David Becker

Alumnus: Masters in Media Arts and Sciences

I am now a research scientist at Interval Research Corporation.

Advisor: Sandy Pentland

Education

BA/Astrophysics and Physics
Harvard University, 1993

MS/Media Technology
MIT Media Lab, 1997

Research Description

I recently completed my master's thesis, in which we developed a real-time, interactive feedback system called Sensei: The T'ai Chi Teacher. The system is capable of performing real-time, multiple user, gesture recognition. Users of the system are free to practice T'ai Chi gestures, starting anywhere in the sequence of moves, and the system recognizes their actions. A complete teaching system must be able to give both positive and critical feedback to the user. This ability implies a knowledge of the instants in the user's performance of a gesture where the user was both least and most accurate in the movement. Both tasks are accomplished through the use of Hidden Markov Models.

The project is part of a larger goal I have of building a virtual reality visualization tool for cancer patients. Ample evidence exists that imagery and relaxation bolster the immune system. I will be exploring if a virtual reality system would be even more beneficial, as it will allow users to directly visualize their immune system and actively control it in the virtual world.

Publications

Sensei: A Real-Time Recognition, Feedback, and Training System for T'ai Chi Gestures

David A. Becker
M.S. Thesis, MIT, May, 1997

Using a Virtual Environment to Teach Cancer Patients T'ai Chi, Relaxation and Self Imagery

David A. Becker and Alex Pentland

Staying Alive: A Virtual Reality Visualization Tool for Cancer Patients

David A. Becker and Alex Pentland
Proceedings of the AAAI'96 Workshop on Entertainment and Alife/AI, Portland, Oregon, August 1996

Features for Gesture Recognition Using 3-D Realtime Blob Tracking

Lee W. Campbell, David A. Becker, Ali Azarbayejani, Aaron Bobick, and Alex Pentland
2nd International Conference on Face and Gesture Recognition, Killington, VT

Utilizing Dynamic Form Generation and Image Map Techniques to Construct an Interface to an Astronomical and Geophysical INGRES Databases

B. N. Dorland, W. A .Snyder, R. D. Jones, S. Heinicke, D. A. Becker
Vistas in Astronomy: Weaving the Astronomy Web, 1995

Interests

Hanging out, wearing sweatshirts, following and playing hockey, and drinking good, dark ambers.

Birthplace

St. Louis, MO

A favorite book

Currently reading: "Summer of '49" - by David Halberstam

Most wishes to have dinner with

Anyone. I'm just glad I'm eating dinner. But I'd be pretty psyched to be eating with Steph.

Personal Web Page

Vismod Home Page