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Monthly Archives: March 2017

Call: CHIRA 2017 – International Conference on Computer-Human Interaction Research and Applications

Call for Papers

CHIRA 2017 – International Conference on Computer-Human Interaction Research and Applications
October 31 – November 2, 2017
Funchal, Madeira – Portugal
http://www.chira.scitevents.org/

Submission Deadline: May 22, 2017

CHIRA is sponsored by INSTICC – Institute for Systems and Technologies of Information, Control and Communication

SCOPE

The purpose of the International Conference on Computer-Human Interaction Research and Applications (CHIRA) is to bring together professionals, academics and students who are interested in the advancement of research and practical applications of human-technology & human-computer interaction. Five parallel tracks will be held, covering different aspects of Computer-Human Interaction, including Interaction Design, Human Factors, Entertainment, Cognition, Perception, User-Friendly Software and Systems, Pervasive Technologies and Interactive Devices.

Papers describing original work on advanced methods, prototypes, systems, tools and techniques as well as general survey papers indicating future directions are encouraged. Accepted papers will be presented at the conference by one of the authors and published in the Proceedings of CHIRA, which will be placed on at least one Digital Library and sent for indexation by the major international indexes.… read more. “Call: CHIRA 2017 – International Conference on Computer-Human Interaction Research and Applications”

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Timebound app takes users back in time to relive history as it happened

[Note the many references to types of presence in this story from techdigg about an app that immerses users in historical events. See the Kickstarter page for much more information, including videos, and to donate. –Matthew]

Timebound: New App Travels Back in Time to Relive History as It Happened

By Kevin Ott
March 20, 2017

Some ideas are so brilliant, yet so simple, that it’s almost frustrating to learn about them. “Why didn’t I think of that?” is usually the first thought.

The new app Timebound, estimated to be available for iOS and Android as soon as May 2017, has that effect because of its very simple, but smart use of push-notification technology on mobile devices. It leverages that simple technology for all it’s worth, then combines it with superb research and writing to make something special.

It will be an especially desirable app for history buffs who love reliving and immersing themselves in historical events.… read more. “Timebound app takes users back in time to relive history as it happened”

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Call: OzCHI 2017, Australian Computer-Human Interaction Conference

Call for Papers

OzCHI 2017 – Human-Nature
Australian Computer-Human Interaction Conference
Brisbane; 28th Nov-1st Dec 2017
http://www.ozchi.org/2017

First deadline: Long papers due 6 June 2017

We invite original contributions on all topics related to Human-Computer Interaction, Interaction Design and the design of interactive technologies. Submissions are invited for long papers, short papers, work-in-progress papers, workshops, demonstrations, the Doctoral Consortium and the Student Design Challenge.

OzCHI is the annual non-profit conference for the Computer-Human Interaction Special Interest Group (CHISIG) of the Human Factors and Ergonomic Society of Australia. OzCHI is Australia’s leading forum for the latest in HCI research and practice. OzCHI attracts a broad international community of researchers, industry practitioners, academics and students. Participants typically come from more than 25 countries and from a range of backgrounds, including interface designers, user experience experts, information architects, software engineers, human factors specialists, information systems analysts and social scientists.… read more. “Call: OzCHI 2017, Australian Computer-Human Interaction Conference”

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Meet the AI robot who can switch between ‘family’ and ‘sexy’

[Echoing the excellent series Humans, the latest advanced sex doll includes a broader set of AI-based behaviors. The first story below, from LADbible, describes Sergi Santos’ creation; the second story, from MIC, considers some of the many ethical issues it (she?) raises. See the Synthiea Amatus website for much more information including images and videos.  –Matthew]

Meet The AI Robot Who Can Switch Between ‘Family’ And ‘Sexy’

Michael Minay in MORE
March 20, 2017

Meet Silicon Samantha. An artificial intelligence robot who has a functioning G-Sport and can switch between ‘family’ and ‘sexy’ mode.

She’s been revealed to the world by her creator, Sergio Santos who claims that the robot is getting pretty close to realness.

Samantha has a functional vagina and mouth designed by her Spanish inventor.

The bot has dark brown hair, green eyes (that disturbingly don’t blink) and is capable of ’emotional closeness’ according to Sergi.… read more. “Meet the AI robot who can switch between ‘family’ and ‘sexy’”

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Call: ICIDS 2017: 10th International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling

Call for Papers

ICIDS 2017: 10th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INTERACTIVE DIGITAL STORYTELLING
14-17, November, 2017
Madeira Interactive Technologies Institute (M-ITI)
Funchal, Madeira, Portugal
http://icids2017.m-iti.org/

Submission deadlines:
Papers: June 23rd, 2017
Workshops: July 7th, 2017
Demos, Posters and Doctoral Consortium (DC): August 4th, 2017
Art Exhibitions: August 4th, 2017

This year, the International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling (ICIDS 2017) will take place in Funchal, Madeira Islands, Portugal and be hosted by the Madeira Interactive Technologies Institute.

ICIDS has its origin in a series of related international conferences that ran between 2001 and 2007. Since 2008, ICIDS became the premier annual venue that gathers researchers, developers, practitioners and theorists to present and share the latest innovations, insights and techniques in the expanding field of interactive storytelling and the technologies that support it. The field re-groups a highly dynamic and interdisciplinary community, in which narrative studies, computer science, interactive and immersive technologies, the arts, and creativity converge to develop new expressive forms in a myriad of domains that include artistic projects, interactive documentaries, cinematic games, serious games, assistive technologies, edutainment, pedagogy, museum science, advertising and entertainment, to mention a few.… read more. “Call: ICIDS 2017: 10th International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling”

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NZ Fire Service safety campaign uses VR to put you in burning house

[This is a good example of the movement toward presence-evoking formats in media campaigns, in this case for fire safety. The story is from StopPress, where it includes two videos and more images. More information and pictures are available in a story from NZ TechBlog, which includes this additional detail: “People are prompted to enter their address when commencing the Escape My House VR activity. Once they reach the end and have made it out of the house safely onto the street, they will be confronted with an image of their own home burning down in front of them, pulled in via Google StreetView.” Finally, firefighters talk about the VR experience in a 1:56 video available from Stuff. –Matthew]

From apathy to empathy: The thinking behind NZ Fire Service’s virtual reality evacuation—UPDATED

March 23, 2017
Jihee Junn

UPDATE: FCB has reported that since it’s launch on 22 March, the online tool has been experienced by over 120,000 users and the video on Facebook has been viewed more than 10 million times and shared by more than 86,000 people.read more. “NZ Fire Service safety campaign uses VR to put you in burning house”

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Young girl mistakes water heater for a robot and it’s adorable

[I highly recommend watching the 24 second viral video available in this short Huffington Post story. For more internet reactions see coverage in NDTV. And for more items like this, please join us in the (free and public) ISPR Presence Community Facebook group. –Matthew]

Young Girl Mistakes Water Heater For A Robot And It’s Adorable

“I wuv you wobot.”

By David Moye
March 27, 2017

It’s an age-old story: Girl meets water heater, thinks it’s a robot and falls in love.

Actually, it’s not that age-old ― it’s the basic plot of a YouTube video called, “Rayna meets a ‘robot’” that is surely going viral as you read this.

In the video, a toddler sees a discarded water heater on the street, and gives it a friendly, “Hi wobot!”

You can see how she might get that idea. A panel on the top does kind of look like eyes, and the tank is about the right size for a girl to try to hug.… read more. “Young girl mistakes water heater for a robot and it’s adorable”

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New tech sends virtual lemonade over the internet

[The technology described in this widely cited story from New Scientist moves us closer to sharing richer and more diverse sensory experiences over time and distance; the original story includes a 0:35 minute video and a second 1:08 minute video is available on YouTube. See Nimesha Ranasinghe’s website for more information, including the earlier Digital Lollipop project. –Matthew]

[Image: Source: [TEI2017] Virtual Lemonade: Let’s Teleport Your Lemonade! via YouTube]

Virtual lemonade sends colour and taste to a glass of water

By Timothy Revell
24 March 2017

When life hands you digital lemons, make virtual lemonade.

A system of sensors and electrodes can digitally transmit the basic colour and sourness of a glass of lemonade to a tumbler of water, making it look and taste like a different drink. The idea is to let people share sensory experiences over the internet.… read more. “New tech sends virtual lemonade over the internet”

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Call: GHItaly17 – 1st Workshop on Games-Human Interaction

Call for Papers

GHItaly17 – 1st Workshop on Games-Human Interaction
In Conjunction with The 12th Edition of CHItaly,
the biannual Conference of the Italian SIGCHI Chapter
http://sites.unica.it/chitaly2017/ghitaly/

Deadline for submitting papers: May 28

CALL FOR PAPERS

The 1st Workshop on Games-Human Interaction (GHItaly 2017) aims at bringing together scholars and industry practitioners to establish a common ground on the topic. Main goal of the event is to spur discussion, exchange of ideas, and development of new ways of researching, teaching, and working on HCI applied to design and production of video games. The application range of video games has to be intended in its broadest sense: both entertainment and applied finalities.

GHItaly 2017 will be held in conjunction with the 12th Edition of CHItaly, the biannual Conference of the Italian ACM SIGCHI Chapter, from 18th to 20th of September 2017 in Cagliari.… read more. “Call: GHItaly17 – 1st Workshop on Games-Human Interaction”

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Nadia the chatbot: The rise of emotionally intelligent, lifelike customer service avatars

[Here’s a good example of the evolution of presence-evoking technology and (though it’s not discussed in this story from idealog), the obvious ethical issues it raises. The idealog story includes more pictures and two videos; MIT Technology Review’s coverage includes a 1:42 minute video of Nadia; and more information is available from the Soul Machines website. For a related story that raises some of the ethical issues, see “Can Alexa lie?” from Shelly Palmer’s blog. –Matthew]

Soul Machines unveils its first emotionally intelligent, lifelike avatar

By Elly Strang
17 Feb 2017

A Kiwi company at the forefront of humanising AI technology has revealed its first virtual assistant called ‘Nadia’, which has been voiced by actress Cate Blanchett.

Soul Machines is an Auckland-based company that develops intelligent, emotionally responsive avatars that improve the user experience on artificial intelligence platforms.… read more. “Nadia the chatbot: The rise of emotionally intelligent, lifelike customer service avatars”

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