ISPR Presence News

Monthly Archives: February 2019

Call: 2nd ACM PETRA Workshop on Social Robots: A Workshop on the Past, the Present and the Future of Digital Companions

Call for Papers

The Second ACM PETRA Workshop on Social Robots: A Workshop on the Past, the Present and the Future of Digital Companions
At PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments (PETRA) 2019
Rhodes, Greece
June 5-7, 2019
http://www.petrae.org/workshops/socialrobots.html

Submission deadline: February 25, 2019

Social robots not only work with humans in collaborative workspaces but also follow us into much more personal settings like home and health care. Does this imply that social robots should be able to interpret and adequately respond to human emotions? Should they simulate emotions?

The workshop covers the phenomenon of social robots from the historic roots over today’s best practices to future perspectives. Thus, it is interdisciplinary: we welcome contributions not only from computer scientists, but also researchers from disciplines like psychology, medicine, law, history, and the arts and humanities.

DEADLINE: February 25, 2019

PUBLICATION: The workshop papers will be part of the PETRA proceedings published in the ACM Digital Library.… read more. “Call: 2nd ACM PETRA Workshop on Social Robots: A Workshop on the Past, the Present and the Future of Digital Companions”

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GIBLIB: First VR app and accredited degree program based on virtual live and recorded operating room experiences

[GIBLIB is advancing the use of presence experiences for surgical education. The company‘s press release below announcing the first VR app for live OR experiences is followed by a Cedars-Sinai story about the medical center’s first accredited continuing medical education course filmed in VR. See Medgadget for an interview with the company’s CEO. –Matthew]

[Image: Source: Medgadget]

GIBLIB Launches First VR App for Live Operating Room Experiences through the Oculus Store

Emulates Real Surgeries For Medical Students and Practicing Physicians To Learn the Latest Surgical Techniques in 360-degree Virtual Reality

On January 29, 2018 – GIBLIB, the streaming media platform offering the largest library of on-demand medical lectures and surgical videos in 4K and 360-degree virtual reality, today announced the launch of the first VR app for an immersive operating room experience to enhance surgical education. Through the app, GIBLIB provides medical students and practicing physicians the most immersive and accessible operating room (OR) experience anywhere, at anytime.… read more. “GIBLIB: First VR app and accredited degree program based on virtual live and recorded operating room experiences”

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Call: “Unifying Human Computer Interaction and Artificial Intelligence” issue of Human-Computer Interaction

Call for Papers:

Special Issue of Human-Computer Interaction:
“Unifying Human Computer Interaction and Artificial Intelligence”
http://showhow.fxpal.com/hcij/publicInfo/cfp_hciai.pdf

Special Issue Editors:
Munmun De Choudhury, Min Kyung Lee, David A. Shamma, and Haiyi Zhu

Timeline:
March 20, 2019: Proposals Due (1,000 words)
June 15, 2019: Full Papers Due

MOTIVATION

Over the past decade, artificial intelligence (AI) has increasingly been deployed across many domains such as transportation, retail, criminal justice, finance and health. But these very domains that AI is aiming to revolutionize may also be where human implications are the most momentous. The potential negative effects of AI on society, whether amplifying human biases or the perils of automation, cannot be ignored and as a result such topics are increasingly discussed in scholarly and popular press contexts. As the New York Times notes: “[…] if we want [AI] to play a positive role in tomorrow’s world, it must be guided by human concerns.”… read more. “Call: “Unifying Human Computer Interaction and Artificial Intelligence” issue of Human-Computer Interaction”

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Spherical display brings virtual collaboration closer to reality

[A new fish tank virtual reality (FTVR) display provides spatial and social presence for multiple users; most press coverage draws on this press release from the University of British Columbia (via EurekAlert!), which includes a 0:37 minute video. Follow the links at the end below for more information. –Matthew]

[Image: Credit: Clare Kiernan, UBC. Source: UBC on Flickr]

Spherical display brings virtual collaboration closer to reality

‘Crystal ball’ supports two or more players working in VR

University of British Columbia
Public release: 19 February 2019

Virtual reality can often make a user feel isolated from the world, with only computer-generated characters for company. But researchers at the University of British Columbia and University of Saskatchewan think they may have found a way to encourage a more sociable virtual reality.

The researchers have developed a ball-shaped VR display that supports up to two users at a time, using advanced calibration and graphics rendering techniques that produce a complete, distortion-free 3D image even when viewed from multiple angles.… read more. “Spherical display brings virtual collaboration closer to reality”

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Call: First IEEE International conference on Humanized Computing and Communication (HCC 2019)

First IEEE International conference on
Humanized Computing and Communication (HCC 2019)
September 25-27, 2019
Laguna Hills, California
https://www.humanizedcomputing.org/

Submission deadline: July 1, 2019

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is concerned with computing technologies that allow machines to move, see, hear, talk, think, learn, behave, and connect like humans. Humanized Computing and Communication (HCC) address the ability of a computer to mimic a human in perception, conversation, behavior, and networking. The huge potential of HCC represents an exciting future for individuals and businesses. In addition, business-business, business-human, and human-human may be interconnected in a revolutionary way to stimulate tremendous amount of interesting activities.

The First IEEE International Conference on Humanized Computing and Communication (HCC 2019) is an international forum for academia and industries to exchange visions and ideas in the state of the art and practice of HCC, as well as to identify the emerging topics and define the future of HCC.… read more. “Call: First IEEE International conference on Humanized Computing and Communication (HCC 2019)”

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The artist is not present: How Marina Abramovic used mixed reality to create a hyper-realistic virtual performance

[Marina Abramović is using mixed reality technology to transform her performance art into what sounds like an interesting presence experience. This story from Artnet describes the project, a review in iNews provides more details, and the press release is available from the Serpentine Galleries. –Matthew]

The Artist Is Not Present: How Marina Abramović Used Mixed Reality to Create a Hyper-realistic Virtual Performance

The artist is using cutting-edge technology to create her new project at the Serpentine Galleries in London.

Naomi Rea
February 18, 2019

Marina Abramović is perhaps most famous for “The Artist Is Present,” her landmark 2010 exhibition at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in which visitors sat across from her in the museum’s atrium for 700 hours.

For her latest project, which kicks off at London’s Serpentine Galleries on February 19, the artist will appear again in a gallery space in a red dress.… read more. “The artist is not present: How Marina Abramovic used mixed reality to create a hyper-realistic virtual performance”

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Call: Adaptive and Personalized Privacy and Security (APPS 2019) – ACM UMAP Workshop

CALL FOR PAPERS

ACM UMAP Workshop – Adaptive and Personalized Privacy and Security (APPS 2019)
The 1st International Workshop on Adaptive and Personalized Privacy and Security
in conjunction with the 27th ACM Conference on User Modeling, Adaptation and Personalization (ACM UMAP 2019)
Larnaca, Cyprus
June 09-12, 2019

Workshop Website: http://appsworkshop.cs.ucy.ac.cy
Paper Submissions: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=apps2019

IMPORTANT DATES

Papers submission deadline: March 13, 2019 (23:59 AoE time)
Notification: March 26, 2019
Camera-ready papers: April 03, 2019

MOTIVATION & GOALS

Millions of users across different continents and countries are daily engaged with privacy and security tasks which are indispensable in modern information systems and services. Such tasks are commonly related to user authentication, human interaction proofs (e.g., captcha), privacy and security pop-up dialogs, setting privacy and security features within online user profiles, etc. Recent privacy and security incidents of famous online services have once more underpinned the necessity towards further investigating and improving current approaches and practices related to the design of efficient and effective privacy and security.… read more. “Call: Adaptive and Personalized Privacy and Security (APPS 2019) – ACM UMAP Workshop”

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Promise and peril: OpenAI researchers create “deepfakes for text”

[This detailed and balanced story from The Verge explains the potential – both positive and dangerous – of a new advancement in artificial intelligence that has received a lot of press coverage. See the original version for a different image and many examples of the new algorithm in action, and see the OpenAI blog for more information. –Matthew]

OpenAI’s New Multitalented AI Writes, Translates, and Slanders

A step forward in AI text-generation that also spells trouble

By James Vincent
February 14, 2019

OpenAI’s researchers knew they were on to something when their language modeling program wrote a convincing essay on a topic they disagreed with. They’d been testing the new AI system by feeding it text prompts, getting it to complete made-up sentences and paragraphs. Then, says David Luan, VP of engineering at the Californian lab, they had the idea of asking it to argue a point they thought was counterintuitive.… read more. “Promise and peril: OpenAI researchers create “deepfakes for text””

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Call: CHI PLAY 2019, 6th ACM SIGCHI Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION

CHI PLAY 2019
6th ACM SIGCHI Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play
Barcelona, Spain
October 22-25, 2019
https://chiplay.acm.org/2019/ | @acmchiplay | #chiplay19

Submission deadlines:

  • April 9, 2019:  Full papers (4-10 pages)
  • May 2, 2019:  Workshop and Course Proposals
  • July 5, 2019:  Rapid Communications Papers, Doctoral Consortium, Student Game Competition, Interactivity, Works-in-Progress, and Workshop Position Papers

CHI PLAY is the international and interdisciplinary conference, sponsored by ACM SIGCHI, for researchers and professionals across all areas of play, games, and human-computer interaction (HCI). We call this area ‘player-computer interaction’. The goal of the CHI PLAY conference is to highlight and foster discussion on high-quality research in games and HCI as a foundation for the future of digital play. To this end, the conference blends academic research papers, interactive play demos, and industry insights. Full paper acceptance rate is typically below 30%.… read more. “Call: CHI PLAY 2019, 6th ACM SIGCHI Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play”

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Friendly nurse or nightmare-inducing machine? How culture programs our taste in robots.

[This Washington Post story uses vivid examples to highlight cultural differences in how people experience medium-as-social-actor presence with robots that provide different sets of social cues. See the original story for two short videos. –Matthew]

[Image: Robots wearing nurse uniforms carry medical documents Wednesday at Mongkutwattana General Hospital in Bangkok. Credit: Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters).]

Friendly nurse or nightmare-inducing machine? How culture programs our taste in robots.

This is Thailand’s idea of an attractive robot. Americans might be terrified.

By Peter Holley
February 7, 2019

Slowly and silently, they glide across the floor wearing bright yellow dresses that look as though they were plucked from a haunted 1920s boarding school.

Beneath shoulder-length brown wigs, two blazing red eyes — each one massive and ghoulish — glare from behind a darkened pane of transparent plastic like a demonic predator lurking in the dark.… read more. “Friendly nurse or nightmare-inducing machine? How culture programs our taste in robots.”

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