Steps In Time - Revision history

Larry: Editing

2016-03-25T01:22:14Z

Editing

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:22, March 25, 2016
Line 67:		Line 67:

	(Ultimately, of course, it would be best to have the hardware attach		(Ultimately, of course, it would be best to have the hardware attach
	directly to the nervous system, controlling the muscles ~~directly~~, so that		directly to the nervous system, controlling the muscles, so that
	no volitional effort at all is required. Maybe in V2.)		no volitional effort at all is required. Maybe in V2.)

Larry: Erica and Murray on names

2015-02-03T10:46:38Z

Erica and Murray on names

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:46, February 3, 2015
Line 137:		Line 137:
	[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I-b_GJ4ltk chimney sweeps' dance] in		[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I-b_GJ4ltk chimney sweeps' dance] in
	the movie [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Poppins_%28film%29 Mary Poppins]. We should come up with a better name, preferably one that has some connection to Israel or Israeli dance, especially since domain		the movie [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Poppins_%28film%29 Mary Poppins]. We should come up with a better name, preferably one that has some connection to Israel or Israeli dance, especially since domain
	[http://stepsintime.com stepsintime.com] is, at this writing, listed for sale at $25000. Here are some suggestions:		[http://stepsintime.com stepsintime.com] is, at this writing, listed for sale at $25000. Though perhaps there is merit in a non-Israeli-centric name for marketing to other groups (see below). Here are some suggestions:

	* The Dancer's Friend		* The Dancer's Friend

	* Hora Helper		* Hora Helper

	* Dance With Me (though [http://dancewithme.com dancewithme.com] is already taken too)		* Dance With Me (though [http://dancewithme.com dancewithme.com] is already taken too)
			* Remez (or Ramzor)
			* Debkassist

	Some creativity needed here.		Several others have been proposed on the [[Talk:Steps In Time \| discussion page]]. Some creativity needed here.


	==== Marketing ====		==== Marketing ====

Larry: country line

2015-02-03T10:41:18Z

country line

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:41, February 3, 2015
Line 154:		Line 154:
	repertoire to include international folk dance, though it still isn't going		repertoire to include international folk dance, though it still isn't going
	to make anyone rich. It seems unlikely that contra and round dancers would		to make anyone rich. It seems unlikely that contra and round dancers would
	want an automated substitute for a caller.		want an automated substitute for a caller. Modern country line dancing is
			a promising target.

	Are there other dance forms, or other sports, that might make use of a		Are there other dance forms, or other sports, that might make use of a
Line 160:		Line 161:
	long sequence of moves in an exact order. Would they be permitted such a		long sequence of moves in an exact order. Would they be permitted such a
	device for cueing?		device for cueing?


	==== Social Impact ====		==== Social Impact ====

Larry at 09:54, January 31, 2015

2015-01-31T09:54:35Z

Larry at 09:51, January 31, 2015

2015-01-31T09:51:30Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:51, January 31, 2015
Line 12:		Line 12:
	The remainder of this article addresses the technical and nontechnical		The remainder of this article addresses the technical and nontechnical
	challenges in building this product. This page is locked, but if you wish		challenges in building this product. This page is locked, but if you wish
	to ~~add to~~ the discussion you can ~~contribute at~~ the ~~associated~~ [[Talk:Steps_In_Time \| talk page]]; material will be moved from the ~~talk page~~ to ~~this main page~~ as appropriate.		to join the discussion you can edit the [[Talk:Steps_In_Time \| talk page]]; material will be moved from the there to here as appropriate.

	(Each page of {{SITENAME}} has an associated talk page for ~~background discussion~~.		(Each page of {{SITENAME}} has an associated talk page for comments.
	You can see the talk page by clicking the "Discussion" tab on the upper left hand side		You can see the talk page by clicking the "Discussion" tab on the upper left hand side
	of the page.)		of the page.)

Larry: Glass on hiatus

2015-01-24T13:28:06Z

Glass on hiatus

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:28, January 24, 2015
Line 111:		Line 111:
	audio input and output, the latter preferably via bone conduction, plus		audio input and output, the latter preferably via bone conduction, plus
	sufficient computing/storage resources for music recognition, syncing, and		sufficient computing/storage resources for music recognition, syncing, and
	cueing.		cueing. And also since Google Glass is, at this writing,
			[https://plus.google.com/+GoogleGlass/posts/9uiwXY42tvc on hiatus].

	(By the way, is bone-conduction audio audible to a partner who is in		(By the way, is bone-conduction audio audible to a partner who is in
Line 128:		Line 129:

	In fact, both proposed architectures can be supported simultaneously, and the self-contained version can make use of anything broadcast by the centrally-based version. The latter is much easier to develop and perhaps should be tackled first.		In fact, both proposed architectures can be supported simultaneously, and the self-contained version can make use of anything broadcast by the centrally-based version. The latter is much easier to develop and perhaps should be tackled first.


	=== Nontechnical Issues ===		=== Nontechnical Issues ===

Larry: Protected "Steps In Time" ([Edit=Allow only administrators] (indefinite) [Move=Allow only administrators] (indefinite))

2015-01-22T05:41:36Z

Protected "Steps In Time" ([Edit=Allow only administrators] (indefinite) [Move=Allow only administrators] (indefinite))

← Older revision	Revision as of 05:41, January 22, 2015
(No difference)

Larry: Created page with "Steps In Time is the tentative brand name of a [https://www.google.com/glass/start/ Google Glass] application under conceptual development by Larry Denenberg and others wh..."

2015-01-22T05:32:45Z

Created page with "Steps In Time is the tentative brand name of a [https://www.google.com/glass/start/ Google Glass] application under conceptual development by Larry Denenberg and others wh..."

New page

Steps In Time is the tentative brand name of a [https://www.google.com/glass/start/ Google Glass] application under conceptual
development by [[Larry Denenberg]] and others who wish to participate.

The application functions as a dancers' assistant, something like this:

* A dancer wearing Google Glass activates Steps In Time at the start of a session.

* During the introduction to each song, the application recognizes the music and identifies the dance.

* The application then cues the dancer during the dance, giving the dancer help remembering the steps or learning the dance for the first time.

The remainder of this article addresses the technical and nontechnical
challenges in building this product. This page is locked, but if you wish
to add to the discussion you can contribute at the associated [[Talk:Steps_In_Time | talk page]]; material will be moved from the talk page to this main page as appropriate.

(Each page of {{SITENAME}} has an associated talk page for background discussion.
You can see the talk page by clicking the "Discussion" tab on the upper left hand side
of the page.)

=== Technical Issues ===

==== Music Recognition ====

This is one of the easier problems, because Google Glass
[http://glassalmanac.com/shazam-vs-musixmatch/4601/ already provides music recognition]. Moreover, the space of songs to be recognized is very small,
at most a few thousand pieces of music (though it's true that many are
similar, or have similar introductions). It's important that recognition be
quick since we need to know the dance before the first step, even when the
introduction is short. This doesn't seem problematic.

Question: Can the music recognition software be accessed from third-party
apps?

==== Synchronization ====

The app needs to not only recognize the music, but to stay in sync over the
course of the entire dance. In the ideal case, the app would continue to
listen to the music and detect the beat. It probably suffices to measure
the tempo accurately during recognition and assume no changes, or just
known changes, e.g. for recordings that are
[http://www.jsifd.com/dance_details.asp?DanceID=538 known to speed up].
Problems can still arise when the markid arbitrarily changes the tempo
mid-dance.

Users of Steps In Time will have a grossly unfair advantage during
[[Steppin' Out]], but that hardly seems a reason to scuttle the project.

==== Cueing ====

This is the central problem, and a science in itself: How do we help the
dancer do the dance?

Most people learning a dance do so by watching and following. Should we
display a head-up video of the dance? This seems pointless, because the
dancer can just look around (assuming that there are other dancers
that already know the dance—learning a completely new dance from a video
is a different problem.) Also, watching a video during a harkada seems too
distracting from the dancer's enjoyment.

Cueing the dancer with audio seems a better plan. Dancers are already
comfortable with audio cueing both during teaching and also when
adjacent dancers help by calling a dance. Google Glass provides
[https://support.google.com/glass/answer/3311275?hl=en bone conduction audio] that permits the wearer to listen with almost no sound audible to others.

(Ultimately, of course, it would be best to have the hardware attach
directly to the nervous system, controlling the muscles directly, so that
the dancer extends no volitional effort at all. Maybe in V2.)

So suppose we try to imitate calling as it would be done for a neighbor, or
by a caller cueing a contra dance. We give the starting foot, use standard
terminology for familiar sequences ("left yemenite", "na'aleh to the
center") and cue sections of the dance ("Part I again") for global
understanding. The calls come slightly
''before'' the actual steps. Cueing fades out over the course of the dance;
the third time through, we need less cueing than the first time through.

It seems likely that we will want to provide multiple styles of
cueing—more or less verbose, emphasis on left/right vs use of
standard sequences, more or less cueing of styling. We have to provide a way to select
cueing options no matter what, because the user must at least select a
language and a gender role for partner dances.

==== Database ====

The app requires a database consisting of, for every dance, both cueing
information and modelling data for music recognition. The total memory
footprint must be small enough to fit everything on the device. We also
need a simple and probably automatic mechanism for wireless updates, given
the high rate of new dance creation.

Building the database initially is a huge problem. Preparing the music
recognition is straightforward and can be automated, but how do we build
all the cueing without having someone cue each dance into a microphone, in
each language we want to support and for each gender role and cueing style?

As a start, we might crowdsource the problem. Suppose we permit people to
create their own cueing; call it a "personal style" that you can select
when you want to supply your own dance hints. Now we have an audience of
people creating cueing, and we acquire the best ones to provide to others.

==== Alternative Architectures and Platforms ====

We've described Steps In Time as a Google Glass application because of the
capabilities and relative familiarity of that platform. But there are
alternatives, especially since we don't seem to need head-up video, just
audio input and output, the latter preferably via bone conduction, plus
sufficient computing/storage resources for music recognition, syncing, and
cueing.

(By the way, is bone-conduction audio audible to a partner who is in
physical contact with the user? Or to someone holding hands with the user
in a circle, as if that ever happens nowadays?)

We can approach the problem differently by enlisting the cooperation of the
markid. If the application is integrated with the music-playing software
and broadcasts cues from a central location, some problems disappear:
There's no need for music recognition, synchronization is trivial, there
are no constraints on the size of the data, and database updating is
easier. The receiver worn by the dancers can be a much simpler device: just
a ear or bone-conduction bud with wireless connection to the central
station. The markid might put a box of receivers (color-coded for gender,
language, and style) at the entrance. Grab one on your way in!

In fact, both proposed architectures can be supported simultaneously, and the self-contained version can make use of anything broadcast by the centrally-based version. The latter is much easier to develop and perhaps should be tackled first.

=== Nontechnical Issues ===

==== Name ====

"Steps In Time" is, of course, a shoutout to the
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I-b_GJ4ltk chimney sweeps' dance] in
the movie [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Poppins_%28film%29 Mary Poppins]. We should come up with a better name, preferably one that has some connection to Israel or Israeli dance, especially since domain
[http://stepsintime.com stepsintime.com] is, at this writing, listed for sale at $25000. Here are some suggestions:

* The Dancer's Friend

* Hora Helper

* Dance With Me (though [http://dancewithme.com dancewithme.com] is already taken too)

Some creativity needed here.

==== Marketing ====

There's obviously an extremely limited market for a dancer's assistant like
the one described here. We can expand it slightly by broadening the
repertoire to include international folk dance, though it still isn't going
to make anyone rich. It seems unlikely that contra and round dancers would
want an automated substitute for a caller.

Are there other dance forms, or other sports, that might make use of a
similar device? Someone learning Tai Kwon Do, for example, must execute a
long sequence of moves in an exact order. Would they be permitted such a
device for cueing?

==== Social Impact ====

Suppose a whole bunch of people start using this device. What happens?
Would choreographers create dances any differently, knowing that people
will have help dancing them? For example, maybe a consequence will be the
creation of more dances with complex figures or many parts.

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:54, January 31, 2015
Line 58:		Line 58:
	dancer can just look around (assuming that there are other dancers		dancer can just look around (assuming that there are other dancers
	that already know the dance—learning a completely new dance from a video		that already know the dance—learning a completely new dance from a video
	is a different problem.) Also, watching a video during a harkada seems too		is a different problem). Also, watching a video during a harkada seems too
	distracting from the dancer's enjoyment.		distracting from the dancer's enjoyment.

Line 68:		Line 68:
	(Ultimately, of course, it would be best to have the hardware attach		(Ultimately, of course, it would be best to have the hardware attach
	directly to the nervous system, controlling the muscles directly, so that		directly to the nervous system, controlling the muscles directly, so that
	~~the dancer extends~~ no volitional effort at all. Maybe in V2.)		no volitional effort at all is required. Maybe in V2.)

	So suppose we try to imitate calling as it would be done for a neighbor, or		So suppose we try to imitate calling as it would be done for a neighbor, or
Line 80:		Line 80:
	It seems likely that we will want to provide multiple styles of		It seems likely that we will want to provide multiple styles of
	cueing—more or less verbose, emphasis on left/right vs use of		cueing—more or less verbose, emphasis on left/right vs use of
	standard sequences, more or less cueing of styling. We have to provide a way to select		standard sequences, more or less cueing of styling, adjustable advance timing. We have to provide a way to select
	cueing options no matter what, because the user must at least select a		cueing options no matter what, because the user must at least select a
	language and a gender role for partner dances.		language and a gender role for partner dances.