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i_mBODY Lab

Interactive Multisensory Body-centred Experiences
at the Intersection of Neuroscience & Technology

The robot: past, present and future. From the automaton machines to science fiction

Date: 2024-11-20, 14:00h-15:00h UTC+2 (CEST)

Speaker: Ricardo Iglesias García, Fine Arts Faculty, Universidad Complutense de Madrid

Title: The robot: past, present and future. From the automaton machines to science fiction

Abstract: 

Journey through the imaginary of the robot, from its first babblings as a servant of the gods, to its mechanical dazzling in the new technologies of the XXII century and its future conversion into “being”, into an independent entity of its own, in what science calls the ‘singularity’, glimpsing the predictions of science fiction and attending to the promises of science. “Today’s robots have been largely predetermined by their literary ancestors.” (You robot. Antropologia della vita artificiale. Riccardo Notte, 2005).

Biography:

Degree in Philosophy and Arts (UAM), PhD Cum Laude in Fine Arts (UB). European rank and Extraordinary Doctorate Award 2011-2012, Master in Video Game Design and Development (UCM). Professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts. UCM. III New Media Art MADATAC Essay Award (2015) publication: Art and robotics: technology as aesthetic experimentation.

Working concepts: Interaction understood as open systems of action in public spaces, Communication as experimentation of new forms of aesthetic language, and Control as an agglutinating concept of registration behaviors in today’s societies.

Exhibitions (selection): Utopian Towers. Shared Spaces (Madrid 2023) Origens. ISEA2022 (Barcelona 2022) Academia Fachada (Zaragoza 2022) Glitches y modificaciones de la realidad (Madrid 2021) (Al)most life, after all (Barcelona 2019) Estéticas Expandidas (Colombia 2019) El origen de la Magia (Madrid 2019) Noviembre Electrónico (Buenos Aires 2017) HarddiskMuseum (Barcelona, 2017) Electronic Timing. Colección BEEP (Valencia 2017) ArtPlay 1840s (TATE, UK, 2014) Metáforas de la supervivencia (Buenos Aires 2013) Festival VG Vídeo Guerrilla (Sao Paulo 2012) ((.mOv)) Videoarte en mOvimiento (Lima, 2012) FILE | Electronic Language International Festival (Sao Paulo 2011 // Rio de Janeiro 2006) Sónar. Festival Internacional de Música y Arte (Barcelona 2013 // 2010) Les Rencontres Internationales (Paris 2008 // Madrid 2008) Banquete. Nodes and Networks (ZKM – Karlsruhe 2009 // LaBoral-Gijón 2008) Sintopía(s) (Instituto Cervantes – New York 2008 // Beijing, 2007).

If you are interested in giving a talk please write an email to: lab.imbody@gmail.com.

The sense of the body from within and without

Date: 2024-10-07, 13:00h-14:00h UTC+2 (CEST)

Speaker: Carlos Cortés, Grupo de Tratamiento de Imágenes, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid

Title: The Possibilities of Natural Interaction in XR: A Hands-On Approach

Abstract: 

This talk will present a comprehensive overview of natural interaction methods developed within the context of XR applications. The focus will be on hand-based interactions and the possibilities and challenges involved in creating a user-centric XR environment while meeting technical requirements.

The presentation will delve into the Epsilon project, a joint initiative between Nokia and the UPM, which aimed to enable XR training for construction measurements using egocentric segmentation and natural interfaces. The challenges and requirements of XR applications in the construction domain will be discussed, along with the results of two QoE experiments conducted within the project.

In addition, the Incluverso Project—a collaboration between Nokia, Fundación Juan XXIII, and UPM—will be presented. This initiative uses XR technology to adapt behavioral and cognitive therapies for individuals with intellectual disabilities. The presentation will cover the project’s progress and initial findings related to therapy outcomes, including the development of a comprehensive tool for monitoring and implementing XR therapy for bathmophobia treatment, as well as a tool designed to adapt cognitive training tasks to an XR environment.

Finally, the talk will discuss the project’s future work, including the development of a training tool that enables users to participate in and follow a cooking lesson using XR technology. The potential practical applications of this tool and its impact on learning, engagement, and independence for individuals with intellectual disabilities will be highlighted.

Biography:

Carlos Cortés is a postdoctoral researcher at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. His research focuses on natural interfaces, particularly hand-based interactions, and how they impact the user experience in Social XR settings, especially considering factors like delay.

SENSEBIT-DS

SENsory and Body perception EvAluaTion in Depressive Symptomatology 2025-2028 El proyecto SENSEBEAT investiga los patrones sensoriales y la percepción corporal en trastornos depresivos. Las alteraciones

The Possibilities of Natural Interaction in XR: A Hands-On Approach

Date: 2024-10-07, 13:00h-14:00h UTC+2 (CEST)

Speaker: Carlos Cortés, Grupo de Tratamiento de Imágenes, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid

Title: The Possibilities of Natural Interaction in XR: A Hands-On Approach

Abstract: 

This talk will present a comprehensive overview of natural interaction methods developed within the context of XR applications. The focus will be on hand-based interactions and the possibilities and challenges involved in creating a user-centric XR environment while meeting technical requirements.

The presentation will delve into the Epsilon project, a joint initiative between Nokia and the UPM, which aimed to enable XR training for construction measurements using egocentric segmentation and natural interfaces. The challenges and requirements of XR applications in the construction domain will be discussed, along with the results of two QoE experiments conducted within the project.

In addition, the Incluverso Project—a collaboration between Nokia, Fundación Juan XXIII, and UPM—will be presented. This initiative uses XR technology to adapt behavioral and cognitive therapies for individuals with intellectual disabilities. The presentation will cover the project’s progress and initial findings related to therapy outcomes, including the development of a comprehensive tool for monitoring and implementing XR therapy for bathmophobia treatment, as well as a tool designed to adapt cognitive training tasks to an XR environment.

Finally, the talk will discuss the project’s future work, including the development of a training tool that enables users to participate in and follow a cooking lesson using XR technology. The potential practical applications of this tool and its impact on learning, engagement, and independence for individuals with intellectual disabilities will be highlighted.

Biography:

Carlos Cortés is a postdoctoral researcher at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. His research focuses on natural interfaces, particularly hand-based interactions, and how they impact the user experience in Social XR settings, especially considering factors like delay.

We are hiring! PhD Position

We are hiring!
PhD Position: Study of Sensory and Body Perception in Depressive Disorders using Wearable Technology and Machine Learning within the project “SENSEBEAT-DS: Sensory and Body Perception Evaluation in Depressive Symptomatology.”

Workshop/Seminar Which words arise from the body as it moves?, Pablo Zamorano, Independent Artist/Researcher

Date: 2024-04-04, 13:00h-15:00h UTC+2 (CEST)

Speaker: Pablo Zamorano, Independent Artist/Researcher

Title: Workshop/Seminar Which words arise from the body as it moves?

Abstract: 

What part of my existence makes up the body I have; Merleau Ponty said in his phenomenology of perception: “I am my body”, removing any idea of mind/body duality from his discourse. But if I am my body, how can I understand that which I myself am?

Through our body and our contact with those around us, we create a particular interpretation of the world, but also of ourselves. Society teaches us how to cognitively perceive ourselves, but it also subjects the sphere of emotions and feelings to a process of subjectivization in this exercise of recognition. So what we feel is also a reflection of a social codification.

Biography: https://pablozamoranoazocar.com/portfolio/posibles-presentes/ (Chile. 36 years old).
Creator, choreographer and performer. I am motivated by approaches that link new contexts between body, emotion and thought, from creative research, theoretical and practical conceptualization in live arts and contemporary choreography. I have a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Dance with postgraduate studies in Master of Arts mention in Theater Direction U de Chile. Master in Scenic Practice and Visual Culture. ARTEA Museo Reina Sofia- UCLM Spain and Lab Master in Contemporary Artistic Practices. UNSAM Arg. Author of texts Un cuerpo Otro and Negro sobre Blanco (“Conversations on interpretation and creation in Dance Vol I and II”) MINCAP. 2017- 2021. Certified in the first level of Alba Emoting (System of recognition of emotion from postural and respiratory effectors). I seek to shape a reflexive work pulsed by concepts of memory, culture, mystery and territories.

References
https://www.emovere.cl/emovere-cuerpo-sonido-y-movimiento-equipo/#danza-y-sonido

Nicola Privato, Intelligent Instruments Lab

Portrait

Date: 04 October 2023 at 12:00 Hrs. Madrid, 10:00 Reikiavik
Speaker: Nicola Privato,
PhD Researcher at Intelligent Instruments Lab

Abstract:

The Intelligent Instruments Lab is an ERC-funded project in Reykjavik, Iceland. At IIL we explore how creative intelligent technologies are shaping our understanding of the world and our social interactions. We use music as the ideal ground for our research as it is a place of intimate, first-person interaction with technology as well as a complex social experience.

My work at IIL focuses on building new interfaces and compositions that facilitate the understanding of AI algorithms and suggest playful musical interaction.
In this talk I will walk you though my first year at IIL, explore concepts such as Explainable AI, Embodiment, Agency, and on how these might be contextualised through the building of interfaces for Neural Synthesis models, through musical practice, sound spatialisation and participatory art.

Nicola Privato is a PhD researcher at IIL. His academic background is in Jazz studies, electronic music composition and linguistics. He performs both as a jazz guitarist and as an electronic musician, using self-built instruments and AI-based software. Formerly director of Keptorchestra, an Italian cultural association dealing with improvised music as a cultural catalyst, he has been incorporating participatory practices both in his works and as a curator.

His current research at IIL is on AI explainability and its framing within the sociality of musical practices.

www.nicolaprivato.com

Dr. Pawel Tacikowski, University of Coimbra, Portugal

Pawel Tacikowski

Date: 5 July 2023 at 2 pm
Speaker: Dr. Pawel Tacikowski, University of Coimbra, Portugal
Title: “The link between self-concept and own body perception”
Abstract
What makes us who we are? Is it the body we wake up in every morning and use as a “vehicle” throughout our daily activities? Or is it a collection of thoughts and beliefs about ourselves as individuals with specific skills, traits, and social identities? If it is a combination of the two, how would a unified sense of self emerge from such a fusion of conscious beliefs and bodily perceptual experience? In this talk, I will present a series of behavioral experiments where we used multisensory “body-swap” illusions to show that the perception of one’s own body dynamically shapes the content of self-concept, including gender identity. I will discuss the implications of these findings and future directions.

Bio
Pawel Tacikowski will soon start his Assistant Professor position at the University of Coimbra. He previously worked as an Assistant Project Scientist in the Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory at UCLA and as a postdoc in the Brain, Body, and Self Laboratory at Karolinska Institute. Dr. Tacikowski’s research focuses on how the human brain constructs a sense of self. His research aims to facilitate the development of new diagnostic tools and therapies for the atypical sense of self.

Philippe Pasquier (Simon Fraser) Metacreations Lab

philippe pasquier

Date: 26 July 2023 at 5 pm
Speaker: Philippe Pasquier, Associate Professor at Simon Fraser Unuversit
Abstract:

Creative AI is the scientific field that studies the partial or complete automation of creative tasks. Be it through the augmentation of existing creative software or through embedded real-time generation, these algorithms have a growing impact on creative practices. Creative AI will not take over the world, but it will certainly impact creators, students, educators, and the industry at large.

Now that generative algorithms have human-competitive skills for many creative tasks and are being deployed for professional and amateur alike, it is critical to evaluate and discuss the implications of such developments. We introduce challenges and opportunities arising through a series of examples of generative systems developed at the Metacreation Lab and experiments conducted with these systems. We will present interfaces for computer-assisted music composition, sound design, movement computing, generative animation and moving images, and discuss their common implications on creative processes and workflow. We will present results of evaluations conducted with the industry focusing on user experience, and technological acceptance, be it by creators or their audiences.

Bio:

Philippe Pasquier is a professor at Simon Fraser University’s School of Interactive Arts and Technology, where he directs the Metacreation Lab for Creative AI. He leads a research-creation program around generative systems for creative tasks. As such, he is a scientist specialized in artificial intelligence since 2001, a software designer, a multidisciplinary media artist, an educator, and a community builder. Pursuing a multidisciplinary research-creation program, his contributions bridge fundamental research on generative systems, machine learning, affective computing, and computer-assisted creativity, with applied research in the creative software industry, and artistic practice in interactive and generative art.

More about the Metacreation Lab: http://www.Metacreation.net
More about Philippe: http://www.sfu.ca/pasquier