ISPR Presence News

Monthly Archives: February 2016

Call: Simulations, Training and Digital Game Technology Symposium at U. of Calgary

Simulations, Training and Digital Game Technology Symposium
University of Calgary
17-18 February, 2016

http://www.simulationsymposium.ca/

This event has been organized to highlight the latest work on simulations in training, education, and rehabilitation. Together with leading experts from academia, professional agencies, private business and the Calgary Police Service, presenters will share their work and ideas in an intensive participatory environment to create a user-driven learning event for all symposium attendees.

This conference is targeted towards those individuals with a background in design, development and/or research in training simulation and gaming. There will is a $75 CAD registration fee for the two days that includes meals.

Registration will be limited to 50 participants. Take advantage of the low Canadian dollar while it lasts.

To register, please contact
Dr Larry Katz at katz@ucalgary.ca

Keynote:

Dr. Tom McLaughlin is CEO of Motion Reality, Inc. (“MRI”). He received his MS and PhD in Biomechanics from the Univ.… read more. “Call: Simulations, Training and Digital Game Technology Symposium at U. of Calgary”

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BrainGainz VR app lets NCAA players ‘experience’ and avoid damages of concussions

[This press release from the University of Arizona describes an application of presence that has great potential to protect people’s lives; the original includes more images, and for additional background see coverage from last fall in Tucson News Now. –Matthew]

BrainGainz concussion VR app screenshot

UA-Built Concussion App in NCAA Competition

Sports-related concussions are now part of the national conversation, and a team of UA researchers — including football players Jason Sweet and Scooby Wright — is teaching athletes to recognize and report the signs.

Emily Litvack, UA Office for Research & Discovery
February 5, 2016

Despite new concussion-management protocols in the NCAA and NFL, many athletes still don’t recognize concussion symptoms or won’t report them if they do.

The University of Arizona creators of BrainGainz, a virtual-reality app that allows users to experience the symptoms of concussion, hope to change that.… read more. “BrainGainz VR app lets NCAA players ‘experience’ and avoid damages of concussions”

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Super Bowl of the future: Microsoft imagines how HoloLens will change how we watch sport

[This is a special Saturday post on a timely topic; the story below from the Independent includes the new 2:00 minute Microsoft video. For more on presence-evoking tech related to football see coverage in USA Today. –Matthew]

Future football via Microsoft HoloLens (screenshot)

Super Bowl of the future: Microsoft imagines how their HoloLens augmented reality device will change how we watch sport

Microsoft thinks their upcoming HoloLens could drastically change how we watch sport

Doug Bolton
4 February 2016

Microsoft has released a video showing how NFL fans might watch American football in the future – and naturally, it involves their HoloLens augmented reality headset.… read more. “Super Bowl of the future: Microsoft imagines how HoloLens will change how we watch sport”

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Call / ISPR News: Deadline extended for ISPR 2016 Conference event in Kyoto

[The submission deadline for ISPR’s next conference event has been extended 10 days, to Thursday February 18. Please consider submitting an abstract, paper, poster or demo and join us in Japan this June! -Matthew]

ISPR 2016 graphic

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS AND PARTICIPATION

The Power of Presence: Using Telepresence Theory, Research and Applications to Enhance Mediated Communication Experiences in the 21st Century

A preconference of the 2016 conference of the International Communication Association (ICA)
Co-sponsored by the International Society for Presence Research (ISPR)

June 8, 2016 (with optional demonstrations and guided sightseeing events June 7)

Abstract submission deadline (extended): February 18, 2016

OVERVIEW

Join us at Kyoto Research Park in Kyoto, Japan for an enlightening and enjoyable conference event two days before the 66th annual conference of the International Communication Association in Fukuoka, 9-13 June.

(Tele)presence is a state or perception in which we overlook or misconstrue the role of technology and feel present in the environments and/or connected to the people or things we experience via technology.… read more. “Call / ISPR News: Deadline extended for ISPR 2016 Conference event in Kyoto”

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Call: ISMAR 2016 – 15th IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality

Call for Participation

The 15th IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality
19–23 September 2016, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico
http://ismar.vgtc.org/

Submission deadline: 15 March 2016

ISMAR 2016, the premier conference for Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR), will be held in beautiful Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.

ISMAR is responding to the recent explosion of commercial and research activities related to AR, MR, and Virtual Reality (VR) by continuing the expansion of its scope over the past several years. ISMAR 2016 will cover the full range of technologies encompassed by the MR continuum, from interfaces in the real world to fully immersive experiences. This range goes far beyond the traditional definition of AR, which focused on precise 3D tracking, visual display, and real-time performance.

We specifically invite contributions from fundamental areas such as Computer Graphics, Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, Computer Vision, and Optics, and how these areas contribute to advancing AR / VR / MR technology.… read more. “Call: ISMAR 2016 – 15th IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality”

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Adjusting robots’ social gaze behaviors improves presence and communication

[This story from Inc. is about how we can make robots more ‘human’ and more likely to evoke the responses that humans do for each other. The original story features a different image and includes the video mentioned at the end; a related video from June 2015 is available on YouTube. –Matthew]

Sean Andrist robot gaze models (screenshot)

This Robot Can Tell If You’re an Introvert

How one PhD student wants to make robots less creepy–and more emotionally intelligent.

Ilan Mochari, Senior writer, Inc.
Feb 2, 2016

Would you be more receptive to working with a robot if the robot–like a human–knew when to make direct eye contact, and when to look away?

Sean Andrist, a PhD student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is building robots that can do just that, according to an article by Evan Ackerman on IEEE Spectrum’s award-winning robotics blog.

His thesis is straightforward.… read more. “Adjusting robots’ social gaze behaviors improves presence and communication”

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Jobs: 2 faculty positions in Game Development program at DePaul University in Chicago

DePaul University, School of Design – Game Design Job Openings

The Game Development program in the School of Design within the College of Computing and Digital Media at DePaul University invites applications to apply for one of two full-time positions, a tenure-track position at the assistant or associate rank and a non-tenure track one-year position (renewable), both to begin in September 2016.

Our innovative, well-established Game Development program features concentrations in design and programming, working closely with our programs in Graphic Design, Animation, Digital Cinema, Computer Science, Software Engineering, and Computer Graphics. Our students and faculty strive to advance the medium by cultivating games with novel aesthetic, emotional, or social impact. Located in the heart of Chicago’s vibrant Loop the School of Design offers a learning environment that nurtures the development of future-proof designers that are visionary, adaptive, and interdisciplinary. You can learn more about the Game Development program at http://www.cdm.depaul.edu/academics/Pages/BSInComputerGamesDevelopment.aspxread more. “Jobs: 2 faculty positions in Game Development program at DePaul University in Chicago”

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Ultrahaptics lets you touch and manipulate virtual objects

[Although the terminology is different, the story below notes how the disconnect between what a VR user can see and hear, and what she can touch, breaks (or fails to evoke) a presence illusion. But when that problem is solved, the applications are going to be impressive. The story is from Bloomberg and features more images and a 1:25 minute video. –Matthew]

Ultrahaptics virtual slider control

[Image: A virtual slider control for a DJ’s mixing desk—just one potential application for Ultrahaptics technology]

Meet the Man Who Made Virtual Reality ‘Feel’ More Real

Tom Carter’s ultrasound technology lets you touch and manipulate virtual objects—attracting interest from Jaguar Land Rover, Harman and dozens of others.

February 3, 2016
Jeremy Kahn

As a student at the University of Bristol, Tom Carter became obsessed with a seemingly impossible notion: letting people feel and manipulate virtual objects. A professor turned him on to an esoteric concept—using ultrasound to simulate tactile sensations—that was floated and abandoned back in the 1970s.… read more. “Ultrahaptics lets you touch and manipulate virtual objects”

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Call: 2nd Immersive Learning Research Network Conference – iLRN 2016

Call for Papers

iLRN 2016: The 2nd Annual International Conference of the Immersive Learning Research Network
June 27 – July 1
Santa Barbara, California

Full details: http://immersivelrn.org/ilrn2016/

Do you research games in education or other kinds of immersive learning?

We invite you to submit a proposal to present at the Immersive Learning (iLRN) conference in Santa Barbara, CA to be held from June 27th to July 1st – an intensive interdisciplinary collaboration to dialogue and action on this rapidly growing research and development space.

Topics of interest in the context of immersive environments for the main conference include:

  • Immersive Technologies, Systems and Devices
  • Natural and Built Environments as Immersive Learning Spaces
  • Cognitive and Pedagogical Analysis
  • Learning and Training Applications
  • Non­-leisure Games and Gamification
  • A Glance into the Future: Innovations, Challenges and Applications
  • Games and Entertainment
  • Art and Creativity
  • Cultural Heritage

Special Tracks include:… read more. “Call: 2nd Immersive Learning Research Network Conference – iLRN 2016”

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Our evolving relationships with robots: Julie Carpenter on culture and HRI in militarized (and other) spaces

[The interview below from Forbes (where it features more images) is a very thoughtful discussion of social presence – primarily in response to independent robots (‘medium as social actor’ presence) but also to teleoperated ones that act as extensions of users. Note that the term presence appears once near the end. Fascinating, important stuff! –Matthew]

Culture and Human-Robot Interaction In Militarized Spaces - cover

Relationships with Robots: Good or Bad for Humans?

Patrick Lin
Feb 1, 2016

As robotics and autonomous systems flourish, human-robot relationships are becoming increasingly important. They’re how we interact and control the technology, from self-driving cars to sex robots.

The way technologies are designed can solve or create new problems. For example, by making robots look like humans or cute animals, we may develop emotional affinity toward the machines. This could help promote trust with users—but perhaps also overtrust? Could we become co-dependent and be overattached to robots, causing a problem when they’re not around?… read more. “Our evolving relationships with robots: Julie Carpenter on culture and HRI in militarized (and other) spaces”

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