From: Paul M Sharkey Subject: CFP: Disability, Virtual Reality and Associated Technologies Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 13:48:17 +0000 Message-ID: Please find below a call for abstracts for the 2nd Euro Conference on Disability, Virtual Reality and Associated Technologies, to be held in Sweden, Sept 98. Abstract (hard) deadline: Feb 15, 98 ------------------------ If you do not wish to receive more information on this event (or have duplicate mail messages) please reply with the Subject: DELETE ECDVRAT and in the body of the message the email address to which this was sent. If you are interested in this event and have not received this directly from reading.ac.uk, please email P.M.Sharkey@reading.ac.uk for inclusion on the mailing list. Please distribute as widely as possible. Many thanks Paul Sharkey ------------------------------------------------------------ The 2nd European Conference on Disability, Virtual Reality and Associated Technologies ECDVRAT '98 9-11 September 1998 Skovde, Sweden ------------------------------------------------------------ CALL for PAPERS ------------------------------------------------------------ To be held in conjunction with Mechatronics '98 ------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.cyber.reading.ac.uk/people/pms/WWW/ecdvrat/call98.htm ------------------------------------------------------------ The purpose of the Second European Conference on Disability, Virtual Reality and Associated Technologies is to provide a forum for international experts and researchers to present and review how advances in the general area of Virtual Reality can be used to assist people with Disability. This international conference will encompass all aspects of technology used in Virtual Reality systems. Papers are sought in which technical innovation is backed up by evidence of original and practical implementation, or which promise practical implementation in the very near future. Presentations which include video material and/or experimental systems are particularly welcome. Facilities for presenting such material will be available at the conference. The research presented at the conference will be presented in a peer reviewed Proceedings which will be made widely available. Also available at the conference will be an exhibition area for commercial companies to present their products, and demonstration/multi-media facilities for research presented at the conference. Finally it is hoped that the conference will act as a focus for international collaboration. The 2nd ECDVRAT follows on from the success of the first conference, held in Maidenhead, UK, with 30 quality papers from the US, Australia, Argentina, Chile, Sweden, Austria, France, Italy and the UK, and three international keynote speakers. A full report of the 1st ECDVRAT was published in VR News. Also available are the ECDVRAT 96 Abstracts from all papers presented (a Word 6 document). More general information is availble from the contact pointers listed below. --------------------------------------------- Topics: Papers are encouraged in all sunject areas which span Disability, Virtual Reality and its Associated Technologies, encompassing both practical application and more generic research. The following topics are just a few of those relevant to the conference: Communication and Language | Virtual and Enhanced Environments | Rehabilitation | Clinical assessment | Cognition | Computer access | Haptic devices | Visual Impairment | Mobility | Medical systems | Input Devices, Sensors and Actuators | Communications aids | Multi-user systems for user interaction | Tools for architectural/CAD design | Visual impairment through virtual simulation | Wheelchair navigation through virtual environments | Product design testing and prototyping | Training tools: for personnel assisting people with disability; to heighten public awareness; for people with disability for rehabilitation; | Augmented reality for people with disability; | Ambisonics (3D Sound) | Cognitive processing and virtual environments; | Human Factors issues ------------------------------------------------- Other Contributors The conference Programme Committee will welcome proposals for posters outlining the kernels of collaborative research with the specific aim of fostering international collaboration for the development of cooperative research proposals seeking European Community or other similar programme support. Please contact the Conference Secretariat through any of the media addresses given below. Additionally, commercial companies wishing to take part in our collaborative workshop, or to exhibit products, are welcome to contact the Secretariat to discuss contributions. ------------------------------------------------- Publication of Papers All accepted papers will be published in full in the conference Proceedings which will be available at the conference. Authors are requested to initially send 3 copies of a 2 page extended abstract, or 1 page abstract plus VHS video (PAL format) to: ECDVRAT '98 Dr Paul M Sharkey, Dept. of Cybernetics, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AY, UK Tel: +44 (0)118 931 67 04, Fax: +44 (0)118 931 82 20, Email: ecdvrat98@cyber.reading.ac.uk -------------------------------------------------- Abstracts: The abstract should include: Title; All author's names, affiliations, and addresses; Name of author to contact for correspondence; Email address and fax number of contact; Up to 5 keywords to describe the paper. Each abstract submission will be reviewed under the following specific headings: originality of concept(s); clarity of presentation; relevence to the conference; technical soundness; and importance of results. It is particularly important to provide sufficient information for the last two headings in the abstract to facilitate assessment. On acceptance, authors will be required to submit a full paper of between 7 and 10 pages for inclusion in the conference proceedings. All presentations will be c. 20-25 minutes, with an additional 5 minutes for specific questions, and with a further discussion period scheduled for the end of each session. Three papers will be chosen for keynote presentation at the start of each day of the conference. All accepted papers should be presented by one of the contributing authors at the conference. The conference language is English. ------------------------------------------------ Important Dates In order to produce the conference Proceedings in time for the conference it is important that the following dates are strictly respected: Submission of Abstracts: February 15, 1998 Notification of Acceptance: April 15, 1998 Submission of Camera Ready Copy: July 15, 1998 ------------------------------------------------ Additional Notes Details of registration fees and accomodation costs will be published on July 15. As a guide, the 1996 fee of UK290 included full attendance to all sessions, lunches and coffee breaks, pre-conference reception, Conference Banquet, and Conference Proceedings. Accommodation is not included but will be available at reasonable rates. There will be a reduced registration fee for conference speakers, IPC members and session chairs as well as for early registration. Furthermore, a limited number of places will be reserved at considerably reduced rates for registered students and people with disabilities. Extra banquet tickets will be available. --------------------------------------------------- Mechatronics '98 The 2nd European Conference on Disability, Virtual Reality and Associated Technologies will be held in parallel with Mechatronics'98. Delegates at each conference will be able to attend sessions in both conference. In addition, the Proceedings for the Mechatronics 98 conference will be available to ECDVRAT delegates at a reduced rate. --------------------------------------------------- The Skovde Region in Sweden and its University The event is planned to take place in the Hotel Billingehus Conference Centre. The city of Skovde is situated in the county of Skaraborg. The city is the commercial, cultural and educational centre of the region. Skovde itself is rather small with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. The Skaraborg region has a population of some 200,000 which includes a large rural farming community. The early autumn in Sweden comes highly recommended and what's more, deer, elk (and occasionally wolves) can be seen in their natural habitat. Skovde is also very close to one of the most beautiful lakeside landscapes in Scandinavia. The beautiful rural surroundings include marshlands, dense woods and small lakes, lush hardwood forests and wild flower meadows. A large number of protected natural areas have been established in the region. The county of Skaraborg is one of the old cultural regions in Sweden. The main industry in the region is automotive engine manufacture (Volvo), however other thriving industries include cement plants, forestry, and furniture manufacture. Sk=F7vde also has one of the major bases for the Swedish army. Skaraborg is one of Sweden's most important industrial regions with many high-tech engineering enterprises. The University of Skovde is one of a group of new universities in Sweden, it was founded in 1977. The campus is located in the city of Skovde in south-western Sweden. The pleasant surroundings in combination with attractive study programmes and courses recruit students from all over Sweden. The University of Skovde welcomes and participates in international co-operation between universities. The University specialises in areas which includes Engineering Science, Automation Engineering, Design, Computer Science, Bioinformatics, Media, Economics / Business Studies, Behavioural Science and Languages. The University has a rapidly expanding student population over recent years. Research has an important and growing presence in the University with international collaboration playing an important role (links include institutions in the USA, UK, Austria, Germany, Lithuania and Russia). The University has been successful in winning research grants nationally in Sweden and from European sources (including ESPRIT and INCO-Copernicus from the Framework IV programme).