Positive Technology Journal

Event Date: 4 July 2007 to 6 July 2007
The First PEACH Summer School: 4-6th July 2007, Santorini Greece
"Towards Human Machine Confluence - Presence Technologies and Foundations"

Are you a PRESENCE researcher or PhD student? Are you looking to find out more about the latest presence research, methodologies and technologies? If so then the first PEACH Summer School is for you.

Registration deadline: 20th April 2007

PEACH is a FP6 Coordination Action on Presence. Its objective is to stimulate structure and support the Presence research community, with special attention to the challenges associated with the interdisciplinary character of the field, and to produce visions and roadmaps to support the construction of the Presence ERA. The Summer School is the ideal place to join the leaders in the field for a series of lectures and presentations. There are also working groups, which will focus on the latest technologies, applications and measurement techniques along with a poster session where you can present your work to other attendees and experts.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS INCLUDE
Prof David Benyon, Napier University
Dr Wijnand IJsselsteijn, Eidhoven University of Technology (Pasion IP-EU Project)
Dr Paul Verschure, University Pompeu Fabra (Presenccia)
Prof Mel Slater, University College London (Presenccia IP-EU Project, Immersence IP-EU Project)
Dr Christoph Gurger, Guger Technologies OEG BMI (Presenccia)
Dr Maria Victoria Sánchez Vives, Universidad Miguel Hernández-CSIC (Presenccia IP-EU Project)
Prof John Waterworth, Umea University
Dr Doron Friedman, University College London, (Presenccia IP-EU Project)
Dr Robert Bracewell, Universities of Birmingham and Wales, (Immersence IP-EU Project)
Dr Luciano Gamberini, University of Padua (Pasion)
Dr Wolfgang Broll, Fraunhofer (IP City-EU Project)
Dr Giullio Jacucci, Fraunhofer (IP City-EU Project)

MOBI (Mobile Operating Bi-directional Interface), by Graham Smith, is a human sized telepresence robot that users remotely control to move through distant environments, see through its camera eye, talk through its speakers and hear via its microphone ear. Simultaneously a life sized image of themselves is projected onto the robots LCD face, creating a robotic avatar. MOBI allows people to "explore far away art shows, attend distant presentations and make public appearences from anywhere on earth, thus helping to reduce air travel and reduce global warming". MOBI is at DEAF 07.

Graham Smith is a leading expert in the fields of telepresence, virtual reality, videoconferencing and robotics. He has worked with leading Canadian high tech companies for more than 14 years, including Nortel, Vivid Effects, VPL, BNR and IMAX. Graham initiated and headed the Virtual Reality Artist Access Program at the world-renowned McLuhan Program at the University of Toronto, and has lectured internationally. He holds numerous patents in the field of telepresence and panoramic imaging, and was recognized in Macleans magazine as one of the top 100 Canadians to watch.