Founded in 1966

Departmental Colloquium

Emergence of Self-Reflection Through Visual Dialogues: A Computer Scientists Perspective

Professor Jae Oh

Syracuse University

Tuesday April 7, 2009
12:15 pm - SENSQ 5317

Refreshments/meet the speaker at 12:00 pm

Hosted by Daniel Mosse

Abstract

In this talk, I will present a collaborative effort between a computer scientist and an artist.

I will discuss a software system, I3, that can facilitate a dialogue with the user through aesthetic visual compositions. Three basic shapes--circles, triangles and rectangles--are the "vocabulary" of such a dialogue. By using geometric transformations, I3 can generate diverse compositions.

I3 initiates a visual dialogue by presenting two initial compositions that are aesthetically arranged. The user starts to "converse" with the system by responding to the compositions. As the interactions continue, the user may see a tendency emerging in the dialogue. This tendency is the " of the conversation. We believe this interaction will help the user to realize a unique individual sense of order or proclivity.

The software system is inspired by many concepts, including evolutionary algorithms and gestalt theory. Currently, we are working to incorporate ideas from game theory and formal language theory to I3. I3, was exhibited at MGLC (International Centre of Graphic Arts) in Ljubljana, Slovenia, from October 15, 2007 to January 11, 2008. An updated version of I3 is later exhibited at the 14th International Festival of Intermedia Art in Maribor, Slovenia, from October 1, 2008 to October 3, 2008.

This talk will also present my experience on working with an artist.

Biography of Speaker

Jae C. Oh is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Syracuse University. His research interests include understanding interaction dynamics and studying problems that arise in resource sharing among multiple entities. On the application side, he has been studying artificial intelligence techniques to problems in Large-scale Real-time Distributed systems.

Professor Oh has also been working on Multi-agent systems, Temperature-aware computing for distributed systems, and the Speaker identification problem. These projects have been funded by various sources including National Science Foundation, US Air Force Office of Scientific Research, State of New York, and private companies.

Professor's most recent research interest is understanding how computers and computing in general can be used as a medium for artistic expressions. Professor Oh is a Pitt Ph.D. program alumni.

You are using an older browser that does not support current Web standards. Although this site is viewable in all browsers, it will look much better in a browser that supports Web standards.