The Computer That Can Belly Dance

Virtual belly dancing sure looks fun

Look out Wii, U.C. Berkeley grad students are gearing up to put their mark on the world of human interaction computing.

Students at Cal's School of Information are showing off their class projects this month.  Their assignment was to go beyond the traditional mouse and keyboard set-up to make new ideas come to life.

They came up with some impressive inventions like Virtual Belly Dancing, which allows the dancer to create music through body movements. Check out the raw video in this article.  It's a guaranteed giggle.

Student Ryan Greenberg came up with the "Gough Bike".  A stationary bike that lets cyclists unleash their inner Picasso simply by pedaling.

"We think of this as a new fun way for people to try a new artistic expression without feeling intimidated by brushes and paints," said Greenberg.

"I've pushed all the students to imagine what the future of human computer interaction could look like so they're all thinking really hard about touch, movement, and lights," said Assistant Professor Kimiko Ryokai.

While the prototypes need refining, they show a lot of promise. "Who knows in a few years we may see what we saw in this exhibition on the market," said Ryokai.

The public will soon have a chance to try out the inventions.

Students will host an open house next Tuesday at 11 a.m. in South Hall.
 

Contact Us