| 2003 |
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YEAR BOOK |
Media Lab Europe
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Media Lab Europe
The European Research Partner of the MIT Media Lab |
Driven by diversity
People are, and will continue to be, the most important resource at Media Lab Europe, as it brings together an international team of researchers, educators, students, and interns from a variety of backgrounds and skill sets. One of the defining characteristics of Media Lab Europe is its ability to develop a unique interdisciplinary team to explore new frontiers of technology at the points where many backgrounds, interests and disciplines collide. With the research the Lab engages in, and the tools it invents, science is being advanced, knowledge increased, boundaries extended and human life improved.
Achieving results through collaboration
The Lab's intentional focus on partnership with industry, academia and governmental organisations reflects its commitment to collaborative research and to the effective and timely practical transfer of research results and applications.
Media Lab Europe has been collaborating with universities, community groups, and industry from Ireland and around the world since 2000. Media Lab Europe and Irish Universities research collaborations have been given funding through the Higher Education Authority (HEA). There are currently 22 projects being funded under this scheme.
Innovation in the field of research
Researchers at Media Lab Europe are encouraged to take risks - to aim high and tackle problems that are worth solving. But the process doesn't stop with a good idea. Every research group focuses on the creation of working demonstrations of their research aimed at bringing ideas to a 'proof-of-concept' stage that allow partners to envision practical applications that can enhance their business, product line, or life in general.
Media Lab Europe's research spans seven groups and looks at human potential in three core areas. The Lab looks at technologies that enhance the way humans know and understand; the way humans sense; and the way humans connect with each other.
Examples of current research Clinical Trials - 'Relax to Win'
One of the central components in the treatment of common childhood problems such as anxiety, phobia, and post-traumatic stress is relaxation training. With this in mind, 'Relax to Win', a biofeedback game, was developed at Media Lab Europe to determine if it would be helpful in a clinical setting. A clinical trial has just been completed with the Mater Hospital in Dublin. Initial feedback is positive and a paper on its findings is expected towards the end of 2003.
The Lab is also working with St James's Hospital in Dublin on the 'Wellness Window' which is aimed at assisting cancer patients in isolation wards maintain contact with their everyday life.
Well-being & Health - 'Smoke Rings'
The Lab is developing a wearable device that allows people to monitor environmental smoke and project the damage passive smoking can do to their heart, lungs and life expectancy. Media Lab Europe demonstrated this and other research projects concerned with health and well-being at the World Health Organisation summit in Geneva in May this year.
Assistive Technology - Butterfly Project
Media Lab Europe has moved technology, aimed at assisting young people with disabilities to interact, learn and better express themselves, out of its innovation Lab in Dublin into the Central Remedial Clinic to gain user feedback which will assist it in extending the technology's usability and accessibility.
The project, called 'Feileacan' (or butterfly in English) will create a virtual world that facilitates participation in society in a way that was never possible before. The project - which also includes Smart Lab UK, the Rhodes Hospital UK, the Montefiore Hospital New York, and New York University - will complete the first phase of its development in 2003.
Learning Models - Intel Computer Clubhouse
An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern opened the Intel Computer Clubhouse for local young people on the Media Lab Europe Campus this year. Based on a 'learn by doing' model developed by Boston's Museum of Science, in collaboration with Intel and the MIT Media Laboratory in the US, Media Lab Europe intends to support the roll out of other clubhouses in Ireland with the support of Industry, academia and youth groups.
Contact: Lia O'Sullivan, Partner Relations Manager, Media Lab Europe;
Tel: +353 1 474 2800; E-mail: [email protected]