1. Art and research:
open source, open minds
Pr. L. Grisoni, MINT research team,
Univ. Lille 1, INRIA/CNRS
FoSSa, Open-art track, dec. 5th 2012
1

2. MINT Research team
‣ MINT: Methods and tools for INTeraction
‣ 6 permanent members (1DR, 2 PR, 3 ass. prof), 6
associated, between 10 and 15 post-doc/PhD/
young engineers
‣ Research project: methods and tools for gestural
interaction. In the direction of continuous space
interaction
‣ Multi-touch techniques
‣ Small-scale depth interaction
‣ Continuous space interaction
2

3. MINT Research team
‣ two specificities:
‣ multi-disciplinar: computer science (HCI, numerical computing), electrical engineering, psychology
‣ multi-application:
‣ serious game (retail, rehabilitation):
3 funded projects on the run : Interreg SHIVA, ANR Instinct,
FUI Smart-Store, FUI Touch-it
‣ numerical art (Le Fresnoy National art studio)
4 art installations in two years, one on the run
3

4. MINT Research team
‣ Other specificities:
‣ close link between scientific activity and technological transfert (ex: collaboration
with ST microelectronics on tactile pads)
‣ Close link between application domains
(ex: Health and Art,
Interreg European project SHIVA)
4

5. MINT Research team: why this art stuff ?
‣ academic research : goal is threefold:
‣ contribute to global knowledge (through publication/code),
‣ contribute to national economical competitivity
‣ widespread this knowledge in society
‣ artistic field provides a nice society visibility context for us, as well as a
challenging application field
‣ for some part of the team activity: art is a nice testbed for potentially new
knowledge and develop software through artistic installations: as soon as
done, as soon as shown
‣ We try to interleave research and technological work: e.g. of a current
process, the mockup builder
‣ inclusion of activity/knowledge transfert into the scientific process
B. De Araujo, G. Casiez, J. Jorge,
Graphics Interface‘2012
5

6. MINT art-science work 1: RoadSide Attractions (Jacques Loeil
2010)
6

7. MINT art-science work 2: Monades (Alexandre Maubert, 2011)
7

8. MINT art-science work 3: Damassama (léonore mercier, 2011)
‣ Collaboration in 2012 with Le Fresnoy art school
‣ Damassama: 24 tibetan bowls, one single Kinect
‣ Request for rich interaction:
‣ few commands, both single-hand and two-
hands
‣ «hammer» each bowl, and allow user to
control the intensity
‣ parameterized gesture
‣ two parameters:
‣ first one is discreet (bowl id)
‣ second is floating point (intensity)
‣ proposed tools has great potential in other
applications fields
8

9. MINT art-science work 3: Damassama (léonore mercier, 2011)
9

10. MINT art-science work 4: Ez3kiel, Lille concert, feb.2012
‣ Ez3kiel welcomed in 2011-2012 in Lille
‣ orchestra leader gesture captured using
kinect and leads numerical content
‣ for us: same software tool as in previous
works
10

11. MINT art-science work 5: Tempo Scaduto, Vincent Ciciliato,
2012)
‣ shown at Panorama 2012
‣ multi-camera system: combination of
gesture and hand posture
‣ two computer science teams involved:
MINT (distant gesture) and FOX (vision
features extraction)
11

12. MINT art-science work 6: Damassama 2.0 (léonore mercier,
2013?)
‣ use piezo-electric actuators: much more dynamic
‣ enrich gesture commands: make installation
become a programmable musical instrument
‣ currently trying to use piezo-electric ceramics to
launch bowls natural vibrations (ideally including
harmonics)
‣ use of gesture for programming and using
installation
‣ continuum between artistic installation and musical
instrument
‣ revisited relation to ancien objects using technology
12

13. MINT art-science feedback: few (everlasting?) questions
‣ Being a researcher is not being an engineer; being an artist is not being a
beautifier
( -> each part has both a primary goal, and shareable knowledge)
‣ artists and scientists: different worlds, same identities
(-> need to understand each other goal and constraints)
‣ collaboration between artists and scientists : two intellectual freedoms made
compatible
(-> how to have both freedoms fully exist?)
‣ what makes the value of the work? how to create virtuous circles?
-> utopic (non-)answer : fund valuable people, not valuable projects
13

14. One possible way to deep innovation: Theory U
Otto Scharmer (MIT), «Blind Spot of
Institutional Leadership, how to create Deep
Innovation Through Moving from Egosystem
to Ecosystem Awareness», World
Economic Forum, Tianjin, sept. 2010.
some nice, recent, idea: smart art:
making smart things with existing
devices ...
(see Sm(art)^2 IP proposal)
14

15. Thank you
laurent.grisoni@inria.fr
http://www.lifl.fr/mint
(© S. Cotin)
15