iSchool

Gaming for everyone: U of T’s Faculty of Information makes video games more accessible

geoff.vendeville — Fri, 11 Dec 2020 16:20:35 +0000

Gaming for everyone: U of T’s Faculty of Information makes video games more accessible

geoff.vendeville Fri, 12/11/2020 - 11:20

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Adrian Petterson, a Master of Information student, helped create the Accessibility Arcade, where designers, developers and researchers can create video games that take into account players' accessibility needs (photo courtesy of Adrian Petterson)

Rekha Morbia

Topic

City & Culture

Accessibility

Faculty of Information

Graduate Students

iSchool

Video Games

To create more accessible video games, researchers at the �ؿ�ζSM are partnering with major studios, non-profit organizations and influential gamers with disabilities through U of T’s new Accessibility Arcade – as well as an inclusive online gaming hub.

The Accessibility Arcade, part of the Knowledge Media and Design Institute (KMDI) in the U of T’s Faculty of Information, provides a space for designers, developers, researchers and gamers to put their heads together to design more inclusive games. It’s based in the KMDI Makerspace, an area in the Bissell Building off Robarts Library where students are encouraged to get creative with technology like 3D printers, Arduinos and Raspberry Pis – open source prototyping platforms and simple computers, respectively.

“The Makerspace is much more than a room with fancy new technology,” said Adrian Petterson, a research assistant at KMDI and the project lead on the accessibility arcade. “This space builds a community of support and innovation where gamers and industry members can connect and learn from each other.”

Petterson is also the chair of the faculty’s accessibility interest working group and a Master of Information student who specializes in design ethics and video game accessibility under the academic supervision of Associate Professor Sara Grimes, director of KMDI and an expert in critical theories of technology.

There has been a recent push in the rapidly expanding video game industry – from large studios and indie developers alike – to design games that are accessible to players with disabilities.
While game designers are used to taking on complex challenges, it is by no means simple to design games that take into account the vast diversity of accessibility needs.

The Accessibility Arcade provides a space for designers and developers to imagine new game possibilities by allowing them to take their software on a test run before launch.

They can also create games or game features that appeal to a wider, mainstream audience. Copilot mode on Xbox One, for example, allows two players to manipulate a single character using two controllers. It was originally intended for players who couldn’t use their whole controller and needed the support of another player. But Copilot has since become a function that players use to create unique shared gaming experiences.

“Gamers with disabilities have been modifying games to suit their needs for decades and connecting industry members to see potential new forms of games which can appeal to new, wider audiences,” Petterson said.

The Accessibility Arcade is equipped with adaptive gaming equipment, such as a one-handed keyboard, adaptive Xbox controller and a Logitech Adaptive Gaming Kit (photo courtesy of Adrian Petterson)

The Accessibility Arcade features the most up-to-date hardware in inclusive gaming and accessible titles. Gamers with disabilities can try out equipment and explore what options might be right for them. Game designers can learn about accessible gaming and try out equipment to ensure their games are compatible with the latest technology.

The Makerspace inventory includes a one-handed keyboard, an Xbox adaptive controller for individuals who are unable to use their hands and a Logitech Adaptive Gaming Kit with buttons and switches.

Adaptive gaming equipment is often extremely expensive and difficult to acquire. At the arcade, gamers with disabilities and designers can use adaptive equipment without having to buy it. Petterson is compiling a list of video games that have features for a variety of disabilities.

“Twenty per cent of gamers have disabilities,” Petterson said, adding that game designers can tap into new markets by adapting their products. “Also, it helps designers and developers think about new ways of creating, which is a boon for any industry.”

Adaptive gaming equipment is often expensive and difficult to acquire, but visitors can try out these tools at no cost at the Accessibility Arcade (photo courtesy of Adrian Petterson)

As a part of the Accessibility Arcade, Petterson has been building an inclusive gaming hub to create game innovation on an online platform. Digital platforms make it easier for individuals in different parts of the world or people with mobility challenges to join. Community members, industry leaders and gamers can gain access to this collaborative network and apply what they learn to their own projects and communities. The inclusive gaming hub will be among the first digital space dedicated entirely to project sharing and collaboration in inclusive gaming.

“Our society is so focused on digital platforms that it is vital digital spaces are created to foster innovation in general and be accessible to everyone,” Petterson said. “Some of the most powerful innovators are individuals with disabilities.”

To help the Accessibility Arcade become a vibrant community space, Petterson has partnered with major studios, non-profit organizations and influential gamers with disabilities.

LittleNavi, a popular Twitch affiliate with multiple sclerosis, said she enjoyed working with Steve Saylor, who goes by the “Blind Gamer” on his YouTube channel, on the Accessibility Arcade.
Several years ago, LittleNavi suffered a massive ischemic stroke causing paralysis in half her body. On her Twitch profile, she writes: “Over time, I re-learned how to walk, how to talk, how to read, how to write, and how to game!” The experience led her to discover her calling for making games accessible for people with disabilities, she said.

Saylor found his passion for advocating for more accessible video games through YouTube, where he shares reviews and his first reactions to games. The Toronto-based gamer was born with nystagmus, a condition that causes rapid involuntary movement of the eyes making it hard to see (in one YouTube clip, he uses Fortnite to demonstrate what he sees when he plays a game).

Saylor, LittleNavi and Petterson created a list of essential equipment for the space and collaborated on access policies. Other consultants on the project include representatives from Makers Making Change, Toronto Media Arts Centre, and AAA Games Studios.

“The KMDI Accessibility Arcade fosters industry creations, a strong diverse community working together and that an inclusive society makes us all stronger,” Petterson said.

U of T researchers looking into how digital world is marginalizing seniors

ullahnor — Tue, 21 Mar 2017 20:54:45 +0000

U of T researchers looking into how digital world is marginalizing seniors

ullahnor Tue, 03/21/2017 - 16:54

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Assistant Professor Cosmin Munteanu and master's student Hiba Rafih are analyzing and assessing seniors, their relationship to technology

Kathleen O'Brien

Zoe Fine

Author legacy

Kathleen O’Brien and Zoe Fine

Topic

Faculty of Information

Technological advances are moving everyday tasks online – including banking, shopping, communicating, and refilling prescriptions – and many seniors can't keep up.

So researchers at U of T are looking at ways to help them avoid social isolation.

Cosmin Munteanu, an assistant professor at U of T Mississauga’s Institute for Communication, Culture, Information and Technology and the Faculty of Information, has teamed up with first-year master's student Hiba Rafih to research the issue.

They are analyzing and assessing seniors, their relationship to technology, and their access to information online.

“Many older adults are marginalized digitally,” says Munteanu, co-director of the Technologies for Aging Gracefully Lab (TAGlab). “Facilitating their online participation may lead to a reduction of their social isolation, which will lead to several other indirect benefits," such as improving their health or finances.

But research into the extent of the problem is limited, he says.

Rafih explains that there's often a lack of data on senior citizens. For those aged 65 and over, their digital knowledge and habits increase their feeling of isolation, she says.

As they become socially isolated, it may become more difficult for them to reach out for help in navigating the Internet. Senior citizens’ social circles are typically small, or for older seniors, can be non-existent. This means that asking for assistance, or even knowing how to articulate a question regarding technology, can be a major roadblock for seniors attempting to use the Internet for social interaction, information, or tasks, Rafih says.

Society cannot fix the problem, she warns, until we identify who is vulnerable, and until then “the divide will continue to widen between seniors with low digital literacy and the exponential advancements made in technology.”

In Canada for the first time in our history, the number of people aged 65 years and older exceeds the number of children aged 0 to 14 years. In 2014, those aged 65 years and older were approximately four times the growth rate of the total population, demonstrating that senior citizens are a rapidly growing segment of the Canadian population.

Munteanu began collaborating with Rafih when she was an undergraduate student at U of T Mississauga’s Institute for Communication, Culture, Information and Technology last year.

While the research project is in the pilot stage, the duo hope to identify major barriers, and what society might do to address seniors’ lack of access to technology, and how that affects their social circles, and quality of life. Munteanu hopes their research will reduce adults' digital marginalization, spread cyber safety awareness and knowledge, and increase online participation among seniors.

U of T hackathon to save climate data before Trump presidency brings "overwhelming reaction"

geoff.vendeville — Mon, 19 Dec 2016 19:18:00 +0000

U of T hackathon to save climate data before Trump presidency brings "overwhelming reaction"

geoff.vendeville Mon, 12/19/2016 - 14:18

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History and Women and Gender Studies Professor Michelle Murphy speaks to the media during U of T's hackathon to archive potentially at-risk environmental data (all photos by Geoffrey Vendeville)

Geoffrey Vendeville

Author legacy

Geoffrey Vendeville

Topic

Faculty of Information

iSchool

The calls and emails began to pour in soon after three U of T researchers announced they would host a hackathon to preserve U.S. environmental data before it might be deleted by the Trump administration.

The BBC, Vice, The Toronto Star, to name only a few, reported on the U of T effort to rescue information from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website. The “guerilla archiving event” was even mentioned in Stephen Colbert’s opening monologue on The Late Show.

“In Toronto, experts will copy irreplaceable public data and compile a website to harbor scientific information,” Colbert said, quoting a Washington Post story about the hackathon. “That’s right,” he continued, “it’s gotten so bad even facts are moving to Canada.”

The reaction was “overwhelming,” said Patrick Keilty, one of the organizers and an assistant professor in U of T’s Faculty of Information. “This is an urgent issue and people obviously care passionately about it. I think that’s a very hopeful sign.”

Read Toronto Life's interview with Murphy

In addition to seeding thousands of URLs to the Internet Archive’s End of Term web crawler, including 192 at-risk programs and data sets, the volunteers made a toolkit with a list of best practices for storing mountains of information. They hoped to set a precedent for academics planning similar events in the U.S. including one at the University of Pennsylvania on Jan. 13.

Patricia Kim, a PhD candidate in the environmental humanities program at U Penn, came to the hackathon to take notes for her own school’s event.

“What’s great about this �ؿ�ζSM and Penn collaborative effort is that it drives home the point that climate and the environment don’t have borders,” she said.

The U of T researchers aren’t stopping at last weekend’s hackathon. They plan to monitor the EPA website after Trump comes into office to report any changes as soon as possible and to publish a report online about the new administration’s first 100 days.

Sam-chin Li, a reference/government publications librarian at U of T, said it made sense for U of T to take the lead in archiving efforts because it has experience archiving Canadian government websites and has one of the top library systems in North America.

“There’s not much we can do about our neighbour’s election results,” she said, “but that doesn’t mean we should sit by and do nothing.”

Summer in the City of Light: U of T students interning in Paris

lavende4 — Tue, 28 Jun 2016 19:49:34 +0000

Summer in the City of Light: U of T students interning in Paris lavende4 Tue, 06/28/2016 - 15:49

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UNESCO world headquarters in Paris during UNESCO's 70th anniversary in 2015 (Eliot Blondet/Getty Images)

Terry Lavender

Author legacy

Terry Lavender

Topic

Global Lens

Faculty of Information

Other Canadians in Paris may spend their time in Paris taking selfies in front of the Eiffel Tower or visiting the Louvre, but �ؿ�ζSM students Alicia Dotiwalla and Jennifer Yang are in the City of Light to work for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, not to sightsee.

The Faculty of Information masters’ students are the first participants in the Faculty’s UNESCO Internship Program. But even though Dotiwalla and Yang are working long hours at UNESCO’s headquarters on the Place de Fontenoy, they do take time out to experience the city’s many attractions.

“I try to immerse myself into French culture whenever possible – and to polish my French speaking skills!” Dotiwalla says.

“I’ve been trying to go to the different museums and enjoy the food,” says Yang (below). “You can’t really go wrong with food in Paris.”

Since Yang’s eight-month internship with UNESCO’s knowledge sharing and open access unit lasts until December 2016, she has several more months to sample French cuisine.

She’s helping UNESCO roll out its online collaborative platform UNESTEAMS. It’s not the first intranet project she’s tackled. In one of her courses last year, she and her colleagues designed an intranet for U of T’s John M. Kelly Library, which the library now uses.

“My role in UNESCO is to facilitate and promote knowledge collaboration and knowledge sharing between different departments and other international organizations,” Yang says. “We are promoting new tools so that people easily communicate with different people around the world, regardless of their time zone and location.”

When her internship ends in December, Yang will return to U of T for one more semester before she graduates. Her ultimate goal is to become a data management lawyer. But, she notes, the unexpected often happens. “Just four months ago I didn’t expect that I would be in Paris working for UNESCO. I usually have a detailed plan, but now that plan has had to be changed. So maybe it’s time that I wait and see what the future may bring. I’m just trying to enjoy every moment that I’m here.”

Dotiwalla (below) is excited by her four-month internship with UNESCO’s archives, library and records management division. “The archives are the organization’s institutional memory,” she says. “The vast collection documents influential work in education, science, culture and heritage. Researchers from around the world travel to Paris to access these primary sources. As such, assisting with archival work makes these records more accessible to current and future researchers and scholars.”

This isn’t Dotiwalla’s first time in France, having visited Paris before and taken a French language course in Lyon. “Being immersed in French culture and conversing with native speakers of the language was as beneficial as any in-class learning,” she says. “I consider myself very fortunate to be among those individuals who have turned personal and academic passions into rewarding job experiences.”

Wendy Duff, the interim dean at the Faculty of Information, says Yang and Dotiwalla “are on the ground floor helping UNESCO build international partnerships by urging nations to share and preserve memories, history, peace, and respect for human rights.”

The internships came about after UNESCO director-general Irina Bokova, spoke at U of T in 2014, Duff says. Bokova and then Dean Seamus Ross “discovered how many values we share, and it became obvious there was a great fit for our Information and Cultural Heritage students.” The unpaid internship program, which is worth course credits for the two students, is the first in Canada, and only the second in North America, she says.

Funding has been secured for the first two years of the program, thanks to a donation from the W. Garfield Weston Foundation with matching dollars from the University’s Provost. While the first two internships are in Paris, France, at UNESCO headquarters, future placements could be at any UNESCO satellite site in the world.

Revolution in medicine part 2: U of T students

sgupta — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 08:47:40 +0000

Revolution in medicine part 2: U of T students sgupta Fri, 04/01/2016 - 04:47

Carolyn Morris

Author legacy

Carolyn Morris

Artificial Intelligence

Imagine you’re one of the 50,000 people in Ontario addicted to opioids. You have a panic attack in the middle of the night. You may live in a remote area with little access to counselling services — but even if you have regular access to a therapist, no one’s around at that moment to talk you through it.

Instead of reaching for pills, though, you turn to the support of your “pocket counsellor,” right on your smartphone. This virtual counsellor will have an actual conversation with you — asking questions, and “listening” to your responses.

“It asks intelligent questions depending on your answers just as any human would do in a real conversation,” says Dr. Raad Yameen, a recent medical school graduate and master’s student in the Faculty of Medicine’s new Translational Research Program. Yameen is one of three U of T students in medicine and engineering working on the artificial intelligence counselling app through their startup dubbed Project MIToc. By recognizing “change talk” — any expression like “I really need to,” “I should,” “I have to do something” — the app can pick up on that and even remind you of some of the reasons you’d given in the past for wanting to stop using.

Yameen and his team now have $5,000 to help develop their idea further. They were one of a selected group of young innovators gathered at U of T this week to pitch their ideas as part of the HealthEDGE initiative, led by U of T-based accelerators in medicine, engineering and computer science. With a panel of judges including entrepreneurs and industry leaders in health — and six fellowships of $5,000 each for the top ideas — it was akin to a “Dragons’ Den” competition for health care.

“We want to help get these creative ideas for improving health care off the ground,” says Professor Joseph Ferenbok, co-director of the Health Innovation Hub (H2i), the Faculty of Medicine’s accelerator. “We started the year-long initiative with an open call for people to submit challenges, ingenuity gaps, or ‘bugs’ in the health care system. Then we invited students and other innovators to find solutions.”

Yameen, along with Project MIToc co-founders — software engineers and computer engineering master’s students Didier Landry and Dustin Kut Moy Cheung — hope their theory-driven, evidence-based and patient-centric technology will lead to better support for addicts, and cost-savings to the health system.

Other winning ideas included a tool for the early detection of diabetes-related vision loss dubbed “iProbe,” which allows psychiatrists to monitor patients with schizophrenia for worsening symptoms based on their social media and other online communications; a personalized drug profiling technology for patients with cystic fibrosis and other conditions serving as a personalized “clinical trial in a dish”; a mobile video health program that would connect rural youth with mental-health support; and a robotic rehabilitative exoskeleton for kids with cerebral palsy. The iProbe project also won the community choice award.

With iSchool entrepreneurship instructor and HealthEDGE 2016 coordinator Adriana Ieraci moderating the event, the judges challenged each presenter with questions on feasibility, privacy concerns, pricing and competitors. Leading up to the event, mentors from H2i, The Entrepreneurship Hatchery and the Department of Computer Science Innovation Lab (DCSIL) coached the teams and helped them refine their pitches.

But the work doesn’t end here. A central goal of the HealthEDGE initiative is to help turn these ideas into reality. With the fellowship money, along with a network of contacts and potential backers through community, health care and industry partners — including the University Health Network, Rouge Valley Health System Foundation, Johnson & Johnson Innovation (JLABS), Autodesk and IBM — the winning innovators are given resources to put their smart solutions to work. They’ll be presenting their proofs of concept at a HealthEDGE demo day in the fall.

Winning Projects:

ReX: a robotic exoskeleton suit to help children with cerebral palsy learn to walk
VideoHealth: a new mobile way to connect rural youth with little access to mental health care to urban mental health providers, including psychiatrists using asynchronous video communication.
Project MIToc: a mobile solution for motivational counseling and commitment enhancement for people suffering from opioid addiction.
XVIVOS Biosciences: a high-throughput, personalized drug profiling technology for patients with certain rare & neglected diseases
Project Nash: a modular tool that allows psychiatrists to collect feedback from members of a patient's support network, as well as automatically analyze patient's audio logs and social media for inconsistencies that could be a warning sign of relapse
iProbe: a sensing device for pre-symptomatic ocular disease detection

Judges:

Professor Paul Santerre, Co-Director, Health Innovation Hub
Andris Lauris, Mentor-in-Residence, Health Innovation Hub
Merry Wang, Senior Research Scientist, Autodesk
Gail Garland, President and CEO, Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (OBio)
Jonathan Rezek, Business Development, IBM Canada
Kendra Delicaet, Managing Director, OpenLab, TGH
Katherine Schwenger, Co-Chair, Institute of Medical Science Students Association (IMSSA)

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Forging an image of the 3D-printing future

sgupta — Mon, 22 Feb 2016 13:05:45 +0000

Forging an image of the 3D-printing future sgupta Mon, 02/22/2016 - 08:05

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Matt Ratto of U of T's iSchool with orthopaedic technologist Joyce Nakibirango at the CoRSU hospital in Uganda. (Photo by ginger coons/Critical Making.)

Dominic Ali

Author legacy

Dominic Ali

Subheadline

Printed prosthetics are here, and complex bioprinting is coming, Matt Ratto says

Once confined to the realm of science fiction, 3D printers have become part of the mainstream. These machines fabricate physical objects by melting and layering plastic through a nozzle. Users can create or download professionally designed plans and produce custom objects ranging from tree ornaments to prosthetic limbs.

No one understands the process better than U of T’s Matt Ratto. This associate professor at the iSchool and director of the Semaphore Research Cluster researches the intersection of digital technologies and the physical world.

U of T News talked to Ratto about how 3D printing will evolve, especially when combined with other contemporary technologies.

Is there one use for 3D printing that will revolutionize the world?

A lot of claims have been made about what will be the “killer app” of 3D printing, from just-in-time production of Tupperware lids to the printing of food. The first idea misses the energy costs of 3D printing. It’s a terrible replacement for mass producing forms that can easily and cheaply made through injection molding.

The second idea seems to imply that most people like processed foods. 3D printing a food basically means grinding up the base form into a slurry and then printing it into a new shape or arrangement. We actually have a lot of foods like this in the marketplace. The Pringle is probably the best example. I think that the revolutionary qualities of 3D printing have to do with the ability to produce novel things: smart objects, unique biological forms, hybrid materials and topologies that could not be made before.

3D printers have evolved from large, expensive machines to smaller, cheaper units for home use. Where do you think the technology is heading?

I think 3D printing is moving away from general-purpose hardware and software towards more specific functions and uses. Such a move allows a better fit between user, use context and the design of the 3D tools and technologies. For instance, we are now seeing bioprinters that make use of the same general printer technology as plastic-based hobbyist printers. But they add heated environmental areas for the printing material (cells) and purified compressed air drivers that maintain a sterile printing area, functions specific to the printing of complex biological forms. There are even inexpensive versions of these printers, such as the Biobot, which is a 3D printer for living cells.

Which industries will be most affected as 3D printers become more pervasive?

Medical industries and specifically patient care are really set to be disrupted by 3D printing. Bioprinting of complex cellular assemblies is probably the furthest out, but this will really change how patients are treated. Closer to the market are custom medicines – pills that contain the specific active ingredients for an individual, rather than mass-produced units made for a general profile. And the 3D printing of custom braces, prosthetics and orthotics is right around the corner. We have a research project and non-profit spin-off called Nia Technologies that is already doing this in developing countries.

Information, Faculty of (iSchool)

sgupta — Thu, 07 Jan 2016 20:47:15 +0000

Information, Faculty of (iSchool) sgupta Thu, 01/07/2016 - 15:47

URL

https://ischool.utoronto.ca

From Yad Vashem to U of T: the importance of gathering and sharing Holocaust stories

sgupta — Wed, 09 Dec 2015 10:47:17 +0000

From Yad Vashem to U of T: the importance of gathering and sharing Holocaust stories sgupta Wed, 12/09/2015 - 05:47

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Tourists from around the world visit Yad Vashem in Israel to see stories and documentation from the Holocaust (photo courtesy James Lanthier)

Kathleen O'Brien

Author legacy

Kathleen O'Brien

Features

iSchool

Faculty of Information

Alumni

Subheadline

“It’s our moral duty to provide access to all knowledge and data and have it be free,” says IP Sharp Lecturer

Documenting and collecting stories, memories, and testimonials of the Holocaust is one of the most significant intergenerational and international initiatives of our time, Haim Gertner says.

Gertner, the director, Archives Division and Fred Hillman Chair of Holocaust Documentation, Yad Vashem, Israel, was the IP Sharp guest lecturer on Dec. 2 at the �ؿ�ζSM’s Faculty of Information.

He described how the largest collection of research, education, and commemoration of Holocaust documents in the world – in Israel’s Yad Vashem – is still expanding.

“We have to gather huge pieces of the puzzle,” Gertner said, as “fragmented pieces of knowledge are a huge challenge for any historian.”

Gertner is leading an extensive project to collect all historical and personal Holocaust-related documentation, and make it openly accessible to the public through an innovative amalgamation of content and technology.

He said that although fewer and fewer Holocaust survivors remain each year, five teams from Yad Vashem still take video testimonies every day, and produce about 1,200 videos annually. Archivists are digitizing and translating these spoken testimonies from 41 languages into English, as well as documents written in 60 different languages.

One of the lecture attendees, Faculty of Information alumna Helen Katz, said she is grateful for the translations because her parents’ family history is there, written mainly in Yiddish and Hebrew. “Yad Vashem is a special place in Jewish hearts,” she said.

Yad Vashem is making agreements with thousands of organizations to survey and find more Holocaust narratives and documents, is gathering copies of collections around the world, as well as mapping where all information centres are located.

These efforts have resulted in Yad’s online collection of180 million pages, a half million photos, 125,000 Holocaust survivor testimonies, and other saved treasures, such as a Jewish man’s diary detailing life for 450 orphaned Jewish children in an Israel housing facility.

“We have the ability to see what we have, and make meaningful connections somehow. It’s our moral duty to provide access to all knowledge and data and have it be free,” Gertner said.

Katz (pictured at right, with her husband) agreed, and said she hopes one day Yad Vashem will be the one place to house all memories.

“The speaker ‘s real life examples showed us how bits and pieces of information could make lost family stories more complete. I am positive it has reunited families,” she said. “This is what family and connections mean to Holocaust survivors and children of Holocaust survivors.

“Yad Vashem means that the leaves on the family tree may be gone, but not forgotten.”

Gertner showed audience members how the fortitude of survivors like Rosemarie Gold, who kept cellophane-wrapped family photos hidden in a sandwich, enabled later familial connections to be made.

Katz experienced this personally. Her parents, Harry and Molly Lewkowicz, were in their twenties when they were sent to work camps. Liberated in 1945, Harry went back to Poland to find his six siblings, only to learn that none survived. Molly located only one of her four sisters.

They moved to Germany, married, and in 1949 immigrated to Canada where they raised two children and lived full lives, with Harry reaching 90, and Molly 92.

In Poland, there was nothing to commemorate the existence or memory of their families. But Harry ensured the names of both his family and his wife’s family appear on their tombstones in Canada.

“Archives are powerful,” said Faculty of Information Dean Seamus Ross, who was recently re-appointed to the Advisory Board of the European Holocaust Research Infrastructure project.

“If you didn’t realize that, I’m sure you get it now,” Ross told the audience. “In the hands of creative archivists and knowledge managers, we can reconstruct stories and bring materials together that transform lives.”

(Photo of Dean Seamus Ross and Haim Gertner by Kathleen O'Brien)

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Undergrads, professors collaborate to develop state-of-the-art leg brace for student with cerebral palsy

sgupta — Thu, 27 Aug 2015 15:51:10 +0000

Undergrads, professors collaborate to develop state-of-the-art leg brace for student with cerebral palsy sgupta Thu, 08/27/2015 - 11:51

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Engineering students Shakthi Seerala, Lakmini Perera, Kayatri Rangarajan and Elizabeth Sumitro, with Tom Garsides (photo by Marit Mitchell)

Kathleen O'Brien

Cooper Long

Author legacy

Kathleen O'Brien and Cooper Long

Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Back to School

Subheadline

iSchool, Engineering, Kinesiology & Physical Education work together to enhance student's mobility

Robotic exoskeletons have long been a staple of science fiction.

Now, Master of Information student Thomas Garside has collaborated with iSchool Professor Matt Ratto and a team of Engineering students and motion specialists from the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education to make such a device a reality.

A full-time student concentrating on critical information policy studies and knowledge management, Garside has limited mobility because of cerebral palsy. Normally he gets around with a cane, wheelchair or motorized scooter.

When he arrived at U of T, he knew that more advanced mobility aids were under development – and that their price put them out of reach.

Garside was also familiar with Ratto’s work as director of the iSchool’s Critical Making Lab, and in particular his application of 3D printer technology to the problem of producing prosthetic sockets and limbs for Ugandan children.

“Even before being accepted into the iSchool I was impressed by the work he had done,” Garside says.

The student decided to approach his professor of only two months about the possibility of creating a powered assistive device to help him, and others with mobility challenges, walk better.

After consulting iSchool Dean Seamus Ross, they enlisted final-year engineering students Shakthi Seerala, Lakmini Perera, Kayatri Rangarajan and Elizabeth Sumitro to work on the electrical controls and sensor systems necessary for a mechanized leg brace.

The circle of collaborators continued to widen: Garside sought out the expertise of Professors Luc Tremblay and Tyson Beach, sensorimotor control and biomechanics specialists from the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education. Using state-of-the-art 3D motion-capture and force-measurement systems, Beach analyzed Garside’s gait.

Meanwhile, the Tetra Design Group charity connected Garside with a volunteer who was able to fabricate the mechanical components of the brace. Using off-the-shelf radio-controlled motors, the Engineering team finished a functioning prototype at a cost of only $1,000.

Last spring Garside got to strap on the result of all this multi-disciplinary hard work. The prototype works by measuring the pressure exerted by the foot, detecting what part of the stride cycle he is performing and helping him flex his leg to complete the appropriate movement.

“I have been amazed by the quality of the brace,” Garside says. “And I have been delighted to see how well the Master of Information program can help in the development of physical devices. The training I’ve received on design from faculty like Colin Furness has really been well applied to hardware.”

Apart from enhancing his mobility, the project has given Garside useful experience in project management.

The next steps are to work with Engineering and Tetra to improve the brace’s control system and look at different structural materials. Then, create a brace for his left leg.

The results of this collaboration could have worldwide impact.

“Besides the enhancement of the prototype,” Garside says, “we’re all excited to continue to show the world that exoskeleton technologies are now mainstream technologies capable of solving issues of mobility for the disabled and elderly.”

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Satoru Iwata: why a generation is mourning the loss of Nintendo's CEO

sgupta — Tue, 14 Jul 2015 15:14:42 +0000

Satoru Iwata: why a generation is mourning the loss of Nintendo's CEO sgupta Tue, 07/14/2015 - 11:14

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This image from Twitter user Alex Nelson (@lexnels) uses one of the more popular Iwata quotes shared after his death July 11, 2015

Krisha Ravikantharaja

Terry Lavender with files from Krisha Ravikantharaja

Terry Lavender

Author legacy

Terry Lavender with files from Krisha Ravikantharaja

Topic

Global Lens

Adam Robinson-Yu, computer science graduate (class of 2015)

What role did Nintendo play in your childhood?
When I was younger, I was introduced to video games on the computer. I played a lot of shareware DOS games on my dad's computer until my family got an N64. Since then, I rented games from the local video store whenever I could. Video games became my biggest hobby, and while I played (and started making) a variety of games on the computer, many of my favorite games were on Nintendo consoles. I was a huge fan of most big Nintendo franchises, such as Mario, Zelda, Kirby, and Pokemon. These games still inspire me today, since I'm developing video games myself right now.

Do you still play console games?
Yes! I play video games mostly on my PC now, but of the three competing consoles, I'm only really interested in the Nintendo Wii U. Most interesting games on PlayStation or Xbox have analogues on PC, but social joyous games like Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros, and Super Mario Land feel unique to Nintendo.

What was your reaction to Iwata’s death?
It is really sad to hear of his death. He seemed like a very talented man who cared a lot about games. He's been influential in a number of famous Nintendo titles that I've played throughout my life.

Before Iwata was the president of Nintendo, he ran another studio, HAL Laboratories. HAL created both the Kirby and Super Smash Bros. franchises, which are both franchises I still love to this day. He also worked a lot with the Pokemon franchise; it is said he programmed the compression tools himself which allowed tons of content to be packed into Pokemon Gold and Silver. Since becoming Nintendo's president, he's been the executive producer on countless Nintendo games from the GameCube era and onward.

Why do think there has been such an emotional response to his death?
Nintendo, as a company, has had a lot of ups and downs. In spite of all that, I think they've managed to maintain a special reputation as a company that always releases polished, family-friendly games that focus on delivering joy. I can't help but feel that Iwata was influential in maintaining that reputation.

Steve Engels, associate professor (teaching stream), computer science

What is Satoru Iwata’s legacy?
Satoru Iwata was known for many things over the years. At first, he was known as a game designer, working on titles that I grew up with, like Earthbound and Kirby's Adventures in Dreamland. Since he took over as president of Nintendo, he's been known for innovations like the Nintendo DS and the Wii, and approaching game design in ways that have always been different from the designers of other consoles and games. But beyond the countless games and devices that were created under his watch, is the spirit that he brought to the industry. He was always a gamer first, and he never lost sight of the gamers who loved the things that Nintendo made. So it feels like the gaming world has lost one of its own, somebody who really spoke to them and made a connection to gamers everywhere.

Many people have taken to social media to express their grief and their appreciation of Iwata and Nintendo. Does this surprise you?
You might think it's surprising for so many people to mourn the president of a company! But he has maintained a social media presence for quite some time, with his series Iwata Asks and his appearances on Nintendo Direct. So it's not that surprising that a community he has been part of for so long would make their sadness known on the same channels that he used to reach out to them all these years.

Would it be farfetched to compare the reaction to Iwata’s death to the reaction following the death of figures such as Steve Jobs or John Lennon?
I see how people would compare Satoru Iwata to Steve Jobs, for his legacy as a creator-turned-visionary, or to John Lennon as a man who was loved for his spirit, as much as his creations. The comparison I'd probably draw is between him and Walt Disney, who did so much to fuel the imagination and delight of a generation, and the only comfort in losing him is the legacy that he leaves behind him.

How significant was Nintendo in the growth of console games and video game culture?
Nintendo has been around forever, even before it was known as Nintendo, in the Famicom days. They've pushed the console market with generations of home- and portable-gaming hardware, hitting spectacular successes and failures along the way. And their games have given us iconic characters such as Mario and Zelda, to the point where gaming culture is awash with references to Nintendo creations. So it's hard to look at the history of video games and video game culture, without seeing the hand that Nintendo has had since the beginning.

What effect will his death have on Nintendo’s future?
The impact of Satoru Iwata's death won't be felt as much as that of Steve Jobs, but it will be similar. People looked to Steve Jobs as a visionary, and his passing signaled a great loss for the company and possibly the industry in general. But while Satoru Iwata was a great man who did great things, he was fortunate enough to be part of a team of visionaries, and whenever he discussed the successes that Nintendo had, he would often drop references to people like his friend and colleague Shigeru Miyamoto [creator of Donkey Kong, Super Mario Brothers and other legendary Nintendo titles].

You met Iwata on a couple of occasions. What was he like?
Mostly, it was meeting him from afar, but there were times when I got to see and say hello to him up-close. The most vivid and inspirational memory of him came from the talk he gave at a conference I attended in 2011. In that talk, he attributed his success to his origins as a gamer, and how he always looked to make games that he was passionate about, instead of just seeing it as a business. He urged everybody in the audience to be creative, change the world, and always follow their passion in whatever they do. And then he gave everybody in the audience a free copy of a new Nintendo DS game that they had just made. I think that just about says it all.

Sara Grimes, assistant professor, Faculty of Information

Did you play Nintendo games when you were growing up?
I did indeed. I was given an NES (to share with my siblings) for Christmas the year it came out and became completely enamored with the Super Mario and Legend of Zelda games. I later had a GameBoy, then a GameCube, then a Wii and have gone through a couple of DS’s. I still try to play any new Mario title that comes out, and count Metroid Prime among my top ten favourite games of all time.

Some scholars and game critics say that of the major game console manufacturers, Nintendo was the most female-friendly, with its characters, its story arcs and with consoles such as the Wii. Others say no, because of such clichés as Princess Peach needing to be rescued, etc. Do you have any thoughts on this?
Nintendo is a vast and prominent company, and have released a wide variety of games over the years. Certainly, a number of their games have incorporated outdated gender stereotypes or traditional tropes like the “rescue the princess” quest. But they have also been at the forefront of making games that challenge these norms and tropes – from games that feature non-stereotypical female protagonists, like the Metroid series, to games with broad appeal among female gamers, like the Animal Crossing series. The features and technologies emphasized in their consoles and handheld devices are also often thought of as “female-friendly” because they expand into different areas of play, and include activities (and movements) that girls and women are already engaged in. But I think that the most important thing that they have done differently, and what makes them uniquely gender inclusive, is that they market themselves actively and intelligently to girls and women.

What is Satoru Iwata's legacy?
Under his tenure, Nintendo stayed not only relevant, but also wildly successful through some pretty major transitions in game technology and culture. While everyone was shifting focus to mobile games (played on mobile phones), he stayed true to the company’s history of making dedicated handheld consoles, which resulted in the release of the immensely popular Nintendo DS. Meanwhile, the Nintendo Wii brought a whole new, and uniquely accessible, form of gaming that resonated not only with gamers, but with a wide, mainstream audience as well. He carved a niche for Nintendo that allowed the company to compete with the new heavy-hitters on the market (Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3), while simultaneously uncovering an entire untapped new market for games.

Why has there been such a strong reaction to his death?
I read a retrospective article on Iwata’s death written for Kotaku by game journalist Stephen Totilo that I think really summed that up quite nicely. Totilo described that Iwata “lived at the nexus” of game making, game playing and the game industry. He was the head of a mega games company, was true to his origins as a game designer, and viewed all of this through the eyes of a game player, which is where it all started for him, and which definitely shone through in his interviews and presentations. I think that because of this, a very wide range of the diverse people who are involved in games culture felt connected to him in some way. His series Iwata Asks was beloved by game creators and gamers alike. He was very young, and recent evidence seemed to suggest that he was on the mend and on the cusp of leading Nintendo into a new era. And he was the head of a company that most gamers have a very special place for in their hearts.

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Adam Robinson-Yu, computer science graduate (class of 2015)

Steve Engels, associate professor (teaching stream), computer science

Sara Grimes, assistant professor, Faculty of Information