ISPR Presence News

Monthly Archives: April 2022

Call: 21st IFIP International Conference on Entertainment Computing (IFIP-ICEC 2022)

Call for Papers

The 21st IFIP International Conference on Entertainment Computing (IFIP-ICEC 2022)
November 1 – 3, 2022
Bremen, Germany [see NOTE below]
http://www.icec2022.eu

Submission deadline: May 10

NOTE – COVID-19 Information: We are fully aware that the situation regarding Covid-19 is a cause for concern. We aim to have the conference onsite, and are confident that this will be possible. However, we will of course carefully monitor the situation and take the necessary action in case of lockdowns or travel restrictions, in order to provide a hybrid or online conference.

The 21st International Federation for Information Processing – International Conference on Entertainment Computing (IFIP-ICEC 2022) will be held in Bremen, Germany, on 1-3 November: The conference is organized by the IFIP TC14 – Entertainment Computing Technical Committee, and will be hosted by BIBA – Bremer Institut für Produktion und Logistik (Bremen, Germany), in association with the University of Bremen.… read more. “Call: 21st IFIP International Conference on Entertainment Computing (IFIP-ICEC 2022)”

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Christie’s uses hologram technology to take a $20m Degas sculpture on tour

[This story from The Art Newspaper describes a clever use of the presence-evoking technology of the company PROTO (previously PORTL) designed to ‘beam’ people into remote locations; see the original story for a video (also available via Instagram) and for earlier coverage of PROTO see the ISPR Presence News posts here and here. In other hologram news, Paramount+ recently projected a 60-foot (“world’s tallest”) animated hologram over four cities to celebrate the success of the HALO franchise; see coverage including images in Mental Floss and Animation Magazine. –Matthew]

[Image: Edgar Degas’s Petite danseuse de quatorze ans as seen through a Proto device. Credit: Christies]

Christie’s uses hologram technology to take a $20m Degas sculpture on tour

The hologram, produced by the Los Angeles-based company Proto, is currently on view at Christie’s San Francisco and will next be transported via the cloud to Hong Kong

By Daniel Cassady
21 April 2022

Among the most tangible consequences of the global pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have been the stark rise in oil prices and the spike in shipping costs.… read more. “Christie’s uses hologram technology to take a $20m Degas sculpture on tour”

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Call: Gaming and Gamers in Times of Pandemic – MIT Press Game Histories Book Series

CALL FOR PAPERS

Gaming and Gamers in Times of Pandemic
Edited by Piotr Siuda, Jakub Majewski & Krzysztof Chmielewski

The editors of this CfP are already in discussion with the MIT Press GAME HISTORIES SERIES editors who enthusiastically voiced support for the collection. The website of the series: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/series/game-histories

Deadline for initial proposals (extended abstracts): May 1, 2022

The Covid-19 pandemic is a historical moment with social, cultural, and economic repercussions and unprecedented government responses. The pandemic has impacted virtually every aspect of our lives regardless of where we live. This volume seeks to examine the impact of this epochal and significant period and resulting government policies, especially the lockdowns, on one particular cultural sphere: games.

In the initial months, many industry reports noted the unexpected positive impact on online digital game sales. Games weren’t just lockdown-proof, but boosted by lockdowns: stay-at-home orders triggered a rush toward games as an alternative form of entertainment, and the ubiquity of mobile phones allowed wider than ever participation.… read more. “Call: Gaming and Gamers in Times of Pandemic – MIT Press Game Histories Book Series”

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IIT’s advanced teleoperation system lets users interact with remote site via new iCub3 robot

[Researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology have demonstrated an impressive system for teleoperation via robot, as described in this story from New Atlas; see the original story for two more pictures and a 3:39 minute video (also available via YouTube). Coverage in IEEE Spectrum notes that the first version of the robot was released in 2008. For much more information see a March 2022 research paper available via arXiv. –Matthew]

[Image: The iCub 3 robot and its operator, prior to the telepresence demo. Credit: IIT]

New iCub 3 biped robot used as a long-distance avatar for its operator

By Ben Coxworth
March 16, 2022

We first heard about the child-like iCub humanoid robot back in 2011, when it was nominated to take part in the Olympic Torch Relay. The latest and greatest version, the iCub 3, was the star of a recently-announced (and pretty impressive) telepresence demonstration.… read more. “IIT’s advanced teleoperation system lets users interact with remote site via new iCub3 robot”

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Call: Joint Conference on Serious Games 2022: (Mixed Reality) Games for Education, Health and Training

CALL FOR PAPERS

JCSG 2022
Joint Conference on Serious Games 2022: (Mixed Reality) Games for Education, Health and Training
Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
Weimar, Germany
Sept. 22nd/23rd 2022
Conference website: https://www.uni-weimar.de/jcsg2022
See also JCSG portal: https://jointconference-on-seriousgames.org/

Paper submission deadline (extended): May 3rd, 2022

Keynotes: Alexander Kulik, Samuli Laato, Anton Nijholt, TBA

CONFERENCE AIM

The Joint Conference Serious Games (JCSG) is dedicated to serious games and its multifaceted characteristics combining game design and game technology with further concepts as well as concepts required in the different serious games application domains. Over the last two decades, the use of serious games in several fields like learning, simulation, training, health, well-being, management, assessment or marketing exploded. We have gained a deeper knowledge on their efficiency and effectiveness, in particular taking into consideration the needs of the digital natives’ generation, and the single or combined use of scientific and creative fields has grown in acceptance.… read more. “Call: Joint Conference on Serious Games 2022: (Mixed Reality) Games for Education, Health and Training”

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Joystick-operated robot could help surgeons treat stroke remotely

[This MIT News story describes an impressive advance in telemedicine, a system that lets surgeons perform life-saving interventions for patients with strokes or aneurysms remotely during the critical period required to save their lives. See the original story for a 3:02 minute video (also available via YouTube). –Matthew]

Joystick-operated robot could help surgeons treat stroke remotely

The system could provide teleoperated endovascular treatment to patients during the critical time window after a stroke begins.

Jennifer Chu, MIT News Office
April 13, 2022

MIT engineers have developed a telerobotic system to help surgeons quickly and remotely treat patients experiencing a stroke or aneurysm. With a modified joystick, surgeons in one hospital may control a robotic arm at another location to safely operate on a patient during a critical window of time that could save the patient’s life and preserve their brain function.… read more. “Joystick-operated robot could help surgeons treat stroke remotely”

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Call: Virtual Reality as a Research Tool – Free online April 28

Call for Participation

Virtual Reality as a Research Tool
By Yale Blended Reality Applied Research Project
Thursday April 28, 2022
1:00 PM – 2:30 PM EDT
Online
Free – Register at EventBrite:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/virtual-reality-as-a-research-tool-tickets-317166612877

Learn how researchers are using virtual reality (VR) technologies to build test environments that immerse subjects into a research scenario.

ABOUT THIS EVENT

Virtual Reality (VR) technology provides researchers with tools to rapidly prototype test environments that immerse subjects into an experience, while providing data on eye gaze, pupil dilation and other reactive measures. The ability to rapidly iterate scenarios without the limitations of managing a physical location offers new ways to think about the design of a research study. Costs and capabilities of VR equipment and authoring tools are rapidly improving, bringing these technologies within reach for research teams. During this 90-minute session researchers from Yale, Syracuse University and HP will discuss VR platforms for research and provide practical examples to help attendees understand how to incorporate VR into their own research designs.… read more. “Call: Virtual Reality as a Research Tool – Free online April 28”

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VR (and presence) in recruiting, hiring: Current adoption, future potential

[This TechTarget story reports on current and future uses of presence-evoking virtual reality in the recruitment and hiring of new employees, including the benefits for both employer and candidates. –Matthew]

[Image: A visitor to the Army Marketing and Engagement Brigade gets acquainted with virtual reality tech in one of the unit’s display vehicles.]

VR in recruiting, hiring: Current adoption, future potential

Virtual reality has the potential to help employers with aspects of hiring and recruiting like skills evaluations. Learn how the technology could improve the candidate experience.

By Mary K. Pratt
15 Apr 2022

While integrating virtual reality into the recruiting process is still in its early stages, VR’s ability to shed light on a job’s day-to-day experience is already benefiting some recruiters, and it may become an integral portion of hiring in the future.

As companies struggle to attract new talent, some are turning to virtual reality (VR) for help in recruiting.… read more. “VR (and presence) in recruiting, hiring: Current adoption, future potential”

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Call: Transformative Teaching Conference 2022

Call for Abstracts

Transformative Teaching Conference 2022
15-17 November 2022
Virtual
Organised by Florida State University, University of Dundee, Zayed University, Routledge and AMPS
https://amps-research.com/conference/teaching/

Submission deadlines:
Abstracts: 30 June 2022 (Round 1)
Nb. 05 October 2022 (Round 2 – abstracts)

THEMES INCLUDE:

  • Technologies, virtualities and distance – the new norms of teaching and learning?
  • Art, Design and Media Explorations – fostering creativity and learning
  • Community embeddedness for reflexive practitioners and learners
  • Design & Media economies – connecting the academy to the creative industries
  • Modes of teaching and learning – case studies and experiments in pedagogical practice
  • Creativity, uncertainty and social responsibility in education

OVERARCHING CALL:

The past two years have forced educators globally to concentrate on the reconfiguration of our delivery and structures. As a result, we have often been obliged to look at academia in primarily practical ways.

However, the higher education sector has never been exclusively concerned with the practicalities of delivery and has never existed in isolation.… read more. “Call: Transformative Teaching Conference 2022”

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The robots behind the bar that want to pull your next pint

[A more recent Miami Herald story about the interactive AI-based robot bartender Cecilia led me to the BBC News story below from November 2021 about “her” and other robots filling this social role. Note especially the last paragraph below:

“’We’re trying to develop something… that can hold a conversation, or crack a joke, ask if you liked your drink, or suggest another one,’ [Yanu’s Mr Adojaan] says. ‘The most interesting part of the project is the effort to make it [appear] alive, or have character.’”

The original story includes four more pictures, and the Herald story includes two more pictures of Cecelia and a 1:14 minute video; see “her” website for more information. For other stories about robot bartenders see the ISPR Presence News posts here and here. –Matthew]

The robots behind the bar that want to pull your next pint

By Bernd Debusmann Jr, Business reporter
15 November 2021

When you go to a pub or bar, if the staff are friendly and helpful it very much adds to your enjoyment of the experience.… read more. “The robots behind the bar that want to pull your next pint”

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