Author: Matthew Lombard

Call: Technology for Bonding in Human-Animal Interaction – ACI 2017 Workshop

Published:

August 3, 2017

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION Technology for Bonding in Human-Animal Interaction Workshop at ACI 2017 conference at Open University, Milton Keynes, UK Workshop date: 21.11.2017 Workshop website: www.turre.fi/tech4bonding Information on ACI 2017 conference: www.aci2017.org Contribution statements through an online questionnaire: September 11th, 2017 WHAT IS THIS WORKSHOP ABOUT? [See detailed Background section below too] Technology offers exciting new opportunities for supporting and expanding human-animal interaction and bonding. What is related to these opportunities and how to design for bonding? We invite you to this 1-day workshop at the ACI 2017 conference to explore and discuss the following questions as well as ideate…
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New VR attractions let you walk on girders above or take a slide down 72 floors at London’s The Shard

Published:

August 3, 2017

[I always enjoy visiting attractions that provide views from high above (e.g., Philadelphia’s One Liberty Observation Deck) but The Shard in London has taken things further, as reported in this story from the Evening Standard (where it includes several more pictures). For more information, Business Insider has a 1:31 minute summary video and Londonist has a story featuring a 2:30 minute viral video of a woman on the Slide attraction. Details and tickets are available directly from The View From The Shard’s website. Information about an earlier VR experience of the same building is available from Visualise. –Matthew] You can…
Read more: New VR attractions let you walk on girders above or take a slide down 72 floors at London’s The Shard
Call: Game Studies Area: 2018 PCA/ACA National Conference

Published:

August 2, 2017

Call for Papers Game Studies Area: 2018 PCA/ACA National Conference March 28 -31, 2018 Indianapolis, Indiana http://conference.pcaaca.org/ Deadline: October 1, 2017 The Game Studies area of the National Popular Culture Association and the American Culture Association Conference invites proposals for papers and panels on games and game studies for the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association National Conference to be held Wednesday, March 28 through Friday, March 31, 2018 at the J.W. Marriott in Indianapolis, Indiana. Below, please find: I. Topics of Interest II. Suggestions for First Time Submitters III. Submission Process IV. Information about the Conference V. Contact Information —–…
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Negotiating chatbots fool users, invent language, raise fears of AI

Published:

August 2, 2017

[This story from Gizmodo is as interesting for the presence result it reports – “The performance of [Facebook researchers’] best negotiation agent… matched that of human negotiators” – as for what it says about our fears of technology-based social actors. See the original story for an animated graphic and the Facebook Artificial Intelligence Research blog post for a detailed explanation of the research (a key quote: “Interestingly, in the FAIR experiments, most people did not realize they were talking to a bot rather than another person”). –Matthew] No, Facebook Did Not Panic and Shut Down an AI Program That Was…
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Call: Virtual Medicine: Best Practices in Medical Virtual Reality

Published:

August 1, 2017

VIRTUAL MEDICINE Best Practices in Medical Virtual Reality March 29, 2018 8:00 am – 5:30 pm Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Los Angeles https://www.virtualmedicine.org/ SPEAKERS Daniel Kraft Chair of Medicine / Singularity University Brennan Spiegel Director of Health Services Research / Cedars-Sinai Arshya Vahabzadeh Chief Medical Officer / Brain Power Skip Rizzo Director for Medical Virtual Reality / USC Institute for Creative Technologies Rafael Grossmann Tedx & Exponential Medicine faculty / Medical Futurist David Rhew Chief Medical Officer / Samsung Electronics America COURSE DESCRIPTION & EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES Not so far in the future, doctors might prescribe a virtual beach vacation to calm…
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Why co-parenting with telepresence robots could be a fantastic idea

Published:

August 1, 2017

[As the author of this intriguing article notes, it’ll be fascinating to see, and we should work to shape, how the uses of in-home telepresence robots evolve. The article is from IEEE Spectrum., where it includes links to related stories. –Matthew] [Image: The Beam remote presence system, from Suitable Technologies, allows you to “beam in” and visit family members from anywhere. Social roboticist Heather Knight argues that such technology could become a valuable co-parenting tool. Credit: Suitable Technologies] Why Co-Parenting With Telepresence Robots Could Be a Fantastic Idea By Heather Knight Posted 31 Jul 2017 There’s always something heart-wrenching when…
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Call: Advances in Immersive Media for the Benefit of People: International Conference on the Human Aspects of Immersive Media

Published:

July 31, 2017

Call for Papers New Horizons in VR: Advances in Immersive Media for the Benefit of People International conference on the human aspects of immersive media Berlin, Germany, 14/15 December 2017 Venue: Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Mitte Jointly organized by: ECREA (European Communication Research and Education Association) Section “Digital Games Research” NCRC (NeuroCure Clinical Research Center) and CSB (Center for Stroke Research Berlin) Immersive media (IM) such as virtual and augmented/mixed reality (V/A/MR) present new ways of experiencing and interacting with virtual, real and hybrid environments. With consumer VR having arrived and several major technology companies preparing AR/MR products and…
Read more: Call: Advances in Immersive Media for the Benefit of People: International Conference on the Human Aspects of Immersive Media
Undersea world beyond Chunnel train revealed on ‘Eurostar Odyssey’ VR experience

Published:

July 31, 2017

[Here’s a clever use of VR and presence to replace the boring blackenss of the windows during train trips under the English Channel. The press release is from Eurostar and “brand experience agency” AKQA, and more information including two videos can be found on the Eurostar website. –Matthew] Eurostar unveils world’s first onboard virtual reality experience: ‘Eurostar Odyssey’ Taking travellers on an adventure to the depths of the sea bed, with immersive smartphone headsets available throughout the summer 12 July 2017 Eurostar today announces ‘Eurostar Odyssey’, the first virtual reality experience designed to enhance a journey through an immersive onboard…
Read more: Undersea world beyond Chunnel train revealed on ‘Eurostar Odyssey’ VR experience
Call: AAMAS 2018, the International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems

Published:

July 28, 2017

AAMAS 2018, the International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems July 10-15, 2018 in Stockholm http://aamas18.ifaamas.org Important Dates: Abstract Submission: 10th of November 2017 (23:59 UTC-12) Full Paper Submission: 14th of November 2017 (23:59 UTC-12) Rebuttal Phase: 9th-10th of January 2018 (23:59 UTC-12) Author Notification: 24th of January 2018 (23:59 UTC-12) AAMAS, the International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems, is the leading scientific conference for research on autonomous agents and multiagent systems. It will be co-located with the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI)/European Conference on Artificial Intelligence (ECAI) and the International Conference on Machine Learning…
Read more: Call: AAMAS 2018, the International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems
VR’s new mission: Reunite immigrants with family back home

Published:

July 28, 2017

[An extremely positive use, and the limitations, of presence are described in this story from CNET, where the original includes a 3:52 minute video and a photo gallery. –Matthew] [Image: A grandmother in Iztapalapa, Mexico, used a Samsung Gear VR to spend the afternoon with relatives in the US she hasn’t seen in almost two decades. Credit: Family Reunions Project] VR’s new mission: Reunite immigrants with family back home The Family Reunions Project uses 360-degree videos and VR headsets to reunite families separated by borders they cannot cross –except in virtual reality. by Laura Martínez July 27, 2017 Marleny,…
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Call: Chapters for “The Mind-Technology Problem – Investigating Minds, Selves and 21st Century Artifacts”

Published:

July 27, 2017

Call for Papers The Mind-Technology Problem – Investigating Minds, Selves and 21st Century Artifacts Deadline: 31st of January, 2018 We invite chapter contributions for the volume “The Mind-Technology Problem – Investigating Minds, Selves and 21st Century Artifacts” forthcoming in the book series Studies in Brain and Mind (Springer). This book explores the relation between philosophy of mind and emerging technologies. Technologies that only recently seemed to be science fiction are becoming part of everyday life. Our life is increasingly saturated with ‘smart’ artifacts. The ubiquitous and mobile Internet amounts to a radically new epistemic and cognitive environment which we already…
Read more: Call: Chapters for “The Mind-Technology Problem – Investigating Minds, Selves and 21st Century Artifacts”
Disney’s Magic Bench makes augmented reality a group activity

Published:

July 27, 2017

[The “Magic Bench” is another intriguing presence-evoking technology from Disney Research; this story is from New Atlas, where it includes the 3:39 minute video that is also available along with more information via the links at the bottom of the story. –Matthew] Disney’s Magic Bench makes augmented reality a group activity Michael Irving July 26, 2017 Some day, even stopping for a rest on a bench at Disneyland might be an attraction in itself. You could find yourself seated beside a grumpy frog or a snoring elephant, thanks to a mixed reality prototype Disney Research calls the Magic Bench. Designed…
Read more: Disney’s Magic Bench makes augmented reality a group activity

International Society
for Presence Research

Author: Matthew Lombard

Call: Technology for Bonding in Human-Animal Interaction – ACI 2017 Workshop

New VR attractions let you walk on girders above or take a slide down 72 floors at London’s The Shard

Call: Game Studies Area: 2018 PCA/ACA National Conference

Negotiating chatbots fool users, invent language, raise fears of AI

Call: Virtual Medicine: Best Practices in Medical Virtual Reality

Why co-parenting with telepresence robots could be a fantastic idea

Call: Advances in Immersive Media for the Benefit of People: International Conference on the Human Aspects of Immersive Media

Undersea world beyond Chunnel train revealed on ‘Eurostar Odyssey’ VR experience

Call: AAMAS 2018, the International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems

VR’s new mission: Reunite immigrants with family back home

Call: Chapters for “The Mind-Technology Problem – Investigating Minds, Selves and 21st Century Artifacts”

Disney’s Magic Bench makes augmented reality a group activity

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