ISPR Presence News

Monthly Archives: May 2016

Job: Researcher in HCI and Virtual Worlds at City University London

6 month Research Post
Centre for HCI Design, City University London
Salary: £35,609
Closing Date: 3rd June 2016

The Centre for Human-Computer Interaction Design at City University London is seeking to appoint a researcher with strong skills in building content for virtual worlds and accessibility.

This is an exciting opportunity for a highly-motivated individual to join a team working on technology for people who have had a stroke. The successful candidate will work on a project developing a virtual world, funded by the Tavistock Trust for Aphasia. The project is a collaboration between the Centre for HCI Design (HCID) and the Division of Language and Communication Science (LCS) at City University London.

EVA Park is a prototype multi-user virtual world where people who have had a stroke can practise their speech. It was developed by an earlier research project at City with funding from the Stroke Association and won the People’s Award in the Tech4Good Awards 2015.… read more. “Job: Researcher in HCI and Virtual Worlds at City University London”

Posted in Jobs | Leave a comment

Presence tech to let us record and re-experience precious moments and people

[This story from SFGate describes what may become one of the most valued applications of presence technology, the recording of precious experiences and people; it also highlights the way applications are often discovered inadvertently. –Matthew]

Ashley Scott and daughter Reese

[Image: Ashley Scott and daughter Reese at the 8i studio.]

Virtual reality archives memories

By Benny Evangelista
Friday, May 27, 2016

Virtual reality could become the archive of personal memories.

From a new mom tearfully re-experiencing her infant daughter six months later, to Paul McCartney remembering what led him to write a hit song, virtual reality startups have uncovered how the new technology can store human experiences like no other medium before.

“Imagine meeting your grandparents as young adults or as kids,” said Linc Gasking, CEO of virtual reality startup 8i. “Wouldn’t it be cool to have some of these recorded over the course of someone’s life?… read more. “Presence tech to let us record and re-experience precious moments and people”

Posted in Presence in the News | Leave a comment

Call: Philosophy of Computer Games Conference 2016

Call for Papers

Philosophy of Computer Games Conference 2016
Malta, November 1 – 4, 2016
http://pocg2016.institutedigitalgames.com/

Submission deadline: June 10, 2016

We invite scholars in any field of studies who take a professional interest in the relation between philosophy and computer games to submit papers to the 10th International Conference on the Philosophy of Computer Games, to be held in Malta, November 1 – 4, 2016.

This year’s edition focuses on the theme of Knowledge. Games inspire curiosity – as we explore and experiment with a game, our engagement is to a great degree shaped by epistemic processes of inquiry and discovery. What knowledge is learned through playing a game? What does it mean to know a game? We invite papers tackling questions related to epistemology, knowing how versus knowing that, embodied knowledge, normative knowledge of rules, ecological knowledge and affordances, cybernetics, systems theory and knowledge.… read more. “Call: Philosophy of Computer Games Conference 2016”

Posted in Calls | Leave a comment

New hybrid system gives telepresence robot arms human-like grace and precision

[This new telepresence robot – even though it’s just a torso and arms – is capable of impressively natural human movement and suggests another step toward rich social presence, including medium-as-social-actor presence. The video and images included with this story from Gizmag remind me of the interactions in the 2015 film Chappie, but of course those were created with special effects (see coverage in /Film). –Matthew]

Disney's hybrid telepresence robot plyaing patty cake

[Image: The hybrid robot playing patty cake (Credit: Disney Research)]

New hybrid system gives robot arms human-like grace and precision

David Szondy
May 13, 2016

Disney Research has come up with a glockenspiel-playing robot that can indulge in balloon toss … when it isn’t safely picking up fresh eggs. The telepresence robot uses a new type of hydrostatic transmission that combines hydraulic and air lines to provide more degrees of freedom as well as greater precision and delicacy of touch in a lighter, simpler design.… read more. “New hybrid system gives telepresence robot arms human-like grace and precision”

Posted in Presence in the News | Leave a comment

Call: UbiComp 2016 Workshop: Designing, Developing, and Evaluating the Internet of Personal Health

Workshop Call for Participation

“Designing, Developing, and Evaluating the Internet of Personal Health”
At the 2016 ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing (UbiComp 2016)
Heidelberg, Germany, September 12-16, http://ubicomp.org/ubicomp2016/

http://www.iophealth.org/

DEADLINE: June 7, 2016

We are seeing the growth of wearable systems supporting people with the management of chronic health conditions. With the merger of mobile health, internet of things (IoT) technologies, and patient centric design, we are seeing the development of a new area we are calling the Internet of personal health (IoPH). These wearable networks of connected devices have the potential to offer contextually aware personal support, interactions, and advice.

The goal of this one-day event is to bring together those interested in developing these systems to:

  • Provide a platform for designing autonomy into these systems.
  • Establishing a forum for discussion of technologies, techniques and measures of effectiveness.
read more. “Call: UbiComp 2016 Workshop: Designing, Developing, and Evaluating the Internet of Personal Health”
Posted in Calls | Leave a comment

Transporting jurors to crime scenes via VR

[The legal justice system is another application area for presence; this story is from BBC News, where it features more images and a video. For more information see the Digital Forensic Archaeology Project page and coverage in The Wall Street Journal. –Matthew]

Dr. Caroline Sturdy Colls

[Image: Dr Caroline Sturdy Colls said jurors would be transported into a “virtual world”]

Juries ‘could enter virtual crime scenes’ following research

Virtual reality technology used in the gaming industry could be adapted to recreate crime scenes for juries, researchers have claimed.

24 May 2016

A Staffordshire University project has experimented with technology and techniques to “transport” jurors to virtual crime scenes.

Associate Prof of Forensics, Dr Caroline Sturdy Colls, said it was the first project of its kind in Europe.

Staffordshire Police said it was “a concept” that could become significant.

The project, which received a European Commission research grant of about £140,000, uses green screens, the latest virtual reality headsets and technology from gaming, engineering and computing.… read more. “Transporting jurors to crime scenes via VR”

Posted in Presence in the News | Leave a comment

Call: Academic Mindtrek Conference 2016

Call for Papers, Posters, Demonstrations and Workshops

Academic Mindtrek Conference
17th to 19th October 2016
Tampere, Finland

In cooperation with ACM, ACM SIGMM, and ACM SIGCHI.
Contributions will be published in the ACM digital library.

http://www.mindtrek.org/2016/

DEADLINE: 27th June, 2016

We are pleased to invite you to the Academic Mindtrek conference, 17th to 19th October 2016. Academic Mindtrek is a meeting place where researchers, experts and thinkers present results from their latest work regarding the development of novel technology, media and digital culture for the society of tomorrow.

Academic Mindtrek is part of the renowned Mindtrek business conference. Mindtrek brings together people not only from various fields and domains but also from different sectors such as companies, academia and various other institutions. This is the perfect opportunity for pushing research results in the practice and industry, as well as getting out-the-box research ideas based on the interaction with industry and practitioners.… read more. “Call: Academic Mindtrek Conference 2016”

Posted in Calls | Leave a comment

Microsoft patents ‘telepresence experience’

[Microsoft is working on a new ‘telepresence experience’ technology (will the use of the term ‘experience’ help clarify that presence is a property of the perceiver?). This story is from InAVate; the patent is available from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. –Matthew]

Microsoft telepresence experience patent

Microsoft patents ‘telepresence experience’

Charlotte Ashley
May 11, 2016

Microsoft continues to work on creating virtual environments that facilitate face-to-face communication with those who can’t make it to a meeting or gathering with it’s recently patented ‘telepresence experience.’

The patent details a system which appears to create the effect of talking through a glass to the other participant in video communications.… read more. “Microsoft patents ‘telepresence experience’”

Posted in Presence in the News | Leave a comment

Call: 2016 ACM SIGGRAPH Conference on Motion in Games (MIG)

CALL FOR PAPERS

The 2016 ACM SIGGRAPH Conference on Motion in Games (MIG)
Oct. 10-12, 2016, San Francisco, USA
https://mig2016.inria.fr/

Paper submission: July 7th 2016

The 9th ACM International Conference on Motion in Games will take place in San Francisco on October 10-12th, 2016 and will be co-located with the AIIDE conference (http://www.aiide.org)

Conference mission: Games have become a very important medium for education, therapy and entertainment. Motion plays a crucial role in computer games. Characters move around, objects are manipulated or move due to physical constraints, entities are animated, and the camera moves through the scene. Even the motion of the player is used as input to games. Motion is currently studied in many different areas of research, including graphics and animation, game technology, robotics, simulation, computer vision, and also physics, psychology, and urban studies. Cross-fertilization between these communities can considerably advance the state-of- the-art in the area.… read more. “Call: 2016 ACM SIGGRAPH Conference on Motion in Games (MIG)”

Posted in Calls | Leave a comment

Live 4k, 360, VR and full-body avatars create presence at the French Open 2016

[This story from SVG Europe describes the many technologies being utilized to evoke presence for remote and in-person audience members for this year’s French Open tennis tournament; for more information about the Virtual Reality and the on-site RG Lab, see pages on the RolandGarros.com website. –Matthew]

RG Lab at French Open (from RolandGarros.com)

Virtual Reality at the heart of France Télévisions Roland-Garros 2016 set up

By Catherine Wright
Friday, May 20, 2016

As Roland-Garros organisers prepare for the French tennis tournament beginning May 21, France Télévisions is again showcasing the group’s latest technology developments at the RG Lab, under the supervision of its Head of Innovations Bernard Fontaine. This year, the focus is on virtual reality and 360° production. For a start, all the matches taking place on the main Philippe Chatrier court, the Suzanne Lenglen court and the number 1 court are being broadcast live in 4K and in 360°.… read more. “Live 4k, 360, VR and full-body avatars create presence at the French Open 2016”

Posted in Presence in the News | Leave a comment
  • Find Researchers

    Use the links below to find researchers listed alphabetically by the first letter of their last name.

    A | B | C | D | E | F| G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z