Seminar series for students, Semester 1, 2009
When: Tuesday 12th May, 12noon
Where: Room 135, Building 26.
Topic: “Communications: from Shakespeare to Virtual
Reality”
Speaker: Dr. Ronald
Pose
Abstract:
We
live in a world surrounded by ICT (Information & Communications Technology)
artifacts, ostensibly communicating freely,
frequently and needlessly, and likewise initiating many computations. How many of us have thought about what it
means to communicate, what is required to enable communication, how one can know
if communication has been achieved? How
many of us have thought about the nature of computation, what it means to
compute, what is required to enable computation to take place? You are purportedly studying Computer Science
or some related discipline, and no doubt believe you have been using computers
communicating via complex telecommunications networks exchanging vast
quantities of bits very quickly.
I
contend that while enormous energy has been expended in shuffling countless ones
and zeroes around the world, that there has not been a significant real increase
in the amount of communication. I also
contend that in many ways we draw an artificial distinction between
communication and computation, and that it is possible to think of computation
in terms of communication, and that it is possible to think of communication in
terms of computation.
In this talk I will explore
that nature of communication involving humans, computers, and even the notion
of humans communicating with computers.
In so doing we will have to confront the difficult question of what we
mean b communication and what is actually communicated. We will be forced to face the notion that
information, or whatever we choose to call what is being communicated, is
physical, and hence irrespective of its ontological status, will require energy
to effect its transfer. When we look at
computation, as might be performed in a machine we call a computer, when
instructed by a human we may call a programmer, we see a very similar, almost
indistinguishable process. We will also
be forced to examine the notion of representation and language, since
communication is via language, not necessarily textual, and what is being
communicated is invariably a representation of something. I will begin with
human to human communication such as Shakespeare attempting to communicate with
us via his sonnets, demonstrate that the same essential elements of
communication are present when using modern communication technology, and don't
change in essence even when we graduate to virtual reality technologies.
Those that are interested in
the mechanics of virtual reality technology and its applications and
relationships to other forms of HCI (Human-Computer Interaction) may like to
attend a lecture I am giving at 2PM on Tuesday 2 June 2009, in H3, entitled 'Is
Virtual Reality the ultimate HCI for all computer usage, work and play.'
Biographical Note:
Ronald Pose completed his
B.Sc.(hons) degree and his Ph.D. at
In 1987 Ronald Pose was
employed as a Research Scientist at Telecom Australia Research Laboratories
where he worked on the application of public key cryptography and
authentication and certification techniques. He joined the Department of
Computer Science of Monash University in 1988.
There he has supervised a number of research students with whom he has
worked on a wide variety of research projects including neural networks,
genetic algorithm function optimization, network routing, low latency virtual
reality address recalculation pipeline display system, self-reconfigurable
computer systems, computer security, and wireless ad hoc networks.
Dr. Pose's current research
interests include virtual reality and telerobotics
technology, computer architecture, parallel and
distributed computer systems
architecture, secure operating systems, reconfigurable computer systems
architecture, multiprocessor interconnection networks, wireless ad hoc networks
and spread-spectrum microwave communication technology, computer system security,
and human-computer interaction.
In 2006 Ronald Pose gave up
his battle to maintain academic standards of the Monash computer science
curriculum, and is now an honorary research fellow.