ISPR Presence News

Monthly Archives: July 2015

Call: NEUROTECHNIX 2015 – 3rd International Congress on Neurotechnology, Electronics and Informatics

Call for Papers

NEUROTECHNIX 2015 – 3rd International Congress on Neurotechnology, Electronics and Informatics
16-17 November, 2015
Lisbon, Portugal

http://www.neurotechnix.org

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

SCOPE

The first research works on neurotechnology can be dated back nearly half a century, but it is in the XXI century that most significant advances are being witnessed. Neurotechnology shows a very high potential of enhancing human activities, involving technologies such as neural rehabilitation, neural prosthesis, neuromodulation, neurosensing and diagnosis, and other combinations of neurological and biomedical knowledge with engineering technologies.

This congress will be a meeting point of multidisciplinary teams, of both biomedical and engineering professionals, academics and practitioners. It will promote translational discussions on how technology can meet the needs of both clinical practitioners and persons with neurological disorders. Neurotechnix will emphasize research and application of neurotechnologies to different neurological disorders, such as: Neuromuscular diseases, Parkinson disease, Developmental disorders, Dementia , Epilepsy, Sleep disorders, Multiple Sclerosis, Neuroinfections, Brain Tumors, Stroke, Traumatic brain injuries, Cerebral Palsy, Spinal Cord Injury, Vision and Hearing disorders, among others.… read more. “Call: NEUROTECHNIX 2015 – 3rd International Congress on Neurotechnology, Electronics and Informatics”

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TV show fans create photos that merge real and fictional worlds

[Some fans of television programs go to filming locations and take photos that include photos of characters and scenes from the show, apparently attempting to form (presence) connections to the places and people in the fictional world. As a fan of Orphan Black, I favor the ones by arcsloth on that program’s Tumblr; an example is below, followed by a story from The Huffington Post about (and featuring many examples of) the same phenomenon for Orange Is The New Black. -Matthew]

Orphan Black set photo

Orange Is The New Black set photo

Teen Trespasses On Abandoned ‘OITNB’ Set, Show Has Great Response

By Taylor Pittman
Posted: 07/06/2015; Updated: 07/08/2015

A Netflix binge just wasn’t enough for this “Orange Is The New Black” fan.

Samantha Gardella from Monroe, N.Y., wanted something more, so she visited the set of the Netflix original series. The idea came after Samantha noticed a tweet from a local radio station explaining that scenes for the show’s fourth season would be filmed at the abandoned Rockland Children’s Psychiatric Center.… read more. “TV show fans create photos that merge real and fictional worlds”

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Job: Postdoctoral Research Associate at Playable Innovative Technologies (PLAIT) Lab at Northeastern University

[From Dr. Sebastian Deterding, Northeastern University]

If you are or know someone who might want to work with me and the fab faculty at the Northeastern University on game design, gameful design, embarrassment, motivation, and all that fun stuff: I have a postdoc position open immediately. Of course, if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

GENERAL INFO

Position Title: Postdoctoral Research Associate
Requisition Number: STFR002325
Division/College: College of Arts, Media and Design
Location: Boston Main Campus
Full-time/Part-time: Full Time
Posting Date: 07/13/2015
Link: http://neu.peopleadmin.com/postings/36635read more. “Job: Postdoctoral Research Associate at Playable Innovative Technologies (PLAIT) Lab at Northeastern University”

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Presence and politics: How VR will influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election

[I like that this article about the various uses of VR and presence (it even uses the term) in politics points out both the benefits and dangers; it’s from Upload and includes more images and two videos. For details on Bernie Sanders’ use of VR (mentioned at the end) see coverage in Variety. –Matthew]

VR election graphic

How Virtual Reality Will Influence the 2016 Presidential Election

For better or worse.

by Will Mason
July 19, 2015

Virtual reality is on the precipice of transforming our world in many ways. From the way we entertain ourselves, to the way we interact with one another, to the way we work – there are few facets of our lives that virtual reality won’t touch in the upcoming years. With Oculus, HTC and Sony all planning to release consumer grade virtual reality headsets on the market in the next eight months and sales expected to climb into the millions, virtual reality very well may be the year’s defining technology – and in many more ways than just gaming.… read more. “Presence and politics: How VR will influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election”

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Call: Contributions to book series on the Future of Humanity and its Successors

Palgrave Studies in the Future of Humanity and its Successors

Series editors
Calvin Mercer (Professor of Religion, East Carolina University)
Steve Fuller (Professor of Sociology, University of Warwick, UK)

Humanity is at a crossroads in its history, precariously poised between mastery and extinction. The fast-developing array of human enhancement therapies and technologies (e.g., genetic engineering, information technology, regenerative medicine, robotics, and nanotechnology) are increasingly impacting our lives and our future. The most ardent advocates believe that some of these developments could permit humans to take control of their own evolution and alter human nature and the human condition in fundamental ways, perhaps to an extent that we arrive at the “posthuman”, the “successor” of humanity.

This series brings together research from a variety of fields to consider the economic, ethical, legal, political, psychological, religious, social, and other implications of cutting-edge science and technology.… read more. “Call: Contributions to book series on the Future of Humanity and its Successors”

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RealDolls add AI and VR to become companions

[Shades of Lars and the Real Girl, Ex Machina and other films: The founder of RealDoll has some intriguing things to say here about the future of presence interactions that go way beyond physical intimacy; the story is from PSFK and includes seven additional vivid images. –Matthew]

RealDoll head

Sex Dolls with Artificial Intelligence to Ease Your Loneliness (and Maybe Shoot You a Text)

We talked to RealDoll CEO Matt Mullen about the company’s latest project: making robotic sex dolls that talk, text, and email back

Laura Yan
8 July 2015

Abyss Creations, the company beyond Realdoll (life-sized, silicone sex dolls), wants to start making robotic sex dolls that talk back, flirt and interact with the customer. The project, called Realbotix, is the company’s first venture into the world of artificial intelligence. It involves an AI-powered animatronic head that can be fitted onto preexisting doll bodies, a pocket-pet doll accessible through an app and a version of the doll in virtual reality.… read more. “RealDolls add AI and VR to become companions”

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Call: BBC looking to fund VR experiences and more

[This item is both news and a call for proposals that may be of interest; it’s from VRFocus. –Matthew]

BBC Looking to Fund VR Experiences and More

July 27, 2015
Jamie Feltham

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is already involved with virtual reality (VR) technology to some extent. Last year the company partnered with digital studio BDH to create War of Words, a mobile VR experience that visualised a poem from Siegfried Sassoon. The organisation has since hinted at further work with the tech, although hasn’t revealed any specifics just yet. Now it’s been announced that the BBC is in fact looking to fund new immersive experiences, which could well include VR technology.

The broadcaster recently started the next phase in its ‘The Future of Content’ programme, an initiative that’s designed to provide new digital experiences for BBC Online based around specific themes.… read more. “Call: BBC looking to fund VR experiences and more”

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In Honda’s Dream Drive, real car takes you on trippy virtual journey

[Here’s a vivid first-hand report about an interesting experimental use of VR to evoke presence; it’s from PCWorld, where the story includes two more images. –Matthew]

Dream Drive: Oculus Rift in Honda car

Oculus Rift took me for a ride in a real car during Honda’s trippy Dream Drive

They drove, and I watched VR that synced to the motion of the car. I was on a racetrack. In a space station. Trippy indeed.

Martyn Williams, IDG News Service
July 24, 2015

As I climbed into the car, I didn’t have high hopes.

I was trying out Honda’s Dream Drive, a prototype technology that pairs an Oculus Rift headset with data about the car’s movements to produce a virtual reality simulation.

The car (an Acura MDX from Honda’s luxury line) was going to drive around the parking lot at Honda’s new R&D center here in Mountain View, California, and the headset would let me gaze into another world as we drove along.… read more. “In Honda’s Dream Drive, real car takes you on trippy virtual journey”

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Call: Hear The Music, Play The Game: Music And Game Design: Interplays And Perspectives (GAME theme issue)

GAME – Games as Art, Media, Entertainment
www.gamejournal.it

Call for Papers – n. 6/2016
Hear The Music, Play The Game
Music And Game Design: Interplays And Perspectives

Edited by Hillegonda C. Rietveld and Marco Benoît Carbone

http://www.gamejournal.it/n-62016-hear-the-music-play-the-game-music-and-game-design-interplays-and-perspectives/#.VbCbv4cn91M

Music composition and sound design in video games are important dimensions in the experience of play, gaining increased acknowledgement and attention within the game industry. The growing relevance and success of several kinds of music-based games, and their codification in novel genres and sub-genres, illustrates one tendency in this shift of focus towards the aural in relation to the usually visual dominance of the medium. This calls for an attempt to reconsider the often-overlooked impact of music and its role in defining games. Arguably, a distinction can be made between games in which music functions in the background, and games in which music is an integral part of the game mechanics.… read more. “Call: Hear The Music, Play The Game: Music And Game Design: Interplays And Perspectives (GAME theme issue)”

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Emotional pictures show lonely man’s trips out with life-size doll daughter

[This is an unusual example of presence involving perceiving a medium as a social actor; it’s from RocketNews24, where the story includes 13 additional images (via Sina News via Zaeega) (side note: when I accessed DesignTAXI’s coverage of the same story, an advertisement appeared for The Ashton-Drake Galleries Online’s sale of the “Waltraud Hanl ‘Sweet Butterfly Kisses’ ‘So Truly Real’ ’Touch Activated’ Interactive Baby Doll). –Matthew]

Song Bo with Xiao Die at IMAX

[Image: Song Bo takes his “daughter” Xiao Die to an IMAX film.]

Emotional pictures show lonely man’s trips out with “love doll” daughter [Photos]

Fran Wrigley
May 6, 2015

Two years ago, Song Bo was diagnosed with a serious illness which gave him constant headaches and brought upon depression. Convinced he would never marry or have children, Song was browsing the internet one day when he stumbled upon a listing on China’s online shopping site Taobao that was to give him new hope.… read more. “Emotional pictures show lonely man’s trips out with life-size doll daughter”

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