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From Ubiquitous Computing
to Culturally Reflective Computing:
THE ETERNAL GANDHI MULTIMEDIA MUSEUM
The Eternal Gandhi Multimedia Museum is one of
the world's first digital multimedia museums. Located at the site
where Mahatma Gandhi attained martyrdom, it not only preserves the
historical events of Gandhiji's life but also presents a spectrum
of information technology visions inspired by Gandhian thought.
The project revives the values by which India obtained freedom;
it also redefines those values in order to animate modern products
and design.
The project presents a language of physical interface actions derived
from classical symbols of the spinning wheel, turning of the prayer
wheels, touching symbolic pillars, the act of hands touching sacred
objects, collaboratively constructed quilts, sacred chanting in
the collective group, the satsanga and the touching and rotating
of prayer beads. These tradition-based interactions inspire a rich
panorama of tactile interfaces that allow people to access the multimedia
imagery and multidimensional mind of Mahatma Gandhi.
The technology developed does not 'merely
scan' Gandhian images. It extrapolates Gandhian ideals to newer
domains of information technology and product design, and at higher
levels, the creation of meaning in a globalised world. For example,
the Gandhian commitment to hand-based production and its symbiotic
relationship with nature is interpreted in the context of modern
culture-conscious design.
The contributions of the spectrum of
artists, spanning wide geographic boundaries and disciplines, illustrate
the universal resonance in Gandhian messages. Computer scientists,
modern designers, mosaic makers, craftsmen, artists, and wood carvers
offer their work as a dedicated prayer, in remembrance of the Gandhian
vision; a collective Likita Japa, the endless remembrance of the
Divine through repetition of the written mantra. Each object in
the museum, whether a pixel of light, a bit-map on the screen, an
animation, a circuit or a hand-crafted object is a living prayer.
Here lies the reaffirmation of the Gandhian view, a commitment to
the dignity of hands, the healing of divides, the leveraging of
village creativity and cultural diversity in the face of homogenisation.
2. Innovation in User Interface Technology,
Content and Design
The project presents advances on three research vectors:
With respect to technology, in order
to increase the ubiquity of access of computing the project demonstrates
tangible learning media. Research has shown that building technology
that allows people to utilize their innate abilities of physical
manipulation and sensing greatly improves learning. While modern
computing systems have demonstrated quantitative improvements in
displays, research into computer interfaces i.e, interactions without
keyboard and mouse have not kept pace. While rich information is
played back to the user from computing displays, more work needs
to be done in engaging people’s hands (and the associated
dimensions of touch, texture, palpability) into the act of interface.
Second, as computing proliferates in
developing worlds, developing seamless interfaces to computing representations
becomes important, especially in contexts where Western models of
works practice and representations (e.g., file, folder) may not
work. In this context, cultural factors and culturally reflective
computing greatly enhance accessibility of computing. While ubiquitous
computing has researched the notion of the disappearance of the
current form of the computer, the work illustrated in the Gandhi
Multimedia Museum examines the re-"appearance" of the
computing in traditional forms, and the transformation of existing
interactions within a culture to new interaction design.
With respect to content, the museum
re-"presents" personal Gandhian values of non violence,
non possession, fearlessness and commitment to Truth as well as
communal values of ecology, non-violent conflict resolution and
village development and sustainable indigenous technology. The world's
top scholars, artists and designers have contributed to the content.
The exhibit also includes a section titled Global Gandhi in which
worlds leading technocrats and economists critically examine the
role of indigenous technology, sustainability in a globalized world.
With respect to design, the project
has uniquely carved out a new space of 'culture conscious product
design' and 'culturally rooted computing' bringing in organic natural
materials and forms into modern design. The project proposes to
inspire designers into looking 'within' for indigenous forms of
expression, and inspire the world designers about eco-design as
well as the need for ornament in a homogenised environment.
Taken together, the rich interface
paradigms derived from Asian cultural traditions, and the attention
paid to design of hardware, (especially the interaction between
hardware, content and interior design), the project advances ubiquitous
computing to culturally embedded ubiquitous computing. One of the
great challenges facing modern society is the effect of homogenisation,
and this project illustrates how designers can leverage creativity
and identity in the face of homogenisation. Technology is no longer
just “technology” but an extension of a community identity!
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