ISPR Presence News

Monthly Archives: September 2020

Call: Virtual entities in science: A virtual workshop

Call for Abstracts

Virtual entities in science: A virtual workshop
5, 12, and 19 March 2021
Online Conference
Germany
https://indico.cern.ch/event/951512/page/20902-call-for-abstracts

Submission deadline: 15 November 2020

Not only since the sudden increase of online communication due to the COVID-19 situation has the concept of the “virtual” made its way into everyday language. In this context, it mostly denotes a digital substitute of a real object or process. “Virtual reality” is perhaps the best known term in this respect.

With these digital connotations, “virtuality” has been used also in science and research: Chemists use virtual laboratories, biologists do virtual scanning of molecular structures, and geologists engage in virtual field trips.

But the concept of the “virtual” has a much longer tradition, dating back to long before the dawn of the digital age. Virtual displacements and virtual images were introduced in classical physics already in the 18th century.… read more. “Call: Virtual entities in science: A virtual workshop”

Posted in Calls | Leave a comment

The rise of the virtual in the fashion world

[This story from Coveteur is a whirlwind tour of the increasingly blurred line between the physical and virtual in (especially the luxury) fashion world, encouraged in part by the pandemic; see the original version for two images and a video. –Matthew]

[Image: Credit: Instagram/@hanifaofficial]

IS VIRTUAL REALITY FASHION’S NEXT FRONTIER?

Marc Jacobs and Sandy Liang seem to think so.

By Sara Radin
September 29, 2020

Alongside the rise of CGI influencers including Lil Miquela, Bermuda, Shudu, and Imma, fashion brands have started making virtual clothes. For a few years now, cutting-edge designers at the forefront of the movement, such as The Fabricant, Happy99, Carlings, and Cat Taylor (DIGI-GAL), have been pushing the boundaries on what is tangible, creating virtual items that are rendered on real or hyperreal bodies. It’s a concept that very well may be the biggest fashion trend of 2020—apart from sweatsuits.… read more. “The rise of the virtual in the fashion world”

Posted in Presence in the News | Leave a comment

Call: First International Workshop on Cross-Reality Interaction at ACM ISS 2020

Call for Papers

First International Workshop on Cross-Reality Interaction
At ACM ISS 2020, 14th ACM conference on Interactive Surfaces and Spaces
November 8-11, 2020
Lisbon, Portugal (ALL VIRTUAL)
https://xr.famnit.upr.si/

Deadline for submissions: October 7, 2020

The 14th ACM conference on Interactive Surfaces and Spaces (ACM ISS 2020) is taking place from November 8 to 11 in all virtual conference mode. As part of the conference we organize the first International Workshop on Cross-Reality Interaction.

You are invited to submit a position or work-in-progress paper (2-4 pages, single column) to the first international workshop on Cross-Reality (XR) Interaction that describes the usage and transition between different systems on the reality-virtuality continuum (e.g. from reality to augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR)) or concurrent usage of multiple systems on this continuum for collaborative purposes. We invite you to make submissions relating to the workshop topic or any of the following themes:

  • XR conceptual models and design principles
  • Interaction, transition, and visualization or perception techniques
  • Real-world tool use and tangibles as input to XR systems
  • Collaboration across the reality-virtuality continuum
  • Input and output devices
  • Use cases in, e.g.,
read more. “Call: First International Workshop on Cross-Reality Interaction at ACM ISS 2020”
Posted in Calls | Leave a comment

Talking robots could be used to combat loneliness and boost mental health in care homes

[In this CNN story about an ambitious study of the effects of interacting with a robot, the executive director of Britain’s National Care Forum is quoted as saying the results do “of course, challenge our understanding of care as a purely human to human interaction.’” The original story includes a 6:10 minute video and some additional details are provided in other coverage.

The Guardian includes this:

“The wheeled robots, called ‘Pepper’, move independently and gesture with robotic arms and hands and are designed to be ‘culturally competent’, which means that after some initial programming they learn about the interests and backgrounds of care home residents. This allows them to initiate rudimentary conversations, play residents’ favourite music, teach them languages, and offer practical help including medicine reminders.”

“The robots’ limitations centred on their conversations feeling superficial and lacking ‘richness’, users said. They lacked personalisation and sometimes did not show enough cultural awareness, and their head movements and hand gestures were sometimes distracting.”… read more. “Talking robots could be used to combat loneliness and boost mental health in care homes”

Posted in Presence in the News | Leave a comment

Call: “Intelligent Control of Mobile Robotics” special issue of Electronics

Call for Papers

Electronics: Special Issue on “Intelligent Control of Mobile Robotics”
Full call at: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/electronics/special_issues/mobile_robotics_control

Deadline for paper submission: May 31, 2021

Dear colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to submit contributions to a special issue on “Intelligent Control of Mobile Robotics” to be published in Electronics.

Since the first experiments with Shakey at the Artificial Intelligence Center of Stanford Robotics Institute, the Artificial Intelligence and Robotics fields have been intimately connected. Several movies ranging from Fritz Lang’s Metropolis to Alex Garland’s Ex Machina have helped to cement this tie in the collective imagination. Indeed, the two are often seen as a single field: All robots are intelligent, and all intelligent devices are robots.

Such integration, however, has shown to be quite challenging, leading AI and Robotics to be developed as distinct research lines. Indeed, in real practice, and despite some early attempts to put them together, these two fields have worked in isolation for many years.… read more. “Call: “Intelligent Control of Mobile Robotics” special issue of Electronics”

Posted in Calls | Leave a comment

First-person report: Working out in virtual reality, I vanquish my limited self

[Here’s an interesting, and toward the end a bit philosophical, first-person report about the experience of using a virtual reality fitness program. It’s from The Cut’s Hot Bod, “a weekly exploration of fitness culture and its adjacent oddities.” Follow the first two links for videos, and for more see April 2020 interviews with the Supernatural trainers in a post on the Oculus blog and a July 2020 review from Mashable. –Matthew]

[Image: Source: Mashable]

Working Out in Virtual Reality, I Vanquish My Limited Self

By Maggie Lange
September 25, 2020

I’ve reached a stage of mourning I never thought would happen: longing for the boring four walls of my old gym and aerobic studios with their kicky graffiti. What I wouldn’t give now to be annoyed with their girl-boss propaganda as I fake a push-up. The feeling is half yearning, half anywhere-but-here desperation.… read more. “First-person report: Working out in virtual reality, I vanquish my limited self”

Posted in Presence in the News | Leave a comment

Call: ICTeSSH 2021: International Conference on Information-Communication Technologies enhanced Social Sciences and Humanities

Call for Papers

ICTeSSH 2021: International Conference on Information-Communication Technologies enhanced Social Sciences and Humanities
Online
June 28th – 30th, 2021
https://ictessh.uns.ac.rs/call-for-papers/

Deadline for abstract submission: December 1st, 2020

SSH researchers should be awakened to the huge possibilities and avenues for research based on ICT. The future of science is about multidisciplinary collaboration and applying new technologies. ICT tools for SSH researchers already exist, such as research-oriented social networking sites and tools to support scientific research, to manage labs and data, and to enable better communication. These tools could change the way SSH researchers carry out research, collaborate, disseminate and evaluate research outputs. The International Conference on Information-communication technologies enhanced Social Sciences and Humanities (ICTeSSH) is a three day annual conference where stakeholders come together for an open discussion to talk about the changing research ecosystem in SSH fields in the digital age due to the extremely fast development of ICT.… read more. “Call: ICTeSSH 2021: International Conference on Information-Communication Technologies enhanced Social Sciences and Humanities”

Posted in Calls | Leave a comment

ASU and VR company Dreamscape Immersive partner to bring engaging presence to online classes

[This short story from EdScoop reports on a new, ambitious effort to bring engaging virtual reality experiences to higher education, and includes links to a few similar projects. The original version of the story includes a two-minute video (also available via YouTube) and the press release is available from No Proscenium. –Matthew]

Arizona State launches virtual wildlife sanctuary for biology students

By Betsy Foresman
September 24, 2020

Arizona State University has begun developing new immersive locales using virtual reality, starting with a virtual wildlife sanctuary for biology students.

Through a partnership announced last week with the virtual reality company Dreamscape Immersive, ASU leaders said they aim to make online classes more engaging, creating an immersive educational experience for students while they are learning remotely during the pandemic. Starting with introductory biology, and eventually expanding to more courses, the tools are designed to allow students to explore and engage with virtual worlds as an avatar in a game-like learning system.… read more. “ASU and VR company Dreamscape Immersive partner to bring engaging presence to online classes”

Posted in Presence in the News | Leave a comment

Call: “Pedagogical Approaches, Ludic and Co-Design Strategies & Tools supporting Smart Learning Ecosystems and Smart Education” for IxD&A Journal

Call for Papers

Special Issue on
Pedagogical Approaches, Ludic and Co-Design Strategies & Tools supporting Smart Learning Ecosystems and Smart Education
to be published at the
Interaction Design and Architecture(s) Journal (IxD&A)

(ISSN 1826-9745, eISSN 2283-2998)

IxD&A implements the Gold Open Access (OA) road to its contents with no charge to the authors (submission & paper processing). Help us in improving the quality of the editorial process and of the journal, please donate:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=5EUX7CQ3GKSSG

CFP: http://ixdea.uniroma2.it/inevent/events/idea2010/index.php?s=102&link=call47

Guest editors:

  • Óscar Mealha, University of Aveiro, Portugal
  • Matthias Rehm, Aalborg University, Denmark
  • Traian Rebedea, University Politehnica of Bucharest, Romania

Important dates:

  • Deadline: December 21, 2020
  • Notification to the authors: January 20, 2021
  • Camera ready paper: February 10, 2021
  • Publication of the special issue: end February, 2021

OVERVIEW

The guest editors and the ASLERD Association are proud to invite and welcome contributions from researchers and practitioners that foster the development of smart learning ecosystems and smart education to help learning places to recover their central role in the education of future citizens, and in the promotion of social innovation and territorial development.… read more. “Call: “Pedagogical Approaches, Ludic and Co-Design Strategies & Tools supporting Smart Learning Ecosystems and Smart Education” for IxD&A Journal”

Posted in Calls | Leave a comment

Using MS HoloLenses to recreate busy trading floors at home during and after pandemic

[The Financial Times reports on new and earlier efforts to use presence-evoking technology to recreate the experience of busy trading floors; follow the link in the image description for a 3:42 minute video and see the story “Extended Reality offers financial services huge opportunities“ from Consultancy.uk for related information. –Matthew]

[Image: Citigroup’s augmented reality workstation, combining 3D holograms and real-time financial data. The bank developed the system four years ago but never implemented it. Credit: Citigroup video via YouTube.]

Traders set to don virtual reality headsets in their home offices

UBS looks at recreating busy trading floors with London VR experiment for homeworkers

Owen Walker, European Banking Correspondent
September 18, 2020

Spare bedrooms and living rooms could soon become part of vibrant trading floors as one of the world’s biggest investment banks considers providing staff with augmented reality headsets.… read more. “Using MS HoloLenses to recreate busy trading floors at home during and after pandemic”

Posted in Presence in the News | Leave a comment
  • Find Researchers

    Use the links below to find researchers listed alphabetically by the first letter of their last name.

    A | B | C | D | E | F| G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z