CALLAS

Humans communicate by means of speech, gestures and a range of other non-verbal expressions. Click CALLAS (Conveying Affectiveness in Leading Edge Living Adaptive System) is a Europe-wide research programme designed, ultimately, to mimic this ‘multimodal’ approach to communication. The research is being conducted by a consortium of eighteen leading-edge companies and institutions, including the BBC. The project is currently in its final phase and is delivering real-world prototypes for use across a range of installations.

Meet The CALLAS Consortium

Click The CALLAS consortium brings together 18 partners from eight different countries and boasts some of the most prestigious names in Research and Applied Technology, System Integrators and innovative SMEs.

The CALLAS project was established in order to develop affective and reactive multimodal interfaces for digital media. These multimodal interfaces will enable artificial systems to process emotions and affect, resulting in a more natural and enriching interaction between users and technology.

CALLAS has produced a library of software components for processing emotional inputs such as speech, gesture and gaze. When used in combination, these components can detect the emotional state of the user and generate an affective output that is linked directly, in real time, to these responses. Open Source plug-and-play software components, which reduce complexity for programmers, artists and other professionals, are currently being delivered to enable the rapid production of prototypes for multimodal applications.

CALLAS on video

Click See videos of the CALLAS prototype installations which were demonstrated at our successful second project review.

CALLAS technologies are helping to redefine the interaction of humans with digital media and are currently finding uses in a number of art-based installations. These include MusicKiosk, an exhibit at the Museum of Musical Instruments at Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome which involves the creation of compositions determined by the affective state of the user as detected in real time. Interactive Opera, a public installation at Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Italy, is also employing the technology to encourage visitors to interact with and affect the behaviour of characters within a cartoon-based interactive opera.

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Project Partners

  • Engineering Ingegneria Informatica SpA

    Engineering Ingegneria Informatica SpA (ENG) is the project coordinator for CALLAS.

  • VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland

    VTT is an multidisciplinary organisation which seeks to create new, globally competitive technologies and innovations.

  • Studio Azzurro

    Studio Azzurro is an organisation dedicated to artistic video experimentation and production.

  • XIM

    XIM is a UK-based new media consultancy specialising in content creation and multi-channel/multi-platform deployment.

  • Digital Video

    Digital Video is a world-leader in cartoon animation software applications.

  • NEXTURE

    Nexture offer a range of business planning, training, research and project management services.

  • Humanware

    Humanware is a company that supplies expertise in a variety of disciplines, from Mechanical Engineering to Computer Science.

  • University of Augsburg

    Institute for Computer Science provides expertise in multimodal interfaces and affective computing.

  • Institute of Communication and Computer Systems

    National Technical University of Athens The Institute provides expertise in the fields of biometric analysis and recognition, and intelligent human-computer interaction.

  • Faculty of Engineering, Mons

    The Faculty of Engineering, Mons is a world leader in computer and management sciences.

  • University of Teesside

    The University’s School of Computing conducts research in Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques for Virtual Reality.

  • The Helsinki Institute for Information Technology

    The Institute is engaged in research on the social and psychological aspects of using ubiquitous technologies.

  • Université Paris 8

    The University is focussed on research in Art and Science, with a particular emphasis on new technologies.

  • Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa

    The SNS is an institute of excellence concerned with the research, planning and management of cultural heritage.

  • University of Reading

    The University’s Intelligent Media Systems and Services (IMSS) Centre is a multi-disciplinary research body.

  • Fondazione Teatro Massimo

    The Fondazione Teatro Massimo is a highly prestigious cultural institution said to be the “very symbol of the city of Palermo”.

  • Human Interface Technology Laboratory

    The Human Interface Technology Laboratory New Zealand is a human-computer interface research centre.

  • Engineering Ingegneria Informatica SpA

    Engineering Ingegneria Informatica SpA (ENG) is the project coordinator for CALLAS.

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