International Society
for Presence Research

Author: Matthew Lombard

  • How Facebook is taking mind reading from sci-fi to reality

    Published:

    [There’s plenty of press coverage of events and announcements at this week’s F8 Facebook Developer Conference (see Wired on Facebook Spaces VR, The New York Times on AR, and The Guardian for 8 takeaways from the conference), but less attention has been given to the company’s work on brain-computer interfaces. This story is from The Verge, where it includes more images and a 0:15 minute video. –Matthew] How Facebook is taking mind reading from sci-fi to reality Regina Dugan: ‘This isn’t cocktail party talk.’ by Nick Statt Apr 20, 2017 The rumblings started months ago. Through a series of peculiar job…

    Read more: How Facebook is taking mind reading from sci-fi to reality

  • Call: 26th IEEE International Symposium on Human and Robot Interactive Communication (RO-MAN 2017)

    Published:

    Call for Papers, Special Sessions, and Workshops/Tutorials RO-MAN 2017 26th IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication Pestana Palace Hotel, Lisbon, Portugal August 28 – September 1, 2017 http://www.ro-man2017.org The Call for Papers in PDF format can be downloaded here. Important Dates/Deadlines: Proposals for Special Sessions: Feb 6, 2017; Proposals for Workshops & Tutorials: March 19, 2017; Special Session Papers Submission: March 26, 2017; Regular Paper Submission: March 26, 2017; Video session contribution deadline: May 2, 2017; Notification of Regular Paper Acceptance: May 26, 2017; Final Paper Submission: June 6, 2017. Conference theme: Human-Robot Collaboration and Human Assistance…

    Read more: Call: 26th IEEE International Symposium on Human and Robot Interactive Communication (RO-MAN 2017)

  • Battle mutant spiders as you drop 41 stories in Drop of Doom VR ride

    Published:

    [You will never, ever find me on this intense presence-evoking ride. The story below is from NJ.com, where it features a photo gallery and a 0:45 minute video; for more information see the Six Flags press release mentioned in the story as well as another one with information about other Six Flags VR rides. –Matthew] Six Flags announces new ‘extreme’ option for world-record ride By Rob Spahr | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com April 20, 2017 JACKSON – Thrill seekers will soon have the opportunity to test their nerves even more on the world’s tallest and fastest drop ride at…

    Read more: Battle mutant spiders as you drop 41 stories in Drop of Doom VR ride

  • Call: Designing Interactive Systems (DIS) 2017 Workshop – People, Personal Data and the Built Environment

    Published:

    Call for Participation Designing Interactive Systems (DIS) 2017 Workshop – People, Personal Data and the Built Environment Edinburgh, Scotland Saturday 10th June http://dis2017peopledataandbuildings.blogspot.co.uk Submission deadline: 27th April Organisers: Holger Schnädelbach (University of Nottingham) David Kirk (Northumbria University) Nick Dalton (Northumbria University) Nils Jäger (University of Nottingham) Elizabeth Churchill (Google) Sara Nabil (Newcastle University) Personal data is increasingly important in our lives. We use personal data to quantify our behaviour, through health apps or for ‘personal branding’ and we are also increasingly forced to part with our data to access services. With a proliferation of embedded sensors, the built environment is…

    Read more: Call: Designing Interactive Systems (DIS) 2017 Workshop – People, Personal Data and the Built Environment

  • VR and presence shaping the future of insurance

    Published:

    [This story from Insurance & Risk presents some intriguing scenarios for the use of presence (though they also raise security, privacy and other concerns). For more, see the Bain & Company website for the new report “Digitalization in Insurance: The Multibillion Dollar Opportunity.” –Matthew] [Image: Source: Newmark Insurance] Virtual Reality Shaping the Future of General Insurance Virtual Reality (VR) could shape the future of general insurance says third party claims expert Peter Tomkins. 19 April ’17 “Traditionally, the biggest challenge insurers face is understanding risk. Modern technology has come a long way to address this need – insurers are now…

    Read more: VR and presence shaping the future of insurance

  • Call: Plug into Cultural Heritage (at INTETAIN 2017)

    Published:

    Call for Papers Plug into Cultural Heritage Workshop Part of the INTETAIN 2017 conference June 20-22, 2017, Portugal http://www.intetain.org/2017/show/home Paper deadline extended to May 1 CULTURAL HERITAGE What is cultural heritage? How can society become more actively involved in cultural heritage activities, not only as an observer but also as a contributor to the definition of heritage? Cultural heritage is considered an important precondition for genuine sustainability. However, existing applications for heritage dissemination do not really create heritage communities. Adequate ICT tools are necessary to support citizens in their everyday activities in shaping cultural heritage and to be shaped by…

    Read more: Call: Plug into Cultural Heritage (at INTETAIN 2017)

  • ‘Teleconcussion’ robot could help solve sports-concussion dilemma in rural America

    Published:

    [This report from the UT Southwestern Medical Center Newsroom is about a study of yet another valuable application of telepresence. –Matthew] [Image: A remote-controlled robot equipped with tools to diagnose concussion sits on the sideline of a Northern Arizona football game. Research shows doctors can use these robots to assess potential head injuries with the same accuracy as on-site physicians.] ‘Doctor’ robot could help solve sports-concussion dilemma in rural America DALLAS – April 3, 2017 – From bustling cities to tiny farming communities, the bright lights of the local stadium are common beacons to the Friday night ritual of high…

    Read more: ‘Teleconcussion’ robot could help solve sports-concussion dilemma in rural America

  • Call: 5th Visual Science of Art Conference (VSAC)

    Published:

    Call for Papers for the 5th Visual Science of Art Conference (VSAC) Berlin, Germany (Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) 25-27 August 2017 https://www.vsac2017.org/ Extended deadline for abstract submission: Saturday, 29 April 2017 The Visual Science of Art Conference (VSAC) focuses on connecting the communities of visual scientists and artists in order to deepen our understanding of aesthetic phenomena. The VSAC is an ideal venue to debate and collaborate on all topics associated with the perception and evaluation of artworks. Organized as a satellite conference to the ECVP (European Conference on Visual Perception, http://www.ecvp.org/2017/), the VSAC invites…

    Read more: Call: 5th Visual Science of Art Conference (VSAC)

  • AMD: VR requires creators to ‘rethink the Z’ on way to ‘full presence’

    Published:

    [Aside from the main point about rethinking the Z-axis in designing presence experiences in VR, this report from DeveloperTech contains the noteworthy point made by an AMD VP that the ultimate goal is making the virtual indistinguishable from real life; a contrasting view is presented in an excerpt from a Medium contributor that follows below. –Matthew] [Image: Source: pysnnoticias.com] AMD: VR requires creators to ‘rethink the Z’ By Ryan Daws 13 April 2017 VR is coming of age, but it will suffer unless creators ‘rethink the Z’ and don’t let content of the past define content of the future. That…

    Read more: AMD: VR requires creators to ‘rethink the Z’ on way to ‘full presence’

  • Call: Non-Player Characters and Social Believability – FDG 2017 workshop

    Published:

    [See also a Call for Papers for AutoPlay. Gaming in the Age of Automation, a special issue of the Journal of Gaming and Virtual Worlds. –Matthew] Call for Papers to the 2017 workshop on Non-Player Characters and Social Believability @ FDG Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA August 14-17 2017 (1 day, exact date TBD) http://www.npc-workshop.org/ Submission deadline: May 10 The 2017 workshop on Non-Player Characters and Social Believability intends to be a point of interaction for researchers and game developers interested in modeling, discussing, developing systems for NPC social behavior and social affordances. This can include behaviour based on social and behavioural…

    Read more: Call: Non-Player Characters and Social Believability – FDG 2017 workshop

  • Lockheed Martin’s Mars Experience Bus takes children on simulated trip to promote STEM

    Published:

    [The backstory of an ambitious project to create a touring group presence experience is told in this article from Adweek, where it includes more images and a 2:04 minute video. For more information, including images and videos, see the Lockheed Martin Mars Experience website, the Lockheed Martin Generation Beyond press release, Framestone’s website for the project (with a 5 minute behind-the-scenes video), an UploadVR interview with Framestore CG Supervisor Theo Jones, and a 6:20 minute video of a demonstration of the Mars Experience bus ride from YouTube. –Matthew] The Inside Story of How McCann New York’s ‘Field Trip to Mars’…

    Read more: Lockheed Martin’s Mars Experience Bus takes children on simulated trip to promote STEM

  • Call: ACI2017: Fourth International Conference on Animal-Computer Interaction

    Published:

    ACI2017: Fourth International Conference on Animal-Computer Interaction 21-23 November 2017, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom www.aci2017.org #aci2017conf Submission deadline for papers and workshop proposals: 30th June 2017 ACI is the main international conference on Animal-Computer Interaction, a rapidly growing field that focuses on the interaction between animals and computing-enabled technology. Animals have been exposed to, and have interacted with, technology for the best part of a century; for example, in conservation studies, behavioural experiments, comparative cognition studies, precision farming and various support roles. But how does technology affect animals in their individual and social lives? How does it enable or disable…

    Read more: Call: ACI2017: Fourth International Conference on Animal-Computer Interaction

ISPR Presence News

Subscribe

Search ISPR Presence News:

Categories

Archives

Recent Posts

Recent Comments