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What is Distance Lab ?
Distance Lab is a creative research organisation bringing together digital media technology, design and the arts to redefine and overcome the disadvantages of distance in learning, health care, relationships, culture and other domains.
Working with briefs from industry and governmental partners, Distance Lab generates ideas and builds prototypes that inspire and can lead to new innovative products and services.
The Lab is headed by Dr. Stefan Agamanolis, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab and one of the founding research directors at Media Lab Europe, its former sister lab in Dublin.
Why Distance ?
We think "distance" is a fruitful starting point because digital media are so often connected with distance in some way, but also because there are so many kinds of distance that affect our lives:
GEOGRAPHICAL - CULTURAL - GENERATIONAL - POLITICAL - SOCIAL - EMOTIONAL - PERCEPTUAL - HISTORICAL - TEMPORAL ...
Thus, we feel "distance" is a rich and flexible theme that can bring together a wide array of work.
What is Distance Lab like ?
Inspired by the culture of the MIT Media Lab, Distance Lab is an interdisciplinary work environment full of radically creative scientists, designers, artists, and engineers from all over the world. We are concentrating our efforts on the theme of distance.
We don't just philosophise and write about the future, we invent it. We emphasize the development of working prototypes and demonstrations of new technologies.
Our projects range from technology and design solutions that can be commercialised in the near-term to more far-reaching experiments that inspire and challenge assumptions about how we use technology and how we will deal with various forms of distance in the future. Some projects are self-directed, others are driven by external briefs.
Read some of the research questions we are passionate about tackling.
Is Distance Lab academic or
commercial ?
Both and neither. We sit at the awkward interface between academia and industry. This lack of "purity" can be uncomfortable for some, but we see it as our greatest strength. We employ a new model for research and innovation that can be summarised in 2 words: Ideas and Impact
We are not about developing knowledge for its own sake, nor are we a traditional company trying to generate financial wealth for shareholders. We are interested in improving people's lives and making the world a better place, whether that be through intellectual or commercial means.
Where is Distance Lab ?
Distance Lab is located in a distant place in northern Scotland, an area renown for its stunning natural beauty and rich cultural offerings. If you like golfing, fishing, fine dining, or outdoor activities of any kind, you'll love visiting our area. Read more about our surroundings...
What can Distance Lab do for my
organisation ?
We help companies and organisations who are looking to
innovate with digital media and distance in some way. We can
apply our efforts to products and services, to the way you relate to
customers, to internal operations, or other areas.
We provide advice and respond to challenging open project
briefs for external organisations. We generate ideas, create
prototypes, and facilitate their dissemination or commercialisation.
We work especially well when the client wishes to explore a
particular thematic area but may not know exactly what they want or
need. We can help you avoid missing the next big thing.
Why Distance Lab ?
Our key strength is our team of fearless
researchers. They are diverse, close-knit, and deeply
skilled. They are experts at unrestricted thinking and can
generate unexpected new ideas in almost any domain. They can
surprise and inspire you.
For a fraction of the cost of an in-house innovation effort, we can
bring a radically-creative external perspective to the table that
would be impossible to obtain otherwise.
Our practical experience in a broad range of technical and
design areas allows us to bring new ideas to fruition, particularly
in the form of working demos and prototypes that could be
commercialised or otherwise disseminated.
What is the next step ?
We offer a partnership
programme for companies and organisations that would like to
support our vision and tap into our research outputs and creative
capacity.
We also provide specific advisory services and
workshops, and we engage in innovative contracted
projects in a broad range of technology and design development
areas.
Contact us to open a
dialogue on how we could help your organisation transform itself
for the digital future.
We love hearing from any enterprise - small, large, commercial,
social...
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