Realism in Gameplay: Digital Fiction and Embodiment

In this article we argue that digital simulations promote and explore complex relations between the player and the machines cybernetic system with which it relates through gameplay, that is, the real application of tactics and strategies used by participants as they play the game. We plan to show that the realism of simulation, together with the merger of artificial objects with the real world, can generate interactive empathy between players and their avatars. In this text, we intend to explore augmented reality as a means to visualise interactive communication projects. With ARToolkit, Virtools and 3ds Max applications, we aim to show how to create a portable interactive platform that resorts to the environment and markers for constructing the games scenario. Many of the conventional functions of the human eye are being replaced by techniques where images do not position themselves in the traditional manner that we observe them (Crary, 1998), or in the way we perceive the real world. The digitalization of the real world to a new informational layer over objects, people or environments, needs to be processed and mediated by tools that amplify the natural human senses.

Technology enhanced learning and augmented reality : an application on multimedia interactive books

Multimedia Interactive Book (miBook) reflects the development of a new concept of virtual interpretation of traditional text books and audio-visual content. By encompassing new technological approaches, using augmented reality technology, allows the final user to experience a variety of sensorial stimuli while enjoying and interacting with the content; therefore enhancing the learning process. miBook stands for a global educational intention to enable people not only to access but also to appropriate intellectually valuable contents coming from different linguistic and cultural contexts.

The potential of digital interactive television for the provision of healthcare and wellness services

The potential of digital interactive television (iDTV) to promote original services, formats and contents that can be relevant to support personal health care and wellness of individuals, namely elderly people, has not been yet fully explored in the past. Therefore, in a context of rapid change of the technological resources, in which the distribution and presentation of content comes associated with new platforms (such as digital terrestrial TV and IPTV), it is important to perceive the configurations that are being developed for interactive digital TV (iDTV) that may result in relevant outcomes within the field of healthcare and wellness, with the aim of offering complementarity to the existing services and contents made available today via the traditional means and media. This article describes and discusses the preliminary results of the first part of the research project iDTV-HEALTH: Inclusive services to promote health and wellness via digital interactive television. These first results suggest that iDTV solutions may represent a real contribution to delivery healthcare and wellness to the target population, namely as a supplement to health services provision.