VUMS workshop at the 13th International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs, organised on July 11-13, 2012 (Pre-Conference July 09-10, 2012) at the University of Linz, Altenbergerstraße 69, 4040 Linz, Austria

This workshop at ICCHP 2012, organised by four EU-funded projects VICON, VERITAS, GUIDE and MyUI building the VUMS cluster VUMS (Virtual User Modelling and Simulation Cluster), presents prototypes and discusses concepts of generic interoperable user models that describe the relevant characteristics of users, who will interact with products and user interfaces. These include physical cognitive, and sensory attributes, habits, preferences and accessibility capabilities. With such a model designers can define as many user interaction profiles as needed to address the whole range of requirements from a target population. It will also help designers and developers to maximize the level of accessibility of products and services by providing a comprehensive set of Human Factors design guidelines, which could be used in virtual spaces to visualize accessibility and usability issues.

All user models depend heavily on their specific use cases. There are a number of reasons for this:

• A complete model of the user, meaning a model that includes facets according to the state of the art would be rather complex and inefficient in use for both simulation purposes and even more for implementation in a product’s user interface.
• Existing devices might not be able to handle complicated user models.
• Not all facets are needed for the specific use case. E.g. modelling some severe visual impairment is not relevant when designing a car.
• Specific requirements might require modifications in existing user models.
• Ways of measuring variables might differ among use cases.

New findings may result in changes and updates of models.

Workshop Chairs: Dr. Dimitris Tzovaras, Dr. Konstantinos Moustakas, CERTH/ITI
Background, Experiences:
Dr. Dimitrios Tzovaras is a Senior Researcher A’ (Full Professor) at CERTH/ITI. He is also a Visiting Professor at the Imperial College London. His research activity has led to the coauthoring of more than 250 papers in refereed journals and international conferences. He has been very active in the field of accessibility serving as the coordinator of the ACCESSIBLE project and the Technical Coordinator of VERITAS, while being also the Principal Investigator in AEGIS, OASIS, APSIS4ALL, ATIS4ALL, CLOUD4ALL.
Dr. Konstantinos Moustakas is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at CERTH/ITI. During the latest years, he has been the (co)author of more than 75 papers in refereed journals, edited books, and international conferences, many of them in the field of accessibility. He has been also involved in ten research projects funded by the EC and the Greek secretariat of Research and Technology, among them VERITAS, AEGIS, OASIS.

Co-Chairs: Fraunhofer FIT: Manfred Dangelmaier, Matthias Peissner, Carlos Velasco; Pradipta Biswas

Participation: open

Duration: 3 hours

Time: to be announced

Room: to be announced

Link to ICCHP workshop page: http://www.icchp.org/node/348

VUMS STS at the 13th International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs, organised on July 11-13, 2012 (Pre-Conference July 09-10, 2012) at the University of Linz, Altenbergerstraße 69, 4040 Linz, Austria.

This STS, organised by four EU-funded projects VICON, VERITAS, GUIDE and MyUI building the VUMS cluster VUMS (Virtual User Modelling and Simulation Cluster) , calls for papers and presentations of:

• research and development work
• prototypes and products
• concepts and
• evaluation of usability and applicability

of generic interoperable user models that describe the relevant characteristics of users, who will interact with products and user interfaces. These include physical cognitive, and sensory attributes, habits, preferences and accessibility capabilities.

With such a model designers can define as many user interaction profiles as needed to address the whole range of requirements from a target population. It will also help designers and developers to maximize the level of accessibility of products and services by providing a comprehensive set of Human Factors design guidelines, which could be used in virtual spaces to visualize accessibility and usability issues. All user models depend heavily on their specific use cases. There are a number of reasons for this:

• A complete model of the user, meaning a model that includes facets according to the state of the art would be rather complex and inefficient in use for both simulation purposes and even more for implementation in a product’s user interface.
• Existing devices might not be able to handle complicated user models.
• Not all facets are needed for the specific use case. E.g. modelling some severe visual impairment is not relevant when designing a car.
• Specific requirements might require modifications in existing user models.
• Ways of measuring variables might differ among use cases.

New findings may result in changes and updates of models.

STS Chair: Fraunhofer FIT: Yehya Mohamad, Manfred Dangelmaier, Matthias Peissner, Carlos Velasco;
Pradipta Biswas

Submission: Contributions to a STS have to be submitted using the standard submission procedures of ICCHP. When submitting your contribution please make sure to select this STS under “STS/Session”.
Contributions to a STS are evaluated by the Programme Commitee of ICCHP and by the chair(s) of the STS.
Please get in contact with the STS chairs for discussing your involvement and pre-evaluation of your contribution.

Submission Deadline: February 1, 2012

Link to STS page: http://www.icchp.org/node/349

Following events have been planned by MyUI (VUMS partner project) for the following months:

• Workshop: Interactive TV: Collaborative Design with Older People – 25/26 October 2001 at the Interactive Technologies and Games: Education, Health and Disability 2011 conference, 25th and 26th October 2011, Nottingham, UK (http://www.ntu.ac.uk/ITAG).
• 21st eChallenges e-2011 Conference, 26-28 October 2011, Florence, Italy (www.echallenges.org). Paper: “Accessible ICT-mediated services for older users through interactive TV: opportunities, challenges and achievements”.
• Cambridge Workshop on Universal Access and Assistive Technology, 26 – 29 March 2012, Cambridge (http://www-edc.eng.cam.ac.uk/cwuaat/). Paper “From guinea pigs to design partners – involving older people in technology design”.
• Participate in the VUMS (2nd Pan-European VERTAS workshop) workshop at JVRC 2011 on 21 September 2011.

Following events are planned to take place in Nottingham, UK:

• Tuesday morning 20/09: Scientific Advisory Board meeting
• Tuesday afternoon 20/09: 2nd Pan-European VERITAS User Forum
• Wednesday morning 21/09: VUMS cluster meeting
• Wednesday afternoon 21/09: 2nd Pan-European VERTAS workshop at JVRC 2011

The next VERITAS User Forum entitled “Defining simulation task models for everyday solutions, designed for all”, takes place on Tuesday 20th September from 13h00 till 17h00, hosted at Crown Plaza in Nottingham.

This workshop is intended to attract:

• End-users (people with disabilities, older people);
• Designers from the automotive, home and working environment, ehealth, and infotainment area;
• Representatives from end-user organizations;
• Policy makers.

During this highly participative workshop you will be introduced to the VERITAS project, followed by a first demonstration of how accessible design can be simulated in the automotive, working and home environment. You will as such co-influence the project development and, through your input, expertise and feedback as users and designers of accessible solutions, ensure that the developed applications respond to real user needs

Main issues that will be addressed:

• The VERITAS project at a glance
• Outcomes of the 1st User Forum
• Introducing to the VERITAS task models – Demonstration users/task models simulation environment.
• Discussion in groups per application area on the task models
• Presentations in plenary on outcome of group discussions

The full agenda can be downloaded here (accessible pdf).

You are kindly invited to take part in this event. While access is free, places are limited. We therefore kindly ask you to register, using the below form.

Registration is now closed.

We kindly welcome you to our workshop “Accessibility Engineering with User Models, Simulation and VR” organized in the context of the 2011 Joint Virtual Reality Conference on 20-21 September 2011, Nottingham UK.

The workshop chaired by Manfred Dangelmaier (Fraunhofer IAO, Stuttgart, Germany), and which is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon 21 September 2011, will gather a wide array of experts and users in the area of Simulation and Virtual Reality, and showcase relevant projects and initiatives in the area of accessible design and simulation in the areas of automotive, home, working environment, infotainment and ehealth design.

VERITAS’ 2nd Pan-European workshop “Accessibility Engineering with User Models, Simulation and VR” is being organised in the context of the 2011 Joint Virtual Reality Conference on 20-21 September 2011, Nottingham UK.

The workshop –which is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon 21 September 2011- will gather a wide array of experts and users in the area of Simulation and Virtual Reality, and showcase relevant projects and initiatives in the area of accessible design and simulation in the areas of automotive, home, working environment, infotainment and ehealth design.

Outline is as following:

• 13.30-15.30 Workshop (per paper 15 minutes presentation + 5 minutes discussion)
• 15.30- 15.45 Coffee break
• 15.45-16.45 Workshop (Panel discussions)

Call for papers:
We launch a call for papers in the following categories:

• Scientific papers
• Technical papers

Workshop topics:

• Virtual Reality and Digital Human Modelling
• Virtual Reality Hardware and Modelling
• VR Interfaces for Avatar Control
• VR Interfaces for Object Manipulation
• VR Applications in Accessibility Assessment
• Assistive Technologies in VR
• Scene interpretation and cognition in VR
• Geometric Algorithms for Physical Simulation
• Collision Avoidance in Virtual Reality Environments
• Haptic Control Methods for VR
• Anthropometry and Human Functionality Modelling and Simulation
• User Modelling, Adaptation and Personalization
• Verification and validation of Digital Human Modelling (DHM)
• Ergonomics tools and techniques
• Virtual interactive design and assessment
• 3D Human Body Modelling
• Human Body Motion Planning and Simulation
• Special (older, impaired) Populations Data Collection and Modelling
• Biomechanics and Comfort Factors
• Accessibility & Usability in VR
• VR & Design for All

Important dates:

• Abstract submission deadline: 31st July 2011
• Notification of acceptance abstract submission: 15th of August 2011
• Paper submission deadline: 10th September 2011
• Notification of acceptance and outcome of review process: 15th September 2011
• Registration by 15th September 2011

Abstracts submission:
Abstracts submitted in the context of one of the above topics should not exceed 500 words. The title, authors and their contact and affiliation details (authors’ email address, telephone and fax number and affiliation name and address) as well as keywords (up to five) should be included.
Under the title of your abstract, please quote the relevant workshop topic. We would strongly recommend you to propose more than one topic, if applicable, quoting them in priority order.

Authors who are unable to provide an electronic version or have other circumstances that prevent such submission must contact us (veritas@marie-curie-bg.org) prior to submission to discuss alternative options.

Abstracts should be submitted to veritas@marie-curie-bg.org by 31st July 2011.

Submission declaration:
Submission of a manuscript implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the copyright-holder.
Any manuscript not complying with the above requirements will not be accepted.

Guidelines for Final Paper:
Download Guidelines for Final Papers.
Papers should be 6-8 pages in length.
Papers should be submitted to veritas@marie-curie-bg.org by 10th of September 2011.

Live demonstrations:
Additionally, VERITAS will also provide live demonstrations of its work at the conference’s Demo track.

Full details and guidelines on the conference are available on http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/jvrc2011/index.aspx.

Please forward this to anyone you believe might be interested.

Ve dnech 29.-30. listopadu se na Fakultě elektrotechnické Českého vysokého učení technického v Praze bude konat První celoevropský workshop a Uživatelské fórum projektu VERITAS.
Cílem projektu VERITAS je podpora vývoje uživatelsky přístupných produktů z různých aplikačních oblastí pomocí virtuálních modelů uživatelů a využití těchto modelů pro testování vyvíjených produktů pomocí simulací ve virtuálním prostředí. Za použití nástrojů vytvářených v projektu VERITAS bude možné odhalit v počátečních fázích vývoje různé překážky, které snižují přístupnost produktů pro různé skupiny uživatelů (zejména postižené a seniory), což dovoluje návrhářům vylepšit a upravit jejich původní návrh tak, aby žádné skupiny uživatelů nevylučoval. Konkrétní aplikační oblasti, na které se projekt zaměřuje, zahrnují automobilový průmysl, inteligentní domácnost, zdravotní péči a oblast elektronické zábavy. Projekt VERITAS je podporován ze 7. rámcového programu Evropské unie a sdružuje 34 univerzit, výzkumných institucí a firem z různých zemí Evropské unie.
Uživatelské fórum projektu má za cíl umožnit setkání vývojářů a návrhářů na straně jedné a budoucích uživatelů na straně druhé. Workshop poskytne podněty zejména vývojářům a výkonným pracovníkům ze zmíněných aplikačních oblastí. Obě události představí již vyvinuté modely virtuálních uživatelů a první funkční prototyp.
Program obou událostí je dostupný na webové stránce projektu VERITAS. Již nyní je možné se bezplatně zaregistrovat na níže uvedené adrese. Termín pro registraci je 22. listopad 2010.
Potenciální návrháři, výrobci a uživatelé aplikací VERITAS se také mohou připojit k online uživatelskému fóru, kde se mohou zúčastnit diskuse. V případě potřeby dalších informací nebo dotazů prosím kontaktujte: info@veritas-project.eu (komunikace v anglickém jazyce).
Stránka pro online registraci.

The forthcoming VERITAS plenary meeting will be hosted by FORTH in Heraklion, Crete, Greece on 6-8 September 2010.

VERITAS will participate in the ICT 2010 networking session “Built-in accessibility assessment and interoperability architectures in products of the future”, which will take place on 28/09/2010 (16:00-17:30).

The content of the networking session will focus on the interoperability architectures that provide adaptive interfaces and modern accessibility evaluation approaches for the design and development of products of the future. The e-inclusion market traditionally incorporates advances in existing products, and this session examines the challenges and opportunities when designing such products. It presents interoperable architectures that provide adaptive interfaces and cover modern accessibility evaluation approaches for all stages of production, specification, design, development and testing. It will look at past and current projects and also focus on the future of accessible environment design as an option to single product design strategies (e.g. interoperability from one environment to another, such as home, transport, etc.). The aim is to maximise the results of future European R&D in the area.

Related projects: ACCESSIBLE, AEGIS, INREDIS, VERITAS

Coordinators: Dimitrios TZOVARAS (Center for Research and Technology Hellas, Informatics and Telematics Institute, CERTH/ITI, Greece); Evangelos BEKIARIS (Centre for Research and Technology Hellas/ Hellenic Institute of Transport, CERTH/HIT, Greece); José Ángel MARTINEZ USERO (Technosite/ONCE Foundation, Spain)