"In the creation of electronic and digital art, a research and development phase is almost always necessary. Research sometimes concentrates on the use of existing technologies in the content of the work, and at other times on the development of new technologies (hard-, soft- and netware) needed to realize the intended project. This research is notably interdisciplinary, linking visual and sound artists with engineers, programmers and designers as well as with scientists from diverse fields. The projects are often carried out in "art labs" which have been set up in the past fifteen years around the world especially for this purpose. " "aRt&D: Artistic Research and Development lays open this new, investigative field of art by looking at a number of characteristic and thought-provoking projects. At the same time, it develops a theoretical framework for situating and evaluating this important new artistic practice. "--BOOK JACKET.