Haptics in Surgical Robotics Istanbul, June 21st, 2011 Abstract: Surgeons’ hands are their main tools. They intuitively process both visual and haptic senses to perform a surgery. Yet, in robotic surgery, the use of a teleoperated system removes the direct contact of hands with tissues and thus, diminishes the sense of touch. Although 3D stereoscopic vision and enhanced dexterity are fully exploited in this field, the tremendous potential of haptic feedback has been confined to research activities. Up to now, the essential role of haptic feedback has not been fully recognized by the medical community since its benefits have not…

Track “Virtual Realities and Gaming” at MKWI 2012 (Multikonferenz Wirtschaftsinformatik [European Conference on Computer Science]) Braunschweig, Germany Deadline: 15th of September 2011 Background: In recent years virtual realities and computer games have attracted the attention of media and academics alike. The technological framework of virtual realities is constituted of 3D-based interaction, avatars and voice-over-IP, which surpass the richness and interactivity of existing web applications by far. The enhanced interactivity and social presence promote a sense of immersion, i.e. the feeling of “being there together”. The application of virtual realities has also found growing usage in the business context (f.i. within…

Call for Papers Ubi-MUI2011: International ACM Workshop on Ubiquitous Meta User Interfaces http://www.dai-labor.de/Ubi-MUI2011/ In conjunction with ACM Multimedia 2011, Scottsdale, Arizona, US, Nov 28 – Dec 1 http://www.acmmm11.org/ Intelligent Environments have the vision of enhancing our everyday environment and interaction with its objects by sensing, computing, and communication capabilities. Major characteristics of such environments are the increasing number of intelligent devices (ubiquity), their complexity, and their integration into the background (transparency). Devices will disappear or blend into the background and will be invisible to the user. However, because of this transparency, users fail to develop an adequate mental model for…

North American Simulation and Gaming Association (NASAGA) 2011 Conference The Spirit of the Past, Present, and Future of Learning! October 5, 2011 Pre-Conference October 6-8, 2011 Conference Valley Forge Convention Center, Radisson Hotel Valley Forge, Pennsylvania From the GAMESNETWORK listserv: The North American Simulation and Gaming Association (NASAGA) has posted their call for proposals for their 2011 conference (early Oct. in Valley Forge, PA). This is a group of educators, corporate trainers, and other folks who use games and simulations to teach or train.  It is a conference focused more on the practical side and less on the research side of…

Call for Papers: CSCW 2012 The ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (http://cscw2012.org/) is a premier venue for presenting research in the design and use of technologies that affect groups, organizations, and communities. CSCW encompasses both the technical and social challenges encountered when supporting collaboration. The development and application of new technologies continues to enable new ways of working together and coordinating activities. Although work is an area of focus, CSCW embraces research and technologies supporting a wide range of recreational and social activities using a diverse range of devices. The conference brings together top researchers and practitioners from…

Call for Papers TANGIBLE, EMBEDDED AND EMBODIED INTERACTION (TEI) 2012 February 19-22, 2012 at Queen’s Human Media Lab in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. http://tei-conf.org/12 IMPORTANT DATES 1st September 2011: Papers, Studio Proposals 1st November 2011: Graduate Consortium, Art Exhibits, Design Challenge (CFP to follow) 6th January 2011: Early registration deadline 9th-22nd February 2012: TEI Conference in Kingston, Ontario, Canada TEI 2012 is the sixth international conference dedicated to presenting cutting edge research in tangible, embedded, and embodied interaction. The work presented at TEI addresses design challenges, theories, experiences, systems, and new developments, with specific emphasis on all the physical aspects of…