THE AGE OF IMMERSION                                
 Examining the Personal & Cultural Impact of Being Immersed

Monday 7 September (Sept 7) from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM

Join us Monday morning as we officially kick off IMMERSION 2015 in Paris, France!

Aaron E. Walsh, founding director of the Immersive Education Initiative and Boston College faculty, will deliver the opening keynote address at IMMERSION 2015. Walsh, a world-renowned expert in immersion and immersive technologies, coined the terms "Immersive Education" and "Immersive Illness" and established the field of Immersive Education.

Named one of the most innovative people in the Information Technology (IT) industry by Computerworld, the premier source of news and analysis for the IT industry, Walsh has been featured in a number of leading technology and mainstream publications, including Newsweek and Newsweek International. He has been featured by Entrepreneur magazine, CBS Interactive's business technology news service, and was recently interviewed by Larry King about the staggering applications of 3D printing and the technology's potential to change the world -- for better and worse.

In his opening IMMERSION 2015 keynote address, The Age of Immersion, Walsh will address the personal and cultural impact of immersion and immersive technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), simulations, video games, neurogaming, immersive caves and domes, 3D printing and robotics. His provocative keynote will shine a light on "Immersive Illness," a term that describes mental health issues (such as addiction, alienation, and mental schisms) that may be exhibited by a certain percentage of the population upon prolonged exposure to immersive experiences:

"A challenge that concerns me the most is lurking on the horizon, one we don't yet understand the full scope of. As Immersive Education and other forms of personal Virtual Reality become more realistic and compelling we're going to see "immersive illness" become more common and more difficult to deal with. Although this is an issue today we're somewhat protected by the limitations of today's personal computers and game consoles (they just aren't powerful enough...yet), but in another decade or more it'll be a different story altogether. Nobody knows exactly what impact insanely realistic, media-rich Virtual Reality will have on society. We're already dealing with early forms of immersive illness, such as addiction, alienation, mental schisms, and more, but today it's not a problem that affects a large percentage of users. We don't see massive problems today for a number of reasons, including rather low-quality virtual environments and limitations on how much time we spend in these environments. But what happens when the visual and audio quality becomes indistinguishable from reality, the technology becomes truly mainstream, and a substantial portion of education takes place in such environments and not in a real classroom? With massive power comes massive problems. Last week I was asked how big this problem will be, and I responded that nobody knows for sure but I'd estimate that the at-risk population can be calculate by adding the percentage of people with addiction problems to the percentage of society that suffer some form of mental illness. That's a big chunk of society. Is it all gloom and doom? Certainly not, but it's a grand challenge we're not even remotely prepared for today. As with other disruptions society will eventually adapt, but I think we're in for a very rough ride." — Walsh, Terranova "Virtual Reality: Another perspective" interview, May 2007

Disney, Google, Smithsonian, and the United States Department of the Interior (DOI) National Parks Service keynotes, featured speakers and workshops at IMMERSION 2015 compliment Walsh's opening address.

This module concludes with a panel discussion and audience Q&A (Question and Answer period) about the personal and cultural impact of being immersed as we enter the Age of Immersion.

Following this module IMMERSION 2015 attendees will have an opportunity to meet and talk with the keynote speakers, featured speakers and panelists during the hands-on exhibits period.

ARTS & CULTURE                   
 Arts and Culture in the Age of Immersion

Monday 7 September (Sept 7) from 15:00 (3:00 PM) to 16:30 (4:30 PM)

The theme for Monday afternoon is Arts and Culture in the Age of Immersion.

This module examines the impact that immersion and immersive technologies increasingly have on art and human culture while highlighting a number of contemporary and future immersive arts and culture projects, installations and movies.

The Smithsonian Institution's Melissa Carrillo and Disney's Katie Fico open this module by co-deliver a dynamic The Art & Culture of Storytelling keynote that draws on their respective and extensive expertise in immersive arts, culture and entertainment.

As Director of New Media and Technology at the The Smithsonian Latino Center, Carrillo is a pioneer in the field of immersive arts and culture. She spearheaded The Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum (LVM), a cross-platform collection of immersive experiences that utilize bilingual mixed media technology to enhance the visitor's knowledge, understanding and appreciation of Latino Cultural Heritage.

As Stereoscopic Supervisor at Walt Disney Animation Studios, Fico is responsible for leading her team at Disney to create unique and deeply compelling immersive experiences using stereoscopic 3D technology. Recently awarded with "Best Stereographer" and "Best Stereo" by the International 3D Society for her work on Frozen, Fico has worked on a number of feature films during her career at Walt Disney Animation Studios, including the Academy Award®-winning animated film Frozen, Big Hero 6, Dinosaur, Chicken Little, Meet the Robinsons, Bolt, Tangled, and Paperman.

Katie will join us in Paris via video teleconference from Walt Disney Animation Studios in Los Angeles, California.

After the opening keynote, featured speakers from the National Parks Service (NPS) division of the United States Department of the Interior (DOI) and the University of Arizona will share their unique perspectives on arts and culture in the Age of Immersion.

This module concludes with a panel discussion and audience Q&A (Question and Answer period) about arts and culture in the Age of Immersion.

Following this module IMMERSION 2015 attendees will have an opportunity to meet and talk with the keynote speakers, featured speakers and panelists during the hands-on exhibits period.

KEYNOTE: The Art & Culture of Storytelling
MELISSA A. CARRILLO Director of New Media and Technology, Smithsonian Latino Center Immersive Arts & Culture Council (iACC), Immersive Education Initiative Co-chair, iED Libraries and Museums Technology Working Group (LAM.TWG)	KATIE FICO Stereoscopic Supervisor, Walt Disney Animation Studios Awarded Best Stereographer for Frozen by the International 3D Society Awarded Best Stereo for Frozen by the International 3D Society

 

 

SPEAKERS FEATURED IN THIS MODULE AND THE CLOSING PANEL DISCUSSION INCLUDE:

The Role of Human Interpreters in Living History Cultural Experiences BILL GWALTNEY American Battle Monuments Commission, representing the United States Department of the Interior (DOI) National Parks Service (NPS)

Virtual Harlem : Preserving the Art & Culture of 1920's Jazz-era Harlem BRYAN CARTER Professor of Africana Studies University of Arizona Virtual Harlem Project Lead

 

RELATED WORKSHOPS, PRESENTATIONS, EXHIBITS AND DEMOS INCLUDE:

EXHIBIT:    Google Cardboard

EXHIBIT:    Oculus Arcade

EXHIBIT:    3D Printing

EXHIBIT:    Latino Virtual Museum (LVM) Placita Immersive Experience

HANDS-ON WORKSHOP:    Storytelling Through Animation

HANDS-ON WORKSHOP:    Google Cardboard

HANDS-ON WORKSHOP:    Immersive Bent's Old Fort (Minecraft)

HANDS-ON WORKSHOP:    Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos)

HANDS-ON WORKSHOP:    Virtual Harlem

HANDS-ON WORKSHOP:    The Process of Designing Immersive Experiences

HANDS-ON WORKSHOP:    The Rio Verde Archaeology Virtual Field Experience

NEARLY 100 Presentations, Workshops, Papers, Posters, Demos & Exhibits!

FORMS AND FUNCTIONS OF IMMERSION      
 Inside the Forms & Functions of Immersion and Immersive Tech

Tuesday 8 September (Sept 8) from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM

The theme for Tuesday morning is Inside the Forms & Functions of Immersion and Immersive Technology.

Immersive technologies are rapidly—and profoundly—changing how we experience movies and television, play with video games and toys, listen to music, attend live events, teach and learn, and interact with the world around us.

Head-mounted Virtual Reality (VR), fully immersive VR environments (such as caves and domes), virtual worlds, augmented and mixed reality, sensors and 3D Printing are among the immersive technologies that are radically reshaping our world.

The Forms and Functions of Immersion module explores a power and potential of immersive technologies while examining their unique capabilities and often dramatic differences.

Google's Caskey L. Dickson will deliver the opening keynote, Google Virtual Realtiy — Cardboard VR and Beyond, shedding light on Google's past, recent and future activities in the immersive space.

Following Dickson's opening keynote, a number of featured speakers will discuss specific forms of immersion and immersive technologies that are fundamentally changing the relationship that humans have and the world we live in.

This module concludes with a panel discussion and audience Q&A (Question and Answer period) about the forms and functions of immersion and immersive technologies as we step into the Age of Immersion.

Following this module IMMERSION 2015 attendees will have an opportunity to meet and talk with the keynote speaker, featured speakers and panelists during the hands-on exhibits period.

BRINGING THE PAST TO LIFE        
 Bringing the Past to Life in the Age of Immersion

Tuesday 8 September (Sept 8) from 15:00 (3:00 PM) to 16:30 (4:30 PM)

The theme for Tuesday afternoon is Bringing the Past to Life in the Age of Immersion.

As we enter the Age of Immersion mankind has, for the first time ever in human history, the tools and technologies necessary to preserve our past in a way that is utterly compelling, deeply immersive, and soon — indistinguishable from reality.

Bryan Carter, Professor of Africana Studies at the University of Arizona, opens the Preserving the Past module with his keynote Virtual Harlem : Immersive History in the Making.

Virtual Harlem is a collaborative learning network whose purpose is to study the Harlem Renaissance, an important period in African American literary history, through the construction of immersive Virtual Reality and virtual world environments that represents Harlem, New York, as it existed between the 1920-30s.

Virtual Harlem preserve iconic historical sites such as the Cotton Club, the Apollo Theater, Marshalls Hotel, museums, art galleries and the Harlem Branch Library. In addition to these famous locations, there are also interactive elements, collaborative possibilities, music of the period and opportunities for students to create projects related to the period and to role play.

Following Carter's opening keynote the Smithsonian Institution's Melissa Carrillo will provide attendees with an exclusive "insider's look" at the Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum (LVM)'s immersive Day of the Dead (Día de Los Muertos) environments.

Día de los Muertos is a day of celebration for the people of Latin America, particularly in Mexico and Central America, and more recently for Mexican Americans. Rather than grieve over the loss of a beloved family or friend, they choose to commemorate the lives of the dearly departed and welcome the return of their spirits. The history of Day of the Dead is embedded with Pre-Hispanic and Spanish customs. These customs shaped the common elements of traditional Mexican Dia de los Muertos.

In the closing talks Featured Speakers Bill Gwaltney and Meagan Hotchkiss-Trejo present an overview of Immersive Bent's Old Fort from both the "Living History" perspective and immersive technology perspective.

On November 19, 2014, the Immersive Education Initiative announced that Bent's Old Fort, a unit of the United States Department of the Interior (DOI) National Parks Service (NPS) located on the Santa Fe Trail in Colorado's Otero County, would be reconstructed virtually in the video game Minecraft and also as a fully immersive 3D virtual reality (VR) environment. When complete Immersive Bent's Old Fort, along with corresponding history curricula and teaching materials, will be available free of charge to the general public and to schools around the world.

Known as the "Castle of the Plains," Bent's Old Fort was a 1830s - 1840s adobe fur trading post on the mountain branch of the Santa Fe Trail where traders, trappers, travelers, and the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes came together in peaceful terms for trade. A unique center of cultural exchange at the time no less than seven different languages were spoken at the fort including English, Spanish, French, and numerous American Indian languages. Today, living historians recreate the sights, sounds, and atmosphere of the past with guided tours, demonstrations and special events.

Bent's Old Fort served as an instrument of Manifest Destiny and a catalyst for change in the United States. The fort's influence with the Plains Indians and its political and social connections in Santa Fe helped pave the way for the U.S. occupation of the West and the annexation of Mexico's northern province during the U.S.-Mexican War. Along with El Camino Real, the Santa Fe Trail was part of a trade network linking Europe, New York, and St. Louis with Santa Fe and Mexico City. Opened in 1821, the Santa Fe Trail followed old trade routes established by American Indians that were later used by Spanish, Mexican and American troops, traders and other travelers.

This module concludes with a panel discussion and audience Q&A (Question and Answer period) about preserving human history and bringing the past to life in the Age of Immersion.

Following this module IMMERSION 2015 attendees will have an opportunity to meet and talk with the keynote speakers, featured speakers and panelists during the hands-on exhibits period.

IMMERSIVE EDUCATION            
 Teaching & Learning in the Age of Immersion

Wednesday 9 September (Sept 9) from 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM

The theme for Wednesday morning is Teaching and Learning in the Age of Immersion.

This module addresses the impact of immersive technologies in the field of education, with an emphasis on immersive teaching and immersive learning. Virtual reality (VR), virtual worlds, learning games, simulations, augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MXR), full immersion (such as fully immersive caves and domes) and 3D Printing.

This module will consider how immersive digital technologies impact the traditional role of the teacher, and it will also address the controversial possibility of "learner-driven, teacher-less" learning in some spheres of the educational system.

Aaron E. Walsh, founding director of the Immersive Education Initiative and Boston College faculty, will deliver the opening keynote address at IMMERSION 2015. Walsh, a world-renowned expert in immersion and immersive technologies, coined the terms "Immersive Education" and "Immersive Illness" and established the field of Immersive Education.

An international best-selling author and award-winning speaker, Walsh has received numerous awards for pioneering the field of immersive teaching and learning. His work has led to worldwide awareness and adoption of immersive technologies, both in and out of the classroom. Walsh is recognized as one the 40 Most Innovative People in Information Technology (Computerworld Award) and is a recipient of the Innovator's Award (Campus Technology) and Teaching With New Media Award (Boston College).

Following the keynote address, featured speakers from Stanford University, UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles), and Wooranna Park Primary School will provide IMMERSION 2015 attendees with their expert insights and experiences with Immersive Education in higher education and primary education.

This module concludes with a panel discussion and audience Q&A (Question and Answer period) about teaching and learning in the Age of Immersion.

Following this module IMMERSION 2015 attendees will have an opportunity to meet and talk with the keynote speaker, featured speakers and panelists during the hands-on exhibits period.

"IMMERSIVE MEAL" Social and Networking Event
 Wesdnesday Afternoon Special Lunch Social & Networking Event

Wesdnesday afternoon at 12:30pm in a grand and historic ceremonial room

Join the experts, meet new colleagues and make new friends from around the world during this unique social and networking lunch event. As you dine and socialize you'll have the unique opportunity to experience a wide variety of immersive experiences.

For details visit the Sponsors and Exhibitors page and look for exhibits, workshops and demos that are featured in "Immersive Meal" social lunch events.

BUSINESS AND LAW                                          
 Protecting & Preserving Ideas & Content in the Age of Immersion

Thursday 10 September (Sept 10) from 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM

The theme for Thursday morning is Protecting and Preserving Ideas and Content in the Age of Immersion.

The Smithsonian Institution's Alyssa Reiner opens this module with her keynote Copyright Considerations for a Digital World.

An expert in copyright law, Reiner's legal expertise includes: new media; publishing; video/multi-media production and distribution; music recording, distribution, and licensing; web, software, mobile app, game, and interactive design and development.

Following the opening keynote, Craig R. Smith will present Patents and Intellectual Property Rights in the Age of Immersion.

A partner at Lando & Anastasi LLP, a Boston-based law firm specializing in patent and Intellectual Property (IP) law, Smith leads one of the most experienced, respected, largest, and fastest growing IP legal teams in New England. Mr. Smith's clients include Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Bose Corporation, Foursquare Labs, and Tumblr.

After Reiner and Smith address the protection of Intellectual Property, Isabel Meyer will provide attendees with her expert view on preserving digital content in the Age of Immersion. As Digital Asset Management System (DAMS) Branch Manager for the Smithsonian's Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) , Meyer oversees the preservation of digital assets and content for the Smithsonian Institution.

The Smithsonian's Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) plans and directs the development, implementation, maintenance, enhancement, and operation of the Smithsonian Institution's information technology (IT) systems. In addition, it operates the Smithsonian Institution's computer facilities, equipment, web infrastructure, web hosting services, telecommunications, and networks. OCIO also provides management oversight of decentralized IT implementations by Smithsonian museums and units.

This module concludes with an examination of the intangible human capacity that is ultimately responsible for the creation of Intellectual Property and digital content: Creativity. Harold F. O'Neil Jr., Professor of Educational Psychology and Technology at USC (University of Southern California) and project director at the UCLA National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST), gives attendees a high-level overview of the Measuring Domain-Specific Creative Thinking in Immersive Team Training Simulations presentation that he will deliver later today:

"Creative thinking is required in both organizations and people. The current military and industrial operating environment has become extremely complex. For example, in some cases there are complex, unpredictable, and undefined tasks, and there is no acceptable solution that one has been trained for. Thus one must invent or create a solution (creative thinking) and monitor its progress. Creative thinking was long considered domain-general, e.g., Torrance Test of Creative Thinking. We investigated the role of creative thinking using this measure in the Multi-Mission Team Trainer (MMTT) environments. This simulation trains and assesses Navy Surface Warfare Officers in offensive and defensive tactics, thus the context can be conceptualized as a collaborative problem solving task. We found some support for the impact of the simulation on creative thinking. However, the effect size was very small. Our current creative thinking research is building on our prior work in the Multi-Mission Team Trainer and new measures have been designed to assess domain-specific creative thinking in a team trainer immersive maintenance simulation. We will present the results of a usability study and provide lessons learned for immersion simulation."

Following this module the speakers will conduct a series of special "Focus Workshops" during which attendees will have the opportunity to examine these subjects and issues in greater depth.

This module concludes with a panel discussion and audience Q&A (Question and Answer period) about protecting and preserving Intellectual Property (IP) and digital content in Age of Immersion.

Following this module IMMERSION 2015 attendees will have an opportunity to meet and talk with the keynote speaker, featured speakers and panelists during the hands-on exhibits period.

"IMMERSIVE MEAL" Social and Networking Event
 Thursday Afternoon Special Lunch Social & Networking Event

Thursday afternoon at 12:30pm in a grand and historic ceremonial room

Join the experts, meet new colleagues and make new friends from around the world during this unique social and networking lunch event. As you dine and socialize you'll have the unique opportunity to experience a wide variety of immersive experiences.

For details visit the Sponsors and Exhibitors page and look for exhibits, workshops and demos that are featured in "Immersive Meal" social lunch events.