Session Information
| Title | Using Meaningful Play to Impact New Technology Applications |
| Presenter(s) |
Dr. Morie's other research interests include how space, identity and play in virtual worlds can positively affect our human nature, and she has presented this work at conferences worldwide. She has appeared in 2 films: The Mindfulness Movie (2013) and Dsknectd (2013) as herself. Her newest startup, The Augmented Traveler, is focused on bringing a product to market that will enhance the way people experience travel to all corners of the world.
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| Time | Thursday, October 20, 9:30a-10:30a |
| Location | MSU Union Ballroom |
| Format | Keynote |
| Description | Play, particularly unstructured free play, has a demonstrated positive effect on the mental and physical well-being of children. And yet technology tends to offer mostly structured activities for children. Examples like Pokémon Go, which is both structured and yet allows for multiple aspects of unstructured play, may point to a new and engaging hybrid form of play. Virtual Reality too, in its true experiential form, is also a medium that allows for a range of unstructured experiences. In creating new forms of technology-mediated play for future generations we should implement techniques from what we know about meaningful play to provide opportunities that enrich and expand horizons of play for all.
"I believe that if you don't derive a deep sense of purpose from what you do, if you don't come radiantly alive several times a day, if you don't feel deeply grateful at the tremendous good fortune that has been bestowed on you, then you are wasting your life. And life is too short to waste." -- Srikumar Rao |
Dr. Jacquelyn Ford Morie is widely known for using technology such as Virtual Reality (VR) to deliver meaningful experiences that enrich people's lives. Starting in 1990, she developed multi-sensory techniques for VR that can predictably elicit emotional responses from participants, for example inventing a scent collar that can deliver scents to a participant within an immersive experience. She is also active in online 3D virtual worlds (social VR) and through her company All These Worlds, LLC, has been bringing her techniques to such worlds for Mindfulness applications, storytelling and stress relief for veterans and soldiers. Along with SIFT (Smart Information Flow Technologies), she has created a virtual world ecosystem called ANSIBLE for NASA designed to provide psychological benefits for future astronauts who will undertake extremely long isolated missions to Mars. ANSIBLE is currently being tested in an analog facility called HISEAS in Hawaii, where a team of six scientists is sequestered for a full year to simulate the conditions of isolation on Mars, including communications delays.