grey matter within the hippocampus in participants using non-spatial memory strategies. Conversely, participants who use hippocampus-dependent spatial strategies showed increased grey matter in the hippocampus after training. A control group that trained on 3D-platform games displayed growth in either the hippocampus or the functionally connected entorhinal cortex. A third study replicated the effect of action video game training on grey matter in the hippocampus. These results show that video games can be beneficial or detrimental to the hippocampal system depending on the navigation strategy that a person employs and the genre of the game.Molecular Psychiatry advance online publication, 8 August 2017; doi:10.1038/mp.2017.155.

  5. Parametric Packet-Layer Model for Evaluation Audio Quality in Multimedia Streaming Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Egi, Noritsugu; Hayashi, Takanori; Takahashi, Akira

    We propose a parametric packet-layer model for monitoring audio quality in multimedia streaming services such as Internet protocol television (IPTV). This model estimates audio quality of experience (QoE) on the basis of quality degradation due to coding and packet loss of an audio sequence. The input parameters of this model are audio bit rate, sampling rate, frame length, packet-loss frequency, and average burst length. Audio bit rate, packet-loss frequency, and average burst length are calculated from header information in received IP packets. For sampling rate, frame length, and audio codec type, the values or the names used in monitored services are input into this model directly. We performed a subjective listening test to examine the relationships between these input parameters and perceived audio quality. The codec used in this test was the Advanced Audio Codec-Low Complexity (AAC-LC), which is one of the international standards for audio coding. On the basis of the test results, we developed an audio quality evaluation model. The verification results indicate that audio quality estimated by the proposed model has a high correlation with perceived audio quality.

  6. Audio power amplifier design handbook

    CERN Document Server

    Self, Douglas

    2013-01-01

    This book is essential for audio power amplifier designers and engineers for one simple reason...it enables you as a professional to develop reliable, high-performance circuits. The Author Douglas Self covers the major issues of distortion and linearity, power supplies, overload, DC-protection and reactive loading. He also tackles unusual forms of compensation and distortion produced by capacitors and fuses. This completely updated fifth edition includes four NEW chapters including one on The XD Principle, invented by the author, and used by Cambridge Audio. Cro

  7. Audio stream classification for multimedia database search

    Science.gov (United States)

    Artese, M.; Bianco, S.; Gagliardi, I.; Gasparini, F.

    2013-03-01

    Search and retrieval of huge archives of Multimedia data is a challenging task. A classification step is often used to reduce the number of entries on which to perform the subsequent search. In particular, when new entries of the database are continuously added, a fast classification based on simple threshold evaluation is desirable. In this work we present a CART-based (Classification And Regression Tree [1]) classification framework for audio streams belonging to multimedia databases. The database considered is the Archive of Ethnography and Social History (AESS) [2], which is mainly composed of popular songs and other audio records describing the popular traditions handed down generation by generation, such as traditional fairs, and customs. The peculiarities of this database are that it is continuously updated; the audio recordings are acquired in unconstrained environment; and for the non-expert human user is difficult to create the ground truth labels. In our experiments, half of all the available audio files have been randomly extracted and used as training set. The remaining ones have been used as test set. The classifier has been trained to distinguish among three different classes: speech, music, and song. All the audio files in the dataset have been previously manually labeled into the three classes above defined by domain experts.

  8. Promoting Sex Education Among Teenagers Through an Interactive Game: Reasons for Success and Implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chu, Samuel Kai Wah; Kwan, Alvin C M; Reynolds, Rebecca; Mellecker, Robin R; Tam, Frankie; Lee, Grace; Hong, Athena; Leung, Ching Yin

    2015-06-01

    A game application, "Making Smart Choices", was developed to fill the gap of limited easy-to-access resources available on sex education in Hong Kong and to disseminate correct knowledge and positive attitudes toward sex to teenagers using popular platforms such as tablets, Facebook, and the Web. Three versions of the game (iPAD, Facebook, and Web-based) were developed using HTML5. A theoretical framework that involved game-based learning and participatory design approach was used to design, develop, modify, and optimize the game for use with secondary school students (n=1176) 12-16 years of age. Pre- and post-test scores of students' safer sex knowledge were compared to test the effectiveness of the game. Students' survey and interviews were analyzed to assess participant feelings and attitudes toward the game. The Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test indicated that students' sex knowledge (n=788) improved with a medium effect size (0.477) after playing the game. Increases in positive attitudes toward sex and relationship and in awareness of making smart sexual choices were reported from student surveys and interviews. Students described the game as "interesting," "interactive," "informative," and "real-to-life." We advocate that the participatory design approach, which supports collaborative efforts of different stakeholders, is an effective framework for developing game-based learning tools for sex education. Our work provides preliminary findings that suggest game-based learning, preferably delivered through popular interactive platforms, can be effective in promoting sex education to teenagers.

  9. 奖励式众筹平台与项目发起人的演化博弈%Analysis of the evolutionary game of reward-based crowdfunding platforms and entrepreneurs

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    邓必腾; 赵征

    2017-01-01

    To investigate the selection mechanism of the reward-based crowdfunding platform operation mode,a game model was developed by employing the evolutionary game theory.With this model the evolutionary dynamic stability of the selection for every stakeholder''s strategy was analyzed,and critical factors that determine the selection mechanism of the reward-based crowdfunding platform operation mode were explored by means of numerical simulation.The main result indicates that the key factor influencing the selection mechanism contains the following five dimensions: entrepreneurs'' demand for financing,crowdfunding platform service rates,service efficiency of the crowdfunding platform,opportunity cost of the crowdfunding platform to provide high quality services and government regulation of the reward-based crowdfunding market.%为研究奖励式众筹平台运作模式选择行为的决策机理,运用演化博弈理论的分析方法,构建奖励式众筹模式下奖励式众筹平台与项目发起人策略行为的演化博弈模型,对各利益主体策略的选择进行了演化动态稳定性分析,并通过数值仿真探求影响奖励式众筹平台运作模式选择的关键因素.研究表明:项目发起人的融资需求量,众筹平台收取的服务费率,众筹平台提供高服务的效率,众筹平台提供高服务的机会成本以及政府对众筹行业的监管程度是影响奖励式众筹平台运作模式的关键因素.

  10. MP3 audio-editing software for the department of radiology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hong Qingfen; Sun Canhui; Li Ziping; Meng Quanfei; Jiang Li

    2006-01-01

    Objective: To evaluate the MP3 audio-editing software in the daily work in the department of radiology. Methods: The audio content of daily consultation seminar, held in the department of radiology every morning, was recorded and converted into MP3 audio format by a computer integrated recording device. The audio data were edited, archived, and eventually saved in the computer memory storage media, which was experimentally replayed and applied in the research or teaching. Results: MP3 audio-editing was a simple process and convenient for saving and searching the data. The record could be easily replayed. Conclusion: MP3 audio-editing perfectly records and saves the contents of consultation seminar, and has replaced the conventional hand writing notes. It is a valuable tool in both research and teaching in the department. (authors)

  11. Designing a mobile game to thwarts malicious IT threats: A phishing threat avoidance perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Arachchilage, Nalin Asanka Gamagedara; Tarhini, Ali; Love, Steve

    2015-01-01

    Phishing is an online identity theft, which aims to steal sensitive information such as username, password and online banking details from victims. To prevent this, phishing education needs to be considered. Game based education is becoming more and more popular. This paper introduces a mobile game prototype for the android platform based on a story, which simplifies and exaggerates real life. The elements of a game design framework for avoiding phishing attacks were used to address the game ...

  12. Automated processing of massive audio/video content using FFmpeg

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kia Siang Hock

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Audio and video content forms an integral, important and expanding part of the digital collections in libraries and archives world-wide. While these memory institutions are familiar and well-versed in the management of more conventional materials such as books, periodicals, ephemera and images, the handling of audio (e.g., oral history recordings and video content (e.g., audio-visual recordings, broadcast content requires additional toolkits. In particular, a robust and comprehensive tool that provides a programmable interface is indispensable when dealing with tens of thousands of hours of audio and video content. FFmpeg is comprehensive and well-established open source software that is capable of the full-range of audio/video processing tasks (such as encode, decode, transcode, mux, demux, stream and filter. It is also capable of handling a wide-range of audio and video formats, a unique challenge in memory institutions. It comes with a command line interface, as well as a set of developer libraries that can be incorporated into applications.

  13. Researching Travel Behavior and Adaptability: Using a Virtual Reality Role-Playing Game

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watcharasukarn, Montira; Krumdieck, Susan; Green, Richard; Dantas, Andre

    2011-01-01

    This article describes a virtual reality role-playing game that was developed as a survey tool to collect travel behavior data and explore and monitor travel behavior adaptation. The Advanced Energy and Material Systems Laboratory has designed, developed a prototype, and tested such a game platform survey tool, called Travel Activity Constraint…

  14. Use of Effective Audio in E-learning Courseware

    OpenAIRE

    Ray, Kisor

    2015-01-01

    E-Learning uses electronic media, information & communication technologies to provide education to the masses. E-learning deliver hypertext, text, audio, images, animation and videos using desktop standalone computer, local area network based intranet and internet based contents. While producing an e-learning content or course-ware, a major decision making factor is whether to use audio for the benefit of the end users. Generally, three types of audio can be used in e-learning: narration, mus...

  15. Examining a Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game as a Digital Game-Based Learning Platform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Min Lun; Richards, Kari; Saw, Guan Kung

    2014-01-01

    A concurrent triangulation mixed-method research design was used to investigate 19 casual gamers' or non-gamers' use of a popular massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), Everquest 2, as an alternative pedagogical tool to support communicative use of the English language. This study poses that MMORPGs could serve as a virtually rich…

  16. Real-Time Game Adaptation for Optimizing Player Satisfaction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yannakakis, Georgios; Hallam, John

    2009-01-01

    A methodology for optimizing player satisfaction in games on the "playware" physical interactive platform is demonstrated in this paper. Previously constructed artificial neural network user models, reported in the literature, map individual playing characteristics to reported entertainment...

  17. Tune in the Net with RealAudio.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buchanan, Larry

    1997-01-01

    Describes how to connect to the RealAudio Web site to download a player that provides sound from Web pages to the computer through streaming technology. Explains hardware and software requirements and provides addresses for other RealAudio Web sites are provided, including weather information and current news. (LRW)

  18. The Commonality Between Approaches to Determine Jump Fatigue During Basketball Activity in Junior Players: In-Game Versus Across-Game Decrements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scanlan, Aaron T; Fox, Jordan L; Borges, Nattai R; Dalbo, Vincent J

    2017-02-01

    Declines in high-intensity activity during game play (in-game approach) and performance tests measured pre- and postgame (across-game approach) have been used to assess player fatigue in basketball. However, a direct comparison of these approaches is not available. Consequently, this study examined the commonality between in- and across-game jump fatigue during simulated basketball game play. Australian, state-level, junior male basketball players (n = 10; 16.6 ± 1.1 y, 182.4 ± 4.3 cm, 68.3 ± 10.2 kg) completed 4 × 10-min standardized quarters of simulated basketball game play. In-game jump height during game play was measured using video analysis, while across-game jump height was determined pre-, mid-, and postgame play using an in-ground force platform. Jump height was determined using the flight-time method, with jump decrement calculated for each approach across the first half, second half, and entire game. A greater jump decrement was apparent for the in-game approach than for the across-game approach in the first half (37.1% ± 11.6% vs 1.7% ± 6.2%; P = .005; d = 3.81, large), while nonsignificant, large differences were evident between approaches in the second half (d = 1.14) and entire game (d = 1.83). Nonsignificant associations were evident between in-game and across-game jump decrement, with shared variances of 3-26%. Large differences and a low commonality were observed between in- and across-game jump fatigue during basketball game play, suggesting that these approaches measure different constructs. Based on our findings, it is not recommended that basketball coaches use these approaches interchangeably to monitor player fatigue across the season.

  19. Car audio using DSP for active sound control. DSP ni yoru active seigyo wo mochiita audio

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yamada, K.; Asano, S.; Furukawa, N. (Mitsubishi Motor Corp., Tokyo (Japan))

    1993-06-01

    In the automobile cabin, there are some unique problems which spoil the quality of sound reproduction from audio equipment, such as the narrow space and/or the background noise. The audio signal processing by using DSP (digital signal processor) makes enable a solution to these problems. A car audio with a high amenity has been successfully made by the active sound control using DSP. The DSP consists of an adder, coefficient multiplier, delay unit, and connections. For the actual processing by DSP, are used functions, such as sound field correction, response and processing of noises during driving, surround reproduction, graphic equalizer processing, etc. High effectiveness of the method was confirmed through the actual driving evaluation test. The present paper describes the actual method of sound control technology using DSP. Especially, the dynamic processing of the noise during driving is discussed in detail. 1 ref., 12 figs., 1 tab.

  20. Simulation-based Serious Games for Science Education and teacher assessment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seungho Baek

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents serious games developed for the science subject in elementary and middle schools, specifically on the three topics of “Force and Motion,” “State Change of Water,” and “Earth and Moon.” The PC game “Force and Motion” implemented frictional/gravitational/magnetic force simulations, in the mobile game “State Change of Water,” particle-based fluid simulations were implemented, and in the PC- and mobile-based multi-platform game “Earth and Moon,” a solar system simulation was implemented. In order to find out the essential components for the science educational games, the components of each topic were thoroughly analyzed, and then a game-based curriculum was developed for the components classified as having high- or mid-level difficulties in both teaching and learning. Based on the curriculum, the three games were created. The games were evaluated by elementary and middle school teachers, and the evaluation results showed that simulation-based serious games are promising tools for improving learning effects in science-related subjects.

  1. Portable audio electronics for impedance-based measurements in microfluidics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wood, Paul; Sinton, David

    2010-01-01

    We demonstrate the use of audio electronics-based signals to perform on-chip electrochemical measurements. Cell phones and portable music players are examples of consumer electronics that are easily operated and are ubiquitous worldwide. Audio output (play) and input (record) signals are voltage based and contain frequency and amplitude information. A cell phone, laptop soundcard and two compact audio players are compared with respect to frequency response; the laptop soundcard provides the most uniform frequency response, while the cell phone performance is found to be insufficient. The audio signals in the common portable music players and laptop soundcard operate in the range of 20 Hz to 20 kHz and are found to be applicable, as voltage input and output signals, to impedance-based electrochemical measurements in microfluidic systems. Validated impedance-based measurements of concentration (0.1–50 mM), flow rate (2–120 µL min −1 ) and particle detection (32 µm diameter) are demonstrated. The prevailing, lossless, wave audio file format is found to be suitable for data transmission to and from external sources, such as a centralized lab, and the cost of all hardware (in addition to audio devices) is ∼10 USD. The utility demonstrated here, in combination with the ubiquitous nature of portable audio electronics, presents new opportunities for impedance-based measurements in portable microfluidic systems. (technical note)

  2. Perceived Audio Quality Analysis in Digital Audio Broadcasting Plus System Based on PEAQ

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Ulovec

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Broadcasters need to decide on bitrates of the services in the multiplex transmitted via Digital Audio Broadcasting Plus system. The bitrate should be set as low as possible for maximal number of services, but with high quality, not lower than in conventional analog systems. In this paper, the objective method Perceptual Evaluation of Audio Quality is used to analyze the perceived audio quality for appropriate codecs --- MP2 and AAC offering three profiles. The main aim is to determine dependencies on the type of signal --- music and speech, the number of channels --- stereo and mono, and the bitrate. Results indicate that only MP2 codec and AAC Low Complexity profile reach imperceptible quality loss. The MP2 codec needs higher bitrate than AAC Low Complexity profile for the same quality. For the both versions of AAC High-Efficiency profiles, the limit bitrates are determined above which less complex profiles outperform the more complex ones and higher bitrates above these limits are not worth using. It is shown that stereo music has worse quality than stereo speech generally, whereas for mono, the dependencies vary upon the codec/profile. Furthermore, numbers of services satisfying various quality criteria are presented.

  3. Using game authoring platforms to develop screen-based simulated functional assessments in persons with executive dysfunction following traumatic brain injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez-Pernía, David; Núñez-Huasaf, Javier; Del Blanco, Ángel; Ruiz-Tagle, Amparo; Velásquez, Juan; Gomez, Mariela; Robert Blesius, Carl; Ibañez, Agustin; Fernández-Manjón, Baltasar; Slachevsky, Andrea

    2017-10-01

    The assessment of functional status is a critical component of clinical neuropsychological evaluations used for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes in patients with cognitive brain disorders. There are, however, no widely adopted neuropsychological tests that are both ecologically valid and easily administered in daily clinical practice. This discrepancy is a roadblock to the widespread adoption of functional assessments. In this paper, we propose a novel approach using a serious game authoring platform (eAdventure) for creating screen-based simulated functional assessments. We created a naturalistic functional task that consisted of preparing a cup of tea (SBS-COT) and applied the assessment in a convenience sample of eight dyads of therapists/patients with mild executive dysfunction after traumatic brain injury. We had three main aims. First, we performed a comprehensive review of executive function assessment in activities of daily living. Second, we were interested in measuring the feasibility of this technology with respect to staffing, economic and technical requirements. Third, a serious game was administered to patients to study the feasibility of this technology in the clinical context (pre-screening test). In addition, quantitative (Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) questionnaires) and qualitative (semistructured interviews) evaluations were applied to obtain user input. Our results suggest that the staffing, economic and technical requirements of the SBS-COT are feasible. The outcomes of the pre-screening test provide evidence that this technology is useful in the functional assessment of patients with executive dysfunction. In relation to subjective data, the TAM questionnaire showed good user acceptability from a professional perspective. Interview analyses with professionals and patients showed positive experiences related to the use of the SBS-COT. Our work indicates that the use of these types of authoring platforms could have positive long

  4. Modified DCTNet for audio signals classification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xian, Yin; Pu, Yunchen; Gan, Zhe; Lu, Liang; Thompson, Andrew

    2016-10-01

    In this paper, we investigate DCTNet for audio signal classification. Its output feature is related to Cohen's class of time-frequency distributions. We introduce the use of adaptive DCTNet (A-DCTNet) for audio signals feature extraction. The A-DCTNet applies the idea of constant-Q transform, with its center frequencies of filterbanks geometrically spaced. The A-DCTNet is adaptive to different acoustic scales, and it can better capture low frequency acoustic information that is sensitive to human audio perception than features such as Mel-frequency spectral coefficients (MFSC). We use features extracted by the A-DCTNet as input for classifiers. Experimental results show that the A-DCTNet and Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN) achieve state-of-the-art performance in bird song classification rate, and improve artist identification accuracy in music data. They demonstrate A-DCTNet's applicability to signal processing problems.

  5. Audio effects on haptics perception during drilling simulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yair Valbuena

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Virtual reality has provided immersion and interactions through computer generated environments attempting to reproduce real life experiences through sensorial stimuli. Realism can be achieved through multimodal interactions which can enhance the user’s presence within the computer generated world. The most notorious advances in virtual reality can be seen in computer graphics visuals, where photorealism is the norm thriving to overcome the uncanny valley. Other advances have followed related to sound, haptics, and in a lesser manner smell and taste feedback. Currently, virtual reality systems (multimodal immersion and interactions through visual-haptic-sound are being massively used in entertainment (e.g., cinema, video games, art, and in non-entertainment scenarios (e.g., social inclusion, educational, training, therapy, and tourism. Moreover, the cost reduction of virtual reality technologies has resulted in the availability at a consumer-level of various haptic, headsets, and motion tracking devices. Current consumer-level devices offer low-fidelity experiences due to the properties of the sensors, displays, and other electro-mechanical devices, that may not be suitable for high-precision or realistic experiences requiring dexterity. However, research has been conducted on how toovercome or compensate the lack of high fidelity to provide an engaging user experience using storytelling, multimodal interactions and gaming elements. Our work focuses on analyzing the possible effects of auditory perception on haptic feedback within a drilling scenario. Drilling involves multimodal interactions and it is a task with multiple applications in medicine, crafting, and construction. We compare two drilling scenarios were two groups of participants had to drill through wood while listening to contextual and non-contextual audios. We gathered their perception using a survey after the task completion. From the results, we believe that sound does

  6. Prevalence of video game use, cigarette smoking, and acceptability of a video game-based smoking cessation intervention among online adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raiff, Bethany R; Jarvis, Brantley P; Rapoza, Darion

    2012-12-01

    Video games may serve as an ideal platform for developing and implementing technology-based contingency management (CM) interventions for smoking cessation as they can be used to address a number of barriers to the utilization of CM (e.g., replacing monetary rewards with virtual game-based rewards). However, little is known about the relationship between video game playing and cigarette smoking. The current study determined the prevalence of video game use, video game practices, and the acceptability of a video game-based CM intervention for smoking cessation among adult smokers and nonsmokers, including health care professionals. In an online survey, participants (N = 499) answered questions regarding their cigarette smoking and video game playing practices. Participants also reported if they believed a video game-based CM intervention could motivate smokers to quit and if they would recommend such an intervention. Nearly half of the participants surveyed reported smoking cigarettes, and among smokers, 74.5% reported playing video games. Video game playing was more prevalent in smokers than nonsmokers, and smokers reported playing more recently, for longer durations each week, and were more likely to play social games than nonsmokers. Most participants (63.7%), including those who worked as health care professionals, believed that a video game-based CM intervention would motivate smokers to quit and would recommend such an intervention to someone trying to quit (67.9%). Our findings suggest that delivering technology-based smoking cessation interventions via video games has the potential to reach substantial numbers of smokers and that most smokers, nonsmokers, and health care professionals endorsed this approach.

  7. Why are some languages confused for others? Investigating data from the Great Language Game

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-01-01

    In this paper we explore the results of a large-scale online game called ‘the Great Language Game’, in which people listen to an audio speech sample and make a forced-choice guess about the identity of the language from 2 or more alternatives. The data include 15 million guesses from 400 audio recordings of 78 languages. We investigate which languages are confused for which in the game, and if this correlates with the similarities that linguists identify between languages. This includes shared lexical items, similar sound inventories and established historical relationships. Our findings are, as expected, that players are more likely to confuse two languages that are objectively more similar. We also investigate factors that may affect players’ ability to accurately select the target language, such as how many people speak the language, how often the language is mentioned in written materials and the economic power of the target language community. We see that non-linguistic factors affect players’ ability to accurately identify the target. For example, languages with wider ‘global reach’ are more often identified correctly. This suggests that both linguistic and cultural knowledge influence the perception and recognition of languages and their similarity. PMID:28379970

  8. Where's the bling of the thing?: Ethics, gaming and PBL-I

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diane P. McCarthy

    Full Text Available This paper describes an evaluation of PBL-Interactive (PBL-I as authoring tool for an ethical decision-making game, in the Dip ICT course, ET600 Ethics and professionalism, at Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology (CPIT. While the prototype was developed and the usability testing conducted with student volunteers returned positive results, the limitations of the authoring tool to create a multi-linear ethics game outweighed its affordances. In particular, the authoring mode interface lacked ease of use and functionality for advanced features such as video and audio, desirable options to motivate computing students with advanced gaming experience, in online and face-to-face learning environments. Scenario-based problem solving can be used in serious games to explore ethical decision making. However, authoring tools for tertiary educators should be easy to use, including for multi-linear scenarios. Groups should be able to work through the ethical game scenario in multiple ways, with the potential for students to create new content for future participants. Otherwise, deep thinking is displaced by astute guessing of a \\'right answer\\' from a list. Ethical decision-making may be constrained, more simplistic, and deterministic. Cross cultural issues may be used stereotypically, without developing insight or empathy. Opportunities for international students to make a contribution as subject matter experts may not eventuate.

  9. Based on Short Motion Paths and Artificial Intelligence Method for Chinese Chess Game

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chien-Ming Hung

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The article develops the decision rules to win each set of the Chinese chess game using evaluation algorithm and artificial intelligence method, and uses the mobile robot to be instead of the chess, and presents the movement scenarios using the shortest motion paths for mobile robots. Player can play the Chinese chess game according to the game rules with the supervised computer. The supervised computer decides the optimal motion path to win the set using artificial intelligence method, and controls mobile robots according to the programmed motion paths of the assigned chesses moving on the platform via wireless RF interface. We uses enhance A* searching algorithm to solve the shortest path problem of the assigned chess, and solve the collision problems of the motion paths for two mobile robots moving on the platform simultaneously. We implement a famous set to be called lwild horses run in farmr using the proposed method. First we use simulation method to display the motion paths of the assigned chesses for the player and the supervised computer. Then the supervised computer implements the simulation results on the chessboard platform using mobile robots. Mobile robots move on the chessboard platform according to the programmed motion paths and is guided to move on the centre line of the corridor, and avoid the obstacles (chesses, and detect the cross point of the platform using three reflective IR modules.

  10. The educational game design on relation and functionmaterials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pramuditya, S. A.; Noto, M. S.; Syaefullah, D.

    2018-05-01

    Information technology development is certainly very helpful and important for life, especially for education. Media is always associated with technology. Media is considered important because as a tool in the learning process both inside and outside the classroom and can also be used in the framework of communication and interaction with teachers and students in the learning process. Smartphone technology is currently growing very rapidly, especially for Android platform. Game is one of the entertainment media that becomes an option to eliminate boring or just to spend a time. Educational games specifically designed to teach users a particular learning, developing concepts and understanding and guiding them in training their abilities and motivating them to play it. Game of mathematics education is a game inserted by mathematics learning content. This article discusses development research of designing educational game. The purpose of this research was to produce educational games on relation and function, which should be valid and practical. This research adapts the development model of ADDIE, restricted by analysis, design, and development. Data were collected from validation and practical sheets then were analysed descriptively. Based on the results of data analysis, our educational game was valid and practical.

  11. The Fungible Audio-Visual Mapping and its Experience

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adriana Sa

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available This article draws a perceptual approach to audio-visual mapping. Clearly perceivable cause and effect relationships can be problematic if one desires the audience to experience the music. Indeed perception would bias those sonic qualities that fit previous concepts of causation, subordinating other sonic qualities, which may form the relations between the sounds themselves. The question is, how can an audio-visual mapping produce a sense of causation, and simultaneously confound the actual cause-effect relationships. We call this a fungible audio-visual mapping. Our aim here is to glean its constitution and aspect. We will report a study, which draws upon methods from experimental psychology to inform audio-visual instrument design and composition. The participants are shown several audio-visual mapping prototypes, after which we pose quantitative and qualitative questions regarding their sense of causation, and their sense of understanding the cause-effect relationships. The study shows that a fungible mapping requires both synchronized and seemingly non-related components – sufficient complexity to be confusing. As the specific cause-effect concepts remain inconclusive, the sense of causation embraces the whole. 

  12. Efficiency Optimization in Class-D Audio Amplifiers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yamauchi, Akira; Knott, Arnold; Jørgensen, Ivan Harald Holger

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents a new power efficiency optimization routine for designing Class-D audio amplifiers. The proposed optimization procedure finds design parameters for the power stage and the output filter, and the optimum switching frequency such that the weighted power losses are minimized under...... the given constraints. The optimization routine is applied to minimize the power losses in a 130 W class-D audio amplifier based on consumer behavior investigations, where the amplifier operates at idle and low power levels most of the time. Experimental results demonstrate that the optimization method can...... lead to around 30 % of efficiency improvement at 1.3 W output power without significant effects on both audio performance and the efficiency at high power levels....

  13. DOA Estimation of Audio Sources in Reverberant Environments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Jesper Rindom; Nielsen, Jesper Kjær; Heusdens, Richard

    2016-01-01

    Reverberation is well-known to have a detrimental impact on many localization methods for audio sources. We address this problem by imposing a model for the early reflections as well as a model for the audio source itself. Using these models, we propose two iterative localization methods...... that estimate the direction-of-arrival (DOA) of both the direct path of the audio source and the early reflections. In these methods, the contribution of the early reflections is essentially subtracted from the signal observations before localization of the direct path component, which may reduce the estimation...

  14. Portable Audio Design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Groth, Sanne Krogh

    2014-01-01

    attention to the specific genre; a grasping of the complex relationship between site and time, the actual and the virtual; and getting aquatint with the specific site’s soundscape by approaching it both intuitively and systematically. These steps will finally lead to an audio production that not only...

  15. AUDIO CRYPTANALYSIS- AN APPLICATION OF SYMMETRIC KEY CRYPTOGRAPHY AND AUDIO STEGANOGRAPHY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Smita Paira

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available In the recent trend of network and technology, “Cryptography” and “Steganography” have emerged out as the essential elements of providing network security. Although Cryptography plays a major role in the fabrication and modification of the secret message into an encrypted version yet it has certain drawbacks. Steganography is the art that meets one of the basic limitations of Cryptography. In this paper, a new algorithm has been proposed based on both Symmetric Key Cryptography and Audio Steganography. The combination of a randomly generated Symmetric Key along with LSB technique of Audio Steganography sends a secret message unrecognizable through an insecure medium. The Stego File generated is almost lossless giving a 100 percent recovery of the original message. This paper also presents a detailed experimental analysis of the algorithm with a brief comparison with other existing algorithms and a future scope. The experimental verification and security issues are promising.

  16. Adaptive DCTNet for Audio Signal Classification

    OpenAIRE

    Xian, Yin; Pu, Yunchen; Gan, Zhe; Lu, Liang; Thompson, Andrew

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, we investigate DCTNet for audio signal classification. Its output feature is related to Cohen's class of time-frequency distributions. We introduce the use of adaptive DCTNet (A-DCTNet) for audio signals feature extraction. The A-DCTNet applies the idea of constant-Q transform, with its center frequencies of filterbanks geometrically spaced. The A-DCTNet is adaptive to different acoustic scales, and it can better capture low frequency acoustic information that is sensitive to h...

  17. The persuasive aims of Metal Gear Solid: A discourse theoretical approach to the study of argumentation in video games

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stamenkovic, Dusan; Jacevic, Milan; Wildfeuer, Janina

    2017-01-01

    in a representative video game combine so as to convince the player to act, play, and perhaps think accordingly. The multimodal approach employed in the paper combines the notion of discourse aims and the rhetorical and argumentative structure of Metal Gear Solid (Kojima, 1998), and analyses different narrative...... strategies and verbal cues, as well as the overall interface, control, and gameplay. The results suggest that verbal and textual cues combine with audio-visual elements and highly specific gameplay strategies in order to refrain the player from killing enemies. This might indicate that video games are likely...

  18. Fall Detection Using Smartphone Audio Features.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheffena, Michael

    2016-07-01

    An automated fall detection system based on smartphone audio features is developed. The spectrogram, mel frequency cepstral coefficents (MFCCs), linear predictive coding (LPC), and matching pursuit (MP) features of different fall and no-fall sound events are extracted from experimental data. Based on the extracted audio features, four different machine learning classifiers: k-nearest neighbor classifier (k-NN), support vector machine (SVM), least squares method (LSM), and artificial neural network (ANN) are investigated for distinguishing between fall and no-fall events. For each audio feature, the performance of each classifier in terms of sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and computational complexity is evaluated. The best performance is achieved using spectrogram features with ANN classifier with sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy all above 98%. The classifier also has acceptable computational requirement for training and testing. The system is applicable in home environments where the phone is placed in the vicinity of the user.

  19. RAGE Architecture for Reusable Serious Gaming Technology Components

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wim van der Vegt

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available For seizing the potential of serious games, the RAGE project—funded by the Horizon-2020 Programme of the European Commission—will make available an interoperable set of advanced technology components (software assets that support game studios at serious game development. This paper describes the overall software architecture and design conditions that are needed for the easy integration and reuse of such software assets in existing game platforms. Based on the component-based software engineering paradigm the RAGE architecture takes into account the portability of assets to different operating systems, different programming languages, and different game engines. It avoids dependencies on external software frameworks and minimises code that may hinder integration with game engine code. Furthermore it relies on a limited set of standard software patterns and well-established coding practices. The RAGE architecture has been successfully validated by implementing and testing basic software assets in four major programming languages (C#, C++, Java, and TypeScript/JavaScript, resp.. Demonstrator implementation of asset integration with an existing game engine was created and validated. The presented RAGE architecture paves the way for large scale development and application of cross-engine reusable software assets for enhancing the quality and diversity of serious gaming.

  20. DEVELOPING VISUAL NOVEL GAME WITH SPEECH-RECOGNITION INTERACTIVITY TO ENHANCE STUDENTS’ MASTERY ON ENGLISH EXPRESSIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elizabeth Anggraeni Amalo

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The teaching of English-expressions has always been done through conversation samples in form of written texts, audio recordings, and videos. In the meantime, the development of computer-aided learning technology has made autonomous language learning possible. Game, as one of computer-aided learning technology products, can serve as a medium to provide educational contents like that of language teaching and learning. Visual Novel is considered as a conversational game that is suitable to be combined with English-expressions material. Unlike the other click-based interaction Visual Novel Games, the visual novel game in this research implements speech recognition as the interaction trigger. Hence, this paper aims at elaborating how visual novel games are utilized to deliver English-expressions with speech recognition command for the interaction. This research used Research and Development (R&D method with Experimental design through control and experimental groups to measure its effectiveness in enhancing students’ English-expressions mastery. ANOVA was utilized to prove the significant differences between the control and experimental groups. It is expected that the result of this development and experiment can devote benefits to the English teaching and learning, especially on English-expressions.

  1. Development of a Car Racing Simulator Game Using Artificial Intelligence Techniques

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marvin T. Chan

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a car racing simulator game called Racer, in which the human player races a car against three game-controlled cars in a three-dimensional environment. The objective of the game is not to defeat the human player, but to provide the player with a challenging and enjoyable experience. To ensure that this objective can be accomplished, the game incorporates artificial intelligence (AI techniques, which enable the cars to be controlled in a manner that mimics natural driving. The paper provides a brief history of AI techniques in games, presents the use of AI techniques in contemporary video games, and discusses the AI techniques that were implemented in the development of Racer. A comparison of the AI techniques implemented in the Unity platform with traditional AI search techniques is also included in the discussion.

  2. Audio-Tutorial Instruction: A Strategy For Teaching Introductory College Geology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fenner, Peter; Andrews, Ted F.

    The rationale of audio-tutorial instruction is discussed, and the history and development of the audio-tutorial botany program at Purdue University is described. Audio-tutorial programs in geology at eleven colleges and one school are described, illustrating several ways in which programs have been developed and integrated into courses. Programs…

  3. The Educational Game “Indonesian Tribes” for the Kindergarten Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pikir Wisnu Wijayanto

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available This study describes the educational game “The Indonesian Tribes” as a multimedia application to facilitate the learning activities for the students in kindergarten. This multimedia application is designed to help the students to recognize the several tribes and cultures in Indonesia such as the traditional clothes, houses, dances, and the gamelan musical instruments. This application is equipped with a Kinect sensor technology to detect the external trigger such as speech and gesture (motion recognition that will encourage the students’ enthusiasm in playing and learning activities. It is in line with their characteristics who love to play and learn with their own imagination. This game education is also completed with audio-visual animations in various contents and interactive nature with a simple English description and instructions. Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

  4. 3D-Audio Matting, Postediting, and Rerendering from Field Recordings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guillaume Lemaitre

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available We present a novel approach to real-time spatial rendering of realistic auditory environments and sound sources recorded live, in the field. Using a set of standard microphones distributed throughout a real-world environment, we record the sound field simultaneously from several locations. After spatial calibration, we segment from this set of recordings a number of auditory components, together with their location. We compare existing time delay of arrival estimation techniques between pairs of widely spaced microphones and introduce a novel efficient hierarchical localization algorithm. Using the high-level representation thus obtained, we can edit and rerender the acquired auditory scene over a variety of listening setups. In particular, we can move or alter the different sound sources and arbitrarily choose the listening position. We can also composite elements of different scenes together in a spatially consistent way. Our approach provides efficient rendering of complex soundscapes which would be challenging to model using discrete point sources and traditional virtual acoustics techniques. We demonstrate a wide range of possible applications for games, virtual and augmented reality, and audio visual post production.

  5. Optimized Audio Classification and Segmentation Algorithm by Using Ensemble Methods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saadia Zahid

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Audio segmentation is a basis for multimedia content analysis which is the most important and widely used application nowadays. An optimized audio classification and segmentation algorithm is presented in this paper that segments a superimposed audio stream on the basis of its content into four main audio types: pure-speech, music, environment sound, and silence. An algorithm is proposed that preserves important audio content and reduces the misclassification rate without using large amount of training data, which handles noise and is suitable for use for real-time applications. Noise in an audio stream is segmented out as environment sound. A hybrid classification approach is used, bagged support vector machines (SVMs with artificial neural networks (ANNs. Audio stream is classified, firstly, into speech and nonspeech segment by using bagged support vector machines; nonspeech segment is further classified into music and environment sound by using artificial neural networks and lastly, speech segment is classified into silence and pure-speech segments on the basis of rule-based classifier. Minimum data is used for training classifier; ensemble methods are used for minimizing misclassification rate and approximately 98% accurate segments are obtained. A fast and efficient algorithm is designed that can be used with real-time multimedia applications.

  6. Video Game Acceptance: A Meta-Analysis of the Extended Technology Acceptance Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xiaohui; Goh, Dion Hoe-Lian

    2017-11-01

    The current study systematically reviews and summarizes the existing literature of game acceptance, identifies the core determinants, and evaluates the strength of the relationships in the extended technology acceptance model. Moreover, this study segments video games into two categories: hedonic and utilitarian and examines player acceptance of these two types separately. Through a meta-analysis of 50 articles, we find that perceived ease of use (PEOU), perceived usefulness (PU), and perceived enjoyment (PE) significantly associate with attitude and behavioral intention. PE is the dominant predictor of hedonic game acceptance, while PEOU and PU are the main determinants of utilitarian game acceptance. Furthermore, we find that respondent type and game platform are significant moderators. Findings of this study provide critical insights into the phenomenon of game acceptance and suggest directions for future research.

  7. A Smart Audio on Demand Application on Android Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ing-Jr Ding

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes a study of the realization of intelligent Audio on Demand (AOD processing in the embedded system environment. This study describes the development of innovative Android software that will enhance user experience of the increasingly popular number of smart mobile devices now available on the market. The application we developed can accumulate records of the songs that are played and automatically analyze the favorite song types of a user. The application can also select sound control playback functions to make operation more convenient. A large number of different types of music genre were collected to create a sound database and build an intelligent AOD processing mechanism. Formant analysis was used to extract voice features and the K-means clustering method and acoustic modeling technology of the Gaussian mixture model (GMM were used to study and develop the application mechanism. The processes we developed run smoothly in the embedded Android platform.

  8. Audio Description as a Pedagogical Tool

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Georgina Kleege

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Audio description is the process of translating visual information into words for people who are blind or have low vision. Typically such description has focused on films, museum exhibitions, images and video on the internet, and live theater. Because it allows people with visual impairments to experience a variety of cultural and educational texts that would otherwise be inaccessible, audio description is a mandated aspect of disability inclusion, although it remains markedly underdeveloped and underutilized in our classrooms and in society in general. Along with increasing awareness of disability, audio description pushes students to practice close reading of visual material, deepen their analysis, and engage in critical discussions around the methodology, standards and values, language, and role of interpretation in a variety of academic disciplines. We outline a few pedagogical interventions that can be customized to different contexts to develop students' writing and critical thinking skills through guided description of visual material.

  9. Extracting meaning from audio signals - a machine learning approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Jan

    2007-01-01

    * Machine learning framework for sound search * Genre classification * Music and audio separation * Wind noise suppression......* Machine learning framework for sound search * Genre classification * Music and audio separation * Wind noise suppression...

  10. Improvements of ModalMax High-Fidelity Piezoelectric Audio Device

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woodard, Stanley E.

    2005-01-01

    ModalMax audio speakers have been enhanced by innovative means of tailoring the vibration response of thin piezoelectric plates to produce a high-fidelity audio response. The ModalMax audio speakers are 1 mm in thickness. The device completely supplants the need to have a separate driver and speaker cone. ModalMax speakers can perform the same applications of cone speakers, but unlike cone speakers, ModalMax speakers can function in harsh environments such as high humidity or extreme wetness. New design features allow the speakers to be completely submersed in salt water, making them well suited for maritime applications. The sound produced from the ModalMax audio speakers has sound spatial resolution that is readily discernable for headset users.

  11. Developing e-Bug web games to teach microbiology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farrell, David; Kostkova, Patty; Lazareck, Lisa; Weerasinghe, Dasun; Weinberg, Julius; Lecky, Donna M; Adriaenssens, Niels; Koprivová Herotová, Tereza; Holt, Jette; Touboul, Pia; Merakou, Kyriakoula; Koncan, Raffaella; Olczak-Pienkowska, Anna; Avô, António Brito; Campos, José; McNulty, Cliodna A M

    2011-06-01

    As a complement to the e-Bug teaching pack, two e-Bug games were developed to provide content that aimed to entertain as well as to educate. A set of agreed learning outcomes (LOs) were provided by the scientific partners of the e-Bug Project and the games were developed using user-centred design techniques (the needs, wants and limitations of the potential game players were assessed at each stage of the design process). The e-Bug games were designed for two age groups: Junior (9-12 year olds); and Senior (13-15 year olds). A study using focus groups was done to gain an understanding as to the types of games enjoyed by the target users. According to the preliminary study, the Junior Game was developed as a platform game and the Senior Game was developed as a story-based detective game. The Junior Game consists of five levels, each associated with a set of LOs. Similarly, the Senior Game consists of four missions, each comprising five stages using problem-based learning techniques and LOs. In this paper, the process of development for each game is described in detail and an illustration is provided of how each game level or mission addresses the target LOs. Development of the games used feedback acquired from children in four schools across the UK (Glasgow, London and two in Gloucester). The children were selected according to their willingness to participate. European Partners of the e-Bug Project also provided further support, translation and requests for modifications. The knowledge gained of LOs and further evaluation of the games is continuing, and preliminary results are in press. The final versions of the games, translated into 11 European languages, are available online via www.e-bug.eu.

  12. Efficiency in audio processing : filter banks and transcoding

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lee, Jun Wei

    2007-01-01

    Audio transcoding is the conversion of digital audio from one compressed form A to another compressed form B, where A and B have different compression properties, such as a different bit-rate, sampling frequency or compression method. This is typically achieved by decoding A to an intermediate

  13. Decision-level fusion for audio-visual laughter detection

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Reuderink, B.; Poel, M.; Truong, K.; Poppe, R.; Pantic, M.

    2008-01-01

    Laughter is a highly variable signal, which can be caused by a spectrum of emotions. This makes the automatic detection of laughter a challenging, but interesting task. We perform automatic laughter detection using audio-visual data from the AMI Meeting Corpus. Audio-visual laughter detection is

  14. Decision-Level Fusion for Audio-Visual Laughter Detection

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Reuderink, B.; Poel, Mannes; Truong, Khiet Phuong; Poppe, Ronald Walter; Pantic, Maja; Popescu-Belis, Andrei; Stiefelhagen, Rainer

    Laughter is a highly variable signal, which can be caused by a spectrum of emotions. This makes the automatic detection of laugh- ter a challenging, but interesting task. We perform automatic laughter detection using audio-visual data from the AMI Meeting Corpus. Audio- visual laughter detection is

  15. Content Discovery from Composite Audio : An unsupervised approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lu, L.

    2009-01-01

    In this thesis, we developed and assessed a novel robust and unsupervised framework for semantic inference from composite audio signals. We focused on the problem of detecting audio scenes and grouping them into meaningful clusters. Our approach addressed all major steps in a general process of

  16. Paper-Based Textbooks with Audio Support for Print-Disabled Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fujiyoshi, Akio; Ohsawa, Akiko; Takaira, Takuya; Tani, Yoshiaki; Fujiyoshi, Mamoru; Ota, Yuko

    2015-01-01

    Utilizing invisible 2-dimensional codes and digital audio players with a 2-dimensional code scanner, we developed paper-based textbooks with audio support for students with print disabilities, called "multimodal textbooks." Multimodal textbooks can be read with the combination of the two modes: "reading printed text" and "listening to the speech of the text from a digital audio player with a 2-dimensional code scanner." Since multimodal textbooks look the same as regular textbooks and the price of a digital audio player is reasonable (about 30 euro), we think multimodal textbooks are suitable for students with print disabilities in ordinary classrooms.

  17. Huffman coding in advanced audio coding standard

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brzuchalski, Grzegorz

    2012-05-01

    This article presents several hardware architectures of Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) Huffman noiseless encoder, its optimisations and working implementation. Much attention has been paid to optimise the demand of hardware resources especially memory size. The aim of design was to get as short binary stream as possible in this standard. The Huffman encoder with whole audio-video system has been implemented in FPGA devices.

  18. Game Development in Python with Pygame - 2D Platformgame for Raspberry Pi 3 driven arcademachine

    OpenAIRE

    Bryndum, Leonora; Hastrup, Jakob Scheunemann; Holm, Kevin Martin Lindemark; Kjær, Alberte Jeberg

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study, is to explore how to develop a 2D-arcade platform game for a Raspberry Pi 3 computer. This will be done with the programming language Python 3 and the game development framework Pygame. To do this, we investigate and learn about the Python 3 language and how this is structured. We investigate what an arcade game usually contains in the terms of programmatic content, and choose the focus points: Game Loop, Collisions, Physics, Animation, Level Design, Camera, Heads U...

  19. Design and evaluation of RaPIDO, a platform for rapid prototyping of interactive outdoor games

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Soute, I.; Vacaretu, T.; de Wit, J.; Markopoulos, P.

    Outdoor, multi-player games involving social interaction and physical activity are an emerging class of applications particularly interesting for children, for whom the attraction and the health and developmental benefits are clear cut. Implementing and prototyping such games present non-trivial

  20. Sounding ruins: reflections on the production of an ‘audio drift’

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallagher, Michael

    2014-01-01

    This article is about the use of audio media in researching places, which I term ‘audio geography’. The article narrates some episodes from the production of an ‘audio drift’, an experimental environmental sound work designed to be listened to on a portable MP3 player whilst walking in a ruinous landscape. Reflecting on how this work functions, I argue that, as well as representing places, audio geography can shape listeners’ attention and bodily movements, thereby reworking places, albeit temporarily. I suggest that audio geography is particularly apt for amplifying the haunted and uncanny qualities of places. I discuss some of the issues raised for research ethics, epistemology and spectral geographies. PMID:29708107

  1. Interactive 3D audio: Enhancing awareness of details in immersive soundscapes?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schmidt, Mikkel Nørgaard; Schwartz, Stephen; Larsen, Jan

    2012-01-01

    Spatial audio and the possibility of interacting with the audio environment is thought to increase listeners' attention to details in a soundscape. This work examines if interactive 3D audio enhances listeners' ability to recall details in a soundscape. Nine different soundscapes were constructed...

  2. Personalized Audio Systems - a Bayesian Approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Jens Brehm; Jensen, Bjørn Sand; Hansen, Toke Jansen

    2013-01-01

    Modern audio systems are typically equipped with several user-adjustable parameters unfamiliar to most users listening to the system. To obtain the best possible setting, the user is forced into multi-parameter optimization with respect to the users's own objective and preference. To address this......, the present paper presents a general inter-active framework for personalization of such audio systems. The framework builds on Bayesian Gaussian process regression in which a model of the users's objective function is updated sequentially. The parameter setting to be evaluated in a given trial is selected...

  3. IELTS speaking instruction through audio/voice conferencing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hamed Ghaemi

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available The currentstudyaimsatinvestigatingtheimpactofAudio/Voiceconferencing,asanewapproachtoteaching speaking, on the speakingperformanceand/orspeakingband score ofIELTScandidates.Experimentalgroupsubjectsparticipated in an audio conferencing classwhile those of the control group enjoyed attending in a traditional IELTS Speakingclass. At the endofthestudy,allsubjectsparticipatedinanIELTSExaminationheldonNovemberfourthin Tehran,Iran.To compare thegroupmeansforthestudy,anindependentt-testanalysiswasemployed.Thedifferencebetween experimental and control groupwasconsideredtobestatisticallysignificant(P<0.01.Thatisthecandidates in experimental group have outperformed the ones in control group in IELTS Speaking test scores.

  4. Audio-Visual and Autogenic Relaxation Alter Amplitude of Alpha EEG Band, Causing Improvements in Mental Work Performance in Athletes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mikicin, Mirosław; Kowalczyk, Marek

    2015-09-01

    The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of regular audio-visual relaxation combined with Schultz's autogenic training on: (1) the results of behavioral tests that evaluate work performance during burdensome cognitive tasks (Kraepelin test), (2) changes in classical EEG alpha frequency band, neocortex (frontal, temporal, occipital, parietal), hemisphere (left, right) versus condition (only relaxation 7-12 Hz). Both experimental (EG) and age-and skill-matched control group (CG) consisted of eighteen athletes (ten males and eight females). After 7-month training EG demonstrated changes in the amplitude of mean electrical activity of the EEG alpha bend at rest and an improvement was significantly changing and an improvement in almost all components of Kraepelin test. The same examined variables in CG were unchanged following the period without the intervention. Summing up, combining audio-visual relaxation with autogenic training significantly improves athlete's ability to perform a prolonged mental effort. These changes are accompanied by greater amplitude of waves in alpha band in the state of relax. The results suggest usefulness of relaxation techniques during performance of mentally difficult sports tasks (sports based on speed and stamina, sports games, combat sports) and during relax of athletes.

  5. A high efficiency PWM CMOS class-D audio power amplifier

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhu Zhangming; Liu Lianxi; Yang Yintang [Institute of Microelectronics, Xidian University, Xi' an 710071 (China); Lei Han, E-mail: zmyh@263.ne [Xi' an Power-Rail Micro Co., Ltd, Xi' an 710075 (China)

    2009-02-15

    Based on the difference close-loop feedback technique and the difference pre-amp, a high efficiency PWM CMOS class-D audio power amplifier is proposed. A rail-to-rail PWM comparator with window function has been embedded in the class-D audio power amplifier. Design results based on the CSMC 0.5 mum CMOS process show that the max efficiency is 90%, the PSRR is -75 dB, the power supply voltage range is 2.5-5.5 V, the THD+N in 1 kHz input frequency is less than 0.20%, the quiescent current in no load is 2.8 mA, and the shutdown current is 0.5 muA. The active area of the class-D audio power amplifier is about 1.47 x 1.52 mm{sup 2}. With the good performance, the class-D audio power amplifier can be applied to several audio power systems.

  6. A high efficiency PWM CMOS class-D audio power amplifier

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu Zhangming; Liu Lianxi; Yang Yintang; Lei Han

    2009-01-01

    Based on the difference close-loop feedback technique and the difference pre-amp, a high efficiency PWM CMOS class-D audio power amplifier is proposed. A rail-to-rail PWM comparator with window function has been embedded in the class-D audio power amplifier. Design results based on the CSMC 0.5 μm CMOS process show that the max efficiency is 90%, the PSRR is -75 dB, the power supply voltage range is 2.5-5.5 V, the THD+N in 1 kHz input frequency is less than 0.20%, the quiescent current in no load is 2.8 mA, and the shutdown current is 0.5 μA. The active area of the class-D audio power amplifier is about 1.47 x 1.52 mm 2 . With the good performance, the class-D audio power amplifier can be applied to several audio power systems.

  7. A high efficiency PWM CMOS class-D audio power amplifier

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhangming, Zhu; Lianxi, Liu; Yintang, Yang; Han, Lei

    2009-02-01

    Based on the difference close-loop feedback technique and the difference pre-amp, a high efficiency PWM CMOS class-D audio power amplifier is proposed. A rail-to-rail PWM comparator with window function has been embedded in the class-D audio power amplifier. Design results based on the CSMC 0.5 μm CMOS process show that the max efficiency is 90%, the PSRR is -75 dB, the power supply voltage range is 2.5-5.5 V, the THD+N in 1 kHz input frequency is less than 0.20%, the quiescent current in no load is 2.8 mA, and the shutdown current is 0.5 μA. The active area of the class-D audio power amplifier is about 1.47 × 1.52 mm2. With the good performance, the class-D audio power amplifier can be applied to several audio power systems.

  8. Audio-Visual Fusion for Sound Source Localization and Improved Attention

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Byoung Gi; Choi, Jong Suk; Yoon, Sang Suk; Choi, Mun Taek; Kim, Mun Sang [Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Dai Jin [Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang (Korea, Republic of)

    2011-07-15

    Service robots are equipped with various sensors such as vision camera, sonar sensor, laser scanner, and microphones. Although these sensors have their own functions, some of them can be made to work together and perform more complicated functions. AudioFvisual fusion is a typical and powerful combination of audio and video sensors, because audio information is complementary to visual information and vice versa. Human beings also mainly depend on visual and auditory information in their daily life. In this paper, we conduct two studies using audioFvision fusion: one is on enhancing the performance of sound localization, and the other is on improving robot attention through sound localization and face detection.

  9. Audio-Visual Fusion for Sound Source Localization and Improved Attention

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Byoung Gi; Choi, Jong Suk; Yoon, Sang Suk; Choi, Mun Taek; Kim, Mun Sang; Kim, Dai Jin

    2011-01-01

    Service robots are equipped with various sensors such as vision camera, sonar sensor, laser scanner, and microphones. Although these sensors have their own functions, some of them can be made to work together and perform more complicated functions. AudioFvisual fusion is a typical and powerful combination of audio and video sensors, because audio information is complementary to visual information and vice versa. Human beings also mainly depend on visual and auditory information in their daily life. In this paper, we conduct two studies using audioFvision fusion: one is on enhancing the performance of sound localization, and the other is on improving robot attention through sound localization and face detection

  10. A review of lossless audio compression standards and algorithms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muin, Fathiah Abdul; Gunawan, Teddy Surya; Kartiwi, Mira; Elsheikh, Elsheikh M. A.

    2017-09-01

    Over the years, lossless audio compression has gained popularity as researchers and businesses has become more aware of the need for better quality and higher storage demand. This paper will analyse various lossless audio coding algorithm and standards that are used and available in the market focusing on Linear Predictive Coding (LPC) specifically due to its popularity and robustness in audio compression, nevertheless other prediction methods are compared to verify this. Advanced representation of LPC such as LSP decomposition techniques are also discussed within this paper.

  11. All About Audio Equalization: Solutions and Frontiers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vesa Välimäki

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Audio equalization is a vast and active research area. The extent of research means that one often cannot identify the preferred technique for a particular problem. This review paper bridges those gaps, systemically providing a deep understanding of the problems and approaches in audio equalization, their relative merits and applications. Digital signal processing techniques for modifying the spectral balance in audio signals and applications of these techniques are reviewed, ranging from classic equalizers to emerging designs based on new advances in signal processing and machine learning. Emphasis is placed on putting the range of approaches within a common mathematical and conceptual framework. The application areas discussed herein are diverse, and include well-defined, solvable problems of filter design subject to constraints, as well as newly emerging challenges that touch on problems in semantics, perception and human computer interaction. Case studies are given in order to illustrate key concepts and how they are applied in practice. We also recommend preferred signal processing approaches for important audio equalization problems. Finally, we discuss current challenges and the uncharted frontiers in this field. The source code for methods discussed in this paper is made available at https://code.soundsoftware.ac.uk/projects/allaboutaudioeq.

  12. Fusing Visual and Behavioral Cues for Modeling User Experience in Games

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shaker, Noor; Asteriadis, Stylianos; Yannakakis, Georgios N.

    2013-01-01

    Estimating affective and cognitive states in condi- tions of rich human-computer interaction, such as in games, is a field of growing academic and commercial interest. Entertain- ment and serious games can benefit from recent advances in the field as, having access to predictors of the current...... state of the player (or learner) can provide useful information for feeding adaptation mechanisms that aim to maximize engagement or learning effects. In this paper, we introduce a large data corpus derived from 58 participants that play the popular Super Mario Bros platform game and attempt to create...... accurate models of player experience for this game genre. Within the view of the current research, features extracted both from player gameplay behavior and game levels, and player visual characteristics have been utilized as potential indicators of reported affect expressed as pairwise preferences between...

  13. Class D audio amplifiers for high voltage capacitive transducers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Dennis

    of high volume, weight, and cost. High efficient class D amplifiers are now widely available offering power densities, that their linear counterparts can not match. Unlike the technology of audio amplifiers, the loudspeaker is still based on the traditional electrodynamic transducer invented by C.W. Rice......Audio reproduction systems contains two key components, the amplifier and the loudspeaker. In the last 20 – 30 years the technology of audio amplifiers have performed a fundamental shift of paradigm. Class D audio amplifiers have replaced the linear amplifiers, suffering from the well-known issues...... with the low level of acoustical output power and complex amplifier requirements, have limited the commercial success of the technology. Horn or compression drivers are typically favoured, when high acoustic output power is required, this is however at the expense of significant distortion combined...

  14. Capability and Interface Assessment of Gaming Technologies for Future Multi-Unmanned Air Vehicle Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-01

    Playing Games ( MMORPG ), which necessitate the management of multiple independent entities with sophisticated capabilities; and finally, arcade-style... MMORPG , SA 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT SAR 18. NUMBER OF PAGES 34 19a. NAME OF RESPONSIBLE...tested platform for simultaneous control of multiple entities. Similarly, the popularity of Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games ( MMORPG

  15. The Investigation on Using Unity3D Game Engine in Urban Design Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aswin Indraprastha

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available Developing a virtual 3D environment by using game engine is a strategy to incorporate various multimedia data into one platform. The characteristic of game engine that is preinstalled with interactive and navigation tools allows users to explore and engage with the game objects. However, most CAD and GIS applications are not equipped with 3D tools and navigation systems intended to the user experience. In particular, 3D game engines provide standard 3D navigation tools as well as any programmable view to create engaging navigation thorough the virtual environment. By using a game engine, it is possible to create other interaction such as object manipulation, non playing character (NPC interaction with player and/or environment. We conducted analysis on previous game engines and experiment on urban design project with Unity3D game engine for visualization and interactivity. At the end, we present the advantages and limitations using game technology as visual representation tool for architecture and urban design studies.

  16. StirMark Benchmark: audio watermarking attacks based on lossy compression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steinebach, Martin; Lang, Andreas; Dittmann, Jana

    2002-04-01

    StirMark Benchmark is a well-known evaluation tool for watermarking robustness. Additional attacks are added to it continuously. To enable application based evaluation, in our paper we address attacks against audio watermarks based on lossy audio compression algorithms to be included in the test environment. We discuss the effect of different lossy compression algorithms like MPEG-2 audio Layer 3, Ogg or VQF on a selection of audio test data. Our focus is on changes regarding the basic characteristics of the audio data like spectrum or average power and on removal of embedded watermarks. Furthermore we compare results of different watermarking algorithms and show that lossy compression is still a challenge for most of them. There are two strategies for adding evaluation of robustness against lossy compression to StirMark Benchmark: (a) use of existing free compression algorithms (b) implementation of a generic lossy compression simulation. We discuss how such a model can be implemented based on the results of our tests. This method is less complex, as no real psycho acoustic model has to be applied. Our model can be used for audio watermarking evaluation of numerous application fields. As an example, we describe its importance for e-commerce applications with watermarking security.

  17. AKTIVITAS SEKUNDER AUDIO UNTUK MENJAGA KEWASPADAAN PENGEMUDI MOBIL INDONESIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iftikar Zahedi Sutalaksana

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Tingkat kecelakaan lalu lintas yang melibatkan mobil di Indonesia semakin mengkhawatirkan. Tingginya peran faktor manusia sebagai penyebab utama kejadian kecelakaan patut diperhatikan. Penurunan kewaspadaan saat mengemudi akibat kantuk atau kelelahan merupakan salah satu kondisi yang mendorong terjadinya kecelakaan. Tulisan ini memaparkan aplikasi audio response test sebagai aktivitas sekunder dalam mengemudikan mobil. Response test yang dimaksud merupakan seperangkat aplikasi pada dashboard mobil yang menuntut respon pengemudi setiap stimulus suara bekerja. Audio response test ini diusulkan sebagai pemantau tingkat kewaspadaan pengemudi selama berkendara. Kewaspadaan pengemudi merupakan kondisi selama berkendara yang terjaga, awas, dan mampu memproses semua stimulus dengan baik. Hasil studi ini menghasilkan suatu bentuk audio response test yang terintegrasi dengan sistem berkendara di dalam mobil. Sumber bunyi diperdengarkan dengan intensitas konstan antara 80-85 dB. Bunyi akan berhenti jika pengemudi memberikan respon atas stimulus suara tersebut. Response test ini dirancang untuk mampu memantau tingkat kewaspadaan pengemudi selama berkendara. Penerapannya diharapkan mampu membantu menekan tingkat kecelakaan lalu lintas di Indonesia. Kata kunci: mengemudi, aktivitas sekunder, audio, kewaspadaan, response test   Abstract   The level of traffic accidents involving cars in Indonesia increasingly alarming. The high role of the human factor as the main cause of accident noteworthy. Decreased alertness while driving due to sleepiness or fatigue is one of the conditions that led to the accident. This paper describes an audio application response test as a secondary activity of driving a car. Response test is a set of applications on the dashboard of a car that demands a response driver each stimulus voice work. Audio response was proposed as test monitors the driver's level of alertness while driving. Vigilance driver was driving conditions during

  18. An Interactive Concert Program Based on Infrared Watermark and Audio Synthesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Hsi-Chun; Lee, Wen-Pin Hope; Liang, Feng-Ju

    The objective of this research is to propose a video/audio system which allows the user to listen the typical music notes in the concert program under infrared detection. The system synthesizes audio with different pitches and tempi in accordance with the encoded data in a 2-D barcode embedded in the infrared watermark. The digital halftoning technique has been used to fabricate the infrared watermark composed of halftone dots by both amplitude modulation (AM) and frequency modulation (FM). The results show that this interactive system successfully recognizes the barcode and synthesizes audio under infrared detection of a concert program which is also valid for human observation of the contents. This interactive video/audio system has greatly expanded the capability of the printout paper to audio display and also has many potential value-added applications.

  19. Audio Networking in the Music Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Glebs Kuzmics

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper surveys the rôle of computer networking technologies in the music industry. A comparison of their relevant technologies, their defining advantages and disadvantages; analyses and discussion of the situation in the market of network enabled audio products followed by a discussion of different devices are presented. The idea of replacing a proprietary solution with open-source and freeware software programs has been chosen as the fundamental concept of this research. The technologies covered include: native IEEE AVnu Alliance Audio Video Bridging (AVB, CobraNet®, Audinate Dante™ and Harman BLU Link.

  20. Frequency Hopping Method for Audio Watermarking

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Anastasijević

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper evaluates the degradation of audio content for a perceptible removable watermark. Two different approaches to embedding the watermark in the spectral domain were investigated. The frequencies for watermark embedding are chosen according to a pseudorandom sequence making the methods robust. Consequentially, the lower quality audio can be used for promotional purposes. For a fee, the watermark can be removed with a secret watermarking key. Objective and subjective testing was conducted in order to measure degradation level for the watermarked music samples and to examine residual distortion for different parameters of the watermarking algorithm and different music genres.

  1. Four-quadrant flyback converter for direct audio power amplification

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ljusev, Petar; Andersen, Michael Andreas E.

    2005-01-01

    This paper presents a bidirectional, four-quadrant flyback converter for use in direct audio power amplification. When compared to the standard Class-D switching audio power amplifier with a separate power supply, the proposed four-quadrant flyback converter provides simple solution with better...

  2. An integrated audio-visual impact tool for wind turbine installations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lymberopoulos, N.; Belessis, M.; Wood, M.; Voutsinas, S.

    1996-01-01

    An integrated software tool was developed for the design of wind parks that takes into account their visual and audio impact. The application is built on a powerful hardware platform and is fully operated through a graphic user interface. The topography, the wind turbines and the daylight conditions are realised digitally. The wind park can be animated in real time and the user can take virtual walks in it while the set-up of the park can be altered interactively. In parallel, the wind speed levels on the terrain, the emitted noise intensity, the annual energy output and the cash flow can be estimated at any stage of the session and prompt the user for rearrangements. The tool has been used to visually simulate existing wind parks in St. Breok, UK and Andros Island, Greece. The results lead to the conclusion that such a tool can assist to the public acceptance and licensing procedures of wind parks. (author)

  3. Audio Technology and Mobile Human Computer Interaction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chamberlain, Alan; Bødker, Mads; Hazzard, Adrian

    2017-01-01

    Audio-based mobile technology is opening up a range of new interactive possibilities. This paper brings some of those possibilities to light by offering a range of perspectives based in this area. It is not only the technical systems that are developing, but novel approaches to the design...... and understanding of audio-based mobile systems are evolving to offer new perspectives on interaction and design and support such systems to be applied in areas, such as the humanities....

  4. Mobile video-to-audio transducer and motion detection for sensory substitution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maxime eAmbard

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Visuo-auditory sensory substitution systems are augmented reality devices that translate a video stream into an audio stream in order to help the blind in daily tasks requiring visuo-spatial information. In this work, we present both a new mobile device and a transcoding method specifically designed to sonify moving objects. Frame differencing is used to extract spatial features from the video stream and two-dimensional spatial information is converted into audio cues using pitch, interaural time difference and interaural level difference. Using numerical methods, we attempt to reconstruct visuo-spatial information based on audio signals generated from various video stimuli. We show that despite a contrasted visual background and a highly lossy encoding method, the information in the audio signal is sufficient to allow object localization, object trajectory evaluation, object approach detection, and spatial separation of multiple objects. We also show that this type of audio signal can be interpreted by human users by asking ten subjects to discriminate trajectories based on generated audio signals.

  5. Cultural Heritage Meets Mobile Media - and New Games Emerge

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Jens F.

    The paper describes and evaluates a recent project in Aalborg, Denmark, dealing with the communication of cultural heritage and industrial culture to young people via their own preferred media platform: mobile phones. The communication was based on the new cultural genre: Alternative Reality Games...... or Augmented Reality Games (ARGs), i.e. games that take place in real life and in real physical settings. The paper concludes that ARGs can be seen as an entirely new way or method of communication cultural heritage. A method that supports a participating, involving, and experience-oriented communication......, a method that - so to speak - writes the player into the story and history, and a method that because of the narrative form is especially well-suited to support coherences and coherent stories....

  6. Effect of Self-Worth and Parenting Style on the Planned Behavior in an Online Moral Game

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, Jon-Chao; Hwang, Ming-Yueh; Wang, Chun-Kai; Hsu, Tsui-Fang; Chen, Yu-Ju; Chan, Chiung-Hua

    2011-01-01

    This idea of integrating moral education to digital gaming platform had been discussed since digital and online approaches were used in teaching. Online interactive instruction was one of moral teaching forms to assist moral instruction. However, most moral-related interactive online games lacked functions for players to explore themselves while…

  7. Unsupervised topic modelling on South African parliament audio data

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Kleynhans, N

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Using a speech recognition system to convert spoken audio to text can enable the structuring of large collections of spoken audio data. A convenient means to summarise or cluster spoken data is to identify the topic under discussion. There are many...

  8. Classifying laughter and speech using audio-visual feature prediction

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Petridis, Stavros; Asghar, Ali; Pantic, Maja

    2010-01-01

    In this study, a system that discriminates laughter from speech by modelling the relationship between audio and visual features is presented. The underlying assumption is that this relationship is different between speech and laughter. Neural networks are trained which learn the audio-to-visual and

  9. Sistema de adquisición y procesamiento de audio

    OpenAIRE

    Pérez Segurado, Rubén

    2015-01-01

    El objetivo de este proyecto es el diseño y la implementación de una plataforma para un sistema de procesamiento de audio. El sistema recibirá una señal de audio analógica desde una fuente de audio, permitirá realizar un tratamiento digital de dicha señal y generará una señal procesada que se enviará a unos altavoces externos. Para la realización del sistema de procesamiento se empleará: - Un dispositivo FPGA de Lattice, modelo MachX02-7000-HE, en la cual estarán todas la...

  10. Analytical Features: A Knowledge-Based Approach to Audio Feature Generation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pachet François

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available We present a feature generation system designed to create audio features for supervised classification tasks. The main contribution to feature generation studies is the notion of analytical features (AFs, a construct designed to support the representation of knowledge about audio signal processing. We describe the most important aspects of AFs, in particular their dimensional type system, on which are based pattern-based random generators, heuristics, and rewriting rules. We show how AFs generalize or improve previous approaches used in feature generation. We report on several projects using AFs for difficult audio classification tasks, demonstrating their advantage over standard audio features. More generally, we propose analytical features as a paradigm to bring raw signals into the world of symbolic computation.

  11. Audible Aliasing Distortion in Digital Audio Synthesis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Schimmel

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper deals with aliasing distortion in digital audio signal synthesis of classic periodic waveforms with infinite Fourier series, for electronic musical instruments. When these waveforms are generated in the digital domain then the aliasing appears due to its unlimited bandwidth. There are several techniques for the synthesis of these signals that have been designed to avoid or reduce the aliasing distortion. However, these techniques have high computing demands. One can say that today's computers have enough computing power to use these methods. However, we have to realize that today’s computer-aided music production requires tens of multi-timbre voices generated simultaneously by software synthesizers and the most of the computing power must be reserved for hard-disc recording subsystem and real-time audio processing of many audio channels with a lot of audio effects. Trivially generated classic analog synthesizer waveforms are therefore still effective for sound synthesis. We cannot avoid the aliasing distortion but spectral components produced by the aliasing can be masked with harmonic components and thus made inaudible if sufficient oversampling ratio is used. This paper deals with the assessment of audible aliasing distortion with the help of a psychoacoustic model of simultaneous masking and compares the computing demands of trivial generation using oversampling with those of other methods.

  12. Play, Create, Share? Console Gaming, Player Production and Agency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olli Sotamaa

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Digital games have been frequently used to illustrate the new organisational frameworks that are based on persuading users to carry out tasks and assignments not traditionally associated with them. However coined, ‘user-innovation’ (von Hippel, 2005, ‘crowdsourcing’ (Howe, 2008 or ‘pro-am revolution’ (Leadbeater and Miller, 2004, contemporary examples of this phenomena always include digital games. A closer look at the recent open innovation manifestos reveals that the oft-cited examples come almost entirely from PC games while console games remain mostly non-existent in these texts. It is clear that PC and console games differ both in use and in the cultures they create (Taylor, 2007. Equally, the technological and economic backgrounds of the market sectors have their differences (Kerr, 2006.The concept of LittleBigPlanet, a console game inherently dependent on player production, challenges the neat binary of some much cited arguments about tethered appliances. The first set of research questions rises from this observation. What are the technical and economic constraints and affordances the console as a platform uses to position the productive activities of players? How do these differ from the forms of player production typical of PC gaming (see Sotamaa, 2007a; and Sotamaa, 2007b?

  13. Evaluation and physiotherapeutic intervention in older with deficit balance through the Scale of Berg and Wii Balance Board platform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juliana Secchi Batista

    Full Text Available Introduction The aging process causes structural and functional changes in the organism. Among these changes, the systems responsible for controlling the balance are also affected, especially in women. This study aims to perform an assessment and physiotherapy intervention in elderly with balance deficits through Berg scale and platform Wii Balance Board. Materials and methods The study was longitudinal quasi-experimental intervention. Held in the city of Passo Fundo, RS - Brazil. Participants were 38 elderly women who had a deficit balance. The instruments used to collect data was a questionnaire to identify, assess balance across the Berg Balance Scale and an intervention program with six games via the Wii Balance Board™ platform. To statistically analyze the effects before and after the intervention were used Wilcoxon and Pearson correlation, with a significance level of p = 0.05. Results In the present study, we observed a statistically significant improvement in the balance of elderly compared before and after intervention, moreover, the six games played also showed statistical significance when comparing the first and twentieth session, highlighting the games Tightrope Walk Table Tilt, Deep Breathing and Soccer Heading. Conclusion The evaluation and balance training with the platform Wii Balance Board were able to provide significant results for the elderly, besides, the game has the potential to treat the health, well-being and functional capacity of older people through the visual representation the game in real time.

  14. ENERGY STAR Certified Audio Video

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Certified models meet all ENERGY STAR requirements as listed in the Version 3.0 ENERGY STAR Program Requirements for Audio Video Equipment that are effective as of...

  15. Business Simulation Games: Effective Teaching Tools or Window Dressing?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanner, John R.; Stewart, Geoffrey; Totaro, Michael W.; Hargrave, Melissa

    2012-01-01

    Business simulations serve as learning platforms that stimulate the "gaming" interest of students, that provide a structured learning environment, and that should help manage the time resources of faculty. Simulations appear to provide a context where students feel learning can take place. However, faculty perception of simulation…

  16. TECHNICAL NOTE: Portable audio electronics for impedance-based measurements in microfluidics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, Paul; Sinton, David

    2010-08-01

    We demonstrate the use of audio electronics-based signals to perform on-chip electrochemical measurements. Cell phones and portable music players are examples of consumer electronics that are easily operated and are ubiquitous worldwide. Audio output (play) and input (record) signals are voltage based and contain frequency and amplitude information. A cell phone, laptop soundcard and two compact audio players are compared with respect to frequency response; the laptop soundcard provides the most uniform frequency response, while the cell phone performance is found to be insufficient. The audio signals in the common portable music players and laptop soundcard operate in the range of 20 Hz to 20 kHz and are found to be applicable, as voltage input and output signals, to impedance-based electrochemical measurements in microfluidic systems. Validated impedance-based measurements of concentration (0.1-50 mM), flow rate (2-120 µL min-1) and particle detection (32 µm diameter) are demonstrated. The prevailing, lossless, wave audio file format is found to be suitable for data transmission to and from external sources, such as a centralized lab, and the cost of all hardware (in addition to audio devices) is ~10 USD. The utility demonstrated here, in combination with the ubiquitous nature of portable audio electronics, presents new opportunities for impedance-based measurements in portable microfluidic systems.

  17. Class-D audio amplifiers with negative feedback

    OpenAIRE

    Cox, Stephen M.; Candy, B. H.

    2006-01-01

    There are many different designs for audio amplifiers. Class-D, or switching, amplifiers generate their output signal in the form of a high-frequency square wave of variable duty cycle (ratio of on time to off time). The square-wave nature of the output allows a particularly efficient output stage, with minimal losses. The output is ultimately filtered to remove components of the spectrum above the audio range. Mathematical models are derived here for a variety of related class-D amplifier de...

  18. A second-order class-D audio amplifier

    OpenAIRE

    Cox, Stephen M.; Tan, M.T.; Yu, J.

    2011-01-01

    Class-D audio amplifiers are particularly efficient, and this efficiency has led to their ubiquity in a wide range of modern electronic appliances. Their output takes the form of a high-frequency square wave whose duty cycle (ratio of on-time to off-time) is modulated at low frequency according to the audio signal. A mathematical model is developed here for a second-order class-D amplifier design (i.e., containing one second-order integrator) with negative feedback. We derive exact expression...

  19. "Game Remains": A Platform Design Grounded in Indigenous Knowledge Systems for Dialogue and Composition Play

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martinez, Cristobal M.; Ingram-Goble, Adam; Twist, Kade L.; Chacon, Raven

    2016-01-01

    This article reviews the design and implementation of a game as an instrument for dialogue, both as a social tool and a shared interface for music performance. Beyond describing the design of "Game Remains," the article shares the details of an impact story of how an installation in Guelph's Musagetes Boarding House Arts in Canada has…

  20. Documentary management of the sport audio-visual information in the generalist televisions

    OpenAIRE

    Jorge Caldera Serrano; Felipe Alonso

    2007-01-01

    The management of the sport audio-visual documentation of the Information Systems of the state, zonal and local chains is analyzed within the framework. For it it is made makes a route by the documentary chain that makes the sport audio-visual information with the purpose of being analyzing each one of the parameters, showing therefore a series of recommendations and norms for the preparation of the sport audio-visual registry. Evidently the audio-visual sport documentation difference i...

  1. Multi Carrier Modulation Audio Power Amplifier with Programmable Logic

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiansen, Theis; Andersen, Toke Meyer; Knott, Arnold

    2009-01-01

    While switch-mode audio power amplifiers allow compact implementations and high output power levels due to their high power efficiency, they are very well known for creating electromagnetic interference (EMI) with other electronic equipment. To lower the EMI of switch-mode (class D) audio power a...

  2. Advances in audio watermarking based on singular value decomposition

    CERN Document Server

    Dhar, Pranab Kumar

    2015-01-01

    This book introduces audio watermarking methods for copyright protection, which has drawn extensive attention for securing digital data from unauthorized copying. The book is divided into two parts. First, an audio watermarking method in discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and discrete cosine transform (DCT) domains using singular value decomposition (SVD) and quantization is introduced. This method is robust against various attacks and provides good imperceptible watermarked sounds. Then, an audio watermarking method in fast Fourier transform (FFT) domain using SVD and Cartesian-polar transformation (CPT) is presented. This method has high imperceptibility and high data payload and it provides good robustness against various attacks. These techniques allow media owners to protect copyright and to show authenticity and ownership of their material in a variety of applications.   ·         Features new methods of audio watermarking for copyright protection and ownership protection ·         Outl...

  3. Perancangan Sistem Audio Mobil Berbasiskan Sistem Pakar dan Web

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Djunaidi Santoso

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Designing car audio that fits user’s needs is a fun activity. However, the design often consumes more time and costly since it should be consulted to the experts several times. For easy access to information in designing a car audio system as well as error prevention, an car audio system based on expert system and web is designed for those who do not have sufficient time and expense to consult directly to experts. This system consists of tutorial modules designed using the HyperText Preprocessor (PHP and MySQL as database. This car audio system design is evaluated uses black box testing method which focuses on the functional needs of the application. Tests are performed by providing inputs and produce outputs corresponding to the function of each module. The test results prove the correspondence between input and output, which means that the program meet the initial goals of the design. 

  4. Towards a Multimodal Methodology for the Analysis of Translated/Localised Games

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bárbara Resende Coelho

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Multimedia materials require research methodologies that are able to comprehend all of their assets. Videogames are the epitome of multimedia, joining image, sound, video, animation, graphics and text with the interactivity factor. A methodology to conduct research into translation and localisation of videogames should be able to analyse all of its assets and features. This paper sets out to develop a research methodology for games and their translations/localisations that goes beyond the collection and analysis of “screenshots” and includes as many of their assets as possible. Using the fully localised version of the game Watchdogs, this papers shows how tools and technologies allow for transcending the mere analysis of linguistic contents within multimedia materials. Using software ELAN Language Archive to analyse Portuguese-language dubbed and English-language subtitled excerpts from the videogame, it was possible to identify patterns in both linguistic and audio-visual elements, as well as to correlate them.

  5. A Kinect-Based Physiotherapy and Assessment Platform for Parkinson's Disease Patients

    OpenAIRE

    Pachoulakis, Ioannis; Xilourgos, Nikolaos; Papadopoulos, Nikolaos; Analyti, Anastasia

    2016-01-01

    We report on a Kinect-based, augmented reality, real-time physiotherapy platform tailored to Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. The platform employs a Kinect sensor to extract real-time 3D skeletal data (joint information) from a patient facing the sensor (at 30 frames per second). In addition, a small collection of exercises practiced in traditional physiotherapy for PD patients has been implemented in the Unity 3D game engine. Each exercise employs linear or circular movement patterns and p...

  6. A Psychoacoustic-Based Multiple Audio Object Coding Approach via Intra-Object Sparsity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maoshen Jia

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Rendering spatial sound scenes via audio objects has become popular in recent years, since it can provide more flexibility for different auditory scenarios, such as 3D movies, spatial audio communication and virtual classrooms. To facilitate high-quality bitrate-efficient distribution for spatial audio objects, an encoding scheme based on intra-object sparsity (approximate k-sparsity of the audio object itself is proposed in this paper. The statistical analysis is presented to validate the notion that the audio object has a stronger sparseness in the Modified Discrete Cosine Transform (MDCT domain than in the Short Time Fourier Transform (STFT domain. By exploiting intra-object sparsity in the MDCT domain, multiple simultaneously occurring audio objects are compressed into a mono downmix signal with side information. To ensure a balanced perception quality of audio objects, a Psychoacoustic-based time-frequency instants sorting algorithm and an energy equalized Number of Preserved Time-Frequency Bins (NPTF allocation strategy are proposed, which are employed in the underlying compression framework. The downmix signal can be further encoded via Scalar Quantized Vector Huffman Coding (SQVH technique at a desirable bitrate, and the side information is transmitted in a lossless manner. Both objective and subjective evaluations show that the proposed encoding scheme outperforms the Sparsity Analysis (SPA approach and Spatial Audio Object Coding (SAOC in cases where eight objects were jointly encoded.

  7. Digital Gaming and Pediatric Obesity: At the Intersection of Science and Social Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Staiano, Amanda E.; Calvert, Sandra L.

    2012-01-01

    Children and adolescents in developed countries are heavily immersed in digital media, creating an inexpensive, far-reaching marketing opportunity for the food industry and the gaming industry. However, exposure to nonnutritious food and beverage advertisements combined with the use of stationary media create a conflict between entertainment and public health. Using the popular digital gaming platforms advergames (online games that market branded products) and exergames (video games that involves gross motor activity for play) as exemplars, the following article provides an analysis of the negative and positive health impacts of digital gaming as they relate specifically to overweight and obesity outcomes for children and adolescents. Theoretical explanations including the food marketing defense model, persuasion knowledge model, and social cognitive theory are used to explain the influence of gaming on young players’ health. Throughout the article, we discuss the role of public policy to encourage the development and use of health-promoting digital games as an innovative, effective tool to combat the pediatric obesity crisis. PMID:22545068

  8. Digital Gaming and Pediatric Obesity: At the Intersection of Science and Social Policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Staiano, Amanda E; Calvert, Sandra L

    2012-03-01

    Children and adolescents in developed countries are heavily immersed in digital media, creating an inexpensive, far-reaching marketing opportunity for the food industry and the gaming industry. However, exposure to nonnutritious food and beverage advertisements combined with the use of stationary media create a conflict between entertainment and public health. Using the popular digital gaming platforms advergames (online games that market branded products) and exergames (video games that involves gross motor activity for play) as exemplars, the following article provides an analysis of the negative and positive health impacts of digital gaming as they relate specifically to overweight and obesity outcomes for children and adolescents. Theoretical explanations including the food marketing defense model, persuasion knowledge model, and social cognitive theory are used to explain the influence of gaming on young players' health. Throughout the article, we discuss the role of public policy to encourage the development and use of health-promoting digital games as an innovative, effective tool to combat the pediatric obesity crisis.

  9. An introduction to audio content analysis applications in signal processing and music informatics

    CERN Document Server

    Lerch, Alexander

    2012-01-01

    "With the proliferation of digital audio distribution over digital media, audio content analysis is fast becoming a requirement for designers of intelligent signal-adaptive audio processing systems. Written by a well-known expert in the field, this book provides quick access to different analysis algorithms and allows comparison between different approaches to the same task, making it useful for newcomers to audio signal processing and industry experts alike. A review of relevant fundamentals in audio signal processing, psychoacoustics, and music theory, as well as downloadable MATLAB files are also included"--

  10. BAT: An open-source, web-based audio events annotation tool

    OpenAIRE

    Blai Meléndez-Catalan, Emilio Molina, Emilia Gómez

    2017-01-01

    In this paper we present BAT (BMAT Annotation Tool), an open-source, web-based tool for the manual annotation of events in audio recordings developed at BMAT (Barcelona Music and Audio Technologies). The main feature of the tool is that it provides an easy way to annotate the salience of simultaneous sound sources. Additionally, it allows to define multiple ontologies to adapt to multiple tasks and offers the possibility to cross-annotate audio data. Moreover, it is easy to install and deploy...

  11. On the Use of Memory Models in Audio Features

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Karl Kristoffer

    2011-01-01

    Audio feature estimation is potentially improved by including higher- level models. One such model is the Short Term Memory (STM) model. A new paradigm of audio feature estimation is obtained by adding the influence of notes in the STM. These notes are identified when the perceptual spectral flux...

  12. Audio Teleconferencing: Low Cost Technology for External Studies Networking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robertson, Bill

    1987-01-01

    This discussion of the benefits of audio teleconferencing for distance education programs and for business and government applications focuses on the recent experience of Canadian educational users. Four successful operating models and their costs are reviewed, and it is concluded that audio teleconferencing is cost efficient and educationally…

  13. Automatic Organisation and Quality Analysis of User-Generated Content with Audio Fingerprinting

    OpenAIRE

    Cavaco, Sofia; Magalhaes, Joao; Mordido, Gonçalo

    2018-01-01

    The increase of the quantity of user-generated content experienced in social media has boosted the importance of analysing and organising the content by its quality. Here, we propose a method that uses audio fingerprinting to organise and infer the quality of user-generated audio content. The proposed method detects the overlapping segments between different audio clips to organise and cluster the data according to events, and to infer the audio quality of the samples. A test setup with conce...

  14. A Virtual Hosting Environment for Distributed Online Gaming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brossard, David; Prieto Martinez, Juan Luis

    With enterprise boundaries becoming fuzzier, it’s become clear that businesses need to share resources, expose services, and interact in many different ways. In order to achieve such a distribution in a dynamic, flexible, and secure way, we have designed and implemented a virtual hosting environment (VHE) which aims at integrating business services across enterprise boundaries and virtualising the ICT environment within which these services operate in order to exploit economies of scale for the businesses as well as achieve shorter concept-to-market time scales. To illustrate the relevance of the VHE, we have applied it to the online gaming world. Online gaming is an early adopter of distributed computing and more than 30% of gaming developer companies, being aware of the shift, are focusing on developing high performance platforms for the new online trend.

  15. Motivational Aspects of Gaming for Students with Intellectual Disabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saridaki, Maria; Mourlas, Constantinos

    2011-01-01

    The attention to learners with special needs, in particular those with intellectual disabilities, is an area of continuous development. It is considered important to develop adaptive educational solutions for the integration of people with educational difficulties according to their needs. Digital games provide an attractive and direct platform in…

  16. Haptic and Audio-visual Stimuli: Enhancing Experiences and Interaction

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nijholt, Antinus; Dijk, Esko O.; Lemmens, Paul M.C.; Luitjens, S.B.

    2010-01-01

    The intention of the symposium on Haptic and Audio-visual stimuli at the EuroHaptics 2010 conference is to deepen the understanding of the effect of combined Haptic and Audio-visual stimuli. The knowledge gained will be used to enhance experiences and interactions in daily life. To this end, a

  17. The Effect of Audio and Animation in Multimedia Instruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koroghlanian, Carol; Klein, James D.

    2004-01-01

    This study investigated the effects of audio, animation, and spatial ability in a multimedia computer program for high school biology. Participants completed a multimedia program that presented content by way of text or audio with lean text. In addition, several instructional sequences were presented either with static illustrations or animations.…

  18. Selected Audio-Visual Materials for Consumer Education. [New Version.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnston, William L.

    Ninety-two films, filmstrips, multi-media kits, slides, and audio cassettes, produced between 1964 and 1974, are listed in this selective annotated bibliography on consumer education. The major portion of the bibliography is devoted to films and filmstrips. The main topics of the audio-visual materials include purchasing, advertising, money…

  19. Audio-visual temporal recalibration can be constrained by content cues regardless of spatial overlap

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Warrick eRoseboom

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available It has now been well established that the point of subjective synchrony for audio and visual events can be shifted following exposure to asynchronous audio-visual presentations, an effect often referred to as temporal recalibration. Recently it was further demonstrated that it is possible to concurrently maintain two such recalibrated, and opposing, estimates of audio-visual temporal synchrony. However, it remains unclear precisely what defines a given audio-visual pair such that it is possible to maintain a temporal relationship distinct from other pairs. It has been suggested that spatial separation of the different audio-visual pairs is necessary to achieve multiple distinct audio-visual synchrony estimates. Here we investigated if this was necessarily true. Specifically, we examined whether it is possible to obtain two distinct temporal recalibrations for stimuli that differed only in featural content. Using both complex (audio visual speech; Experiment 1 and simple stimuli (high and low pitch audio matched with either vertically or horizontally oriented Gabors; Experiment 2 we found concurrent, and opposite, recalibrations despite there being no spatial difference in presentation location at any point throughout the experiment. This result supports the notion that the content of an audio-visual pair can be used to constrain distinct audio-visual synchrony estimates regardless of spatial overlap.

  20. Effect of Audio Coaching on Correlation of Abdominal Displacement With Lung Tumor Motion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakamura, Mitsuhiro; Narita, Yuichiro; Matsuo, Yukinori; Narabayashi, Masaru; Nakata, Manabu; Sawada, Akira; Mizowaki, Takashi; Nagata, Yasushi; Hiraoka, Masahiro

    2009-01-01

    Purpose: To assess the effect of audio coaching on the time-dependent behavior of the correlation between abdominal motion and lung tumor motion and the corresponding lung tumor position mismatches. Methods and Materials: Six patients who had a lung tumor with a motion range >8 mm were enrolled in the present study. Breathing-synchronized fluoroscopy was performed initially without audio coaching, followed by fluoroscopy with recorded audio coaching for multiple days. Two different measurements, anteroposterior abdominal displacement using the real-time positioning management system and superoinferior (SI) lung tumor motion by X-ray fluoroscopy, were performed simultaneously. Their sequential images were recorded using one display system. The lung tumor position was automatically detected with a template matching technique. The relationship between the abdominal and lung tumor motion was analyzed with and without audio coaching. Results: The mean SI tumor displacement was 10.4 mm without audio coaching and increased to 23.0 mm with audio coaching (p < .01). The correlation coefficients ranged from 0.89 to 0.97 with free breathing. Applying audio coaching, the correlation coefficients improved significantly (range, 0.93-0.99; p < .01), and the SI lung tumor position mismatches became larger in 75% of all sessions. Conclusion: Audio coaching served to increase the degree of correlation and make it more reproducible. In addition, the phase shifts between tumor motion and abdominal displacement were improved; however, all patients breathed more deeply, and the SI lung tumor position mismatches became slightly larger with audio coaching than without audio coaching.

  1. Customization of gaming technology and prototyping of rehabilitation applications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Herbelin, Bruno; Ciger, Jan; Lewis Brooks, Anthony

    2008-01-01

    The field of rehabilitation has recently seen various experimentations with games using interfaces that require physical activity. In order to establish the basis for developments and experimentations with those interactive systems, we propose a rapid prototyping approach using various commercial...... and to elaborate on the use of such systems. In other words, the availability of a simple prototyping platform with free games and new interfaces already opens the discussion on the design of original rehabilitation applications....... devices and open source software. To demonstrate this idea, we first show how a simple free game can be adapted to specific needs − for training or use by disabled people − by using different sensors and control modes. Similarly, we show that an open on-line virtual world such as Second Life, although...

  2. Four-quadrant flyback converter for direct audio power amplification

    OpenAIRE

    Ljusev, Petar; Andersen, Michael Andreas E.

    2005-01-01

    This paper presents a bidirectional, four-quadrant flyback converter for use in direct audio power amplification. When compared to the standard Class-D switching audio power amplifier with a separate power supply, the proposed four-quadrant flyback converter provides simple solution with better efficiency, higher level of integration and lower component count.

  3. Casual Empire: Video Games as Neocolonial Praxis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sabine Harrer

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available As a media form entwined in the U.S. military-industrial complex, video games continue to celebrate imperialist imagery and Western-centric narratives of the great white explorer (Breger, 2008; Dyer-Witheford & de Peuter, 2009; Geyser & Tshalabala, 2011; Mukherjee, 2016. While much ink has been spilt on the detrimental effects of colonial imagery on those it objectifies and dehumanises, the question is why these games still get made, and what mechanisms are at work in the enjoyment of empire-themed play experiences. To explore this question, this article develops the concept of ‘casual empire’, suggesting that the wish to play games as a casual pastime expedites the incidental circulation of imperialist ideology. Three examples – 'Resident Evil V' (2009, 'The Conquest: Colonization' (2015 and 'Playing History: Slave Trade' (2013 – are used to demonstrate the production and consumption of casual empire across multiple platforms, genres and player bases. Following a brief contextualisation of postcolonial (game studies, this article addresses casual design, by which I understand game designers’ casual reproduction of inferential racism (Hall, 1995 for the sake of entertainment. I then look at casual play, and players’ attitudes to games as rational commodities continuing a history of commodity racism (McClintock, 1995. Finally, the article investigates the casual involvement of formalist game studies in the construction of imperial values. These three dimensions of the casual – design, play and academia – make up the three pillars of the casual empire that must be challenged to undermine video games’ neocolonialist praxis.

  4. Selective attention modulates the direction of audio-visual temporal recalibration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ikumi, Nara; Soto-Faraco, Salvador

    2014-01-01

    Temporal recalibration of cross-modal synchrony has been proposed as a mechanism to compensate for timing differences between sensory modalities. However, far from the rich complexity of everyday life sensory environments, most studies to date have examined recalibration on isolated cross-modal pairings. Here, we hypothesize that selective attention might provide an effective filter to help resolve which stimuli are selected when multiple events compete for recalibration. We addressed this question by testing audio-visual recalibration following an adaptation phase where two opposing audio-visual asynchronies were present. The direction of voluntary visual attention, and therefore to one of the two possible asynchronies (flash leading or flash lagging), was manipulated using colour as a selection criterion. We found a shift in the point of subjective audio-visual simultaneity as a function of whether the observer had focused attention to audio-then-flash or to flash-then-audio groupings during the adaptation phase. A baseline adaptation condition revealed that this effect of endogenous attention was only effective toward the lagging flash. This hints at the role of exogenous capture and/or additional endogenous effects producing an asymmetry toward the leading flash. We conclude that selective attention helps promote selected audio-visual pairings to be combined and subsequently adjusted in time but, stimulus organization exerts a strong impact on recalibration. We tentatively hypothesize that the resolution of recalibration in complex scenarios involves the orchestration of top-down selection mechanisms and stimulus-driven processes.

  5. Selective attention modulates the direction of audio-visual temporal recalibration.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nara Ikumi

    Full Text Available Temporal recalibration of cross-modal synchrony has been proposed as a mechanism to compensate for timing differences between sensory modalities. However, far from the rich complexity of everyday life sensory environments, most studies to date have examined recalibration on isolated cross-modal pairings. Here, we hypothesize that selective attention might provide an effective filter to help resolve which stimuli are selected when multiple events compete for recalibration. We addressed this question by testing audio-visual recalibration following an adaptation phase where two opposing audio-visual asynchronies were present. The direction of voluntary visual attention, and therefore to one of the two possible asynchronies (flash leading or flash lagging, was manipulated using colour as a selection criterion. We found a shift in the point of subjective audio-visual simultaneity as a function of whether the observer had focused attention to audio-then-flash or to flash-then-audio groupings during the adaptation phase. A baseline adaptation condition revealed that this effect of endogenous attention was only effective toward the lagging flash. This hints at the role of exogenous capture and/or additional endogenous effects producing an asymmetry toward the leading flash. We conclude that selective attention helps promote selected audio-visual pairings to be combined and subsequently adjusted in time but, stimulus organization exerts a strong impact on recalibration. We tentatively hypothesize that the resolution of recalibration in complex scenarios involves the orchestration of top-down selection mechanisms and stimulus-driven processes.

  6. Semantic Analysis of Multimedial Information Usign Both Audio and Visual Clues

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrej Lukac

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays, there is a lot of information in databases (text, audio/video form, etc.. It is important to be able to describe this data for better orientation in them. It is necessary to apply audio/video properties, which are used for metadata management, segmenting the document into semantically meaningful units, classifying each unit into a predefined scene type, indexing, summarizing the document for efficient retrieval and browsing. Data can be used for system that automatically searches for a specific person in a sequence also for special video sequences. Audio/video properties are presented by descriptors and description schemes. There are many features that can be used to characterize multimedial signals. We can analyze audio and video sequences jointly or considered them completely separately. Our aim is oriented to possibilities of combining multimedial features. Focus is direct into discussion programs, because there are more decisions how to combine audio features with video sequences.

  7. Playable Stories: Making Programming and 3D Role-Playing Game Design Personally and Socially Relevant

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ingram-Goble, Adam

    2013-01-01

    This is an exploratory design study of a novel system for learning programming and 3D role-playing game design as tools for social change. This study was conducted at two sites. Participants in the study were ages 9-14 and worked for up to 15 hours with the platform to learn how to program and design video games with personally or socially…

  8. nodeGame: Real-time, synchronous, online experiments in the browser.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balietti, Stefano

    2017-10-01

    nodeGame is a free, open-source JavaScript/ HTML5 framework for conducting synchronous experiments online and in the lab directly in the browser window. It is specifically designed to support behavioral research along three dimensions: (i) larger group sizes, (ii) real-time (but also discrete time) experiments, and (iii) batches of simultaneous experiments. nodeGame has a modular source code, and defines an API (application programming interface) through which experimenters can create new strategic environments and configure the platform. With zero-install, nodeGame can run on a great variety of devices, from desktop computers to laptops, smartphones, and tablets. The current version of the software is 3.0, and extensive documentation is available on the wiki pages at http://nodegame.org .

  9. Self-oscillating modulators for direct energy conversion audio power amplifiers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ljusev, P.; Andersen, Michael A.E.

    2005-07-01

    Direct energy conversion audio power amplifier represents total integration of switching-mode power supply and Class D audio power amplifier into one compact stage, achieving high efficiency, high level of integration, low component count and eventually low cost. This paper presents how self-oscillating modulators can be used with the direct switching-mode audio power amplifier to improve its performance by providing fast hysteretic control with high power supply rejection ratio, open-loop stability and high bandwidth. Its operation is thoroughly analyzed and simulated waveforms of a prototype amplifier are presented. (au)

  10. Local Control of Audio Environment: A Review of Methods and Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jussi Kuutti

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available The concept of a local audio environment is to have sound playback locally restricted such that, ideally, adjacent regions of an indoor or outdoor space could exhibit their own individual audio content without interfering with each other. This would enable people to listen to their content of choice without disturbing others next to them, yet, without any headphones to block conversation. In practice, perfect sound containment in free air cannot be attained, but a local audio environment can still be satisfactorily approximated using directional speakers. Directional speakers may be based on regular audible frequencies or they may employ modulated ultrasound. Planar, parabolic, and array form factors are commonly used. The directivity of a speaker improves as its surface area and sound frequency increases, making these the main design factors for directional audio systems. Even directional speakers radiate some sound outside the main beam, and sound can also reflect from objects. Therefore, directional speaker systems perform best when there is enough ambient noise to mask the leaking sound. Possible areas of application for local audio include information and advertisement audio feed in commercial facilities, guiding and narration in museums and exhibitions, office space personalization, control room messaging, rehabilitation environments, and entertainment audio systems.

  11. RunJumpCode: An Educational Game for Educating Programming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hinds, Matthew; Baghaei, Nilufar; Ragon, Pedrito; Lambert, Jonathon; Rajakaruna, Tharindu; Houghton, Travers; Dacey, Simon

    2017-01-01

    Programming promotes critical thinking, problem solving and analytic skills through creating solutions that can solve everyday problems. However, learning programming can be a daunting experience for a lot of students. "RunJumpCode" is an educational 2D platformer video game, designed and developed in Unity, to teach players the…

  12. Action video game play and transfer of navigation and spatial cognition skills in adolescents who are blind.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Connors, Erin C; Chrastil, Elizabeth R; Sánchez, Jaime; Merabet, Lotfi B

    2014-01-01

    For individuals who are blind, navigating independently in an unfamiliar environment represents a considerable challenge. Inspired by the rising popularity of video games, we have developed a novel approach to train navigation and spatial cognition skills in adolescents who are blind. Audio-based Environment Simulator (AbES) is a software application that allows for the virtual exploration of an existing building set in an action video game metaphor. Using this ludic-based approach to learning, we investigated the ability and efficacy of adolescents with early onset blindness to acquire spatial information gained from the exploration of a target virtual indoor environment. Following game play, participants were assessed on their ability to transfer and mentally manipulate acquired spatial information on a set of navigation tasks carried out in the real environment. Success in transfer of navigation skill performance was markedly high suggesting that interacting with AbES leads to the generation of an accurate spatial mental representation. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation between success in game play and navigation task performance. The role of virtual environments and gaming in the development of mental spatial representations is also discussed. We conclude that this game based learning approach can facilitate the transfer of spatial knowledge and further, can be used by individuals who are blind for the purposes of navigation in real-world environments.

  13. Balancing Audio

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Walther-Hansen, Mads

    2016-01-01

    is not thoroughly understood. In this paper I treat balance as a metaphor that we use to reason about several different actions in music production, such as adjusting levels, editing the frequency spectrum or the spatiality of the recording. This study is based on an exploration of a linguistic corpus of sound......This paper explores the concept of balance in music production and examines the role of conceptual metaphors in reasoning about audio editing. Balance may be the most central concept in record production, however, the way we cognitively understand and respond meaningfully to a mix requiring balance...

  14. Four-quadrant flyback converter for direct audio power amplification

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ljusev, P.; Andersen, Michael A.E.

    2005-07-01

    This paper presents a bidirectional, four-quadrant yback converter for use in direct audio power amplication. When compared to the standard Class-D switching-mode audio power amplier with separate power supply, the proposed four-quadrant flyback converter provides simple and compact solution with high efciency, higher level of integration, lower component count, less board space and eventually lower cost. Both peak and average current-mode control for use with 4Q flyback power converters are described and compared. Integrated magnetics is presented which simplies the construction of the auxiliary power supplies for control biasing and isolated gate drives. The feasibility of the approach is proven on audio power amplier prototype for subwoofer applications. (au)

  15. Action Video Game Play and Transfer of Navigation and Spatial Cognition Skills in Adolescents who are Blind

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erin eConnors

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available For individuals who are blind, navigating independently in an unfamiliar environment represents a considerable challenge. Inspired from recent developments in accessible technology and the rising popularity of video games, we have developed a novel approach to train navigation and spatial cognition skills in adolescents who are blind. Audio-based Environment Simulator (AbES is a software application that allows for the virtual exploration of an existing building set in an action video game metaphor. We investigated the ability and efficacy of adolescents with early onset blindness to acquire spatial information gained from the exploration of a virtual indoor environment using this ludic approach to learning. Following game play, participants were then assessed on their ability to transfer and mentally manipulate acquired spatial information in a set of navigation tasks carried out in the real environment represented in the game. The transfer of navigation skill performance was markedly high suggesting that interacting with AbES leads to the generation of an accurate spatial mental representation. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation between success in game play and navigation task performance. The role of virtual environments and gaming in the development of mental spatial representations is also discussed. We conclude that this novel software and learning by a gaming approach can facilitate the transfer of spatial knowledge and can be used by individuals who are blind for the purposes of navigation in real-world environments.

  16. Development of Trivia Game for speech understanding in background noise.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwartz, Kathryn; Ringleb, Stacie I; Sandberg, Hilary; Raymer, Anastasia; Watson, Ginger S

    2015-01-01

    Listening in noise is an everyday activity and poses a challenge for many people. To improve the ability to understand speech in noise, a computerized auditory rehabilitation game was developed. In Trivia Game players are challenged to answer trivia questions spoken aloud. As players progress through the game, the level of background noise increases. A study using Trivia Game was conducted as a proof-of-concept investigation in healthy participants. College students with normal hearing were randomly assigned to a control (n = 13) or a treatment (n = 14) group. Treatment participants played Trivia Game 12 times over a 4-week period. All participants completed objective (auditory-only and audiovisual formats) and subjective listening in noise measures at baseline and 4 weeks later. There were no statistical differences between the groups at baseline. At post-test, the treatment group significantly improved their overall speech understanding in noise in the audiovisual condition and reported significant benefits in their functional listening abilities. Playing Trivia Game improved speech understanding in noise in healthy listeners. Significant findings for the audiovisual condition suggest that participants improved face-reading abilities. Trivia Game may be a platform for investigating changes in speech understanding in individuals with sensory, linguistic and cognitive impairments.

  17. Design and development of the mobile game based on the J2ME technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, JunHua

    2012-01-01

    With the continuous improvement of mobile performance, mobile entertainment applications market trend has been increasingly clear, mobile entertainment applications will be after the PC entertainment applications is another important business growth. Through the full analysis of the current mobile entertainment applications market demand and trends, the author has accumulated a lot of theoretical knowledge and practical experience. Rational, using of some new technology for a mobile entertainment games design, and described the development of key technologies required for mobile game an analysis and design of the game, and to achieve a complete game development. Light of the specific mobile game project - "Battle City", detailed the development of a mobile game based on the J2ME platform, the basic steps and the various key elements, focusing on how to use object-oriented thinking on the role of mobile phones in the abstract and Game Animation package, the source code with specific instructions.

  18. Animation, audio, and spatial ability: Optimizing multimedia for scientific explanations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koroghlanian, Carol May

    This study investigated the effects of audio, animation and spatial ability in a computer based instructional program for biology. The program presented instructional material via text or audio with lean text and included eight instructional sequences presented either via static illustrations or animations. High school students enrolled in a biology course were blocked by spatial ability and randomly assigned to one of four treatments (Text-Static Illustration Audio-Static Illustration, Text-Animation, Audio-Animation). The study examined the effects of instructional mode (Text vs. Audio), illustration mode (Static Illustration vs. Animation) and spatial ability (Low vs. High) on practice and posttest achievement, attitude and time. Results for practice achievement indicated that high spatial ability participants achieved more than low spatial ability participants. Similar results for posttest achievement and spatial ability were not found. Participants in the Static Illustration treatments achieved the same as participants in the Animation treatments on both the practice and posttest. Likewise, participants in the Text treatments achieved the same as participants in the Audio treatments on both the practice and posttest. In terms of attitude, participants responded favorably to the computer based instructional program. They found the program interesting, felt the static illustrations or animations made the explanations easier to understand and concentrated on learning the material. Furthermore, participants in the Animation treatments felt the information was easier to understand than participants in the Static Illustration treatments. However, no difference for any attitude item was found for participants in the Text as compared to those in the Audio treatments. Significant differences were found by Spatial Ability for three attitude items concerning concentration and interest. In all three items, the low spatial ability participants responded more positively

  19. Evaluating the benefits of collaboration in simulation games: the case of health care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leung, Ricky

    2014-01-28

    Organizations have used simulation games for health promotion and communication. To evaluate how simulation games can foster collaboration among stakeholders, this paper develops two social network measures. The paper aims to initiate two specific measures that facilitate organizations and researchers to evaluate the effectiveness of Web-based simulation games in fostering collaboration. The two measures are: (1) network density and (2) network diversity. They measure the level of connectedness and communication evenness within social networks. To illustrate how these measures may be used, a hypothetical game about health policy is outlined. Web-based games can serve as an effective platform to engage stakeholders because interaction among them is quite convenient. Yet, systematic evaluation and planning are necessary to realize the benefits of these games. The paper suggests directions for testing how the social network dimension of Web-based games can augment individual-level benefits that stakeholders can obtain from playing simulation games. While this paper focuses on measuring the structural properties of social networks in Web-based games, further research should focus more attention on the appropriateness of game contents. In addition, empirical research should cover different geographical areas, such as East Asian countries where video games are very popular.

  20. Multi-agent platform for development of educational games for children with autism

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Alers, S.H.M.; Barakova, E.I.

    2009-01-01

    Multi-agent system of autonomous interactive blocks that can display its active state through color and light intensity has been developed. Depending on the individual rules, these autonomous blocks could express emergent behaviors which are a basis for various educational games. The multi-agent

  1. Automated Speech and Audio Analysis for Semantic Access to Multimedia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jong, F.M.G. de; Ordelman, R.; Huijbregts, M.

    2006-01-01

    The deployment and integration of audio processing tools can enhance the semantic annotation of multimedia content, and as a consequence, improve the effectiveness of conceptual access tools. This paper overviews the various ways in which automatic speech and audio analysis can contribute to

  2. Automated speech and audio analysis for semantic access to multimedia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Jong, Franciska M.G.; Ordelman, Roeland J.F.; Huijbregts, M.A.H.; Avrithis, Y.; Kompatsiaris, Y.; Staab, S.; O' Connor, N.E.

    2006-01-01

    The deployment and integration of audio processing tools can enhance the semantic annotation of multimedia content, and as a consequence, improve the effectiveness of conceptual access tools. This paper overviews the various ways in which automatic speech and audio analysis can contribute to

  3. Audio Feedback -- Better Feedback?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voelkel, Susanne; Mello, Luciane V.

    2014-01-01

    National Student Survey (NSS) results show that many students are dissatisfied with the amount and quality of feedback they get for their work. This study reports on two case studies in which we tried to address these issues by introducing audio feedback to one undergraduate (UG) and one postgraduate (PG) class, respectively. In case study one…

  4. The HEP Game Compilation

    CERN Document Server

    Fares, Al-Amri

    2013-01-01

    Since the discovery of Higgs boson on 4 July 2012, CERN has increased its Outreach aspect to allow more people to gain knowledge about particle physics and the researches related to it especially in CERN. As part of CERN’s Outreach effort to spread the knowledge throughout the world, we work on a collaboration project between ATLAS and LHCb experiments to make a multi-platform game to educate players about particle physics and CERN also let them have fun at the same time so the education process is a lot more effective.

  5. Designing and Building of 3D Adventure Game “Tetuko: Childhood of Ghatotkacha” Using Kinect

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Achmad Basuki

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays, the young people are not interested in the local culture as a “wayang” puppet. This condition threatens the extinction of some of the local culture that should be a mainstay of the industry entering an era of creative industries. On the other hand, theyare more interested in playing computer games as changing of people's lifestyles. It becomes our basic idea to produce a game as a creative product. The genre of this game is fighting-adventure. This game depictures a story of fighting between the baby Tetuko and giant Kala Pracona. The game uses Kinect and 3D platform technology to attract more players to feel their adventures. With Kinect technology, the player can control the character with his gesture. Thus, this game will increase the awareness of young people about the culture of Wayang. Keywords : 3D game, kinect,adventure, local culture, creative industry.

  6. Emotion-based Music Rretrieval on a Well-reduced Audio Feature Space

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ruxanda, Maria Magdalena; Chua, Bee Yong; Nanopoulos, Alexandros

    2009-01-01

    -emotion. However, the real-time systems that retrieve music over large music databases, can achieve order of magnitude performance increase, if applying multidimensional indexing over a dimensionally reduced audio feature space. To meet this performance achievement, in this paper, extensive studies are conducted......Music expresses emotion. A number of audio extracted features have influence on the perceived emotional expression of music. These audio features generate a high-dimensional space, on which music similarity retrieval can be performed effectively, with respect to human perception of the music...... on a number of dimensionality reduction algorithms, including both classic and novel approaches. The paper clearly envisages which dimensionality reduction techniques on the considered audio feature space, can preserve in average the accuracy of the emotion-based music retrieval....

  7. News video story segmentation method using fusion of audio-visual features

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wen, Jun; Wu, Ling-da; Zeng, Pu; Luan, Xi-dao; Xie, Yu-xiang

    2007-11-01

    News story segmentation is an important aspect for news video analysis. This paper presents a method for news video story segmentation. Different form prior works, which base on visual features transform, the proposed technique uses audio features as baseline and fuses visual features with it to refine the results. At first, it selects silence clips as audio features candidate points, and selects shot boundaries and anchor shots as two kinds of visual features candidate points. Then this paper selects audio feature candidates as cues and develops different fusion method, which effectively using diverse type visual candidates to refine audio candidates, to get story boundaries. Experiment results show that this method has high efficiency and adaptability to different kinds of news video.

  8. Computational Platform About Amazon Web Services (Aws Distributed Rendering

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriel Rojas-Albarracín

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Today has created a dynamic in which people require higher image quality in different media formats (games, movies, animations. Further definition usually requires image processing larger; this brings the need for increased computing power. This paper presents a case study in which the implementation of a low-cost platform on the Amazon cloud for parallel processing of images and animation.

  9. Supermodular Games and Potential Games

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brânzei, R.; Mallozzi, L.; Tijs, S.H.

    2001-01-01

    Potential games and supermodular games are attractive games, especially because under certain conditions they possess pure Nash equilibria. Subclasses of games with a potential are considered which are also strategically equivalent to supermodular games. The focus is on two-person zero-sum games and

  10. Mathematical games, abstract games

    CERN Document Server

    Neto, Joao Pedro

    2013-01-01

    User-friendly, visually appealing collection offers both new and classic strategic board games. Includes abstract games for two and three players and mathematical games such as Nim and games on graphs.

  11. Improving audio chord transcription by exploiting harmonic and metric knowledge

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Haas, W.B.; Rodrigues Magalhães, J.P.; Wiering, F.

    2012-01-01

    We present a new system for chord transcription from polyphonic musical audio that uses domain-specific knowledge about tonal harmony and metrical position to improve chord transcription performance. Low-level pulse and spectral features are extracted from an audio source using the Vamp plugin

  12. Self-oscillating modulators for direct energy conversion audio power amplifiers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ljusev, Petar; Andersen, Michael Andreas E.

    2005-01-01

    Direct energy conversion audio power amplifier represents total integration of switching-mode power supply and Class D audio power amplifier into one compact stage, achieving high efficiency, high level of integration, low component count and eventually low cost. This paper presents how self-oscillating...

  13. Teaching EBP Using Game-Based Learning: Improving the Student Experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davidson, Sandra J; Candy, Laurie

    2016-08-01

    Evidence-based practice (EBP) is considered a key entry to practice competency for nurses. However, many baccalaureate nursing programs continue to teach "traditional" nursing research courses that fail to address many of the critical knowledge, skills, and attitudes that foster EBP. Traditional classroom teaching strategies do little to promote the development of competencies critical for engaging in EBP in clinical contexts. The purpose of this work was to develop, implement, and evaluate an innovative teaching strategy aimed at improving student learning, engagement and satisfaction in an online EBP course. The goals of this paper are to: (1) describe the process of course development, (2) describe the innovative teaching strategy, and (3) discuss the outcomes of the pilot course offered using game-based learning. A midterm course-specific survey and standard institutional end of course evaluations were used to evaluate student satisfaction. Game platform analytics and thematic analysis of narrative comments in the midterm and end of course surveys were used to evaluate students' level of engagement. Student learning was evaluated using the end of course letter grade. Students indicated a high satisfaction with the course. Student engagement was also maintained throughout the course. The majority of students (87%, 26/30) continued to complete learning quests in the game after achieving the minimum amount of points to earn an A. Seven students completed every learning quest available in the game platform. Of the 30 students enrolled in the course, 17 students earned a final course grade of A+ and 13 earned an A. Provide students with timely, individualized feedback to enable mastery learning. Create student choice and customization of learning. Integrate the use of badges (game mechanics) to increase engagement and motivation. Level learning activities to build on each other and create flow. © 2016 Sigma Theta Tau International.

  14. Extraction, Mapping, and Evaluation of Expressive Acoustic Features for Adaptive Digital Audio Effects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holfelt, Jonas; Csapo, Gergely; Andersson, Nikolaj Schwab

    2017-01-01

    This paper describes the design and implementation of a real-time adaptive digital audio effect with an emphasis on using expressive audio features that control effect param- eters. Research in adaptive digital audio effects is cov- ered along with studies about expressivity and important...

  15. Technical requirements of a social networking platform for senior citizens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demski, Hans; Hildebrand, Claudia; López Bolós, José; Tiedge, Winfried; Wengel, Stefanie; O Broin, Daire; Palmer, Ross

    2012-01-01

    Feeling an integrative part of a social community adds to the quality of life. Elderly people who find it more difficult to actively join activities are often threatened by isolation. Social networking can enable communication and sharing activities makes it easier to set up and maintain contacts. This paper describes the development of a social networking platform and activities like gaming and exergaming all of which aim to facilitate social interaction. It reports on the particular challenges that need to be addressed when creating a social networking platform specially designed to meet the needs of the elderly.

  16. Let Their Voices Be Heard! Building a Multicultural Audio Collection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tucker, Judith Cook

    1992-01-01

    Discusses building a multicultural audio collection for a library. Gives some guidelines about selecting materials that really represent different cultures. Audio materials that are considered fall roughly into the categories of children's stories, didactic materials, oral histories, poetry and folktales, and music. The goal is an authentic…

  17. A game is a game is a game

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Ida Kathrine Hammeleff

    2017-01-01

    Recently self-referentiality have occurred as a trend among game designers and have also enjoyed sporadic attention in academia. However, in academia, discussions of self-referential games often rest on proceduralist arguments and a too exclusive focus on the game object. This paper draws...... on the typology of meta-pictures developed by art historian J.W.T. Mitchell. Based on this typology, this paper discusses the notion of meta-games and suggest a broad conception of such games that includes not only the game object, but also the player and the discourse in which it is interpreted....

  18. 106-17 Telemetry Standards Digitized Audio Telemetry Standard Chapter 5

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-07-01

    Digitized Audio Telemetry Standard 5.1 General This chapter defines continuously variable slope delta (CVSD) modulation as the standard for digitizing...audio signal. The CVSD modulator is, in essence , a 1-bit analog-to-digital converter. The output of this 1-bit encoder is a serial bit stream, where

  19. Multilevel inverter based class D audio amplifier for capacitive transducers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Dennis; Knott, Arnold; Andersen, Michael A. E.

    2014-01-01

    The reduced semiconductor voltage stress makes the multilevel inverters especially interesting, when driving capacitive transducers for audio applications. A ± 300 V flying capacitor class D audio amplifier driving a 100 nF load in the midrange region of 0.1-3.5 kHz with Total Harmonic Distortion...

  20. The Use of Audio and Animation in Computer Based Instruction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koroghlanian, Carol; Klein, James D.

    This study investigated the effects of audio, animation, and spatial ability in a computer-based instructional program for biology. The program presented instructional material via test or audio with lean text and included eight instructional sequences presented either via static illustrations or animations. High school students enrolled in a…

  1. Game theoretic analysis of physical protection system design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Canion, B.; Schneider, E.; Bickel, E.; Hadlock, C.; Morton, D.

    2013-01-01

    The physical protection system (PPS) of a fictional small modular reactor (SMR) facility have been modeled as a platform for a game theoretic approach to security decision analysis. To demonstrate the game theoretic approach, a rational adversary with complete knowledge of the facility has been modeled attempting a sabotage attack. The adversary adjusts his decisions in response to investments made by the defender to enhance the security measures. This can lead to a conservative physical protection system design. Since defender upgrades were limited by a budget, cost benefit analysis may be conducted upon security upgrades. One approach to cost benefit analysis is the efficient frontier, which depicts the reduction in expected consequence per incremental increase in the security budget

  2. Science Spots AR: A Platform for Science Learning Games with Augmented Reality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laine, Teemu H.; Nygren, Eeva; Dirin, Amir; Suk, Hae-Jung

    2016-01-01

    Lack of motivation and of real-world relevance have been identified as reasons for low interest in science among children. Game-based learning and storytelling are prominent methods for generating intrinsic motivation in learning. Real-world relevance requires connecting abstract scientific concepts with the real world. This can be done by…

  3. Audio-Visual Speaker Diarization Based on Spatiotemporal Bayesian Fusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gebru, Israel D; Ba, Sileye; Li, Xiaofei; Horaud, Radu

    2018-05-01

    Speaker diarization consists of assigning speech signals to people engaged in a dialogue. An audio-visual spatiotemporal diarization model is proposed. The model is well suited for challenging scenarios that consist of several participants engaged in multi-party interaction while they move around and turn their heads towards the other participants rather than facing the cameras and the microphones. Multiple-person visual tracking is combined with multiple speech-source localization in order to tackle the speech-to-person association problem. The latter is solved within a novel audio-visual fusion method on the following grounds: binaural spectral features are first extracted from a microphone pair, then a supervised audio-visual alignment technique maps these features onto an image, and finally a semi-supervised clustering method assigns binaural spectral features to visible persons. The main advantage of this method over previous work is that it processes in a principled way speech signals uttered simultaneously by multiple persons. The diarization itself is cast into a latent-variable temporal graphical model that infers speaker identities and speech turns, based on the output of an audio-visual association process, executed at each time slice, and on the dynamics of the diarization variable itself. The proposed formulation yields an efficient exact inference procedure. A novel dataset, that contains audio-visual training data as well as a number of scenarios involving several participants engaged in formal and informal dialogue, is introduced. The proposed method is thoroughly tested and benchmarked with respect to several state-of-the art diarization algorithms.

  4. Unhappy families: using tabletop games as a technology to understand play in education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John Lean

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available In this article, we argue that tabletop games provide a helpful means of rethinking the affordances of digital games in pedagogy. We argue that tabletop games offer a distinctive technology from digital games in exploring the idea of play as experience, providing a sociable, accessible and tactile platform that can easily be adapted by players to suit their needs. At a workshop session at an international conference on play in education, we used tabletop games to enable discussion and observation of play. This workshop suggested that, rather than a singular definition, tabletop play means different things to different people, and what is ‘counted as’ play depends upon both individual and group interactions. Building upon this discussion, in this article, we return to both tabletop and digital games to discuss the idea of play as experience, especially with regard to the use of technology in educational settings, and how games might be seen as less ‘predictable’ than other technologies. We hope that this discussion provides future inspiration to other scholars who are considering the use of tabletop games in both pedagogical and technological research.

  5. El Digital Audio Tape Recorder. Contra autores y creadores

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jun Ono

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available La llamada "DAT" (abreviatura por "digital audio tape recorder" / grabadora digital de audio ha recibido cobertura durante mucho tiempo en los medios masivos de Japón y otros países, como un producto acústico electrónico nuevo y controversial de la industria japonesa de artefactos electrónicos. ¿Qué ha pasado con el objeto de esta controversia?

  6. Beauty is in the eye of the gamer:to what extent do commercial games reinforce English as a second language acquisition?

    OpenAIRE

    Bolaños Alfonso, D. (Daniel)

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Research has shown the potential of employing video game platforms for second language acquisition. Nevertheless, few studies have addressed the impact of non-educational commercial video games on second language learning as reported by the players themselves. Likewise, little research has studied in detail which are the aspects that players consider to be the most engaging when playing a commercial video game, rel...

  7. The Safeguard of Audio Collections: A Computer Science Based Approach to Quality Control—The Case of the Sound Archive of the Arena di Verona

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Federica Bressan

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available In the field of multimedia, very little attention is given to the activities involved in the preservation of audio documents. At the same time, more and more archives storing audio and video documents face the problem of obsolescing and degrading media, which could largely benefit from the instruments and the methodologies of research in multimedia. This paper presents the methodology and the results of the Italian project REVIVAL, aimed at the development of a hardware/software platform to support the active preservation of the audio collection of the Fondazione Arena di Verona, one of the finest in Europe for the operatic genre, with a special attention on protocols and tools for quality control. On the scientific side, the most significant objectives achieved by the project are (i the setup of a working environment inside the archive, (ii the knowledge transfer to the archival personnel, (iii the realization of chemical analyses on magnetic tapes in collaboration with experts in the fields of materials science and chemistry, and (iv the development of original open-source software tools. On the cultural side, the recovery, the safeguard, and the access to unique copies of unpublished live recordings of artists the calibre of Domingo and Pavarotti are of great musicological and economical value.

  8. Haptic and Audio Interaction Design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 5th International Workshop on Haptic and Audio Interaction Design, HAID 2010 held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in September 2010. The 21 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected for inclusion in the book. The papers are or...

  9. Amount of lifetime video gaming is positively associated with entorhinal, hippocampal and occipital volume.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kühn, S; Gallinat, J

    2014-07-01

    Playing video games is a popular leisure activity among children and adults, and may therefore potentially influence brain structure. We have previously shown a positive association between probability of gray matter (GM) volume in the ventral striatum and frequent video gaming in adolescence. Here we set out to investigate structural correlates of video gaming in adulthood, as the effects observed in adolescents may reflect only a fraction of the potential neural long-term effects seen in adults. On magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of 62 male adults, we computed voxel-based morphometry to explore the correlation of GM with the lifetime amount of video gaming (termed joystick years). We found a significant positive association between GM in bilateral parahippocamal region (entorhinal cortex) and left occipital cortex/inferior parietal lobe and joystick years (Pvideo game genres played, such as logic/puzzle games and platform games contributing positively, and action-based role-playing games contributing negatively. Furthermore, joystick years were positively correlated with hippocampus volume. The association of lifetime amount of video game playing with bilateral entorhinal cortex, hippocampal and occipital GM volume could reflect adaptive neural plasticity related to navigation and visual attention.

  10. Audio-visual speech timing sensitivity is enhanced in cluttered conditions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Warrick Roseboom

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Events encoded in separate sensory modalities, such as audition and vision, can seem to be synchronous across a relatively broad range of physical timing differences. This may suggest that the precision of audio-visual timing judgments is inherently poor. Here we show that this is not necessarily true. We contrast timing sensitivity for isolated streams of audio and visual speech, and for streams of audio and visual speech accompanied by additional, temporally offset, visual speech streams. We find that the precision with which synchronous streams of audio and visual speech are identified is enhanced by the presence of additional streams of asynchronous visual speech. Our data suggest that timing perception is shaped by selective grouping processes, which can result in enhanced precision in temporally cluttered environments. The imprecision suggested by previous studies might therefore be a consequence of examining isolated pairs of audio and visual events. We argue that when an isolated pair of cross-modal events is presented, they tend to group perceptually and to seem synchronous as a consequence. We have revealed greater precision by providing multiple visual signals, possibly allowing a single auditory speech stream to group selectively with the most synchronous visual candidate. The grouping processes we have identified might be important in daily life, such as when we attempt to follow a conversation in a crowded room.

  11. Responding Effectively to Composition Students: Comparing Student Perceptions of Written and Audio Feedback

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bilbro, J.; Iluzada, C.; Clark, D. E.

    2013-01-01

    The authors compared student perceptions of audio and written feedback in order to assess what types of students may benefit from receiving audio feedback on their essays rather than written feedback. Many instructors previously have reported the advantages they see in audio feedback, but little quantitative research has been done on how the…

  12. An approach to the virtual education of video-games

    OpenAIRE

    Charo SÁDABA; Concepción NAVAL

    2017-01-01

    Could a platform, as videogames, that requires the active participation of users, be helpful to develop a broader participation attitude? Is it possible to acquire social skills and attitudes for participation through videogames? Any of these questions have a simple answer; this article discusses several reflection points trying to guess how this new scenario of digital gaming affects teenagers.

  13. A conceptual framework for audio-visual museum media

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kirkedahl Lysholm Nielsen, Mikkel

    2017-01-01

    In today's history museums, the past is communicated through many other means than original artefacts. This interdisciplinary and theoretical article suggests a new approach to studying the use of audio-visual media, such as film, video and related media types, in a museum context. The centre...... and museum studies, existing case studies, and real life observations, the suggested framework instead stress particular characteristics of contextual use of audio-visual media in history museums, such as authenticity, virtuality, interativity, social context and spatial attributes of the communication...

  14. The Single- and Multichannel Audio Recordings Database (SMARD)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Jesper Kjær; Jensen, Jesper Rindom; Jensen, Søren Holdt

    2014-01-01

    A new single- and multichannel audio recordings database (SMARD) is presented in this paper. The database contains recordings from a box-shaped listening room for various loudspeaker and array types. The recordings were made for 48 different configurations of three different loudspeakers and four...... different microphone arrays. In each configuration, 20 different audio segments were played and recorded ranging from simple artificial sounds to polyphonic music. SMARD can be used for testing algorithms developed for numerous application, and we give examples of source localisation results....

  15. A State-of-the-Art Systematic Content Analysis of Games for Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Amy Shirong; Kharrazi, Hadi

    2018-02-01

    As the field of games for health continues to gain momentum, it is crucial to document the field's scale of growth, identify design patterns, and to address potential design issues for future health game development. Few studies have explored the attributes and usability features of games for health as a whole over time. We offer the first comprehensive systematic content analysis of digital games for health by examining 1743 health games released between 1983 and 2016 in 23 countries extracted from nine international English health game databases and directories. The majority of these games were developed in the United States (67.18%) and France (18.59%). The most popular platforms included web browsers (72.38%) and Windows (14.41%). Approximately four out of five (79.12%) of the games were available at no cost. We coded 1553 accessible games for an in-depth analysis and further assessed 1303 for usability. Popular health topics represented included: cognitive training (37.41%), indirect health education (13.33%), and medical care provision (9.98%). Most games (75.66%) could be completed within 60 minutes. The main game usability problems identified included a lack of customization, nonskippable contents, and a lack of feedback and instruction to the players. While most of the usability problems have improved as did the software and hardware technology, the players' ability to skip nonplayable contents has become slightly more restricted overtime. Comparison with game efficacy publications suggested that a further understanding of the scope for games for health is needed on a global level.

  16. Nonlinear dynamic macromodeling techniques for audio systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ogrodzki, Jan; Bieńkowski, Piotr

    2015-09-01

    This paper develops a modelling method and a models identification technique for the nonlinear dynamic audio systems. Identification is performed by means of a behavioral approach based on a polynomial approximation. This approach makes use of Discrete Fourier Transform and Harmonic Balance Method. A model of an audio system is first created and identified and then it is simulated in real time using an algorithm of low computational complexity. The algorithm consists in real time emulation of the system response rather than in simulation of the system itself. The proposed software is written in Python language using object oriented programming techniques. The code is optimized for a multithreads environment.

  17. Comparison of Wearable Optical See-through and Handheld Devices as Platform for an Augmented Reality Museum Guide

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Serubugo, Sule; Skantarova, Denisa; Nielsen, Lasse Kjærsgård

    2017-01-01

    Self-service guides are a common way of providing information about artworks exhibited in museums. Modern advances in handheld mobile applications and wearable optical see-through devices that use augmented reality offer new ways of designing museum guides that are more engaging and interactive...... than traditional self-service guides such as written descriptions or audio guides. In this study we compare wearable (smart glasses) and handheld (smartphone) devices as a platform for an augmented reality museum guide. We have developed a museum guide for both a smartphone and smart glasses that can...... of potentials of these platforms as augmented reality museum guides and suggest promising future work....

  18. Convex games versus clan games

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brânzei, R.; Dimitrov, D.A.; Tijs, S.H.

    2008-01-01

    In this paper we provide characterizations of convex games and total clan games by using properties of their corresponding marginal games. We show that a "dualize and restrict" procedure transforms total clan games with zero worth for the clan into monotonic convex games. Furthermore, each monotonic

  19. Convex Games versus Clan Games

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brânzei, R.; Dimitrov, D.A.; Tijs, S.H.

    2006-01-01

    In this paper we provide characterizations of convex games and total clan games by using properties of their corresponding marginal games.We show that a "dualize and restrict" procedure transforms total clan games with zero worth for the clan into monotonic convex games.Furthermore, each monotonic

  20. Game on! : Evaluation malaria games

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rob Willems

    2014-01-01

    The goal of GameOn! is to develop a serious video game. The object: to develop a serious game that aims to change behavior through awareness. The setup A multidisciplinary group which unites expertise from didactic and game production backgrounds produces an educational game for an international

  1. Ten heuristics to evaluate the user experience of serious games

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Fitchat

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The potential of serious games to promote effective learning has been establishedin the literature. However, designing effective serious games that strike a balancebetween being entertaining and at the same time instructional, remains elusive.This research turns to the field of human-computer interaction (HCI toinvestigate the aspects that are most influential to the player’s experiences withserious games. From this, HCI principles to evaluate the user experience ofserious games are identified and described. User experience (UX refers to howindividuals perceive and respond to using interactive systems such as seriousgames. Since UX is regarded as subjective in nature, this study was conductedusing interpretative phenomenological analysis, which focuses on idiographicinquiry. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five participants afterthey were given time to play a serious game. The serious game, titledStoryTimes,aims to teach the user the multiplication tables by employing memory associationtechniques in a fun and innovative way.StoryTimeswas developed as part of thisresearch to investigate how HCI principles are applied during the developmentcycle of a serious game. The data from the interviews were analysed qualitativelyto determine which aspects of the serious game were regarded as the mostimportant from the participants’ point of view. The findings indicate that playersof serious games prefer mobile gaming platforms and have certain expectationsregarding how subject content is integrated into video games. It also reveals thedesign challenges associated with the attention spans and very diverse natures of individual players. These aspects were recast in the form of ten heuristics thatcould be applied when evaluating the UX of serious games. Designers of seriousgames can use these heuristics during the development process to create a learningenvironment that is both effective and fun.

  2. Engaging Students with Audio Feedback

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cann, Alan

    2014-01-01

    Students express widespread dissatisfaction with academic feedback. Teaching staff perceive a frequent lack of student engagement with written feedback, much of which goes uncollected or unread. Published evidence shows that audio feedback is highly acceptable to students but is underused. This paper explores methods to produce and deliver audio…

  3. Audio-Visual Temporal Recalibration Can be Constrained by Content Cues Regardless of Spatial Overlap

    OpenAIRE

    Roseboom, Warrick; Kawabe, Takahiro; Nishida, Shin?Ya

    2013-01-01

    It has now been well established that the point of subjective synchrony for audio and visual events can be shifted following exposure to asynchronous audio-visual presentations, an effect often referred to as temporal recalibration. Recently it was further demonstrated that it is possible to concurrently maintain two such recalibrated, and opposing, estimates of audio-visual temporal synchrony. However, it remains unclear precisely what defines a given audio-visual pair such that it is possib...

  4. Conflicting audio-haptic feedback in physically based simulation of walking sounds

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Turchet, Luca; Serafin, Stefania; Dimitrov, Smilen

    2010-01-01

    We describe an audio-haptic experiment conducted using a system which simulates in real-time the auditory and haptic sensation of walking on different surfaces. The system is based on physical models, that drive both the haptic and audio synthesizers, and a pair of shoes enhanced with sensors...... and actuators. Such experiment was run to examine the ability of subjects to recognize the different surfaces with both coherent and incoherent audio-haptic stimuli. Results show that in this kind of tasks the auditory modality is dominant on the haptic one....

  5. Audio-vocal interaction in single neurons of the monkey ventrolateral prefrontal cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hage, Steffen R; Nieder, Andreas

    2015-05-06

    Complex audio-vocal integration systems depend on a strong interconnection between the auditory and the vocal motor system. To gain cognitive control over audio-vocal interaction during vocal motor control, the PFC needs to be involved. Neurons in the ventrolateral PFC (VLPFC) have been shown to separately encode the sensory perceptions and motor production of vocalizations. It is unknown, however, whether single neurons in the PFC reflect audio-vocal interactions. We therefore recorded single-unit activity in the VLPFC of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) while they produced vocalizations on command or passively listened to monkey calls. We found that 12% of randomly selected neurons in VLPFC modulated their discharge rate in response to acoustic stimulation with species-specific calls. Almost three-fourths of these auditory neurons showed an additional modulation of their discharge rates either before and/or during the monkeys' motor production of vocalization. Based on these audio-vocal interactions, the VLPFC might be well positioned to combine higher order auditory processing with cognitive control of the vocal motor output. Such audio-vocal integration processes in the VLPFC might constitute a precursor for the evolution of complex learned audio-vocal integration systems, ultimately giving rise to human speech. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/357030-11$15.00/0.

  6. Game playbooks: tools to guide multidisciplinary teams in developing videogame-based behavior change interventions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duncan, Lindsay R; Hieftje, Kimberly D; Culyba, Sabrina; Fiellin, Lynn E

    2014-03-01

    As mobile technologies and videogaming platforms are becoming increasingly prevalent in the realm of health and healthcare, so are the opportunities to use these resources to conduct behavioral interventions. The creation and empirical testing of game style interventions, however, is challenged by the requisite collaboration of multidisciplinary teams, including researchers and game developers who have different cultures, terminologies, and standards of evidence. Thus, traditional intervention development tools such as logic models and intervention manuals may need to be augmented by creating what we have termed "Game Playbooks" which are intervention guidebooks that are created by, understood by, and acceptable to all members of the multidisciplinary game development team. The purpose of this paper is to describe the importance and content of a Game Playbook created to aide in the development of a videogame intervention designed specifically for health behavior change in young teens as well as the process for creating such a tool. We draw on the experience of our research and game design team to describe the critical components of the Game Playbook and the necessity of creating such a tool.

  7. The science of memory - and how it should affect design of games for outside education

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lieberoth, Andreas

    2012-01-01

    in education, great memories can now be shaped on the go. And of course we need memory to learn. Modern psychology is ripe with information about how we remember and forget the world around us, but for historical reasons, all this useful knowledge rarely reaches teachers or designers of educational games.......Games are great for learning. They inspire, engage and most importantly of all, they are different from other activities at school. We remember good experiences in unusual settings, and may mentally time-travel back to them again and again. With mobile phones as platforms for games and drama...

  8. Using Digital Board Games for Genuine Communication in EFL Classrooms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Chia-Jung; Chen, Gwo-Dong; Huang, Chi-Wen

    2014-01-01

    EFL learners in Taiwan have a low-level communication ability because many learners are still not provided opportunities to use language for genuine communication in classrooms and receive insufficient language input due to the environment. This study examines the use of digital board game language learning set in a task-collaborative platform,…

  9. Effects of Hearing Protection Device Attenuation on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Audio Signatures

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-03-01

    UAV ) Audio Signatures by Melissa Bezandry, Adrienne Raglin, and John Noble Approved for public release; distribution...Research Laboratory Effects of Hearing Protection Device Attenuation on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ( UAV ) Audio Signatures by Melissa Bezandry...Aerial Vehicle ( UAV ) Audio Signatures 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) Melissa Bezandry

  10. Rehabilitating a Fossilized Pronunciation Error: the /v/ and /w/, Contrast by Using the Audio-Articulation Method in Teacher Training in Turkey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prof. Dr. Mehmet Demirezen

    2005-10-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this article is to demonstrate the applicability of a pronunciation teachingand correction case entitled the audio-articulation method, developed by Demirezen (2003,2004, in the field of teacher training in which there is a scarcity of such methods. The audio-articulation method is a fossilized pronunciation mistake breaker, moving raising awareness of a fossilized mistake to perception via listening to oral practice. This method integratespronunciation practicing into oral communication in the context of speaking by means ofchain drills, substitution drills, repetition drills, inflection drills, replacement drills,restatement drills, completion drills, transposition drills, expansion drills, contraction drills,transformation drills, integration drills, rejoinder drills, restoration drills, question-answer drills, and language games are of great help in this respect. In addition, listen and imitatetechnique with mirroring, tracking, and echoing (shadowing, developmental approximationdrills, and explanation techniques are all practiced, repeated in form of exhortations withoutboring the students. The applications of this method and related exercises, practically appliedto experimental groups during a term of 14 weeks by Murat Hişmanoğlu (2004 in a doctoraldissertation, and it has been demonstrated that its has significant rehabilitating potentiality incorrecting the pronunciation errors of non-native speaking English language teachers andstudent teachers in Turkey.

  11. Game mechanics : advanced game design

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Adams, Ernest; Dormans, Joris

    2012-01-01

    Game Mechanics is aimed at game design students and industry professionals who want to improve their understanding of how to design, build, and test the mechanics of a game. Game Mechanics will show you how to design, test, and tune the core mechanics of a game—any game, from a huge role-playing

  12. GOLIAH (Gaming Open Library for Intervention in Autism at Home): a 6-month single blind matched controlled exploratory study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jouen, Anne-Lise; Narzisi, Antonio; Xavier, Jean; Tilmont, Elodie; Bodeau, Nicolas; Bono, Valentina; Ketem-Premel, Nabila; Anzalone, Salvatore; Maharatna, Koushik; Chetouani, Mohamed; Muratori, Filippo; Cohen, David

    2017-01-01

    To meet the required hours of intensive intervention for treating children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), we developed an automated serious gaming platform (11 games) to deliver intervention at home (GOLIAH) by mapping the imitation and joint attention (JA) subset of age-adapted stimuli from the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) intervention. Here, we report the results of a 6-month matched controlled exploratory study. From two specialized clinics, we included 14 children (age range 5-8 years) with ASD and 10 controls matched for gender, age, sites, and treatment as usual (TAU). Participants from the experimental group received in addition to TAU four 30-min sessions with GOLIAH per week at home and one at hospital for 6 months. Statistics were performed using Linear Mixed Models. Children and parents participated in 40% of the planned sessions. They were able to use the 11 games, and participants trained with GOLIAH improved time to perform the task in most JA games and imitation scores in most imitation games. GOLIAH intervention did not affect Parental Stress Index scores. At end-point, we found in both groups a significant improvement for Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule scores, Vineland socialization score, Parental Stress Index total score, and Child Behavior Checklist internalizing, externalizing and total problems. However, we found no significant change for by time × group interaction. Despite the lack of superiority of TAU + GOLIAH versus TAU, the results are interesting both in terms of changes by using the gaming platform and lack of parental stress increase. A large randomized controlled trial with younger participants (who are the core target of ESDM model) is now discussed. This should be facilitated by computing GOLIAH for a web platform. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02560415.

  13. Audio-Visual Perception System for a Humanoid Robotic Head

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raquel Viciana-Abad

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available One of the main issues within the field of social robotics is to endow robots with the ability to direct attention to people with whom they are interacting. Different approaches follow bio-inspired mechanisms, merging audio and visual cues to localize a person using multiple sensors. However, most of these fusion mechanisms have been used in fixed systems, such as those used in video-conference rooms, and thus, they may incur difficulties when constrained to the sensors with which a robot can be equipped. Besides, within the scope of interactive autonomous robots, there is a lack in terms of evaluating the benefits of audio-visual attention mechanisms, compared to only audio or visual approaches, in real scenarios. Most of the tests conducted have been within controlled environments, at short distances and/or with off-line performance measurements. With the goal of demonstrating the benefit of fusing sensory information with a Bayes inference for interactive robotics, this paper presents a system for localizing a person by processing visual and audio data. Moreover, the performance of this system is evaluated and compared via considering the technical limitations of unimodal systems. The experiments show the promise of the proposed approach for the proactive detection and tracking of speakers in a human-robot interactive framework.

  14. Radioactive Decay: Audio Data Collection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Struthers, Allan

    2009-01-01

    Many phenomena generate interesting audible time series. This data can be collected and processed using audio software. The free software package "Audacity" is used to demonstrate the process by recording, processing, and extracting click times from an inexpensive radiation detector. The high quality of the data is demonstrated with a simple…

  15. Music Identification System Using MPEG-7 Audio Signature Descriptors

    Science.gov (United States)

    You, Shingchern D.; Chen, Wei-Hwa; Chen, Woei-Kae

    2013-01-01

    This paper describes a multiresolution system based on MPEG-7 audio signature descriptors for music identification. Such an identification system may be used to detect illegally copied music circulated over the Internet. In the proposed system, low-resolution descriptors are used to search likely candidates, and then full-resolution descriptors are used to identify the unknown (query) audio. With this arrangement, the proposed system achieves both high speed and high accuracy. To deal with the problem that a piece of query audio may not be inside the system's database, we suggest two different methods to find the decision threshold. Simulation results show that the proposed method II can achieve an accuracy of 99.4% for query inputs both inside and outside the database. Overall, it is highly possible to use the proposed system for copyright control. PMID:23533359

  16. Music Identification System Using MPEG-7 Audio Signature Descriptors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shingchern D. You

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes a multiresolution system based on MPEG-7 audio signature descriptors for music identification. Such an identification system may be used to detect illegally copied music circulated over the Internet. In the proposed system, low-resolution descriptors are used to search likely candidates, and then full-resolution descriptors are used to identify the unknown (query audio. With this arrangement, the proposed system achieves both high speed and high accuracy. To deal with the problem that a piece of query audio may not be inside the system’s database, we suggest two different methods to find the decision threshold. Simulation results show that the proposed method II can achieve an accuracy of 99.4% for query inputs both inside and outside the database. Overall, it is highly possible to use the proposed system for copyright control.

  17. Technical Evaluation Report 31: Internet Audio Products (3/ 3

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jim Rudolph

    2004-08-01

    Full Text Available Two contrasting additions to the online audio market are reviewed: iVocalize, a browser-based audio-conferencing software, and Skype, a PC-to-PC Internet telephone tool. These products are selected for review on the basis of their success in gaining rapid popular attention and usage during 2003-04. The iVocalize review emphasizes the product’s role in the development of a series of successful online audio communities – notably several serving visually impaired users. The Skype review stresses the ease with which the product may be used for simultaneous PC-to-PC communication among up to five users. Editor’s Note: This paper serves as an introduction to reports about online community building, and reviews of online products for disabled persons, in the next ten reports in this series. JPB, Series Ed.

  18. A Perceptual Model for Sinusoidal Audio Coding Based on Spectral Integration

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van de Par, S.; Kohlrausch, A.; Heusdens, R.; Jensen, J.; Holdt Jensen, S.

    2005-01-01

    Psychoacoustical models have been used extensively within audio coding applications over the past decades. Recently, parametric coding techniques have been applied to general audio and this has created the need for a psychoacoustical model that is specifically suited for sinusoidal modelling of

  19. A perceptual model for sinusoidal audio coding based on spectral integration

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van de Par, S.; Kohlrauch, A.; Heusdens, R.; Jensen, J.; Jensen, S.H.

    2005-01-01

    Psychoacoustical models have been used extensively within audio coding applications over the past decades. Recently, parametric coding techniques have been applied to general audio and this has created the need for a psychoacoustical model that is specifically suited for sinusoidal modelling of

  20. Design Principles for Serious Video Games in Mathematics Education: From Theory to Practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Konstantinos Chorianopoulos

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available There is growing interest in the employment of serious video games in science education, but there are no clear design principles. After surveying previous work in serious video game design, we highlighted the following design principles: 1 engage the students with narrative (hero, story, 2 employ familiar gameplay mechanics from popular video games, 3 engage students into constructive trial and error game-play and 4 situate collaborative learning. As illustrated examples we designed two math video games targeted to primary education students. The gameplay of the math video games embeds addition operations in a seamless way, which has been inspired by that of classic platform games. In this way, the students are adding numbers as part of popular gameplay mechanics and as a means to reach the video game objective, rather than as an end in itself. The employment of well-defined principles in the design of math video games should facilitate the evaluation of learning effectiveness by researchers. Moreover, educators can deploy alternative versions of the games in order to engage students with diverse learning styles. For example, some students might be motived and benefited by narrative, while others by collaboration, because it is unlikely that one type of serious video game might fit all learning styles. The proposed principles are not meant to be an exhaustive list, but a starting point for extending the list and applying them in other cases of serious video games beyond mathematics and learning.