Workshop 2011 at JVRC 2011

The workshop “Accessibility Engineering with User Models, Simulation and VR” was successfully organized in the context of the 2011 Joint Virtual Reality Conference on 21 September 2011, Nottingham UK. The workshop chaired by Manfred Dangelmaier (Fraunhofer IAO, Stuttgart, Germany), and which took place on Wednesday afternoon 21 September 2011, gathered a wide array of experts and users in the area of Simulation and Virtual Reality, and showcased relevant projects and initiatives in the area of accessible design and simulation in the areas of automotive, home, working environment, infotainment and ehealth design.

Following papers were presented:

• Dimitrios Tzovaras et al.: VERITAS – An open simulation platform for immersive and non-immersive accessibility engineering
• Sue Cobb, Belinda Lange: VR in rehabilitation – examples and challenges
• Mauro Da Lio, Mariolino De Cecco, Francesco Biral, Daniele Bortoluzzi: How do human beings move? A lesson from driver models. State of the art and ideas concerning the planning of human movements.
• Yehya Mohamad, Pradipta Biswas: Standardisation of user models for designing and using inclusive products
• Manfred Dangelmaier, Matthias Bues et al: A VR application for planning processes for nursing homes
• Christian Schönauer, Thomas Pintaric, Hannes Kaufmann: Full body motion capture a flexible marker-based solution

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

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.

All presentations of the Pan-European Workshop on 30 November 2010 can now be downloaded.

Dates: November 29-30, 2010
Location: Prague, Czech Republic
Venue address: CVUT FEL, Technicka 2, Praha 6 – Dejvice, Czech Republic
Collocated events: VUMS clustering meeting, VERITAS Scientific Advisory Board meeting, 3rd VERITAS plenary meeting

Ensuring that all products developed in the car, home, work, healthcare and entertainment industry are accessible and designed for all, lies at the core of the VERITAS project. Through the development of virtual user models that can be inserted in simulation environments, any design elements that cause barriers for the beneficiaries (people with disabilities and older people) can be detected at the very beginning, thus allowing the designers to improve their initial design and make it inclusive.
The User Forum aims to bring together on the one hand the developers and designers, and on the other hand the beneficiaries of the developed products and services. The Workshop aims to gain momentum among all affected stakeholders from the aforementioned industries, while offering equally a stage for all involved designers and beneficiaries to discuss their needs with the industry. These events will also introduce already developed virtual user models, and demonstrate a first working prototype.

Program

29 November 2010 – VERITAS Scientific Advisory Board meeting

• 10:00 – 12:00 VERITAS SAB meeting

29 November 2010 – VERITAS User Forum

• 13:30 – 14:00 The VERITAS project at a glance (Fraunhofer IAO)
• 14:00 – 14:15 Why User Involvement is important (AGE Platform Europe)
• 14:15 – 15:00 Presentation of Use cases and user scenarios (HIT and MCA)
• 15:00 – 15:30 Coffee break
• 15:30 – 16:30 Discussion  (end users and beneficiaries) on generic use cases and user scenarios (Coordinated by HIT, AGE and MCA)
• 16:30 – 17:00 Conclusions (Coordinated by HIT, AGE and MCA)
• 17:00 Wrap-up and goodbye (AGE Platform Europe)

29 November 2010 – VUMS clustering meeting

• 13:30 – 17:00 VUMS clustering meeting (in parallel with User Forum)

30 November 2010 – 1st Pan-European VERITAS Workshop

• 9.00 – 9.15 Welcome speech Zbyněk Škvor (Vice-Dean of CVUT FEL)
• 9.15 – 9.30 Project overview Manfred Dangelmaier (FhG)
• 9.30 – 10.00 Technical project description Dimitrios Tzovaras (CERTH-ITI)
• 10.00 – 10.30 Examples from the Developers Nicola Cofelice (LMS), Hans Joachim Wirsching (HS)
• 10.30 – 11.00 Coffee break
• 11.00 – 11.30 User requirements Karel Van Isacker (MCA) / Benchmarking of existing tools  Nicola Cofelice (LMS)
• 11.30 – 12.00 Task analysis Karel Van Isacker (MCA)
• 12.00 – 13.00 Lunch break
• 13.00 – 13.30 Cognitive abstract user model Maria Fernanda Cabrera (UPM)
• 13.30 – 14.00 Abstract physical user model Mauro Da Lio (UNITN)
• 14.00 – 14.30 Psychological  and Behavioural Abstract user model Ana María Navarro Cerdá (ITACA)
• 14.30 – 15.00 Coffee break
• 15.00 – 15.45 Use cases  Eleni Chalkia (CERTH-HIT)
• 15.45 – 16.30 Invited speakers from the VUMS cluster (MyUI, GUIDE, VICON, VAALID)
• 16.30 – 17.00 VERITAS/VUMS Ethics Framework Karel Van Isacker (MCA)
• 17.00 – 17.30 Wrap-up and closing Manfred Dangelmaier (FhG) Dimitrios Tzovaras (CERTH-ITI)