Below is the information on sessions that take place at night in the Eastern Time Zone [Member Only]. All sessions took place in lecture-style. Unless specified, it was an hour, lecture-style session. All sessions were recorded to create a playback video and as a part of the Media Lab research on Remote Collaboration and Distance Learning.
Last updated on July 30, 2020 at 7:30 (EDT)
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Past Event
SESSION 01
When: Wednesday, June 17 at 20:00-21:00 (EDT)
= Thursday, June 18 at 9:00 (GMT+9, Japan)
Session title: Tangible Telepresence
Speaker: Hiroshi Ishii
Language: Japanese only
Description: COVID-19 pandemic crisis triggered a tidal shift in our work environment from the shared central office to “Working from Home.” The teleconferencing technologies have become the new lifeline for our work and life. The current dominant model is the combination of audio-video conferencing (e.g. Zoom) and cloud-based digital information sharing. This model is lacking embodied interactions with people and objects using tactile sensations which we enjoy in our everyday physical environment. A sense of touch is fundamentally critical for a human being to develop a sense of trust in the people. However, abstract and ephemeral pixels on the screen cannot convey the sense of *persistency* of the physical world. We believe the introduction of “tangibility” would be a critical step in bringing “audio/visual + digital telepresence” to the next level and further engage people. In this workshop, we are going to review the history of CSCW (Computer-Supported Cooperative Work), and discuss the future of telepresence technologies.
SESSION 02
When: Thursday, June 18, 2020 at 20:00-21:00 (EDT)
Session title: Building the New Economy
Speaker: Alex "Sandy" Pentland
Language: English (Main) and Japanese
Description: How can we build an economy that is more resilient, innovative, and inclusive than the current systems? Drawing from my new book (https://wip.mitpress.mit.edu/new-economy), I will describe how we can naturally move from a catastrophe-prone, winner-take-all economy to a better way of organizing ourselves.
SESSION 03
When: Monday, June 22 at 20:00-21:00 (EDT)
Session title: Creating Resilient Communities
Speaker: Kent Larson
Language: English (Main) and Japanese
Description: The pandemic has revealed the fragility of our urban systems: workplaces sit empty, stores are closed, homes are poorly suited for remote work and education, transit systems are unhealthy, and fresh food is often unavailable. Climate change, a front-page topic just a few months ago, will likely create a series of additional shocks in a post-pandemic world. The impact of these stresses will fall disproportionately on the young, the elderly, and the disadvantaged. As we enter an interim period between lockdown and immunity, there is a growing interest in building more resilient communities that can adapt, and even grow stronger, when faced with the inevitable challenges in the future. Kent Larson will present the work of his City Science group to address the following questions:
- Can workplaces evolve into a network of distributed and shared places with tunable densities and new functions within newly vacated and obsolete commercial space and parking?
- Can we move beyond cars and mass transit to privileging walking, cycling, and ultra-lightweight personalized autonomous mobility?
- Can we create compact affordable homes that are dynamically reconfigurable for remote work, eLearning, telemedicine, exercise, and to help the elderly remain independent?
- Can we increase equity and affordability through fractional ownership, and deploy local economies that promote pro-social behaviors?
- Can we transition to dynamic, algorithmic land-use policies with fine-grained incentives for pro-social development – thereby enabling a new vision of civic homeostasis?
- Can we create a data-driven, evidence-based process to enable more resilient communities?
SESSION 04
When: Wednesday, June 24 at 21:00-22:00 (EDT)
Session title: Aging & Healthcare
Speakers: Hae Won Park, Sooyeon Jeong, Anastasia Ostrowski, Sharifa Alghowinem, and Kika Arias, Matthew Huggins, Felipe Moreno, and Cynthia Breazeal
Language: English (Main) and Japanese
Description: Showcase Personal Robots’ work with interactive breakrooms in the topic of Aging at home and emotional wellness.
SESSION 05
When: Thursday, June 25 at 20:00-21:00 (EDT)
Session title: 'LAST 6 FEET: Designing Tangible (Social) Distancing in the Age of Pandemic'
Speakers: Ken Nakagaki, Zipeng Liang, Ozgun Kilic Afsar, Alice Hong, and Horoshi Ishii
Language: English (Main) and Japanese
Description: 'LAST 6 FEET' is a slogan that centers around the 'six feet' of social distancing during the age of a pandemic. The research agenda connected to this slogan aims to resolve the issues and frustrations of social distancing through the development of Tangible Interfaces and Interactive Materials. While this project is in an early stage, we are currently defining the problems, strategies, and general approaches to tackle the on-going issues. This research agenda is particularly important between the total-lock down and gradual opening up of the economy. This lecture-style workshop will describe the research agenda as well as potential research opportunities/approaches followed by an interactive Q&A session.
SESSION 06
When: Monday, June 29 at 21:00-22:00 (EDT)
Session title: Techtiles: Fabric Skins Across Scales and Environments
Speakers: Jack Forman, Alice Hong, Irmandy Wicaksono, Juliana Cherston, Rachel Soo-Hoo Smith, Hila Mor, Cedric Honnet, and Hiroshi Ishii
Language: English (Main) and Japanese
Description: From surgical meshes to geotextiles to the international space station, fabric technologies are critical to many industries. In recent years, textiles have experienced a shift from passive substrates to proactive devices. At the Media Lab, students have been working on radical new fabrication techniques, materials, and applications to push the boundaries of textile devices. These include micro-meteorite detecting space skins, 3D printed full garments, knitted keyboards, and living bio-fabrics. In this workshop, students will introduce their work, then actively brainstorm with participants to match such technologies with the needs of member companies. Member companies interested in participating should RSVP here. Once RSVP’d, students will internally brainstorm ideas, which will be shared with member companies prior to the event. We hope you can join us in reinventing the fabric of everyday life.
The speakers are hoping to get the participants’ feedback: link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfPZJu703blchn_PF6FxBudQmdnCpn7DCRq6JpjYekrJawwJQ/viewform?usp=pp_url
SESSION 07
When: Thursday, July 2 at 21:00-22:00 (EDT)
Session title: Supporting a Safe Return to Work
Speakers: Camilo Rojas, Irmandy Wicaksono, Cedric Honnet, Matt Carney, and Kevin Esvelt
Language: English (Main) and Japanese
Description: The lockdowns imposed to protect populations have damaged economies at every scale. As incomes are lost, a “hunger and poverty” pandemic could eclipse the coronavirus. We seek to achieve an immediate impact by helping to provide a safe return to work worldwide, aiding a swift economic recovery, and minimizing the toll of a potential second wave . The workshop is designed to familiarize attendees with innovative technologies that can help create a safer working environment, with a focus on ultra-low cost, scalability, convenience and quick deployability.
See more information here: https://www.media.mit.edu/events/supporting-a-safe-return-to-work/
https://forms.gle/SjK1LhA7L48h1NpAA
This google form that enables subscribing to a mailing list – If you are unable to open, please contact Mirei Rioux (morioux@mit.edu):
SESSION 08
When: Tuesday, July 7 at 20:00-21:00 (EDT)
Session title: Wearable Voice Interfaces for Human Enhancement
Speakers: Pat Pataranutaporn, Valdemar Danry, Joanne Leong, and Pattie Maes
Language: English (Main) and Japanese
Description: Wearable computing is increasingly becoming more integrated into our daily lives. One of the promising opportunities of wearable technology is its potential to augment human intelligence and cognition by providing information in real-time. However, humans do not just seek information, but also motivation and inspiration to live a fulfilling life. Having good mentors and role models is important for personal growth. In the workshop, we will explore the idea of audio-based augmented reality glasses, and how they can offers just-in-time wisdom and advice based on the user's query and current context.
To make the workshop as relevant for you as possible, we would love to know a little more about you and what your expectations are for the workshop. Please feel free fill out this questionnaire (participation is voluntary).
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2GBGRMS
SESSION 09
When: Wednesday, July 8 at 20:00-21:00 (EDT)
Session title: Cognitive Modeling and the Future of Smart Environments
Speakers: Patrick Chwalek, David Ramsay, Ishwarya Ananthabhotla, and Joseph Paradiso
Language: English (Main) and Japanese
Description: In order to build systems that anticipate user needs and support their goals, it’s essential to have an underlying understanding of what users perceive and how that affects their state of mind. In this workshop, we will explore current limitations in measuring and predicting a user’s state of mind, and the solutions we believe can overcome them. We’ll also examine the positive changes in technology and design that we believe these advances can allow.
SESSION 10
When: Thursday, July 9 at 20:00-21:00 (EDT)
Session title: The Future of Communication
Speaker: Caitlin Morris, Camilo Rojas, Joanne Leong, and Pattie Maes
Language: English (Main) and Japanese
Description: Our ability to communicate carries a significant impact in social interactions, from negotiations and difficult discussions to team decision making and collaborative problem solving. We are now facing an accelerated trend towards remote interactions, which poses novel challenges to our communication skills. In this workshop, we will brainstorm ideas around novel technologies and research pertaining to the future of communication. Relevant topics include self-awareness and the awareness of others, the role of body language and the physical senses, as well as the role of self-perception and self-confidence in social interactions. These themes span multiple contexts, including in-person, remote, and virtual scenarios, in an effort to strengthen interpersonal connections and collaboration. The workshop is designed to familiarize attendees with cutting edge technologies, open grounds to collaboratively design novel applications, and identify strategies for integration into the workplace, products, and services.
SESSION 11
When: Thursday, July 16 at 20:00-21:00 (EDT)
Session title: Machine Learning Tools to Allocate Resources to the Most Promising Research Areas
Speaker: James W. Weis
Language: English (Main) and Japanese
Description: The progression of science depends on our collective ability to identify and support the most promising science, technology, and researchers, as early as possible. To that end, we have built artificial intelligence algorithms that learn from the historical evolution of the scientific knowledge graph and produce early-warning signals to identify promising areas of research. The goal of this workshop is to explore the idea of using machine learning-based tools to reimagine how we fund science and technology, in academia and beyond.
SESSION 12
When: Monday, July 27 at 20:00-21:00 (EDT)
Topics: Biomechatronics Overview and Media Lab Startup
Speaker: Matthew Carney
Language: English (Main) and Japanese
Description: Overview and highlights of the latest research done by the Biomechatronics group, including Matt Carney's PhD Dissertation, "Design and Evaluation of a Reaction-Force Series Elastic Actuator Configurable as Biomimetic Powered Ankle and Knee Prostheses." Carney will also share his personal journey to be a biomechatronics design engineer and his new startup, Open Standard Respirator, Inc.
http://www.matthematic.com/index.html