ISPR Presence News

Monthly Archives: February 2019

Live action View-Master movie in the works

[According to The Hollywood Reporter, a classic presence-evoking technology is set to be the basis of a new live action film (!).  –Matthew]

[Image: Credit: Fisher-Price via Getty Images]

View-Master Movie In the Works at MGM and Mattel Films (Exclusive)

The deal signifies the latest toy marked for development as part of Mattel’s new push into screen entertainment.

February 27, 2019
By Borys Kit

MGM and Mattel are partnering up to develop a live-action feature film based on the toy entertainment company’s classic View-Master toy line.

Mattel Films, the feature arm launched late last year by the El Segundo-based toymaker, and MGM will co-produce the film. Robbie Brenner, Mattel’s head of film, and Cassidy Lange, MGM’s co-president of production, will oversee development.

No writer or filmmaker is attached.

View-Master, a stereoscopic eye device, launched at 1939 New York World’s Fair, bringing 3D images of tourist attractions to the masses.… read more. “Live action View-Master movie in the works”

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Presence for good: Check Your Blind Spots mobile interactive VR exhibit addressing unconscious bias

[Especially with everything going on in the political sphere today I think it’s wonderful that an organization is using presence to encourage people to recognize their unconscious biases and increase empathy and sensitivity in their interactions with others. The CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion’s Check Your Blind Spots mobile exhibit is on a 100 city tour around the U.S., making stops at campuses and workplaces. The story below from CNET is from the recent stop at CES (the Consumer Electronics Show); a story from the Wake Forest University stop is available in the Old Gold & Black student paper; and for much more information (including a video and many photos) see the tour’s website. –Matthew]

CES 2019: Interactive VR exhibit encourages diversity and inclusion by addressing unconscious bias

This interactive exhibit digitally puts you in another person’s shoes to become more mindful about how you treat other people.read more. “Presence for good: Check Your Blind Spots mobile interactive VR exhibit addressing unconscious bias”

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Call: IEEE Games Entertainment and Media (GEM) 2019

Call for Papers / Projects / Artworks / Performances

IEEE Games Entertainment and Media (GEM) 2019
June 18-22, 2019
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
https://www.ieee-gem.space/

Extended deadline: March 10, 2019

Continuing the grand tradition & broadening the scope of the IEEE International Games Innovation Conference (IGIC, 2009 – 2013), IEEE Games Entertainment & Media (GEM, 2014 – 2016), and last year’s event held at the National University of Ireland Galway, we are excited to announce the 2019 IEEE GEM conference will be hosted at the Center for Collaborative Arts and Media, at Yale University. This year’s conference will include a new platform for the exhibition of performances and experiences that utilize the emerging fields of Motion Capture, Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality with a particular emphasis on pedagogy in these areas.

IEEE Games Entertainment and Media 2019 is continuing to accept papers, projects, and artworks.… read more. “Call: IEEE Games Entertainment and Media (GEM) 2019”

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Virtual staging to sell homes is on the rise, raising ethical questions

[Instead of “staging” an empty home with actual furnishings to make it more appealing to potential buyers, why not just alter photos of the empty spaces to create the illusion of a furnished home? The Houston Chronicle reports that the trend is on the rise, but also raising interesting ethical issues regarding its potential for deception. See the original story for five more images. If it’s not already widespread, I assume the next evolution of virtual staging will involve interactive photo-realistic versions of the staged spaces experienced via VR and AR. –Matthew]

[Image: Emily Walling, a TK Images virtual stager and client relations manager, explains how she makes decisions to successfully use digital techniques to virtually furnish a property, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019, in Houston. CREDIT: Marie D. De Jesús, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer.]

Picture yourself here: Virtual staging on the rise

R.A.read more. “Virtual staging to sell homes is on the rise, raising ethical questions”

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Call: Doctoral Workshop in Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality spectrum at iLRN 2019

Call for Participation

W1. Doctoral Workshop in Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality spectrum
An iLRN 2019 Doctoral Workshop
At the 5th Annual International Conference of the Immersive Learning Research Network (iLRN2019)
London, 24th of June 2019
https://immersivelrn.org/ilrn2019/workshops/

Deadline for 4 pages paper submission: 1st of March (extended)

This iLRN 2019 Doctoral Workshop (is part of the 5th Annual International Conference of the Immersive Learning Research Network (iLRN2019) and provides a platform for doctoral students undertaking research on various aspects of immersive learning, innovation in technology (Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality spectrum) to assist education and emerging theoretical models to assist technology driven forms of education. The workshop offers doctoral students an opportunity to:

  • share and develop their research ideas in a supportive environment;
  • obtain feedback from mentors who are senior academics and established researchers;
  • explore issues related to academic and research careers; and
  • build relationships within the broader academic community from around the world.
read more. “Call: Doctoral Workshop in Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality spectrum at iLRN 2019”
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Cornell study probes effect of virtual reality on learning

[Our colleague Andrea Stevenson Won is one of the authors of a new study on the potential roles of VR in learning, as described in this story from the Cornell Chronicle (where the original version includes an additional picture). –Matthew]

[Image: Jack Madden, doctoral candidate in the field of astronomy, watches as Andrea Stevenson Won, assistant professor of communication and director of the Virtual Embodiment Lab, uses a virtual reality simulator.]

Study probes effect of virtual reality on learning

By Linda B. Glaser
February 5, 2019

Picture yourself in a virtual reality simulator, atop the spinning Earth, the moon and all its phases just beyond, the stars surrounding you in glorious 3D. In this simulation, you have no body; there’s nothing between you and the universe but light saber-like controls shining in front of you – and a set of quiz questions.… read more. “Cornell study probes effect of virtual reality on learning”

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Call: CONTEXT 2019 – 11th International and Interdisciplinary Conference on Modeling and Using Context

Call for Papers

CONTEXT 2019
11th International and Interdisciplinary Conference on Modeling and Using Context
8-11 September 2019
Trento, Italy
http://context19.disi.unitn.it/

First submission deadline: 15 April 2019

The CONTEXT conference series has brought together researchers and practitioners from a wide range of disciplines and industries to present their work related to issues of context, contextual reasoning and context-awareness to discuss commonalities and diversities in the different disciplinary approaches. It is unique in focusing on context as a subject of study in its own right, and it has become one of the top venues for context-related research.

CONTEXT 2019 is the 11th conference in the series and takes place in the wonderful region of Trento, where 20 years ago the international conference was held after the pioneering launch event in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in 1997. As in the tradition of the series, submissions are invited from a wide range of disciplines, including artificial intelligence, computer science, context-aware applications, ubiquitous computing, cognitive science and psychology, social and organizational sciences, linguistics, philosophy, and various application areas, including (but not limited to) finance, medicine & healthcare, virtual and augmented reality, food, sport, business intelligence, big data analytics, education & e-learning, law.… read more. “Call: CONTEXT 2019 – 11th International and Interdisciplinary Conference on Modeling and Using Context”

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Evolving presence tech: The HoloLens 2 and beyond

[CNET has comprehensive coverage of Microsoft’s new Hololens 2 and where it fits in the evolution of technology that creates mixed reality presence illusions; the overview story below includes links to the other coverage along with 3 extended videos and several more images. –Matthew]

[Image: Credit: James Martin/CNET]

HoloLens 2 announced for $3,500, available to preorder now, ships later this year

Here’s everything you need to know about Microsoft’s next-generation mixed reality headsets.

By Ian Sherr, Scott Stein
February 25, 2019

Comfort, better visuals, easier to use with your hands. That’s the takeaway from HoloLens 2, Microsoft’s follow-up to the Space Age goggles it announced four years ago. The technology behind the $3,500 HoloLens 2 device, which Microsoft calls “mixed reality,” overlays computer images on the real world. Imagine arrows directing you down the street as you walk, or repair instructions floating over a machine as you fix it.… read more. “Evolving presence tech: The HoloLens 2 and beyond”

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Call: 25th ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology (VRST 2019)

Call for Papers, Abstracts, Demos, and Posters

VRST 2019: 25th Annual ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology
Sydney, Australia
12 November to 15 November 2019
https://vrst.acm.org/vrst2019/

Submission deadlines:
Papers and abstracts: 19 July 2019
Posters and Demos: 15 August 2019

Dear Colleagues

Western Sydney University invites you to submit papers, abstracts, demos, and posters for the 25th Annual ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology (VRST 2019).

VRST 2019 is the premier international symposium for the presentation of new research results, systems, and techniques among researchers and developers concerned with Augmented, Virtual and Mixed Reality software and technology.

For the 25th silver anniversary of the conference, this year VRST 2019 will be hosted by Western Sydney University in Sydney, Australia, from 12 November to 15 November 2019. VRST 2019 is sponsored by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), SIGCHI, and SIGGRAPH.… read more. “Call: 25th ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology (VRST 2019)”

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Viral presence: ‘Pretending to fly’ challenge takes off

[Here’s an amusing story from the Daily Mail about a viral DIY presence challenge; the original version includes more examples and a 0:54 minute video, and another 0:58 minute video is available on YouTube. –Matthew]

[Image: Source: New York Post]

Viral challenge sees people using plastic bottles and toilet seats to pretend they are travelling on a plane and looking out the window

  • ‘Fake plane ride’ challenge sees people using random objects to create illusion
  • People use detergent bottles, teapots and toilet seats to mimic aircraft windows
  • Thousands of hilarious clips began circulating online during the Lunar New Year

By Kelsey Cheng for Mailonline
13 February 2019

A new viral challenge in China has seen cash-strapped net users pretending to be travelling on planes in an attempt to fool their friends and family.

Using various household items as props to mimic aircraft windows, the ‘fake plane ride’ challenge involves participants creating the illusion that they’re flying 30,000 feet in the air and having the time of their lives.… read more. “Viral presence: ‘Pretending to fly’ challenge takes off”

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