Hot Topics: Digital You

This page holds a collection of examples, links and videos that relate to the topics that will be discussed at the event. We are looking for your ideas and suggestions. If you have a good article, video or case study that should be listed here, please let us know by email, or on Twitter with the hashtag #nestahottopics.

Resources

Email, video conferencing, instant messaging, twitter - all help us to work remotely, and create a virtual presence. But are they really helping? What is the best tool if you can't meet face-to-face?

This event will explore how robotics and new collaboration tools can emulate being there in person, and how we can make better use of email and video conferencing without 'information overload'.

Closer together through digital

Cisco's Telepresence system is a video conferencing system that tries to make it as easy as possible to have remote meetings that feel like being there in person.

A collaboration with Musion systems, who provide technology to project virtual holograms, created the ability to have virtual speakers on stage at an event in Bangalore:

Who we communicate with on Facebook, mobiles, instant messaging - it's usually to a much smaller group of close friends than we imagine. In this TED talk, Stefana Broadbent describes some of the close and intimate relationships that are enabled by technology:

Clay Shirky writes about the power of digital and social technologies to mobilise movements and create change in 'Here comes everybody' and 'Cognitive surplus'. Here he is talking about 'Here comes everybody' at the RSA in London:

And here a TED talk on 'Cognitive surplus':

Your robot avatar

The New York Times wrote an article about the development of mobile telepresence robots. This extends the idea of video conferencing out of the meeting room and into other parts of the building to do other sorts of work. This is starting to be used by entrepreneurs, companies like Mozilla and by specialist doctors in hospitals. Some of the quotes in this article give an idea of why having a robot representative is different to dialling into a screen: "They were looking at it like it was a person, and their behavior patterns were completely different when it was here."

Companies making these telepresence robots include Gostai, Anybots, Vgo Communications, Robodynamics, Willow Garage and inTouch Health for healthcare robots.

Robots as digital companions that will play with you. Cynthia Breazeal created the world's first social robot, Kismet, which learns, reacts and empathises:

Digital overload

Richard Harper a senior researcher at Microsoft in Cambridge, wrote a book called TEXTure. In an interview with Richard Harper about the book, he describes this idea of texture as a 'weave of connections' between people, made up of different threads, of email, Facebook, mobile, and IM.

Derek Dean and Caroline Webb wrote an article for the McKinsey Quarterley about information overload amongst CEOs, and using technology to keep in touch, and to extend your awareness of events, without it taking over the time you need to think

NESTA and Telepresence

Robots and Avatars is an innovative project NESTA is running with body>data>space, exploring how young people will work and play with new representational forms of themselves and others in virtual and physical life in the next 10-15 years. This ongoing action research project explores a near future where collaborations between robots, avatars, virtual worlds, telepresence and real-time presence will be increasingly common.

In conjunction with NESTA, body>data>space led a programme of online and offline events, with connected educational activities across 2009-11. An series of debates on Artificial Intelligence, Behaviours and Ethics in Virtual Worlds, Health and Well Being and the Future World of Work were held at NESTA. Reportage and video outputs from the project are available on the Robots and Avatars site as a research and teaching resource.

The project is now moving into Europe (EU Culture Programme 2007-13) with an evolved and extended set of activities. In February 2012, the Robots and Avatars Exhibition will open at FACT, Liverpool and a series of creative commissions will be sought for this in 2011.