An afternoon with talks given by CIRMMT's new regular members that give an insight on their interests, projects and research.

Schedule

• 1:00-1:35pm - Vincent Lévesque
• 1:40-2:15pm - Ghyslain Gagnon
• 2:15-2:45pm - Coffee break
• 2:45-3:05pm - Philippe Bocher
• 3:10-3:45pm - Ana Sokolović

Ana Sokolović

Regular Member

Université de Montréal, Faculté de musique

OpeAR

The "OpéRA de poche" (Pocket Opera) project aims to develop operas for augmented and virtual reality through an interdisciplinary co-creation process linking academic research, technological research and development, and artistic creation. These operas, which will be accessible on smartphones and tablets, will enable audiences to attend a 360° operatic performance in their own home space. The aim of this project is to renew and democratize opera.

Biography

An important figure in contemporary music, composer Ana Sokolović was born in Belgrade (Serbia) and lives in Montreal since 1992. Her music is characterized by a rhythmic universe of Balkan folklore, colored by playful images and inspired by different artistic disciplines. In 2022, Ana Sokolović was awarded the first Canada Research Chair in Opera Creation at l’Université de Montréal where she is also a professor of composition. She also holds the first Canada Research Chair in Opera Creation.

Ghyslain Gagnon

Regular Member

École de technologie supérieure (ETS)

Département de génie électrique

Embedded Systems: The Devil is in the Details

We expect things to work. Not so long ago, connecting to the internet with a 56k phone line modem was the heartwarming highlight of any day, and successfully installing a new graphics card in a computer (with its drivers on 3 floppy disks) required to cancel any other plans for the weekend. Today, no matter the level of intricate complexity of systems, with layers of protocols, backward compatibility requirements, increasing performance expectations and cybersecurity concerns, something that doesn't work instantly is worthy of a crisis. Still, integrating various technologies in a system is a major challenge.

My research has mainly been focused on making things work, especially for embedded systems with new technologies. In this talk, I will present various realizations and ongoing projects, hoping it will make sense for your work and foster new collaborations.

Bio

Ghyslain Gagnon received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada, in 2008. He is currently the Dean of Research and a Professor at the École de technologie supèrieure, Montréal, QC, Canada. He serves on the Board of Administration of many research organizations and was the Director of the Research Laboratory LACIME, Montréal, from 2013 to 2020, a group of 15 faculties and nearly 150 highly dedicated students and researchers in microelectronics, digital signal processing, and wireless communications. Highly inclined toward research partnerships with industry, his research aims at microelectronics, digital signal processing, and machine learning with various applications, including health care, media art, and building energy management.

Philippe Bocher

Regular Member
École de technologie supérieure (ETS)
Département de génie mécanique

Materials science and mechanical engineering, for more resonance

If materials science and mechanical engineering have strongly contributed to the evolution of ideas in the musical field, in particular by making it possible to create instruments adapted to the expressive needs of artists and their times; the amplification, digitization and compression of sound seem to have shifted the evolution of musical discourse towards electrical and software engineering. In a society that is becoming dematerialized and where everything is accelerating, the German sociologist and philosopher Hartmun Rosa proposes resonance as a solution. But what could be more resonant than an acoustic experience? In this, I am convinced that it is possible to offer resonant experiences thanks to the manufacture of instruments taking advantage of the properties of matter (materials) and by the design of works whose structures are inspired by mechanical engineering. And this, whether on the way of producing sound or on the way of organizing it in time and space.

Bio

Philippe Bocher is a specialist in materials engineering and professor in the mechanical engineering department of the École de technologie supérieure. He works mainly in the field of manufacturing metal parts for the aeronautics, land transport and energy industries, but one of his passions is music and acoustic experiments in general. He is very enthusiastic about joining the CIRMMT, and hopes to be able to contribute in one way or another to the development of acoustic ideas and experiments.

Vincent Lévesque

Regular Member
École de technologie supérieure (ETS)
Département de génie logiciel et des technologies de l'information

Creating Compelling User Experiences with Haptics

A common thread in my research is an ambition to demonstrate that haptic feedback can be used to create rich, compelling user experiences. In this talk, I will discuss a range of research that explores how haptics can improve our interactions with the digital world and create user experiences that delight and engage. Some of this work explores how haptics can be leveraged in novel device form factors, such as curved or flexible smartphones. Other work explores how compelling, useful experiences can be created with emerging haptic technologies, such as surface haptics, shape changing mechanisms, and squeezing or stroking actuators. My recent work finally explores ubiquitous haptics through clothing, everyday objects and devices imbued with haptic properties, and their combined use to create richer experiences. Throughout the talk, I will endeavour to show how researchers and practitioners in haptics and music can learn from one another.

Bio

Vincent Lévesque is an Associate Professor in the software and IT engineering department at École de technologie supérieure and the director of the Haptic User Experience (HUX) research group. He was the General Co-Chair of the 2021 IEEE World Haptics Conference and an Associate Editor for the the IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L) from 2018 to 2021 and for the IEEE Transactions on Haptics (ToH) from 2016 to 2019. He was a research scientist with Immersion Corp. from 2011 to 2016 and a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Computer Science Department at the University of British Columbia from 2009 to 2011. He received a B.Eng. in Computer Engineering (2000), and a M.Eng. (2003) and PhD (2009) in Electrical Engineering from McGill University. His research interests are at the intersection of haptic technologies and human-computer interaction, and include mobile and wearable haptics, tactile displays, and surface haptics. He is the recipient of several awards including the biannual TCH Early Career Award of the IEEE Technical Committee for Haptics in 2019, Best Reviewer Awards at the 2016 ACM ICMI and the 2010 Haptics Symposium, Best Paper Awards at the 2012 Haptics Symposium and the 2011 ACM CHI Conference for his work on touch interaction with programmable friction, the Best Demonstration Award at the 2008 Haptics Symposium for his work on dynamic tactile graphics, and a Best Paper Award at the 2007 IEEE World Haptics Conference for his work on refreshable Braille.