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Monthly Archives: November 2011

Call: European Conference on Artificial Intelligence (ECAI) 2012

ECAI 2012 — Call For Papers

www2.lirmm.fr/ecai2012

ECAI is the biennial European Conference on Artificial Intelligence organised by the European Coordinating Committee for Artificial Intelligence (ECCAI); it is the premier forum for presenting Artificial Intelligence results in Europe. The twentieth conference in this series, ECAI 2012, will take place in Montpellier (France), August 27-31.

ECAI 2012 will gather researchers and practitioners of Artificial Intelligence from all over the world; they will present the latest results and identify new trends and challenges in all subfields of Artificial Intelligence as well as demonstrate innovative applications and uses of advanced Artificial Intelligence technology. In addition to the main technical track, the ECAI 2012 program will feature keynote and invited talks, invited tutorials, an elaborate workshop program, a system-demonstration track and a Turing centenary celebration, in which we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Alan Turing and his influence on Artificial Intelligence.… read more. “Call: European Conference on Artificial Intelligence (ECAI) 2012”

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Prototype potential: Cat mask expressions controlled by facial muscle movements via non-contact interface

[From CNET’s Crave blog; more information, including images and a 1:31 minute video, is available at DigInfo TV]

Giant robot cat mask purrfect for pesky mice

by Tim Hornyak November 14, 2011

Japanese writer Natsume Soseki, author of the celebrated novel “I Am a Cat,” would have loved this one.

Researchers at Tokyo Metropolitan University’s Ideea Lab have developed a giant furry cat head that mimics the movements of its human wearers.

The Neko Kaburu headpiece, aka the AnimatronInterface, consists of an inner mesh mask equipped with sensors that track eyelid, mouth, and muscle movements.

These are reproduced in the cat mask, so users look like they have giant cartoon cat heads.

The prototype was shown off last month at the 19th International Collegiate Virtual Reality Contest (IVRC 2011) in Tokyo.… read more. “Prototype potential: Cat mask expressions controlled by facial muscle movements via non-contact interface”

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Call: Chapter proposals for Technologies in Urban and Spatial Planning: Virtual Cities and Territories

CALL FOR CHAPTER PROPOSALS

Proposal Submission Deadline: December 31, 2011

Technologies in Urban and Spatial Planning: Virtual Cities and Territories

Edited by: 

Nuno Norte Pinto, University of Coimbra, Portugal
José António Tenedório, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Portugal 
António Pais Antunes, University of Coimbra, Portugal 
Josep Roca, Technical University of Catalonia, BarcelonaTech, Spain 

Introduction

This book aims to present the state-of-the-art of the development and application of all kinds of new virtual technologies based on the use of hardware and software developed to represent and simulate virtual environments, built spaces, and buildings, and the interactions of these new technological solutions with policy making and design. 

Four main editorial objectives were drawn for the project: 

  • To publish a high quality handbook that presents a comprehensive and detailed overview about the use of new technologies in urban and spatial planning and architecture
  • To provide solid information that supports the use of these new technologies for assisting design and decision making
  • To formulate a rationale that grounds the theory already devised on these topics
  • To present, through case study applications, the use of these new technologies and of innovative methods based on them. 
read more. “Call: Chapter proposals for Technologies in Urban and Spatial Planning: Virtual Cities and Territories”
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A video game designer and a scientist explore the undeniable pull of virtual worlds

[From scienceline]

 

[Image: A new existence awaits right inside our computer screens. Credit: Snooze]

Virtually everything at stake

A video game designer and a scientist explore the undeniable pull of virtual worlds

By Kelly Slivka | Posted November 13, 2011

Lee Guzofski loves people, and that’s why he loves virtual reality. By the time I arrived to interview him at a coffee shop near Washington Square Park in Manhattan, he was already on a first-name basis with the baristo Leo, chatting with him like an old friend. “New York City is endlessly fascinating and authentic,” Guzofski told me after I sat down across from him. He watched people pass on the street, rapt, commenting that everyone has a story to tell. “And, fundamentally, what makes us human is storytelling,” he said.

Guzofski is the chief executive of G2G Enterprises, a video game company that he says is about to release a ground-breaking, top-secret virtual reality computer game.… read more. “A video game designer and a scientist explore the undeniable pull of virtual worlds”

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Call: Beyond Sports vs. Games – Workshop at ITU Copenhagen

Beyond Sports vs. Games
Workshop @ ITU Copenhagen

Friday, February 17, 2012

Organizers:
T.L. Taylor, Emma Witkowski, Miguel Sicart, and Douglas Wilson of the IT University of Copenhagen.

Full details:
http://game.itu.dk/index.php/Beyond_Sports_vs._Games_workshop

Description:
Ten years of game studies have passed with little exploration of sports as a key link in the study of computer gaming. Despite the huge popularity of sports titles, the growth of e-sports, or the general adoption of “sporting attitudes” and practices, not much work has been done to unpack the nature of computer game play as sport. Conversely, forty years of sports studies have produced only limited consideration of the practices and research taking place on digital playing fields. The time is long overdue for these research fields to mingle. With computer games as a central focus point, this one-day workshop looks to embrace interdisciplinary perspectives on sports and computer games, prompting a richer conversation about the nature of digital play by bringing to the foreground a sports orientation.… read more. “Call: Beyond Sports vs. Games – Workshop at ITU Copenhagen”

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Condition One app immerses you in the story

[From The New York Times’ Lens blog; the post includes a 1:37 minute video]

 

Immersing Yourself in the Story

November 11, 2011
By Michael Kamber

Tired of news footage where all you can see is what’s right in front you as the camera rolls down a road in a war-torn landscape? A new iPad app is about to change all that, immersing viewers in a near virtual reality where they can become director and editor.

With the Condition One app, which debuts Friday, viewers can get a 180-degree field of view by simply moving the iPad in their hands. Swipe the screen or move the tablet left or right to see a truck full of soldiers rolling beside you. Want to examine the sky?  Hold your iPad up, as if you are blocking the sun, and your field of view is filled with clouds or warplanes streaking overhead.… read more. “Condition One app immerses you in the story”

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Call: Virtual Worlds III

Virtual Worlds III
3-5 July, 2012, Paris, France
http://www.virtual-worlds.net/vw2012/

Dear colleagues,

We are delighted to announce and call for papers for the Third International Conference on Virtual Worlds (VW’2012) which will be held from July 3 to 5, 2012 in Paris (La Défense).

Background

A Virtual World can be defined as a computer-simulated environment with its own physical and biological laws, populated by dynamic interacting entities such as artificial creatures and human avatars. Whereas Virtual Reality largely focuses on the design of 3D immersive spaces, and Artificial Life on the modeling and study of life-like systems, Virtual Worlds embrace both dimensions by synthesizing an entire digital universe. Their design and realization requires competency in various fields from Virtual Reality and Physics to Artificial Life and Ecology, Computer Graphics, High Performance Computing, and more.

Virtual Worlds have many applications in 3D simulation, computer games and online business.… read more. “Call: Virtual Worlds III”

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Robotic avatar transmits real-time sensations of remote environment

[From Gizmag; coverage in DigInfo TV includes additional information including many images]

 

Robotic avatar transmits real-time sensations of remote environment

By Pawel Piejko
November 8, 2011

Developing true robot surrogates that allow you to be in two places at once means duplicating all of our movements and senses in machine form. Given you can now make a video call on your phone, it’s fair to say we have the sight and sound aspects pretty well covered, but the challenge of adding touch to the equation is formidable. The TELESAR V Robot Avatar shows just how far we’ve come in turning into telepresence into telexistence – it’s a humanoid remotely controlled robot that boasts a wide range of movement along with the ability to transmit sight, hearing andtouch sensations to its operator via a set of sensors and 3D head mounted display.… read more. “Robotic avatar transmits real-time sensations of remote environment”

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Call: The Visual Computer – Special issue on Virtual Worlds

Call for Papers

The Visual Computer: International Journal of Computer Graphics
Special Issue on Virtual Worlds: Where Image Processing meets Computer Graphics
http://www.3dlife-noe.eu/3DLife/activities/special-issues/cfpvw/

The Visual Computer is dedicated to reporting on the state-of-the-art of research in the field of graphics, vision, imaging, and virtual reality. This special issue in the Visual Computer aims at presenting a representative sample of innovative research, methods and techniques towards the creation of realistic virtual humans. The main goal is to achieve horizontal integration by bringing together the typically disparate research communities working on 3D image processing, computer graphics, human computer interaction and human factors, towards demonstrating examples of the practical benefits of 3D technology on the everyday lives of users.

The contributions to this special issue are expected to bring new advances from theory and practice towards realistic and natural animated autonomous 3D avatars and represent recent advances in related fields including 3D image processing, computer graphics, human computer interaction and human factors, as well as to state problems and new research challenges to be focused on by the research community in the near and mid-term future.… read more. “Call: The Visual Computer – Special issue on Virtual Worlds”

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Virtual changing rooms hit the high street: Debenhams first to trial new technology

[From The Daily Mail, where the story includes additional images]

Virtual changing rooms hit the high street: Debenhams first to trial new technology

By Sadie Whitelocks
Last updated on 1st November 2011

If clammy changing rooms clogged with rails of clothing and queues of belligerent shoppers drive you mad, the virtual changing room might be the answer.

Using your smartphone, iPad or webcam you can try on potential purchases at your leisure, without getting undressed or battling through crowded shops.

Known as augmented reality (AR) this cutting-edge technology superimposes outfits over your image, bringing together real and virtual worlds.

Now in a bid to attract time-conscious consumers, the high street is busy investing in versions of  the software.

Debenhams has been the first UK chain to trial the new technology, claiming that it is reminiscent of scenes from the ‘sci-fi movie the Minority Report’.… read more. “Virtual changing rooms hit the high street: Debenhams first to trial new technology”

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