- I am an Anthropologist (B.Sc. MSc.) and HCI / UX Designer (CSAL MIT, IDF) based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. I enjo... moreI am an Anthropologist (B.Sc. MSc.) and HCI / UX Designer (CSAL MIT, IDF) based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. I enjoy creating great user experiences with familiar and new technologies, doing qualitative research and experimenting with bots, AI & VR. I'm also a SCRUM Master and frequently write articles about the intersection between technology and society, robotics and UX/UI for Wevolver, Prototypr and other publications.edit
In the present study the genetic compositon of Esquel, city located in the Argentinean Andean Patagonia, was estimated in a population sample. A total of 59 non-related blood donors from the Zonal Hospital were included. Five eritrocitary... more
In the present study the genetic compositon of Esquel, city located in the Argentinean Andean Patagonia, was estimated in a population sample. A total of 59 non-related blood donors from the Zonal Hospital were included. Five eritrocitary systems, GM allotypes, Amerindian, European and African mitochondrial haplogroups, and the M3 mutation in Y chromosome were analysed. A survey was done to obtain genealogical information about the donors. Genetic admixture was estimated employing the ADMIX program. Protein markers showed the presence of 46.9% for the indigenous component and 1.9% for the african component. Amerindians mitochondrial haplogroups represented a 79.6%, no Subsaharian lineage was present. 23% of males analysed exhibited the aboriginal variant M3. This difference in the sex-specifi c genetic contribution would reveal a gender asimetry in the population history. The data were compared to those obtained previously in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area, Bahía Blanca and Como...
Research Interests:
As icons and rituals adapt to newer technologies, the rise of robotics and AI can change the way we practice and experience spirituality. -- Some 100,000 years ago, fifteen people, eight of them children, were buried on the flank of... more
As icons and rituals adapt to newer technologies, the rise of robotics and AI can change the way we practice and experience spirituality.
--
Some 100,000 years ago, fifteen people, eight of them children, were buried on the flank of Mount Precipice, just outside the southern edge of Nazareth in today’s Israel. One of the boys still held the antlers of a large red deer clasped to his chest, while a teenager lay next to a necklace of seashells painted with ochre and brought from the Mediterranean Sea shore 35 km away. The bodies of Qafzeh are some of the earliest evidence we have of grave offerings, possibly associated with religious practice.
Although some type of belief has likely accompanied us from the beginning, it’s not until 50,000–13,000 BCE that we see clear religious ideas take shape in paintings, offerings, and objects. This is a period filled with Venus figurines, statuettes made of stone, bone, ivory and clay, portraying women with small heads, wide hips, and exaggerated breasts. It is also the home of the beautiful lion man, carved out of mammoth ivory with a flint stone knife and the oldest-known zoomorphic (animal-shaped) sculpture in the world.
We’ve unearthed such representations of primordial gods, likely our first religious icons, all across Europe and as far as Siberia, and although we’ll never be able to ask their creators why they made them, we somehow still feel a connection with the stories they were trying to tell.
--
Some 100,000 years ago, fifteen people, eight of them children, were buried on the flank of Mount Precipice, just outside the southern edge of Nazareth in today’s Israel. One of the boys still held the antlers of a large red deer clasped to his chest, while a teenager lay next to a necklace of seashells painted with ochre and brought from the Mediterranean Sea shore 35 km away. The bodies of Qafzeh are some of the earliest evidence we have of grave offerings, possibly associated with religious practice.
Although some type of belief has likely accompanied us from the beginning, it’s not until 50,000–13,000 BCE that we see clear religious ideas take shape in paintings, offerings, and objects. This is a period filled with Venus figurines, statuettes made of stone, bone, ivory and clay, portraying women with small heads, wide hips, and exaggerated breasts. It is also the home of the beautiful lion man, carved out of mammoth ivory with a flint stone knife and the oldest-known zoomorphic (animal-shaped) sculpture in the world.
We’ve unearthed such representations of primordial gods, likely our first religious icons, all across Europe and as far as Siberia, and although we’ll never be able to ask their creators why they made them, we somehow still feel a connection with the stories they were trying to tell.
Research Interests:
The concept of the Uncanny Valley was introduced in the 1970s by a Japanese roboticist called Masahiro Mori. Mori also happens to be the founder of Robocon (the first Japanese robot-building competition) and is the President of the Mukta... more
The concept of the Uncanny Valley was introduced in the 1970s by a Japanese roboticist called Masahiro Mori. Mori also happens to be the founder of Robocon (the first Japanese robot-building competition) and is the President of the Mukta Research Institute, which studies the metaphysical implications of robotics.
Mori loved designing robots, and as he was good at it. The more he learned, the more realistic his creations looked — with synthetic skin, moving eyes and other fantastic feats. But Mori noticed something interesting: While the simpler robots created a positive reaction from humans around, the more realistic or human-like they became, the more people became scared of them — even though they were excellent examples of robotics.
What Mori noticed was that there was a relationship between how similar something is to a human being, and how we react to it, emotionally.
(continues)
Mori loved designing robots, and as he was good at it. The more he learned, the more realistic his creations looked — with synthetic skin, moving eyes and other fantastic feats. But Mori noticed something interesting: While the simpler robots created a positive reaction from humans around, the more realistic or human-like they became, the more people became scared of them — even though they were excellent examples of robotics.
What Mori noticed was that there was a relationship between how similar something is to a human being, and how we react to it, emotionally.
(continues)
Research Interests:
It’s now our turn to overcome fears and embrace the technologies that can make our world better. In this article we explore the phenomenon of automation in the context of healthcare and security robots, and develop a framework for... more
It’s now our turn to overcome fears and embrace the technologies that can make our world better. In this article we explore the phenomenon of automation in the context of healthcare and security robots, and develop a framework for Human-Robot partnerships.
--
Automation is one of the many phenomenons that drive change and impact the job market. Aging populations, the rise of the middle class, climate change, all disrupt to a certain measure the labor market.
But contrary to popular belief, during the last century technology has actually created more jobs than it has taken. Although losses in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors were particularly significant, so was the growth in other areas such as creative, care, tech and business services. Only one position was, in fact, eliminated (not because of lack of demand or technological obsolescence, but by machines) — The elevator operator.
--
Automation is one of the many phenomenons that drive change and impact the job market. Aging populations, the rise of the middle class, climate change, all disrupt to a certain measure the labor market.
But contrary to popular belief, during the last century technology has actually created more jobs than it has taken. Although losses in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors were particularly significant, so was the growth in other areas such as creative, care, tech and business services. Only one position was, in fact, eliminated (not because of lack of demand or technological obsolescence, but by machines) — The elevator operator.
Research Interests:
As technology learns to incorporate tactile feedback, recreate bodily sensations and talk directly to our brains, HCI is positioning itself at the vanguard of a better, brighter and more inclusive world. -- Haptics is an area of... more
As technology learns to incorporate tactile feedback, recreate bodily sensations and talk directly to our brains, HCI is positioning itself at the vanguard of a better, brighter and more inclusive world.
--
Haptics is an area of Human-Computer Interaction that allows for users to receive feedback via tactile or bodily sensations. The technology uses purpose-built sensors that can send electrical signals based on movements or interactions. A computer interprets the signal, and in turn sends a signal back to the human organ or body. This is usually done through an input/output device such as a joystick or data or wired gloves.
Haptic communication — also called kinesthetic communication, recreates the sense of touching by applying vibrations, forces or motions on the user. When it comes to touch, most researchers distinguish between cutaneous, kinesthetic and haptic (haptic is usually associated with active touch (as opposed to ‘passive feeling’). One example of a haptic interface in use would be a person picking up a tennis ball with a data glove in a virtual reality environment. The virtual ball is moved in the display by the computer, which senses the movement, and the user can ‘feel’ the ball in their hand.
(continues)
--
Haptics is an area of Human-Computer Interaction that allows for users to receive feedback via tactile or bodily sensations. The technology uses purpose-built sensors that can send electrical signals based on movements or interactions. A computer interprets the signal, and in turn sends a signal back to the human organ or body. This is usually done through an input/output device such as a joystick or data or wired gloves.
Haptic communication — also called kinesthetic communication, recreates the sense of touching by applying vibrations, forces or motions on the user. When it comes to touch, most researchers distinguish between cutaneous, kinesthetic and haptic (haptic is usually associated with active touch (as opposed to ‘passive feeling’). One example of a haptic interface in use would be a person picking up a tennis ball with a data glove in a virtual reality environment. The virtual ball is moved in the display by the computer, which senses the movement, and the user can ‘feel’ the ball in their hand.
(continues)
Research Interests:
While still at its infancy, AR is dramatically changing the way we learn, get inspired and train. -- Barcelona, 2015. As I queue to visit Casa Batlló, one of the houses designed by Antoni Gaudí, I’m given not an audio-guide but a much... more
While still at its infancy, AR is dramatically changing the way we learn, get inspired and train.
--
Barcelona, 2015. As I queue to visit Casa Batlló, one of the houses designed by Antoni Gaudí, I’m given not an audio-guide but a much heavier and chunky video one. It instantly sparks my curiosity.
There are two ways in which the video-guide device can be used: To see rooms as they were intended by Gaudi, and to explore a scale model that shows the halls filled with tiny digital inhabitants instead of the louder, bigger tourists that surround me.
Gary Gautier, Director General at Casa Batlló, affirms that since the videoguide was launched in 2014, visitors have had nothing but good feedback:
The experience is absolutely positive because thanks to it, we can offer the visitors a tour that escapes from purely visual aspects and turns into an experience for the senses due to the use of the augmented reality.
The way the guide works is as follows: When you enter a room (and there are over five floors of them,) you can lift your device and play an video that overlaps with what you are seeing and lets you explore the boundless imagination of the renown architect. The rooms get quickly filled with symbolism, such as swimming/flying fish and colored organic animations intertwined with the exquisite furniture. It all alludes to the functional and aesthetic brilliance of the building, and it provides a dynamic context that help you appreciate the pieces and the architectural decisions even more.
Casa Batlló is one example of the many augmented reality initiatives that are being installed in museums, galleries and shows. The industry of AR is a blooming one: It’s actually expected to produce more revenue than VR, and to increase even faster than it in the next years (Digi-Capital.)
The starting point for VR is a tabla rasa, a canvas to fill with whatever the creator wishes. Designing for AR, though, means being pinned to this very ground we walk, for it combines virtual and real images, in 3D and in real time. And as such, it is pebbled with challenges — and potential.
--
Barcelona, 2015. As I queue to visit Casa Batlló, one of the houses designed by Antoni Gaudí, I’m given not an audio-guide but a much heavier and chunky video one. It instantly sparks my curiosity.
There are two ways in which the video-guide device can be used: To see rooms as they were intended by Gaudi, and to explore a scale model that shows the halls filled with tiny digital inhabitants instead of the louder, bigger tourists that surround me.
Gary Gautier, Director General at Casa Batlló, affirms that since the videoguide was launched in 2014, visitors have had nothing but good feedback:
The experience is absolutely positive because thanks to it, we can offer the visitors a tour that escapes from purely visual aspects and turns into an experience for the senses due to the use of the augmented reality.
The way the guide works is as follows: When you enter a room (and there are over five floors of them,) you can lift your device and play an video that overlaps with what you are seeing and lets you explore the boundless imagination of the renown architect. The rooms get quickly filled with symbolism, such as swimming/flying fish and colored organic animations intertwined with the exquisite furniture. It all alludes to the functional and aesthetic brilliance of the building, and it provides a dynamic context that help you appreciate the pieces and the architectural decisions even more.
Casa Batlló is one example of the many augmented reality initiatives that are being installed in museums, galleries and shows. The industry of AR is a blooming one: It’s actually expected to produce more revenue than VR, and to increase even faster than it in the next years (Digi-Capital.)
The starting point for VR is a tabla rasa, a canvas to fill with whatever the creator wishes. Designing for AR, though, means being pinned to this very ground we walk, for it combines virtual and real images, in 3D and in real time. And as such, it is pebbled with challenges — and potential.
Research Interests:
The principles we use to create effective VR and AR interactions have existed for as long as we have walked this earth. -- When the Internet was new, UX Designers were still a thing to come. I will never forget the first Javascript... more
The principles we use to create effective VR and AR interactions have existed for as long as we have walked this earth.
--
When the Internet was new, UX Designers were still a thing to come.
I will never forget the first Javascript plugin I used: A typewriting effect that spit out green letters to form a terribly long and silly welcome message. It took forever to load and it was completely useless, but nobody else had anything like that in their Geocities pages, so I felt like I owned the web.
Those were the days when the Internet was just becoming a thing, and we had no idea how new interactions and challenges would shape our careers. Today, we can check our thoughts against a dozen design systems that have already done all the heavy lifting for us; we know what works and what doesn’t. As we were simmering in certainty that we had conquered web usability, VR came along, and those of us who had gotten good at thinking in terms of screens saw a perfect summer storm forming. How could I train myself in something so different from what I had been doing for the last dozen years?
Luckily, these fears were unfounded. VR does present some exciting questions, but when it comes to principles on interaction we already have most of the answers. Some of them come from print, but most are actually based on the way human beings perceive and interact with the world.
--
When the Internet was new, UX Designers were still a thing to come.
I will never forget the first Javascript plugin I used: A typewriting effect that spit out green letters to form a terribly long and silly welcome message. It took forever to load and it was completely useless, but nobody else had anything like that in their Geocities pages, so I felt like I owned the web.
Those were the days when the Internet was just becoming a thing, and we had no idea how new interactions and challenges would shape our careers. Today, we can check our thoughts against a dozen design systems that have already done all the heavy lifting for us; we know what works and what doesn’t. As we were simmering in certainty that we had conquered web usability, VR came along, and those of us who had gotten good at thinking in terms of screens saw a perfect summer storm forming. How could I train myself in something so different from what I had been doing for the last dozen years?
Luckily, these fears were unfounded. VR does present some exciting questions, but when it comes to principles on interaction we already have most of the answers. Some of them come from print, but most are actually based on the way human beings perceive and interact with the world.
Research Interests:
El presente trabajo se enmarca en la realización del seminario de Antropología Social: “Poder, política y procesos de resistencia: Problemas y enfoques teórico-metodológicos en antropología social” (2-2007). En él se procurará abordar... more
El presente trabajo se enmarca en la realización del seminario de Antropología Social: “Poder, política y procesos de resistencia: Problemas y enfoques teórico-metodológicos en antropología social” (2-2007).
En él se procurará abordar el análisis de los derechos de copyright (su inicio y propagación) en contraste con un nuevo sistema de derechos, abiertos y libres (copyleft) y los movimientos que pugnan por su implementación, a la luz de una serie de debates relacionados: el rol del estado, el orden público y privado, la legalidad y el marco jurídico y los procesos de cambio y resistencia que atraviesan al grupo.
Para evidenciar y graficar estos debates se recurrirá al análisis de caso: el grupo BuenosAiresLibre, comunidad de usuarios y productores de redes de intercambio de conocimiento libre.
En él se procurará abordar el análisis de los derechos de copyright (su inicio y propagación) en contraste con un nuevo sistema de derechos, abiertos y libres (copyleft) y los movimientos que pugnan por su implementación, a la luz de una serie de debates relacionados: el rol del estado, el orden público y privado, la legalidad y el marco jurídico y los procesos de cambio y resistencia que atraviesan al grupo.
Para evidenciar y graficar estos debates se recurrirá al análisis de caso: el grupo BuenosAiresLibre, comunidad de usuarios y productores de redes de intercambio de conocimiento libre.
Research Interests:
El poblamiento de la Argentina es un proceso heterogéneo, en el que se aprecian diversas particularidades regionales. Dentro de este contexto, en esta tesis se ha realizado un estudio antropogenético de dos centros urbanos patagónicos,... more
El poblamiento de la Argentina es un proceso heterogéneo, en el que se aprecian diversas particularidades regionales. Dentro de este contexto, en esta tesis se ha realizado un estudio antropogenético de dos centros urbanos patagónicos, Comodoro Rivadavia (CR) y Esquel (ESQ), situados en el litoral marítimo y la región andina de la provincia de Chubut, respectivamente. Ambas ciudades fueron fundadas a principios del siglo XX, recibiendo desde ese momento una gran cantidad de inmigrantes desde distintos puntos del país y del extranjero.
Con el objetivo de analizar el origen de los linajes uniparentales, fueron
determinados dos tipos de marcadores, los haplogrupos del ADN mitocondrial y la transición CT del locus DYS199 en el cromosoma Y. Ello nos permitió detectar el origen autóctono o sub-sahariano de la línea materna en el primer caso y la presencia de linaje paterno nativo en el segundo.
La muestra estuvo compuesta por dadores de sangre no emparentados (CR n=72 y ESQ n=59), los cuales dieron su consentimiento para la realización de este estudio y respondieron una encuesta genealógica.
En ambas localidades se registraron elevados porcentajes de haplogrupos maternos amerindios (CR= 70% y ESQ= 78%), siendo los de mayor participación C y D, seguidos de B (principalmente en CR) y una muy baja frecuencia de A, lo que concuerda con lo observado en comunidades nativas de Patagonia y Chile.
En contraposición, el aporte paterno amerindio fue marcadamente menor en ESQ (23%) y especialmente en CR (6%), lo que se relacionaría con un desigual aporte autóctono por género, proceso ampliamente observado en grupos mestizados de Latinoamérica.
Asimismo, todos los varones portadores de la variante DYS199*T presentaron haplogrupos mitocondriales amerindios, lo que podría estar sugiriendo la presencia de una estructuración poblacional.
Estos resultados fueron contrastados con la información genealógica, histórica y demográfica disponible. Los datos genealógicos permitieron observar diferencias porcentuales entre las distintas regiones del país, destacándose un importante aporte local en el caso de ESQ y preponderancia de migrantes sobre todo desde Chile, Cuyo y España en CR, lo que se corresponde con la información genética e histórica obtenida que señala que la migración fue mucho mayor en el litoral provincial que en la región andina.
Con el objetivo de analizar el origen de los linajes uniparentales, fueron
determinados dos tipos de marcadores, los haplogrupos del ADN mitocondrial y la transición CT del locus DYS199 en el cromosoma Y. Ello nos permitió detectar el origen autóctono o sub-sahariano de la línea materna en el primer caso y la presencia de linaje paterno nativo en el segundo.
La muestra estuvo compuesta por dadores de sangre no emparentados (CR n=72 y ESQ n=59), los cuales dieron su consentimiento para la realización de este estudio y respondieron una encuesta genealógica.
En ambas localidades se registraron elevados porcentajes de haplogrupos maternos amerindios (CR= 70% y ESQ= 78%), siendo los de mayor participación C y D, seguidos de B (principalmente en CR) y una muy baja frecuencia de A, lo que concuerda con lo observado en comunidades nativas de Patagonia y Chile.
En contraposición, el aporte paterno amerindio fue marcadamente menor en ESQ (23%) y especialmente en CR (6%), lo que se relacionaría con un desigual aporte autóctono por género, proceso ampliamente observado en grupos mestizados de Latinoamérica.
Asimismo, todos los varones portadores de la variante DYS199*T presentaron haplogrupos mitocondriales amerindios, lo que podría estar sugiriendo la presencia de una estructuración poblacional.
Estos resultados fueron contrastados con la información genealógica, histórica y demográfica disponible. Los datos genealógicos permitieron observar diferencias porcentuales entre las distintas regiones del país, destacándose un importante aporte local en el caso de ESQ y preponderancia de migrantes sobre todo desde Chile, Cuyo y España en CR, lo que se corresponde con la información genética e histórica obtenida que señala que la migración fue mucho mayor en el litoral provincial que en la región andina.
Research Interests:
Creating human-like characters that won’t give users the creeps.
Presented on FemDevs Frankfurt am Main, Germany, on January 2019.
Presented on FemDevs Frankfurt am Main, Germany, on January 2019.
Research Interests:
Some people equate the bot revolution to that of the GUI or smartphones. Major players are investing in new and revolutionary ways to automatize and redefine interaction. But what are chatbots, exactly, and how are they already reshaping... more
Some people equate the bot revolution to that of the GUI or smartphones. Major players are investing in new and revolutionary ways to automatize and redefine interaction. But what are chatbots, exactly, and how are they already reshaping the world we live in?
Research Interests:
As humanity’s most delicate skill, poems represent both quality of beauty and intensity of emotion. But is this art as closely related to our species as we think?