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| Research |
A Platform for Improving Hand Dexterity with the Nintendo Wii™ |
| Swayze Smartt, Dr. Paúl Pauca | Summer, 2009 |
Funded by a grant supplied by the Wake Forest Research Fellowship Program, and under the mentorship of Computer Science Professor Paúl Pauca, this project aims to determine the efficacy of using the Wii’s tracking capability to help individuals learn or re-learn how to control movement in their hands and fingers. The potential for this project to benefit society is great--a large number of medical conditions affect the use of one’s hands and fingers. For the conditions in which therapy has proven to be effective at reducing or reversing these symptoms, our project could dramatically expand the availability of therapy across all economic lines due to the affordability of the Nintendo Wii. Our project will likely include three main phases: First, we plan to replicate past success in using the Wii as a finger tracking device. Second, we plan to develop a simple application or game that demonstrates how tracking can be used to improve finger dexterity and recognition. Third, and most difficult, we would like to develop some form of framework that allows game developers, physical therapists, and others to create their own applications and games that help advance movement for specific medical conditions. We plan on collaborating with occupational and physical therapy researchers at Winston-Salem State University on this phase of the project. |
Loudspeaker Precision Analysis |
| Swayze Smartt, Tyson Badders, Jason Romney, Dr. Jennifer Burg | Summer, 2008 |
Developed by Tyson Badders and Swayze Smartt, under the guidance of Jason Romney and Dr. Jennifer Burg, Loudspeaker Precision Analysis aims to solve the problem of configuring speakers in a variety of performance spaces. The problem stems from finding the appropriate delay time so that the audience members hear the speakers at appropriate time intervals. When the speakers are delayed appropriately, audience members perceive the sound from the speakers as if it is coming from the on-stage source. This allows the sound engineer to increase the volume of a performer without losing directionality. Since performance spaces are often equipped with dozens of speakers, ensuring one section of the audience hears the correct sound often means that other sections do not. Examining how changes to the delay, tilt, and aim of the speakers affects audience members is a tedious task best left up to a computer. Loudspeaker Precision Analysis predicts what each section of the audien! ce hears and determines if the delay is in the appropriate range to fool the human ear into thinking the sound came from the source, and not the speaker. |
