ISPR Presence News

Monthly Archives: June 2022

Job: Lecturer/Sr. Lecturer in Human-AI Interaction and/or HCI at Newcastle University, UK

Call for Applications

Lecturer / Senior Lecturer in Human-AI Interaction and/or HCI
Newcastle University
Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
https://jobs.ncl.ac.uk/job/Newcastle-LecturerSenior-Lecturer-in-Computing/819816701/

Application deadline: August 31, 2022

The School of Computing at Newcastle University is looking to appoint a number of permanent faculty positions at the Lecturer or Senior Lecturer level.

We are particularly keen to attract applicants with a strong background and interests in Human-AI Interaction and/or HCI. Successful applicants in these areas would join Open Lab, the school’s world-leading HCI research group, and will be supported towards growing their own research team. We are looking for future colleagues who can demonstrate collegiality and research excellence and who will either complement or extend our current areas of expertise within the group. The successful candidate will contribute to our successful MSc Human-Computer Interaction course and to broader undergraduate teaching within the department, as appropriate.… read more. “Job: Lecturer/Sr. Lecturer in Human-AI Interaction and/or HCI at Newcastle University, UK”

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Conference events in VR: The reality

[In this post from No Jitter, a long-time “independent communications technology consultant” reports on his experience at a recent virtual conference event and provides observations and predictions about the prospects for this application of presence-evoking technology; follow the link to his 5:30 minute video (on YouTube) and see his About page for links to other presence-related posts and videos. –Matthew]

Virtual Events in VR: The Reality

An industry analyst shares his thoughts on the VR option for NICE’s recent Interactions event.

By Tom Brannen
June 21, 2022

As someone who is super interested in virtual reality (VR), I jumped at the chance to attend the recent NICE Interactions 2022 virtual conference in VR. While the event drew 25,000 virtual attendees from around the world in a more traditional web-based video experience, NICE also offered a VR experience to interested attendees.… read more. “Conference events in VR: The reality”

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Call: Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction (TEI) 2023

Call for Papers

17th International ACM Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction (TEI)
February 26 – March 1, 2023
Warsaw, Poland
https://tei.acm.org/2023/

Abstract deadline: July 29, 2022
Full submission deadline: August 5, 2022

TEI 2023 is the 17th annual conference dedicated to presenting the latest results in tangible, embedded, and embodied interaction. The ACM TEI conference has gained substantial visibility and activity over the past decade. It brings together researchers, practitioners, businesses, artists, designers and students from various disciplines, including engineering, interaction design, computer science, product design, media studies and the arts.

Topics and application areas are diverse, including: tangible user interfaces, physical interaction design, flexible and shape changing displays, haptic interaction, smart objects and cities, interactive surfaces, augmented and mixed reality, ubiquitous computing, interactive art and performance, social and wearable robotics, hybrid games, embodied cognition and perception, fashion and material design, furniture and architectural design, learning and education, music and sound interfaces, human-augmentation, as well as productivity and creativity tools in domains ranging from scientific exploration to artistic practice.… read more. “Call: Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction (TEI) 2023”

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Medium-as-social-actor presence: Swedish city adds risqué voices to trash cans to discourage littering

[In an amusing example of medium-as-social-actor presence, the Swedish city Malmö is encouraging people to use its public trash cans by having them “dish out racy audio messages after being fed trash,” as reported below by CNN (and in case you’re wondering, confirmed by Snopes). The original story includes a video (also on YouTube) that demonstrates the trash cans’ voice responses (in Swedish). Initially the voice was only female, which generated objections similar to those regarding the gendering of virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa; a writer in Quartz noted that “If we’re socializing the idea that women should talk dirty but be grateful for having trash tossed their way, what message could that possibly send?” But a follow-up story in Malmo’s The Local reports that the city has now added a male voice (and that the identity of the female voice has been revealed); see that story or YouTube for a video featuring both voices.… read more. “Medium-as-social-actor presence: Swedish city adds risqué voices to trash cans to discourage littering”

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Call: Computational Cognitive Models for Human-Automated Vehicle Interaction – IJHCS special issue

Call for Papers

Special issue: Computational Cognitive Models for Human-Automated Vehicle Interaction
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies
http://www.cpjanssen.nl/IJHCS22/

Submission deadlines:

  • September 30, 2022: 1-page letter of intent (optional)
  • December 31, 2022: Complete submissions

This special issue is focused on the development, evaluation, and discussion of computational cognitive models of human-automated vehicle interaction. The capabilities of automated vehicles are rapidly increasing and change human interaction with the vehicle. Yet, at the same time, fully automated vehicles that do not require human interaction are not available. Therefore, systems are needed in which the human and the vehicle interact together. Computational cognitive models that can describe, predict, and/or anticipate human behavior and thought can play a crucial role in this regard. Such models can for example inform designers about potential human states and the consequences of interface design for safety, aid the vehicle in anticipating human actions (e.g.,… read more. “Call: Computational Cognitive Models for Human-Automated Vehicle Interaction – IJHCS special issue”

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Meta reveals VR prototypes on path to improve presence and pass the ‘Visual Turing test’

[Meta has revealed a series of prototypes for future VR headsets and explained how it’s working to solve key barriers to the key goal of producing, in the words of CEO Mark Zuckerberg, “a realistic sense of presence, … the feeling of being with someone or in some place as if you’re physically there.” This story from Engadget provides details and the original includes several images. The author of coverage in New Atlas (which includes the 29:14 minute “Meta VR prototypes: Inside the Lab” video, also available on YouTube), notes that realistic visuals aren’t the only challenge:

“I think it’s worth reiterating that the Quest and Quest 2 are already devices capable of delivering a staggering sense of immersion. Sure, the graphics are a bit chunky, but I’d argue that’s not what’s holding VR back at this point. The roadblocks to today’s users are still content and queasiness.… read more. “Meta reveals VR prototypes on path to improve presence and pass the ‘Visual Turing test’”

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Call: MUM 2022, 21st International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia

Call for Submissions

21st International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia
November 27-30, 2022
Lisbon, Portugal
https://mum-conf.org/2022/

Submission deadlines:
Short and full papers: August 16, 2022
Workshops and tutorials: September 2, 2022
Other tracks: September 29, 2022

The International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia (MUM) is a leading annual international conference, which provides a forum for presenting the latest research results on mobile and ubiquitous multimedia. The conference brings together experts from both academia and industry for a fruitful exchange of ideas and discussion on future challenges, in a comfortable and effective single-track conference format.

The 21st International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia (MUM 2022) will be held in Lisbon, Portugal, November 27th – 30th, 2022. In addition to the peer-reviewed accepted papers, the conference program will also include keynote presentations, posters, and demos, among other tracks. The conference will also have a co-located doctoral school.… read more. “Call: MUM 2022, 21st International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia”

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Voicemod software uses AI to transform your voice into Morgan Freeman, astronauts, and more

[The Verge reports on Voicemod’s use of artificial intelligence to create more convincing real-time transformations of anyone’s voice, which illustrates again the promise and peril of presence-evoking technology; as Futurism’s coverage notes:

“Being able to completely change our voice, however, comes with a much darker side as well, not unlike the use of deepfakes. For instance, cloned voices could be used to commit fraud or bully others. …

Bottom line? It’s no longer just faces that can be turned into the likeness of celebrities. In fact, we’re already living in a future in which both our faces and voices can be transformed simultaneously on the fly — a terrifying or fascinating reality, depending on how you look at it.”

–Matthew]

Voicemod uses AI to transform your voice into Morgan Freeman, astronauts, and more

AI voices enters beta today

By Tom Warren
June 15, 2022

Voicemod, a popular real-time voice changer, is starting to use artificial intelligence to transform your voice into Morgan Freeman and other characters.… read more. “Voicemod software uses AI to transform your voice into Morgan Freeman, astronauts, and more”

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Call: Virtual keynotes – ACM SIGCHI Symposium on Engineering Interactive Computing Systems (EICS 2022)

Call for Virtual Experience

The 14th ACM SIGCHI Symposium on Engineering Interactive Computing Systems (EICS 2022)
21-24 June, 2022
Sophia Antipolis, France
EICS 2022 YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo6zSFKPS3EMx8t6KUDXZog
More information about the keynotes: https://eics.acm.org/2022/

As part of the Virtual Experience of ACM EICS 2022, the opening and closing keynotes will be streamed live from YouTube:

22 June 2022: OPENING KEYNOTE:

Engineering Interactive Geospatial Visualizations for Cluster-Driven Ultra-high-resolution Wall Displays
Emmanuel Pietriga, INRIA, France
https://pages.saclay.inria.fr/emmanuel.pietriga

Ultra-high-resolution wall-sized displays feature a very high pixel density over a large physical surface, typically several square meters. They provide effective support for collaborative work sessions that involve the visualization of large, heterogeneous datasets. But the development of interactive visualizations for ultra-high-resolution wall displays raises significant challenges. These range from the design of input techniques adapted to such surfaces, to the design of visualizations that effectively leverage their extreme display capacity.… read more. “Call: Virtual keynotes – ACM SIGCHI Symposium on Engineering Interactive Computing Systems (EICS 2022)”

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FDA clears augmented reality system to help navigate spine surgery

[The U.S. Federal Drug Administration has approved a new system for spinal surgery that “convert[s] imaging data into either a 2D or 3D immersive hologram” and superimposes the “navigation plan right on the patient’s body” during the operation. The details, and links to two other applications of presence-evoking technology in the operating room, are presented in this story from Fierce Biotech. See the Novarad press release for more information including a one-minute video (also on Vimeo). Another Fierce Biotech story reports on FDA approval of a Lensar system that incorporates augmented-reality imaging technology for cataract surgery. –Matthew]

FDA clears augmented reality system to help navigate spine surgery

By Andrea Park
June 16, 2022

Just as a driver uses a road map or GPS to navigate unfamiliar streets, so too can surgeons access surgical navigation systems to guide them through the unique plains of a patient’s anatomy.… read more. “FDA clears augmented reality system to help navigate spine surgery”

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