Degem - Deutsche Gesellschaft für elektroakustische Musik e.V.

[ 09. September 2009 ]

AUSSCHREIBUNG - Thinking Head Postgraduate Research Scholarship

From: Garth Paine
Date: September 4, 2009 1:32:48 PM GMT+02:00
Subject: Thinking Head Postgraduate Research Scholarship

FYI – applications close Oct 30
Thinking Head Postgraduate Research Award
Performance Scholarship

MARCS Auditory Laboratories is undertaking a wide range of projects as 
part of a prestigious $3.4M ARC/NHMRC “Thinking
Systems” grant to develop a `thinking head'. This is a breakthrough 
system that can learn from humans and will lead to advances in
everything from hearing aids to mobile phones and video games. UWS is 
leading a consortium of Australian universities to develop
the groundbreaking project including RMIT, Macquarie, Flinders and 
University of Canberra, with international input from the
Technical University of Denmark, Carnegie Mellon University and the 
Berlin University of Technology.
This research initiative has two aims: (1) to develop a next 
generation embodied conversational agent - a software talking head -
through integration of scientific and technical developments with 
behavioural science evaluation, and performances and
installations; (2) to provide a solid research platform that allows 
(a) a plug-and-play system for various stand-alone components to
be tested in an interactive application, (b) the concurrent 
development of alternative means to meet similar ends, (c) researchers 
to
address significant questions concerning talking heads and their 
individual research areas that could not be addressed otherwise.
MARCS invites applications for a doctoral candidate to work on this 
exciting project. The doctoral candidate, with members of the
Performance Team, will work on the interactions of the Head with 
audiences in performative new media and animation settings. The
candidate will be supervised by Dr Garth Paine and work closely with 
Dr Takaaki Kuratate and Senior Research Fellow Stelarc.

The successful applicant should:
• Good Bachelor Honours degree in communication arts, contemporary 
arts or related discipline OR equivalent qualifications and
• experience
• Embodiment/dis-embodiment is one of the critical dialectics of 
networked performance. The doctoral project will investigate questions 
such as: How is the avatar given agency? Can the avatar be multi-
sensory, multi-present, trans-cultural? How do characteristics of a 
`virtual' performer (eg. personality, nuance of response, context) 
condition affect and engagement?
• The applicant should have a good familiarity with literature and 
artistic practice around telepresence, avatars and virtuality, 
computer vision, sound synthesis, and sensing technologies.
• The applicant should have a strong international track record of 
production and exhibition of artworks within one or more of the fields 
listed above
• Performance opportunities involving the Thinking Head will include 
public interactive outcomes, with a specific focus on embodiment and 
interaction. The applicant will develop challenging and innovative 
human-computer-interface contexts for mass public interaction, such as 
a gesture-controlled Thinking Head. Such approaches may also be 
applied to interactive performance with dancers and other artists.
• International and domestic applicants are both encouraged to apply

What does the scholarship provide?
· Tax-free stipend of $30,427 per annum and a funded place in the 
doctoral program

Need more information?
· The application form can be downloaded from the web: http://www.uws.edu.au/research/scholarships
· Contact Ms Darlene Williams to discuss the project in more detail: Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist gegen Spambots geschützt! JavaScript muss aktiviert werden, damit sie angezeigt werden kann.
,+61 2 9772 6726
· Contact the Research Scholarships Development Officer to discuss 
enrolment and scholarships:
Ms Tracy Mills: Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist gegen Spambots geschützt! JavaScript muss aktiviert werden, damit sie angezeigt werden kann. ; +61 2 4736 0966

http://thinkinghead.uws.edu.au/

Applications close 30 October 2009
Cheers

Garth

http://http://www.activatedspace.com
http://http://www.syncsonics.com

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