The world of virtual reality comes to Nottingham

As a human factors team, this group focuses on making technologies easy for people to understand and use.  Current projects which can be seen at JVRC2011 include using VR to help children with Autism to collaborate with each other, designing new technologies for the elderly and people with limited capabilities, and how VR/AR/MR can address the decline of manufacturing industries in Europe.

Dr Mirabelle D’Cruz, HFRG Director of European Projects said: “This conference is where industry meets science.  It has something for everyone.  It is a great opportunity to meet those people who use VR, AR and MR technologies for real applications to address real needs.  It is also an opportunity to meet the people who create these technologies and applications so that you can see what future technology solutions could be like for industry. We are expecting developers, users, suppliers, industry practitioners and researchers from all over the world as well as the key stakeholders and decision makers to help shape the future of these technologies and their use in industry.”

The exhibition will showcase the latest and new exciting opportunities in 3D technologies.  Familiar to all will be the displays such 3DTVs, 3D projectors and headsets which are now commonly available for the domestic user.  Less familiar technologies include low to high end Haptic devices as used by industry to “feel” and “touch” 3D objects will be demonstrated.  Technologies to track the movement of a person as in animated films will be presented for their benefit in creating realistic movement of “virtual humans” and in assessing a real human for ergonomic assessment.

More information about the event can be found at: www.nottingham.ac.uk/jvrc2011/about.aspx

University projects with demonstrations include:

http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/engineering-rg/manufacturing/humanfactors/projects/cospatial.aspx

http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/engineering-rg/manufacturing/humanfactors/projects/manuvar.aspx

Details about the Human Factors Reasearch Group can be found at:

http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/engineering-rg/manufacturing/humanfactors/index.aspx

The event, which is being held in the Business School (South) on The University of Nottingham’s award winning Jubilee Campus, will also see the launch of the “WOW-factor” competition. The competition is open to individuals, organisations, researchers, developers, academics and commerce. The judges will be looking for the demonstration that makes people say “WOW, that’s cool!”

The entries are:

From the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Germany showing how a kuka robot can not only be used for making cars but also to give a more realistic driving experience

http://www.cyberneum.de/f1/

Researcher at the National University of Singapore show how you can create an “organic” interface to technology using a ferro-fluid liquid

http://youtu.be/V5EMyRsLLeQ

http://youtu.be/WtA7HpuibQ

Re-Lion, The Netherlands show how VR can provide a more realistic, multi-user experience for military law-enforcement and civilian applications

http://www.vimeo.com/25032061

FBK, Italy, Bar-IIan University, Israel and University of Haifa, Israel show an interactive table that encourages children with Autism to collaborate

http://vimeo.com/21600852

Fraunhofer FIT, Germany show how you can easily track your palm and finger to control a computer with a gesture)

http://3dmt.georg-hackenberg.de/

I'm in VR, France, demonstrates a new piece of software which lets you move from a small display like a laptop to a large display in a much easier way

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEu930M0JlA

For more information about this joint conference for the European Association of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality (euroVR) and the Eurographics Symposium on Virtual Environments (EGVE) go to: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/jvrc2011/index.aspx

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Notes to editors:  The University of Nottingham, described by The Sunday Times University Guide 2011 as ‘the embodiment of the modern international university’, has award-winning campuses in the United Kingdom, China and Malaysia. It is ranked in the UK's Top 10 and the World's Top 75 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and the QS World University Rankings. It was named ‘Europe’s greenest university’ in the UI GreenMetric World University Ranking, a league table of the world’s most environmentally-friendly higher education institutions, which ranked Nottingham second in the world overall.

The University is committed to providing a truly international education for its 40,000 students, producing world-leading research and benefiting the communities around its campuses in the UK and Asia.

More than 90 per cent of research at The University of Nottingham is of international quality, according to the most recent Research Assessment Exercise, with almost 60 per cent of all research defined as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. Research Fortnight analysis of RAE 2008 ranked the University 7th in the UK by research power. The University’s vision is to be recognised around the world for its signature contributions, especially in global food security, energy & sustainability, and health.

More news from the University at: www.nottingham.ac.uk/new