International Society
for Presence Research

Author: Matthew Lombard

  • Call: International Workshop on Human-Engaged Computing

    Published:

    Call for Participation and Call for Posters International Workshop on Human-Engaged Computing Kochi University of Technology, Japan November 10th, 2017 http://forum.chec.ren/ Poster submission deadline: September 30, 2017 Early registration deadline: October 10, 2017 The Center for Human-Engaged Computing (CHEC) has organized an international workshop on Human-Engaged Computing (HEC). The worship will be held at Kochi University of Technology in Japan on November 10th, 2017. The aim of this workshop is to rethink the relationship between humans and computers with particular attention being paid to our future as human beings. Seven distinguished speakers from around the world and from several domains…

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  • Virtual reality startup uses the psychology of gaming to do battle with cancer

    Published:

    [Another effort to use VR and presence to ease medical treatment; this story is from Forbes, where it includes a different image. –Matthew] Virtual Reality Startup Uses The Psychology of Gaming To Do Battle With Cancer Moira Vetter, Contributor September 9, 2017 Virtual reality innovations are often believed to be speculative technologies that haven’t yet found practical applications. People think of gamers and hobbyists wearing a headset or goggles and peering into a synthetic reality. But virtual reality isn’t so virtual anymore. One startup, OnComfort, has fixed its sights on one of the most daunting foes there is to fight—cancer.…

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  • Call: Budapest Workshop on Philosophy of Technology 2017

    Published:

    Call for Abstracts Budapest Workshop on Philosophy of Technology 2017 Theme of the Workshop: Epistemology, Ontology and the Philosophy of Technology Dates: 1-2 December 2017 Venue: 1132 Budapest, Victor Hugo 18-22, Room 5002. http://budpt.eu/ Submission deadline: 2 October 2017 The first Budapest Workshop on the Philosophy of Technology will seek to explore epistemology and ontology in the Philosophy of Technology. Abstracts are welcome in the following areas: Tacit knowledge and engineering Ontology of technological artefacts Ontological status of artificial agents Knowing artefacts Virtuality – new realities created by technology Engineering epistemology … and in any other related topics. The expected…

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  • Virtual reality can make a remote crisis real – and spur effective responses

    Published:

    [Especially in light of recent and current natural disasters, this is an encouraging story from the University of Virginia; for more information on the How to change the world engineering podcast competition and to listen to Bethany Gordon’s 7:31 minute winning entry see coverage from the Royal Academy of Engineering. –Matthew] [Image: UVA graduate engineering student Bethany Gordon’s idea to apply virtual reality technology to crisis situations recently won an international podcast contest. (Photo by Dan Addison, University Communications)] Virtual Reality Can Make a Remote Crisis Real – And Spur Effective Responses September 07, 2017 In Gyumri, Armenia, about 4,000…

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  • Call: Technology, Mind & Society – APA Conference

    Published:

    Call for Papers, Symposia and Posters Technology, Mind & Society April 5-7, 2018 Washington, DC http://pages.apa.org/tms/ Sponsored by The American Psychological Association In Cooperation with The Association for Computing Machinery, Special Interest Group for Computer-Human Interaction, and The Association For The Advancement Of Artificial Intelligence Submission deadline: October 20, 2017 The American Psychological Association will hold an interdisciplinary conference on Technology, Mind, and Society in Washington, D.C., on April 5-7, 2018. Scientists, practitioners, policymakers, and students from around the world are invited to participate in the event. The conference will provide a venue for reporting and assessing current efforts to…

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  • Philosophers’ insights about meaning and power of virtual reality

    Published:

    [This story from Slate’s Future Tense series provides a useful perspective on alternate meanings of the term virtual and their implications for how we perceive and realize the potential of VR and presence. –Matthew] [Image: Perhaps to speak of virtual reality is to anticipate the disappearance of the world we know. Photo illustration by Natalie Matthews-Ramo. Photos by Thinkstock.] Our Virtual Future What philosophers say about the inevitability of VR. By Jacob Brogan September 1, 2017 A few months ago, I pulled on an Oculus Rift headset for the first time and stepped into a virtual reality meeting room. I…

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  • Call: Chapters for “Emerging Identities in the Future of Places: Neo-cultures, Place Multi-mediation and Intersubjectivities”

    Published:

    Call for Chapter Proposals Emerging Identities in the Future of Places: Neo-cultures, Place Multi-mediation and Intersubjectivities Abstract submission deadline: 1 Nov 2017 How is the development of future places in cities shaping new place-based identities, defined by the intertwined and entangled nature of socio-cultural, technical and spatial practices of people? Comprehending the resultant complexities of place-related identity demands the need to identify new directions that evolve progressively by embracing a renewed understanding of identity. The proposed book aims to facilitate an interdisciplinary approach towards unravelling emerging place- related identities that are caught in a labyrinth created by contemporary urban spatialities.…

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  • Facebook AI bot learns to mimic human reactions by watching Skype conversations

    Published:

    [There is intriguing, and possibly disturbing, potential for enhancing presence experiences in this research by Facebook; the story is from New Scientist. –Matthew] [Image: Source: Mashable] Facebook AI learns human reactions after watching hours of Skype By Matt Reynolds 5 September 2017 There’s something not quite right about humanoid robots. They are cute up to a point, but once they become a bit too realistic, they often start to creep us out – a foible called the uncanny valley. Now Facebook wants robots to climb their way out of it. Researchers at Facebook’s AI lab have developed an expressive bot,…

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  • Call: When HCI Meets Data Analytics issue of Advances in Human-Computer Interaction

    Published:

    Call for Papers: When HCI Meets Data Analytics Special issue of Advances in Human-Computer Interaction https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ahci/si/706320/cfp/? Submission Deadline: Friday, 26 January 2018 Human computer interaction (HCI), with the focus on improving the interaction between humans and machines, is one of the fastest growing fields in nowadays’ computing era. It is an interdisciplinary field situated at the intersection of computer science, human factors, psychology, sociology, behavioural sciences, cognitive science, visualisation, design, and arts. In the recent years, the rapid development of digital technologies has generated huge amounts of data which could be used to enable and recognise human values. Data analytics…

    Read more: Call: When HCI Meets Data Analytics issue of Advances in Human-Computer Interaction

  • Using VR and presence to study and diagnose dementia

    Published:

    [Despite the unfortunately-worded quote that begins “The great thing about dementia is it really fits our brand…,” this story from Quartz describes an important application of presence. The original version includes more images. –Matthew] Dementia is difficult to spot early. Researchers think VR can help. By Karen Hao September 03, 2017 In 2014, German mobile carrier Deutsche Telekom initiated a search for something it could do to benefit the world. Employees met with experts in health, education, and cybersecurity, seeking out something that, according to Hans-Christian Schwingen, chief brand officer at Deutsche Telekom, would show “how mobile products and services…

    Read more: Using VR and presence to study and diagnose dementia

  • Call: Socially Interactive Agents Track at AAMAS 2018

    Published:

    Call for Papers Socially Interactive Agents Track (formerly Virtual Agents) AAMAS 2018, the International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems July 10-15, 2018 in Stockholm (http://aamas18.ifaamas.org) http://celweb.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/aamas18/sociallyInteractiveAgentsTrack/ Submissions of abstracts: November 10 2017 Submissions of full papers: November 17, 2017 Dear all, Stacy Marsella and I are co-chairing the Socially Interactive Agents Track (formerly Virtual Agents) at AAMAS 2018 that will be held in Stockholm, July 10-15 co-located with IJCAI and ICML. Our goal in taking on this task is to strengthen and significantly broaden the participation at AAMAS of researchers working on social agents. To that end, we…

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  • Conde Nast and Facebook debut a virtual-reality dating show

    Published:

    [According to this story from Adweek, VR dating has “started to breach pop culture,” including a new dating program set in virtual reality. You can watch the 1:04 minute trailer on YouTube and the 7:56 minute first episode on Facebook. The reviews (e.g., in The Verge and New York Post) have been negative, but it’s interesting to imagine ways in which both actual VR dating and the program could be made more interesting and useful. –Matthew]   [Image: Source: VRScout] Condé Nast and Facebook Are Debuting a Virtual-Reality Dating Show Will VR blind dates lead to real love?…

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