KEIO-NUS CUTE Center
The Keio-NUS CUTE Centre is operated by the National University of Singapore (NUS) with Keio University, and has a base both at NUS and Keio University. Through the centre, researchers of the two universities will collaborate on research themes such as lifestyle media in the ubiquitous society and global computing, while utilizing leading-edge network and trends in digital content and Asian pop culture.
Among the top researchers at CUTE are Prof Masa Inakage, an internationally-renowned digital artist and creative director & producer for digital entertainment such as Hollywood blockbuster Spawn; and Prof Keiko Okawa, best known for the School on the Internet, which connects Southeast Asian Universities for research and education. Singapore researchers will include Associate Professor Adrian Cheok, Deputy Director of Research at NUS’ Interactive and Digital Media Institute and a world renowned local researcher who specializes in mixed reality and embodied media.
The Keio-NUS CUTE Center is Keio University’s first full-scale international research center located outside of Japan and the Keio-NUS CUTE Centre will involve more than 50 researchers from Japan and Singapore.
Using a creative centric approach, CUTE will focus on inventing children and family communication that will engage all the senses on the network. It will rely on trend-spotting and patterns of the world as a foundation to guide the creative process.
CUTE’s inventions aim to engage millions of children and families with this new form of creative family connectivity.
NUS-Keio CUTE center (old website)
Mixed Reality Lab (MXR)
The Mixed Reality Lab(MXR) at the National University of Singapore aims to push the boundaries of research into interactive new media technologies through the combination of technology, art, and creativity.
The key objectives of the Mixed Reality Lab are to create a world centre of excellence for interactive media and entertainment technology, to provide multi-disciplinary project-based learning environment for students, to modify creative media technology to promote economic development of Singapore and to open new doors for creativity and artistic students.
In keeping with the above objectives, MXR Singapore has made technological advancements that have the potential to unlock the power of human intelligence, link minds globally, accelerate learning, and enhance creativity. The Lab hopes to supply Singapore with the technological knowledge that will be at the digital heart of many of Singapore’s emerging sectors including Digital Exchange, Digital Entertainment and Digital Media, Digital Culture as well as adding value to Biomedical and Biotechnology initiatives.
MXR defines entertainment media as entertainment products and services that rely upon digital technology. These include traditional media that now use digital production processes such as movies, TV, computer animation, and music, as well as emerging services for wireless and broadband, electronic toys, video games, edutainment, and location-based entertainment (ranging from PC game rooms to theme parks). The lab has produced large scale technological deliverables for DSTA and the Singapore military in interactive human computer systems and has spun off companies such as Real Space, Brooklyn-Media, and MXR Corporation.
In the last few years, the lab has received many local and international awards such as the Nokia Ubimedia MindTrek Award in 2008, the Young Global Leader 2008 from World Ecomomic Forum and the Creativity of Warm award from 8th International University Creative-in-Action Contest 2007. Additionally, the lab has also been invited to major media technology-art centers, such the Ars Electronica Museum of the Future in Austria.
The Lab plans on exploring commercially creative new media art works which will assist in development of blue-sky explorations and cultural exuberance for Singapore and creating human technology which involves the development of new interfaces to make machines more natural, intuitive and easy to use. The lab aims to bring about this vision and bring the future of new media into reality. It is also an aim to make Singapore one of the main global cross-points and nuclei of new media and the exporter of new media in the Asia Pacific region.
Thus, one of the main goals of the lab is to invent the future through the visualization and realization of new media ideas. This continues the tradition established at Xerox PARC, Disney Imagineering and the MIT Media Lab and by visionary individuals such as Douglas Englebart, Alan Kay, Brendan Laurel and Jaron Lanier.
The work done in the lab can be termed “Imagineering”, or the imaginative application of engineering sciences. Imagineering involves three main strands of work. Firstly, imaginative envisioning: the projections and viewpoints of artists and designers. Secondly, future-casting: extrapolation of recent and present technological developments, making imaginative but credible (“do-able”) scenarios, and simulating the future and thirdly creative engineering: new product design, prototyping, and demonstration work of engineers, computer scientists, and designers.