#DIMENSIONSXR2020 : XR for sciences

#Title: Artificial Reality Continuum and its applications to film, healthcare, arts, sciences This talk made in October , 2020 has been given during the International Congress of Extended Reality in Sciences (https://dimensionsxr.com) organized by the Swiss Society of Virtual and Augmented Reality (SSVAR - https://ssvar.ch) #Bio Dr. Pietroszek is a tenure-track professor in the Film and Media Arts Division of the School of Communication. He is the Founding Director of the Institute for Immersive Designs, Experiences, Applications, and Stories (Institute for IDEAS), an Associate Director of the Center for Environmental Filmmaking, and is also affiliated faculty at the AU Game Lab, and the Department of Computer Science. Krzysztof teaches immersive filmmaking courses in the undergraduate and graduate film programs and game development courses in graduate game programs. Krzysztof research interests include the application of machine learning to media, designing volumetric cameras and telemedicine equipment, and developing technologies related to creating films and interacting in virtual and augmented reality. Krzysztof is also a filmmaker, who produced an award-winning feature film (“Waiting for Summer”), wrote and directed six short fiction and documentary films (“Private Apocalypse of Tim”, “Agape”, “Daniel”, “Eve”, “Greenscreen”, and “Vera”), and created a transmedia mixed-reality experience (“Vera”). Krzysztof developed several VR video games (“Cube VR”, “Chessnaught VR”) and published over 40 peer-reviewed research papers. Dr. Pietroszek’s research is supported by the National Science Foundation, Canada Media Fund, private industry partners, and other federal funding agencies. To date, Krzysztof raised nearly 3,000,000 USD in various funding. #Abstract In this keynote, I describe the history and the current state-of-the-art for ARC technologies and discuss its applications in film, entertainment, and healthcare. Speaker's page https://dimensionsxr.com/congress-speakers/krzysztof-pietroszek/ --- The intro video has been made by Dragan Stiglic: https://draganstiglic.myportfolio.com The director: Mohamed Jean-Philippe Sangaré Founder and CEO of SSVAR https://www.linkedin.com/in/msangare/

#Title: "Using design technologies in psychophysics, gamification, and digital phenotyping for mental health innovation" This talk made in October , 2020 has been given during the International Congress of Extended Reality in Sciences (https://dimensionsxr.com) organized by the Swiss Society of Virtual and Augmented Reality (SSVAR - https://ssvar.ch) #Bio Ananya (Jane) Jain and Ankit Kukadia are founders of FullCircle LLC, a technology startup for mental health in Atlanta (teamfullcircle.org). Ananya is a final year materials engineering student at Georgia Tech and will conduct her research as a swiss government funded scholar at ETH Zurich; previously at the Wyss, Harvard. She is a TEDx speaker, whose first patent was awarded by the President of India, Dr. Kalam. The Royal family in the UK have bestowed the “Diana Award” upon Ananya and FullCircle for their work with innovating global scalable solutions for mental health. --- Ankit Kukadia Ankit has co-headed the team that was selected to represent Asia to Elon Musk at the International Hyperloop Pod Competition organized by SpaceX. He is a TEDx speaker and received his Masters from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT, Madras), India. Ananya and Ankit are staunch advocates for mental health, and have been featured in the BBC, Forbes and other media in South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and other countries. They now lead the different divisions of FullCircle in Atlanta and India respectively. #Abstract According to the CDC, 40% of all US adults were struggling with adverse mental health and substance abuse issues in June 2020 during COVID 19 [1]; population prevalence of clinically significant levels of mental distress rose from 18·9% in 2018–19 to 27·3% in 2020, one month into the UK lockdown [2]; 2 studies investigating COVID-19 patients found a high level of post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) (96.2%) and significantly higher level of depressive symptoms (p = 0.016) [3]. The authors found a lack of a systematic review on mental health in general populations; a general lack of solutions for quantifying mental health and accounting for self reporting biases; and decreasing accessibility of in-person traditional mental healthcare during the global pandemic, even as more people choose to spend greater time on online technology platforms: 44% of adult Gen Z (18-24) claim to have a Twitter account, 23% check it daily- and young adults in their late 20s and early 30s spent 2.6 hours a day on mobile video in 2019 [4]. The conference proceedings presented through this work will examine the specialized technologies in app-based and hardware solution developed at FullCircle for mental health [5]: digital biomarkers and phenotyping as a way to supplement early detection of mental health issues[6]; gamification of traditional mental health care and community building to increase engagement [7], and haptic and emotional cues to influence sociability and help seeking behaviors [8]. Initial findings made through FullCircle’s first implementation of a solution to variable sample size support recommendations made in cited studies that behaviorism patterns can be queued to elicit desirable responses in mental health. Speaker's page https://dimensionsxr.com/congress-speakers/jain-ananya/ --- The intro video has been made by Dragan Stiglic: https://draganstiglic.myportfolio.com The director: Mohamed Jean-Philippe Sangaré Founder and CEO of SSVAR https://www.linkedin.com/in/msangare/

#Title: Transforming and improving neurorehabilitation services with therapeutic virtual reality programs. This talk made in October , 2020 has been given during the International Congress of Extended Reality in Sciences (https://dimensionsxr.com) organized by the Swiss Society of Virtual and Augmented Reality (SSVAR - https://ssvar.ch) #Bio Dr Isabel Van De Keere is the Founder & CEO of Immersive Rehab, a digital therapeutics startup that is transforming neurorehabilitation by offering personalised and engaging neurorehabilitation programmes in Virtual Reality with the aim to improve patient recovery and reduce waiting times to access rehab. Following a long neurorehabilitation period Isabel went through herself due to a work accident in 2010, she decided to start Immersive Rehab in August 2016. With a MSc background in Electro-Mechanical Engineering and as a Doctor in Biomedical Engineering & BioMaterials Science, Isabel is an experienced healthcare technology innovator, product strategist & manager, scientist/academic, product designer, experimentalist, and collaborator across disciplines. She is passionate about healthcare technologies and digital health, immersive technologies and its applications in healthcare, tech for good, social entrepreneurship, and promoting diversity in tech. #Abstract Immersive Rehab provides a personalised, engaging and clinically validated digital therapeutics solution in virtual reality to tackle the current limitations of neurorehabilitation, in particular for people with significant upper limb mobility limitations as a result of stroke, multiple sclerosis, ALS and spinal injury. Research has shown that retraining the brain can lead to important gains in mobility. By combining physical rehab with cognitive challenges, it is possible to obtain important gains in mobility and function. We propose that Immersive Rehab's digital therapeutics neurorehabilitation solution can impact this significantly. Speaker's page https://dimensionsxr.com/congress-speakers/isabel-van-de-keere/ --- The intro video has been made by Dragan Stiglic: https://draganstiglic.myportfolio.com The director: Mohamed Jean-Philippe Sangaré Founder and CEO of SSVAR https://www.linkedin.com/in/msangare/

#title : Immersive Job Taste in VR for Young Job Seekers in Norway This talk made in October , 2020 has been given during the International Congress of Extended Reality in Sciences (https://dimensionsxr.com) organized by the Swiss Society of Virtual and Augmented Reality (SSVAR - https://ssvar.ch) #Bio Professor at Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Ekaterina Prasolova-Førland has been working with educational virtual worlds and immersive technologies since 2002, with nearly 100 publications in the field. She has been involved in developing educational virtual reality simulations for a wide range of stakeholders, from aquaculture industry to the Norwegian Armed Forces. Ekaterina has founded and is leading Innovative Immersive Technologies for Learning (IMTEL) research group and ‘Lifelong learning’ VR lab at NTNU, as well as ‘4 campuses 1 reality’ initiative with the goal of connecting the distributed campuses of her university with a network of VR labs. She is co-founder of VR Forum Norway and founder of Women in VR/AR Norway and frequently gives public speeches and interviews on immersive technologies for learning and training. She is currently leading the development of innovative VR/AR solutions for the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration to assist and empower young job seekers. She is also working on a number of projects on educational applications of immersive technologies in medicine, sports, therapy, career guidance, collaborative work, emergency management and other areas. #Abstract In this ongoing project in collaboration with the Norwegian Labor and Welfare Administration, we explore how the use of Immersive Job Taste in Virtual Reality (VR) can motivate and inform young job seekers on their way to work. Immersive Job Taste is an interactive and engaging VR simulation with gaming elements that provides a ‘peek’ into different workplaces and professions. The VR experience allows the job seekers to be exposed to unfamiliar situations, such as job interview, typical tasks and interaction with others in a safe setting, thus supporting mastering the corresponding real-world situations. Through the simulation, the job seekers can immerse into different workplaces, explore different locations, try out typical job tasks, collect points and get feedback. We have so far developed a theoretical Immersive Job Taste framework and implemented several workplaces in VR: Fisheries and Aquaculture, Road Construction, Windmill Electrician, Car Mechanic, Tinsmith, Crane operator as well as a job interview app. The project has received international awards and broad media coverage. The initial assessment in lab setting among young job seekers and career counsellors has been overwhelmingly positive. The majority of testers believe that such applications should be available for job seekers and as a part of career guidance at schools. At the moment, the existing Immersive Job Taste applications are being deployed and evaluated further at several unemployment centers and schools in Norway to assess the long-term effect of the intervention. In this talk, we will introduce the project, the Immersive Job Taste conceptual framework, provide a demonstration of the VR apps and present the preliminary evaluation results, outlining the directions for future work. Speaker's page https://dimensionsxr.com/congress-speakers/professor-ekaterina-prasolova-forland/ --- The intro video has been made by Dragan Stiglic: https://draganstiglic.myportfolio.com The director: Mohamed Jean-Philippe Sangaré Founder and CEO of SSVAR https://www.linkedin.com/in/msangare/

#Title : Psychological Privacy, Emotional Regulation, and Long Term Space Travel. This talk made in October , 2020 has been given during the International Congress of Extended Reality in Sciences (https://dimensionsxr.com) organized by the Swiss Society of Virtual and Augmented Reality (SSVAR - https://ssvar.ch) #Bio An innovator and orchestrator connecting cross-disciplinary ideas, Alires Almon fuses a deep passion for science’s opportunities with the emerging pathways delivered by technology. She advances the consideration of the social and cultural impacts of technology in equal importance as its innovative impacts. Alires founded Deep Space Predictive Research Group to push the boundaries of social science and behavioral technologies to be utilized in space mission planning and leads an international research team whose goal it is to create new behavioral technology to support that mission. As a co-author of the award-winning response to the DARPA/NASA RFP for the 100 Year Starship Project, Alires focuses her contributions on the psychological impacts of long term space travel. Through her role as Partner Director of the Artificial Intelligence Institute at the Iliff School of Theology–she is focused on building a trust-based AI ecosystem. The institute facilitates a deeper understanding of the complex integrations and social implications of developing and applying artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies. As well, Alires serves as Director of Innovation for the Mental Health Center of Denver, where she integrates technology into behavioral health applications which engage the healthcare/IT innovation community to create partnerships locally, nationally, and internationally to develop world-class services for the Denver community. #Abstract In this session presents the findings from a review of psychological research focused on the relationship between privacy, surveillance, health and performance. We are particularly concerned with the hypothesis that psychological privacy may be a fundamental requirement for emotion regulation and total surveillance a condition that undermines emotion regulation. As we define those terms, we will present a thorough analysis of the relevant research to support the idea that a balance can be struck between psychological privacy, individual privacy rights and effective health monitoring. From a team perspective, reductions in each of the crew members personal zones of empathy over the course of a long space mission would ultimately be detrimental. With increased mental health engagement (Ziebland, 2019) an optimal ‘Goldilocks zone’ of empathy has a greater chance of being sustained. Speaker's page --- The intro video has been made by Dragan Stiglic: https://draganstiglic.myportfolio.com The director: Mohamed Jean-Philippe Sangaré Founder and CEO of SSVAR https://www.linkedin.com/in/msangare/

#Title : XR for factory design and production, sustainability perspectives and measures This talk made in October 30th , 2020 has been given during the International Congress of Extended Reality in Sciences (https://dimensionsxr.com) organized by the Swiss Society of Virtual and Augmented Reality (SSVAR - https://ssvar.ch) #Bio Professor Björn Johansson (Chair Sustainable Production) performs research on sustainability aspects using virtual tools to analyze and improve production systems for industries. The goal is to create and improve production system performance in order to strive towards a more sustainable future in terms of less environmental impact, socially sound workplaces as well as a healthy economy. The results from the research aims at facilitating use of methodologies and tools for engineers to use while analyzing and creating production systems. Example of application areas are: Simulation of complete product lifecycles. Dynamic analysis for evaluation of environmental aspects of production systems. Realistic 3D animation of production equipment, facilities and environment. Layout planning, scheduling, balancing etc. https://dimensionsxr.com/congress-speakers/dr-bjorn-johansson/ #Abstract The talk will showcase and explain the actual benefits and setbacks from recent research on utilizing e.g. 3D Imaging and AV/VR solutions applied on layout planning, production flow balancing and operator training for creating sustainable production systems. Recent development in research and implementation in industries is shared. A perspective on how information sharing and reduction of travel is influencing global warming and social aspects of persons involved in both factory design and production using the developed XR solutions. Speaker's page --- The intro video has been made by Dragan Stiglic: https://draganstiglic.myportfolio.com The director: Mohamed Jean-Philippe Sangaré Founder and CEO of SSVAR https://www.linkedin.com/in/msangare/

#Title : XR for Peace - The Potential of Immersive Psychological Interventions for Conflict Resolution This talk made in October , 2020 has been given during the International Congress of Extended Reality in Sciences (https://dimensionsxr.com) organized by the Swiss Society of Virtual and Augmented Reality (SSVAR - https://ssvar.ch) #Bio Béatrice Hasler Lev-Tov (PhD, University of Zurich) is an Assistant Professor and the Director of the newly founded Virtual Reality Lab for Conflict Research (VR-CORE) at the Sammy Ofer School of Communications at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya in Israel. She specializes in the psychology of virtual reality and its social applications, with a particular focus on intercultural and intergroup relations. She uses VR to study human behavior and decision making in interpersonal and intergroup conflicts, and explores the potential of VR as a new method for conflict resolution. Prior to her current position, she has been a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the Experimental Virtual Environments Lab for Neuroscience and Technology at the University of Barcelona and the Advanced Reality Lab at IDC Herzliya. Her Post-Doctoral research has been funded by a Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship and two fellowships from the Swiss National Science Foundation. She publishes her work in multi-disciplinary academic journals, including New Media & Society, PLOS ONE, Cyberpsychology, Computers in Human Behavior, Frontiers in Psychology, AI & Society, etc. #Abstract XR for Peace - The Potential of Immersive Psychological Interventions for Conflict Resolution Ongoing violent conflicts around the world remain one of the greatest challenges and threats to humanity. Alongside the political path to peacebuilding, the scientific community has embarked on the challenge of counteracting the causes of violent conflicts. Social psychologists have developed interventions that aim to overcome the psychological barriers that prevent a peaceful resolution of conflicts. However, these psychological interventions have only limited success. Could XR technologies be used as an alternative and perhaps more powerful method for conflict resolution and peacebuilding? After a brief introduction to the psychology of intergroup conflict, I will present examples of our recent studies conducted in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that demonstrate the potential of virtual reality to enhance peace promoting attitudes and emotions. Speaker's page https://dimensionsxr.com/congress-speakers/beatrice-hasler/ --- The intro video has been made by Dragan Stiglic: https://draganstiglic.myportfolio.com The director: Mohamed Jean-Philippe Sangaré Founder and CEO of SSVAR https://www.linkedin.com/in/msangare/

DR MICHAEL TORRENCE Dr. Michael Torrence is the president of Motlow State Community College. The college has campuses in Smyrna, Sparta, Tullahoma, McMinnville and Fayetteville, Tennessee. He has spent his career embracing the use of technological literacy as a platform to increase student access, engagement and success. He has served as the Co-Chairperson for TNeCampus, a Tennessee Board of Regents statewide team leader for the integration of Emerging Technology and Mobilization in the areas of Gaming, VR, AR, and MR into teaching and learning. He has trained faculty, students, executives, and community members and developed immersive curriculum focused on STEAMB (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art/Aviation, Mathematics, and Business focused on Entrepreneurship) for all grade levels and utilized these platforms teaching undergraduate and graduate students in his own classes where VR and entrepreneurship is a norm. Currently, he is researching and developing a platform for OER through support of Hewlett-Packard and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in addition to meeting workforce needs through traditional and emerging needs, such as, AI, and Voice Technology, Mechatronics, Allied Health, Vision System, and the Automation Robotics Training Center. He earned a doctor of philosophy degree, with a major in exceptional learning, at Tennessee Tech University, and master of arts and bachelor of arts degrees at South Dakota State University, both with a major in English. Michael is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, serving as a senior airman from 1992 to 1996. https://dimensionsxr.com/congress-speakers/dr-michael-torrence/ #Abstract #DIMENSIONSXR 2020 / Dr. Michael Torrence : "Ripples and Fissures: Emerging Technology and its TILT"

#Title : Immersive reality enhanced simulation in health higher education: MESH360 #Abstract This presentation explores the third prototype design iteration of an immersive reality (XR) enhanced simulation project in critical healthcare higher education. Built upon three project iterations 2017-2019, the design-based research (DBR) project illustrates that XR can be employed within the learning environment to introduce critical elements of patient and practitioner risk and stress through simulated environmental and socio-cultural influences without putting either students, educators, practitioners or patients at real risk, but create a safe learning environment that more authentically simulates these risk elements, enhancing traditional mannequin based simulation experiences. The MESH360 project is comprised of a collaborative transdisciplinary team of educational researchers, designers, practitioners, and working professionals. Using DBR, the 2019 project explored the impact of mobile XR enhanced simulation for training novice and professional paramedics through the triangulation of participant subjective feedback, observation, and participant biometric data. The identified XR design principles provide a framework for transferable learning designs in other high risk practice-based learning environments.

#Abstract The post-covid era has propelled distance education but it is limited to two-dimensional and too passive communication. New immersive technologies open the doors to an active education in which the student and the teacher interact with three-dimensional environments and materials. These technologies allow a more natural learning based on experience, motivating students to internalize complex concepts by visualizing them in three dimensions. The first real experiences we have made show us great satisfaction on the part of the students and illuminate a future for a new form of more immersive and participatory education that will change the world.