🚀 go-pugleaf

               _T_h_e _C_o_m_p_u_t_e_r _S_c_i_e_n_c_e _C_l_u_b _p_r_o_u_d_l_y _p_r_e_s_e_n_t_s_:


                             Randall B. Smith

                                   of
                     Xerox Palo Alto Research Center

                               speaking on


                      AARRKK:: TThhee AAlltteerrnnaattee RReeaalliittyy KKiitt

    The Alternate Reality Kit (ARK) is a project under development in
    the  Xerox  PARC  System Concepts Laboratory.  ARK is an animated
    environment for creating interactive simulations.  It is a kit of
    parts in which users can assemble their own ``microworlds.''  The
    interface is quite faithful to a physical world metaphor: all ob-
    jects  have  a  visual  presence,  a velocity, and can experience
    forces.   One of the objects on the screen is a disembodied hand,
    which  moves  around in response to a mouse.  The user's ``hand''
    can carry and throw objects, and can press buttons.  In ARK, even
    the  underlying  simulation  laws are represented by physical ob-
    jects  called  interactors.   Interactors are important actors in
    the  story  of  how  ARK  attempts  to enable intuition by making
    abstractions  concrete.   Although  the  implementation  is still
    evolving, ARK has already hosted dozens of experimental subjects.
    This  presentation  will feature videotape of the system, discuss
    the  underlying  motivations for the design, and describe some of
    the  experiments.  Future plans, which include making ARK a self-
    contained programming environment, will be discussed.

                    Monday, April 6, 1987, 7:30 p.m.
                                 MC5158
                         University of Waterloo

                       Tea and Doughnaughts Served