Program

Abstract
In face to face collaboration, spatial cues play an important role in supporting communication. However, in most current conferencing tools these cues are lost. This presentation discusses Spatial User Interfaces for Teleconferencing and how Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) can be used to provide important spatial cues in collaborative systems. However, AR and VR can also go beyond just reproducing face to face conversation, and so research will be presented showing examples of novel collaborative AR/VR systems that go "Beyond Being There". Finally, important directions for research opportunities will be outlined such as tele-existence, Empathic Computing, social neuroscience, and more.

Biography
Dr. Mark Billinghurst is Director of the Empathic Computing Laboratory, and Professor at the University of South Australia in Adelaide, Australia, and also at the University of Auckland in Auckland, New Zealand. He earned a PhD in 2002 from the University of Washington and conducts research on how virtual and real worlds can be merged, publishing over 550 papers on Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, remote collaboration, Empathic Computing, and related topics. In 2013 he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, and in 2019 was given the ISMAR Career Impact Award in recognition for lifetime contribution to AR research and commercialization.

Abstract
Current Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR) systems enable the user to interact with virtual content. Still, many virtual or augmented environments are limited in terms of interaction. In this talk, I discuss some of the associated challenges, such as the effect of occasionally failing technologies, human perception and spatial interaction skills, complex and/or multi-scale virtual content, and precision requirements and present recent work that addresses each challenge and the potential for future research.

Biography
Dr. Wolfgang Stuerzlinger is a leading researcher in Three-dimensional User Interfaces. He received his Doctorate from the Vienna University of Technology, was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Chapel Hill in North Carolina, and professor at York University in Toronto. Since 2014, he is a full professor at the School of Interactive Arts + Technology at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. His work aims to gain a deeper understanding of and to find innovative solutions for real-world problems. Current research projects include better 3D interaction techniques for Virtual and Augmented Reality applications, new human-in-the-loop systems for big data analysis (Visual Analytics and Immersive Analytics), the characterization of the effects of technology limitations on human performance, investigations of human behaviors with occasionally failing technologies, user interfaces for versions, scenarios and alternatives, and new virtual reality hardware and software.