ISPR Presence News

Monthly Archives: February 2020

Call: ICTS4eHealth 2020 – IEEE International Workshop on ICT Solutions for e-Health

Call for Papers

ICTS4eHealth 2020 – 5th edition of the IEEE International Workshop on ICT Solutions for e-Health
In conjunction with the Twenty-Fifth IEEE Symposium on Computers and Communications (ISCC)
Rennes, France
July 7th, 2020
http://icts4ehealth.icar.cnr.it

Submission deadline: April 25th, 2020

MISSION:

e-Health is one of the major research topics that have been attracting cross-disciplinary research groups. The deployment of new emerging ICT technologies for Health, especially based on Cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT), and Computational Intelligence, is attracting the interest of many researchers.

The use of Cloud computing, IoT technologies, and methods typical of Soft Computing and Computational Intelligence have been very prominent recently and can be of great help in finding good solutions to many practical healthcare applications.

For instance, health monitoring, health data storage, health data collection, mobile health, pervasive health, healthcare monitoring, telemedicine, context-aware computing, ubiquitous computing, processing health data in the cloud, securing health data in the cloud and Assistive Technology (AT) are areas of interest that are being addressed using cloud computing and IoT techniques.… read more. “Call: ICTS4eHealth 2020 – IEEE International Workshop on ICT Solutions for e-Health”

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Givaudan’s Virtual TasteTrek recreates sights, sounds and smells of UCR citrus groves

[I’m always looking for interesting new applications of presence to share here, and this one definitely qualifies (plus it involves my undergraduate alma mater). The story is from the University of California, Riverside’s Inside UCR and is followed by more details from the website of Groove Jones, the creator of the Virtual TasteTrek Citrus experience. The Givaudan website includes even more information and features a 2:31 minute promotional video and a 3:47 minute 360 degree interactive video (also available via YouTube here and here). –Matthew]

Givaudan brings its Virtual Taste Trek to Riverside

Virtual reality goggles and scent tubes recreate a stroll through UCR’s citrus groves

Holly Ober
February 11, 2020

Imagine enjoying the sights and scents of a springtime stroll across the UC Riverside campus and through the Givaudan Citrus Variety Collection, except you’re sitting at a desk.… read more. “Givaudan’s Virtual TasteTrek recreates sights, sounds and smells of UCR citrus groves”

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Call: Morality Play 2020 at DiGRA 2020

Call for Papers

Morality Play 2020 @ DiGRA 2020
June 2, 2020
Tampere, Finland
https://moralityplay.org/2020/01/06/cfp-morality-play-2020-digra-2020/

Extended deadline for submissions: 3 April, 2020

The Morality Play workshop (first held at FDG/DiGRA 2016) will return to DiGRA 2020 this June. We are calling for short or long papers dealing with themes of empathy and ethics in games and play.

Moral questions have always been a cornerstone of art. Many of our greatest dramas hinge on our struggles to decide between right and wrong and to put those decisions into effect, both on the grand stage and in intimate relationships. Games are no exception, with titles such as Disco Elysium, Frostpunk and Bloodborne offering unique opportunities to explore difficult questions of morality first-hand.

Moral themes can also be explored for advocacy and education, with games allowing us to practise the skills of ethical decision-making in a safe and controlled environment.… read more. “Call: Morality Play 2020 at DiGRA 2020”

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Presence-evoking technologies and the Coronavirus

[The story below from The New York Times explores how some of today’s technologies provide a strong sense of social connection for people in quarantine due to the Coronovirus; see the original version for more images and a sidebar about the virus. For more on the value of presence-evoking technologies as the virus spreads, see these stories:

–Matthew]

[Image: A passenger on the balcony of the cruise ship Diamond Princess, which is quarantined off the Japanese port of Yokohama. A number of people onboard have contracted the coronavirus. Credit: Carl Court/Getty Images.]

Video Chats and Ordering In: Coronavirus Quarantine With a Smartphone

This is not your grandmother’s quarantine.read more. “Presence-evoking technologies and the Coronavirus”

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Call: Me and AI 2020 – 1st Interdisciplinary Conference on Artificial and Augmented Intelligence

[Note: Much more information is on the conference website, although registration costs don’t seem to be easily accessible. –ML]

Call for Participation

Me and AI 2020
1st Interdisciplinary Conference on Artificial and Augmented Intelligence
Athens, Greece
30th March – 2nd April, 2020
http://www.meandai.gr

The NKUA Applied Philosophy Research Laboratory in cooperation with the Hellenic Artificial Intelligence Society (EETN) organizes the 1st Interdisciplinary Conference on Artificial and Augmented Intelligence and the ways it is expected to affect us in the near and distant future.

The conference aims to highlight aspects related to the ethical, legal, political, social and economic dimensions of the use of innovative intelligence technologies in daily life.

The central event will take place at the renovated Gasholder 1 – Amphitheatre “Miltiadis Evert” at the Technopolis City of Athens (Pireos str. 100, 11854 Gazi) from the 30th to the 31st of March 2020, while side events will continue on the 1st and 2nd of April, 2020 in the same venue, as part of the Athens Science Festival 2020.… read more. “Call: Me and AI 2020 – 1st Interdisciplinary Conference on Artificial and Augmented Intelligence”

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Immersive Museum in Tokyo is turning Impressionist paintings into digital art installations

[This short piece from TimeOut Tokyo provides information about a touring exhibition that uses floor-to-ceiling projections and corresponding sounds to immerse visitors in the paintings of Claude Monet and other Impressionists. See the original version for four different images. For more information see the website for the Florence version of the exhibition and the 3:15 minute Monet Experience Official Trailer via YouTube, and the website for the current version of the exhibition in Brussels and a 4:15 minute video visit. A 2018 post in ISPR Presence News describes an immersive VR exploration of Monet’s ‘Water Lilies.’ –Matthew]

[Image: Screenshot graphic from the Immersive Museum website.]

Immersive Museum in Tennozu is turning Monet’s Water Lilies into digital art installations

By Emma Steen
February 18 2020

Some paintings are so beautiful you just want to walk straight into them – and soon you’ll be able to do just that.… read more. “Immersive Museum in Tokyo is turning Impressionist paintings into digital art installations”

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Jobs: PhD, Postdoc and faculty positions in the Exertion Games Lab at Monash University

More and more openings: PhD, Post-Doc (Research Fellow) and Lecturer/Senior Lecturer (tenure, ongoing) openings (HCI, Interaction Design)
The Exertion Games Lab
Monash University
Melbourne, Australia
https://exertiongameslab.org/phd-post-doc-and-lecturer-senior-lecturer-tenure-openings

Application deadline: 2nd March 2020 or until positions are filled

The Exertion Games Lab (exertiongameslab.org) at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, is seeking exceptional PhD, Post-Doc (Research Fellow, fixed-term, research-only) and Lecturer/Senior Lecturer (ongoing academic position, like tenured in other countries) candidates to research novel interfaces around digital play.

The Exertion Games Lab, directed by Prof. Florian ‘Floyd’ Mueller (general co-chair of CHI 2020), researches the future of interfaces for playful experiences. Our research is focused on the merging of play, technology and the active human body, drawing from research streams such as interaction design, human-computer interaction and computer games research. We publish mostly at CHI, CHI PLAY, DIS, TEI, Ubicomp (IMWUT), and UIST.… read more. “Jobs: PhD, Postdoc and faculty positions in the Exertion Games Lab at Monash University”

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“Alexa 2-in-1 Kitchen and Market” incorporates the voice assistant for children’s play and learning

[Raising questions about the nature (and potentially the ethics) of children’s presence experiences, a new product for young children utilizes Alexa in the ‘pretend’ play, as reported in this story from CNET. See the original version for a second image, a 0:40 minute promotional video and a 6:03 minute first-look video from the New York Toy Fair. –Matthew]

[Image: KidKraft makes the Alexa 2-in-1 Kitchen and Market, a $300 play set that interacts with the Amazon Alexa voice assistant (Echo not included). Credit: KidKraft.]

The first Alexa toy is a $300 kitchen for kids, packed with dad jokes

We check out a prototype at New York Toy Fair to see how Amazon’s voice assistant plays with preschoolers.

By Bridget Carey
February 22, 2020

Kids can play with Alexa in their very own $300 pretend kitchen and grocery store, with the Amazon voice assistant dishing out cooking advice, shopping help and plenty of goofy toddler humor.… read more. ““Alexa 2-in-1 Kitchen and Market” incorporates the voice assistant for children’s play and learning”

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Call: “Technology and the Future of the Home” Colloquium

Call for Papers

Technology and the Future of the Home
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Rolla, Missouri, USA
November 5 – 6, 2020

Keynote Speaker: Diane Michelfelder, Macalester College

Abstract submission deadline: June 15, 2020

Research on how we conceptualize the home is increasing across the academy. However, studies about how technology challenges our conceptualization of the home require focus. The purpose of this colloquium is to develop and advance such conversations. Although submissions that interpret the home are welcome, abstracts focused on guiding its development to create a better world are highly encouraged. All disciplinary backgrounds and approaches are welcome. The scope of topics is open, but some motivational lines of inquiry include how the future of the home intersects with the following areas:

  • Smart Cities
  • Digital Divide
  • Interior Design
  • Future Meanings
  • Food Sovereignty
  • IoT in the Home
  • Universal Design
  • Alternative Housing
  • Zoning and Regulations
  • Disability Considerations
  • Architectural Inspirations
  • Implementation Subsidies
  • The Home as an Ecosystem
  • Challenges to Existing Infrastructure
  • Generational Differences and Challenges
  • Cohousing, Ecovillages and Intentional Communities

There is no registration fee.… read more. “Call: “Technology and the Future of the Home” Colloquium”

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New U.S. clinics use telehealth to bring VR treatments to the patient’s home

[mHealthIntelligence reports on a new effort to expand the use of virtual reality and presence to medical treatment at home. For more information see coverage in VRWorldTech Magazine: Issue 2, XRHealth videos on YouTube, and a related second mHealthIntelligence story. –Matthew]

[Image: Graphic screenshot from XRHealth – Smarter Tools for Smarter Recoveries video via YouTube.]

New Clinics Use Telehealth to Bring VR Treatments to the Patient’s Home

This March, payers and care providers in eight states and the District of Columbia will be able to prescribe VR therapy through a telehealth clinic, giving patients the chance to receive treatment at home.

By Eric Wicklund
February 20, 2020

Healthcare providers and payers in eight states and the District of Columbia will soon be able to prescribe VR therapy through a telehealth clinic, giving patients an opportunity to use the digital health technology at home for remote patient care.… read more. “New U.S. clinics use telehealth to bring VR treatments to the patient’s home”

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