International Society
for Presence Research

Month: February 2011

  • Call: Workshop on Cultures in Game/worlds

    Published:

    Workshop on Cultures in Game/worlds Call for Participation at the Cultural Studies Association Conference in Chicago, Illinois 24th-26th March Location: Building S, Room 1306 Hour: March 26th, 9 am and later if scheduling allows RSVP March 5, 2011 We call the virtual environments that constitute the topic of this workshop “game/worlds.” Game/worlds are 3d virtual environments developed for play and other entertainment, social interaction, cultural exploration, and virtual design/exchange. These worlds have captured the attention of researchers from around the world from a variety of disciplines. This workshop aims to improve the understanding of game/worlds as environments for cultural studies…

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  • Researchers use virtual-reality avatars to create ‘out-of-body’ experience

    Published:

    [From The Guardian; more information is available in an article in The Financial Times, which includes a 2:37 minute long video, and at the web site of EPFL Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience] [Image: Olaf Blanke conducts experiment to understand the way the brain represents the body by combining VR induced illusions and brain signal readings to better understand the cognitive basis for spatial representation.] Researchers use virtual-reality avatars to create ‘out-of-body’ experience Volunteers experienced the virtual bodies as if they were their own, with possible applications in computer games or to transport people digitally to other locations Alok Jha, science…

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  • Call: Re-Thinking Technology in Museums 2011: Emerging Experiences

    Published:

    “Re-Thinking Technology in Museums 2011: Emerging Experiences” Hosted by the UL Interaction Design Centre and the Irish Museums Association, with the support of IxDA Limerick University of Limerick, Ireland May 26-27, 2011 http://www.idc.ul.ie/techmuseums11 New Deadline for paper submissions: 20th of February Themes of the Conference in 2005 “Re-Thinking Technology in Museums” brought together a group of academics and practitioners discussing novel ways of conceptualizing the museum experience in light of the presence of interactive technologies. The second edition of this conference on the theme of “Emerging Experience” will further the discussion on novel approaches for understanding people¹s experiences in museums…

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  • Webcast funerals: Convenient, dehumanizing

    Published:

    [From The Daily Titan, student newspaper of California State University, Fullerton; the New York Times story mentioned is available here] Opinion Webcast funerals are dehumanizing By Amy Leadbetter Published: February 16, 2011 The progression of technology and its dehumanizing effects has hit an all-time low. An article published last week in The New York Times titled, “For Funerals Too Far, Mourners Gather on the Web” by Laura Holson, addressed the recent popularity of funerals broadcast online. Holson’s article informs the reader that this is seen as a blessing for those who live too far or who are unable to make it…

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  • Call: Perceiving Others’ Minds

    Published:

    Perceiving Others’ Minds Friday 1st July 2010 Boardroom, Arthur Lewis Building University of Manchester M13 9PL http://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/disciplines/philosophy/events/pom/ Speakers: Peter Goldie (University of Manchester) Rowland Stout (University College Dublin) Albert Newen (Ruhr-Universität Bochum) Anil Gomes (Birkbeck College, London) Will McNeill (University of York) Attendence is free but please register by e-mailing Joel Smith. The event is funded by the Royal Institute of Philosophy. We know a lot about each others’ mental lives. There’s a question about how we know what we do. There’s no doubt that perception plays a role in securing us some of this knowledge. It is often by…

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  • $US500 iRobot hack lets you be two places at once

    Published:

    [From Gizmodo] $US500 iRobot Hack Lets You Be Two Places At Once By Kit Eaton – FastCo on February 12, 2011 A hacker has put together a viable home-brew telepresence robot using easily available components that’s good enough (if not pretty enough) to rival much more expensive peers like Anybot’s QB. More than anything this suggests telepresence virtual working is an imminent phenomenon. The enterprising chap in question is Johnny Chung Lee. Temporarily separated from his partner after a work-driven relocation, he wanted to create a simple way to maintain a presence in their previous home. Telepresence droids would be…

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  • Call: Designs on eLearning Conference: Creative learning spaces of the future

    Published:

    The 7th International Designs on eLearning Conference DeL 2011: Creative learning spaces of the future Aalto University September 13 -16 2011 http://www.designsonelearning.net/conferences/face_to_face/sept2011/del_sept2011.htm Aalto University is a new multidisciplinary university, where science and art meet technology and business. The University is located in Espoo and Helsinki in Finland. Call for papers The notion of space regains fresh momentum every time we interact with the world around us. As mobile devices weave into the fabric of everyday life, we are no longer confined to a specific location, time and place in accessing and interacting with communications technologies. Interfaces become more adaptable and…

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  • Transmedia of future to engage the populace in an immersive and interactive way

    Published:

    [From The Scavenger] [Large image available here] Transmedia: The experience of the future? With the former glory of old, linear media fading, Melody Ayres-Griffiths examines just what the new media artform known as ‘transmedia’ is, and how it will engage an increasingly discerning yet time-starved populace in an immersive and interactive way. 13 February 2011 Late in January, 2011, I attended a conference regarding just what exactly ‘transmedia’ is, and perhaps where it’s going. Although the meaning of the phrase changed somewhat depending upon who you talked to, the core of the explanations I received was simply this: transmedia engages…

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  • Call: 2nd International Workshop on Human-Centric Interfaces for Ambient Intelligence (HCIAmI’11)

    Published:

    First Call for Papers 2nd International Workshop on Human-Centric Interfaces for Ambient Intelligence (HCIAmI’11) To be held during the 7th International Conference on Intelligent Environments (IE’11) 26 July 2011, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom Following the success of HCIAmI’10 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2010), HCIAmI’11 will provide a forum to explore the concepts and applications of the multi-disciplinary area of human-centric interfaces, modelling, and computing for Ambient Intelligence application design. It will enable the exchange of experiences from around the world concerning the use of technologies which offer unobtrusive, intuitive, or adaptive interfaces. These technologies have a major potential to…

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  • The world’s largest touchscreen

    Published:

    [From Bit Rebels, which features more images and a 1:22 minute video also available here] The World’s Largest Touchscreen 02/12/2011 By Diana Adams Holy batman, now that’s a touchscreen! I’m going to tell you the size of this thing immediately because I know that’s what you really want to know, right? It is 10 meters (32.8 feet) by 2.8 meters (9.2 feet). The screen uses 1,000 LEDs and 6 Optitrack cameras. The resolution is 4900 by 1700 pixels. Its shape is curved, and it can track 100 people touching it at once. The University of Groningen in the Netherlands created…

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  • Call: Creating Second Lives 2011: Crossing Boundaries

    Published:

    Call for Papers: Creating Second Lives 2011: Crossing Boundaries September 8th & 9th 2011 School of Creative Studies and Media, Bangor University Conveners: Dr Eben J. Muse and Dr Astrid Ensslin Submission deadline: 30 April 2011 The Creating Second Lives conference is a chance to explore lives lived in virtual worlds, electronic games, MMORPG and other parts of cyberspace. Following Creating Second Lives 2008: Reading and Writing Virtual Communities, the theme of Creating Second Lives 2011 is the blurring of boundaries in the mixed reality of ubiquitous computing and augmented reality. New technologies are moving users into the screen (Microsoft’s Kinect),…

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  • Creating VR illusions to affect user’s body perceptions

    Published:

    [From PhysOrg.com] [Image: An avatar with large belly size representing the participant. Credit: Jean-Marie Normand, Elias Giannopoulos, Bernhard Spanlang & Mel Slater] Virtually feeling fat February 1, 2011 By Charles Q. Choi Greasy food and a lack of exercise aren’t the only things that can make you feel fat — now you can add virtual reality and being poked by a stick to the list. By having people wear head-mounted displays that make them see pot-bellied computer-generated versions of their bodies and by having them poke their tummies with sticks at the same time, scientists found they could make people…

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