For the automotive domain shape-changing interfaces hold potential as an interaction modality since they offer modalities that do not rely on the driver's vision such as traditional screen-based interfaces. In this paper we present a shape-changing car-seat backrest that lets the driver haptically sense obstacles in the rear periphery. We implemented a prototype with a 4 × 4 array of servomotors that changes the shape of the car-seat backrest. In comparison to other approaches that often use the seat for vibro-cues or warnings signals, our approach delivers a continuous dorsal sensory augmentation of the rear periphery. The prototype was studied for its capability on transporting spatial information haptically in a pilot study with 10 participants. The lab study revealed that the interface is able to induce sensory augmentation. Most of the participants were able to spatially locate the stimuli.

LectureLounge is a research platform and a system to automatically and non-invasively capture, analyze, annotate, index, archive and publish live-presentations.On one hand LectureLounge covers the complete value chain from capturing to publication und the focus of automation and so is more than a media-on-demand system in operation. On the other hand LectureLounge is also a research platform designed and built to integrate modules of all kinds, for example, fully-automated capture systems, video/image feature extraction and analysis applications or MPEG-4/7 streaming modules.