September 26, 2024, 14:00-15:00 CET
The Young European Associated Researchers (YEAR) network is happy to present our next online webinar about “AR/VR/Metaverse”, which will be presented by Dr. Setareh Zafari (AIT), Simon N.B. Gunkel (TNO) and Dr. Zhi Li (Tyndall).
WEBINAR OVERVIEW
AR/VR technologies are revolutionizing various domains by blending the physical and digital worlds, creating immersive experiences that are transforming user interactions, communication, and display technology. The three talks tie together by exploring how these advancements enhance user experience (UX) research, address the hype and potential of the metaverse, and push the boundaries of display technology with cutting-edge micro-LED developments, ultimately shaping the future of digital interactions and human experiences.
We hope that this webinar can help you realize the important work that is currently ongoing in the RTOs in YEAR in this field, welcome!
AGENDA
Talk 1: XR for UX research (Dr Zafari)
In this talk, Dr Zafari will provide an overview about XR technologies (VR/AR/MR) to discover how these immersive technologies can be leveraged to advance UI/UX research and offer new dimensions in UX design and evaluation. Dr Zafari will also delve into some exemplary practices and methodologies for conducting effective user studies in XR environments, to address the challenges and opportunities that arise in this rapidly evolving domain.
Talk 2: Bursting the Metaverse Hype bubble (Simon Gunkel)
Let’s discuss the metaverse and how AR and VR can enhance our digital lives. My research is driven by the belief that humans are social beings who thrive on shared experiences. To maximize the benefits of AR and VR in various industries, education, and remote support, we need high-quality multiuser communication and photorealistic 3D user representations. In this talk, Simon will overview the AR/VR communication landscape, showcasing real-world prototypes and future use cases. Remember, extended reality (XR/AR/VR) is multidisciplinary, this means that if we want to build better technology and work towards a vision where reality blends with virtuality, we have to do it all together.
Talk 3: Micro-LED technologies for next-generation AR/VR displays (Dr Li)
Technologies for virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are set to transform various aspects of life, including entertainment, education, and healthcare. Key to these technologies are micro-displays, which provide vivid images and smooth motion for immersive experiences.
This talk will cover different micro-display technologies like organic LEDs (OLEDs) and liquid crystal on Si (LCoS), with a special focus on the most promising technology, namely the microLEDs. It will discuss challenges such as RGB color integration and efficiency drops in traditional AlGaInP-based red LEDs, and present a demo on integrating RGB microLEDs on glass. Ongoing work on InGaN red LEDs and growth approaches on pyramidal structures will also be highlighted.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Dr. Setareh Zafari is a scientist at AIT, Center for Technology Experience and holds PhD in Social and Economic science from TU Wien. Her research interest is mainly on future interface design that covers the interplay between emerging technology and human at micro (human-robot collaboration) to macro level (socio-technical systems). She has extensive knowledge and experience in designing, conducting and evaluating experiments and user studies.
Simon N.B. Gunkel is a Senior R&D Scientist at TNO, the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research in The Hague. Simon received a master’s degree in computer science in 2012, both from the Technical University Berlin, Germany, and KAIST, Daejeon, Republic of Korea. His ongoing efforts in applied research cover a wide range of topics in multimedia, such as virtual reality communication, video conferencing, and quality of experience. Currently his main focus is on the topic of web-based photo-realistic immersive communication (AR, VR, MR, XR), which is also the topic of Simon’s ongoing PhD research in collaboration with the Centrum voor Wiskunde en Informatica (CWI), in Amsterdam (Netherlands). Simon’s activities cover the full innovation cycle from ideation, implementation, evaluation, and standardization. Simon contributed and functioned as rapporteur in 3GPP SA4 and is an IEEE Senior member.
Dr Zhi Li is a senior researcher in Tyndall National Institute, University College Cork. His research fields include development of III-nitride-based photonic devices including LEDs, lasers and superluminesence diodes, especially with strong expertise on transfer printing technologies for advanced integration. He is currently a principal investigator funded by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and Irish Research Council (IRC) through the Pathway Programme. He was awarded the Emerging Research Leaders Award by Irish Photonics Integrated Centre (IPIC), the SFI Research Centre for Photonics. Dr Zhi Li hold the PhD from Electrical and Electronics Department, University of Sheffield, and got the Master from Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences.