IBM Research – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

This year’s VRTGO conference and expo will be featuring more than just videogames. Part of the presentations at the event will involve a talk on what virtual reality (VR) will mean for the future of research.

The VRTGO conference and expo will be returning for a fourth year in November, with organiser Secret Sauce bringing a range of industry leaders in the areas of virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR) and augmented reality (AR) to Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the UK.

One of the featured talks will be titled Enhancing Human Performance with VR and Machine Learning, it will be hosted by IBM Researcher Aldis Sipolins, who will be discussing how technology such as VR can impact research into areas such as human cognition. His research has noted that using VR in experiments in cognition involving human subjects elicits more natural behaviour that other kinds of simulation, resulting in more accurate data being collected.

In one example, Sipolins had participants in an IBM Research experiment wear an EEG headband whilst completing a memory game in VR. Using machine learning and the data thus gathered, the researchers were able to successfully predict memory based on observed brain activity.

Sipolins said: “I’m excited to share what we’ve learned so far and give a first look at new data we’re collecting. I want to help people understand what VR means for human research and why it’s such a game-changer. It’s also exciting to meet other people working in this area and discover other cool research taking place in Europe. I’m really looking forward to VRTGO.”

Carri Cunliffe, VRTGO Producer, “VR has many powerful uses outside of entertainment and we are seeing many more sectors using VR to benefit their businesses. The real in VR has a strength for many areas. We were thrilled when Aldis said he could make VRTGO this year. The work he is doing at IBM is ground-breaking and amazing. I think anyone hearing his talk will be inspired to look at using VR in research and other applications.”

VRTGO will be held at the Baltic Art Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK on 1^st and 2^nd November, 2017. Further information can be found on the VRTGO website.

VRFocus will bring you further information on VRTGO as it becomes available.

After three previous successful events, UK-based virtual reality (VR) conference VRTGO will be returning to Newcastle Upon Tyne for its fourth year with the aim of looking at the future of VR, augmented reality (AR) and other immersive technologies.

Already lined up to speak at the event is Nick Whiting, Head of VR/AR at Epic Games, creators of the Unreal Engine and hit VR title Robo Recall. Whiting will be addressing attendees on what Epic Games has learned about player psychology, physiology and technology and how that applies to the business of creating VR videogames.

Also presenting at VRTGO 2017 will be Aldis Sipolins, Head of VR and Games Design at IBM Research, who will be talking about his research into VR and artificial intelligence (AI) and how that relates to machine learning.

Carri Cunliffe, Conference Director said, “as VR starts to be adopted across lots of different industries the event will be looking at what the impact will be for us in terms of our everyday lives, entertainment, work, social interactions, the world around us. We are very excited to have amazing influential speakers on board and more speakers and workshops will be announced shortly.”

Nick Whiting from Epic Games said, “I am pleased to be able to speak at the event, and share what we’ve learned about making VR and AR content with everyone, and to talk a bit about where we think the future lies for this technology. It truly has changed the way we interact with computing: from enterprise, to film, to games. This is a very exciting time to be involved!”

There are also plans to include specific industry workshops and opportunities for people to make key contacts within the VR industry. The workshops are planned to focus on areas such as videogaming, manufacturing, architecture and training.

Further information and tickets can be found at the VRTGO official website.

VRFocus will continue to bring you information on VRTGO and other VR events.

Category: IBM Research

VRTGO Will Host Talk On VR and Human Cognitive Research

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