Join for the presentations, the panel discussion, demos, and networking centered around exploring how immersive technologies design should be the Human centred.
CHAIRS
Professor Robert Stone
A VR veteran of over 34 years, Bob is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Birmingham and an independent consultant in XR, Telepresence and Human Factors. He is a Chartered Psychologist, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics & Human Factors and an Honorary Cossack!
In the 1980s he specialised in Human Factors for defence and teleoperated subsea, nuclear and space systems, including research at the UK’s National Advanced Robotics Research Centre. One of the first Europeans to experience NASA’s VR system in 1987, he established the UK’s first industrial VR team at the Centre, developing the world’s first tactile feedback glove, "Teletact" and a unique keyhole surgery simulator, MIST, marketed for over a decade by Mentice of Sweden. After appearing on the BBC in 1993, he launched the world’s first industrial VR collaborative project, fully funded by industry.
In May 1996, he became an Academician of Russia's Higher Education Academy of Sciences and was recognised by the Cosmonaut Training Centre's Director for “introducing VR to the cosmonaut space programme”. Later, he was made an Honorary Cossack at a ceremony near Starocherkassk in South Russia! He works closely with the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine and hospitals across the UK, evaluating VR technologies for mental and physical rehabilitation. Bob was the UK Human Factors Integration Defence Technology Centre’s Research Director for over 6 years; many of his team’s current simulation projects originated here, including mixed reality for future military command systems and defence medical training, IED disposal training and the exploitation of small unmanned air, subsea and land systems.
His Team also specialises in Virtual Heritage, undertaking innovative VR archaeology, maritime and drone-based survey projects in the West Country (he is a proud born-and-bred Plymothian!). He has received numerous national and international VR/Human Factors awards, including the MoD Chief Scientific Adviser’s Commendation for contributions to Defence Science & Technology.
Specialties: Human Factors / Ergonomics; simulation, Virtual Environments and "serious games". Applications in defence, medicine and heritage.
KEYNOTES SPEAKERS
Jason Jerald
I have been creating virtual reality systems and applications for over 20 years. My work has been featured on ABC’s Shark Tank and the Discovery Channel, in the New York Times, and on the cover of the MIT Press Journal "Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments." I currently serve in multiple technical and leadership roles, have built and led teams as large as ~300 individuals, and regularly speak at conferences and other programs. I hold numerous publications and patents in the areas of virtual/augmented reality, human-computer interaction, and computer graphics.
I am the author of "The VR Book: Human-Centered Design for Virtual Reality" published by ACM Books and Morgan & Claypool Publishers. The book was the #1 best seller at its debut at SIGGRAPH 2015 and continues to be the #1 selling book out of over 1000 books published by Morgan & Claypool Publishers.
Specialties: customized XR solutions, strategic advice & technical business planning; software development & hardware integration; human-computer interaction; perception, immersion, & presence; 3D computer graphics & real-time rendering; virtual humans; user studies; team leadership & mentoring; seminar speaking and training.
I have worked on over 70 VR projects with over 40 organizations including
- Oculus
- Valve
- Sixense
- Virtuix
- AT&T
- Geomedia
- Digital ArtForms
- NASA Ames Research Center
- Naval Research Laboratories
- HRL Laboratories
- Lockheed Martin
- Raytheon
- General Motors
- Argonne National Laboratories
- Battelle Pacific Northwest National Laboratories
- Westinghouse
- Kaiser
- University of Maryland Medical School
- Wichita State University
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Washington State University
- DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Project Agency)
- TATRC (Telemedicine & Advanced Technology Research Center)
- NIH (National Institute of Health)
- NIST (National Institute of Standards & Technology)
Suzan (Susan) Oslin
Suzan Oslin, a computer graphics pioneer, began her career as a digital effects artist writing particle system animations for visual effects giants such as Metrolight Studios, Warner Brothers, and Disney Feature Animation. She’s had the honor and privilege to work as an animator on the endearing animated feature “Iron Giant”, under the direction of the legendary Brad Bird.
Suzan’s innovative data-driven dashboard design work for Technicolor earned her co-inventor designation on the patent for Fulfillment Tracking In Asset-Driven Workflow Modeling. She brings the same pioneering spirit and enterprise-level expertise to her product strategy and design consulting work for progressive VR and AR companies that understand and appreciate the user experience-driven marketplace.
Ms. Oslin has been an active leader in the Los Angeles UX design community since 2008 and co-leads the local chapter of the world’s leading Augmented World Expo, AWE Nite LA. Internationally she’s making an impact as the co-founder of the XR Research Study [XRRS], a vanguard of 21 international researchers dedicated to promote user-friendly immersive interface design worldwide; and is working to ensure an equitable future for all by contributing to the development of spatial computing standards as the UX Working Group Vice-chair for the Open AR Cloud.
She is a creative technologist, futurist, and space enthusiast who believes the evolution of the human race is at the mercy of exponential technologies and posits that all creators and thought leaders must work interdependently and share the responsibility to thoughtfully shepherd society into the mind-bending future that is upon us.
As creator and director of the VR experience currently in production, ”SEARCHING FOR SISTER GAIA”, Suzan is helping to bridge the gap between humanity's future and its origins-- reminding us of the preciousness of life and the extraordinary forces controlling it-- a positive vision that affirms the evolution of life as self-selecting and infinite.
Suzan holds a B.F.A. in Electronic Visualization from the Electronic Media Lab at the University of Illinois, Chicago.
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Natural Interfaces, Spatial Interface Design, Product Strategy, Product Design, Virtual Reality, Mixed Reality, Augmented Reality, XR, Design Collaboration Facilitation, Leadership, Mentorship, User Research, Human-Factors, Interaction Design, Unity Prototyping, System Optimization, Product Management
Axure, Sketch, InVision, Omnigraffle, Morae, Adobe XD, InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Responsive Design, HTML/CSS/JS, Unity 3D