April 12, 2024
XR Spring Summit
at UCLA
Join us on April 12th for an in-person gathering focused on extended reality (XR) technologies, exploring content regulation, AI integration, and practical applications in diverse fields. There will be opportunities for attendees to engage with experts as they discuss challenges and potentials while presenting impactful XR experiences. Our keynote will showcase how emerging technology is being used to cultivate community and interdisciplinarity in ethical and accessible ways.
Registration
Agenda
9:00 - 10:00 AM
Welcome & Check-in w/ Coffee & Continental Breakfast
10:00 - 11:00 AM
Keynote on "Embracing the Glitch" w/ Amanda Licastro
11:00 - 11:25 AM
XR for Poetics & Play: A Pedagogical Inventory w/ Danny Snelson
This presentation will focus on recent trends in AI production of 3D-generative assets and environments for VR play. XR platforms and tools covered include: LUMA Genie, Sketchfab, Pistol Whip, Beat Sage, Mozilla Hubs, New Art City, and WebXR. As part of a larger project on the ways in which speculative gaming environments might illuminate otherwise invisible or emergent aspects of network culture, I aim to think through generative systems for XR experiences.
11:25 - 11:45 AM
Collaborative XR Design Lab w/ Yara Feghali
The Collaborative XR Design Lab investigates the future of spatial web and immersive social spaces. We have entered since 2020 a new digital era with internet technology, Web 3.0 – or the spatial web – where interfaces, computation, and data have drastically changed. The virtual universe built for this lab is a research tool designed to shift the way we think and design spaces. We design in Virtual Space collaboratively and in real-time, we build, freehand 3D draw, and inhabit the spaces we create at a one-to-one scale. Join us and design with us!
11:45 - 12:15 PM
Discussion with Yara Feghali & Danny Snelson + Q&A
Lunch w/ Demo Sessions by Hyun Cho, BLCK UNICRN, Jason Duboff, Kelsey Boncato & Daniel Oldham as well as Vendors: Pico VR & Virti
Space Echo is a multiplayer VR installation about how humans and artificial intelligence perceive the world and how they interact with their own kind and with each other. In Space Echo, the audience enters Echo’s universe and communicates with each other. The sentences they speak are converted to text through a speech-to-text system, which powers the jet packs worn by the audiences’ characters. The audience can only move in the opposite direction they are looking at, and the more they talk, the further they move away from each other. - Hyun Cho
BLCK UNICRN is currently experimenting with the Apple Vision Pro and looking For XR Interns - Joshua Blackwell
In the realm of Extended Reality (XR), innovative applications that enhance human interaction by using its data in digital environments is paramount. My web application, which uses Googles pre trained machine learning libraries, signifies a integration of machine learning and XR technologies to foster physical fitness through a unique digital experience. By tracking exercise repetitions and providing real-time feedback on form correction, the application serves not only as a personal fitness coach but also as a bridge to connect users in a shared digital platform, enabling the replay and analysis of movement patterns.
This convergence of AI and XR technologies within the application offers multifaceted benefits. Firstly, it will democratize access to personalized fitness coaching, potentially increasing engagement in physical activities among users. Secondly, it will have movement replay features which I have a working test version of, which will enrich the user experience, allowing for self-analysis and peer review, thus fostering a community-centric approach to fitness. Lastly, the application's real-time feedback mechanism is instrumental in minimizing the risk of injuries, promoting proper exercise techniques, and enhancing the overall effectiveness of workouts.
In essence, this application exemplifies the transformative potential of integrating machine learning with XR to create immersive, interactive, and health-promoting digital experiences. It not only opens up the idea of what XR is with its use and accessibility but also contributes to the digital health domain by leveraging technology to improve our physical being, rather than take away from it. - Jason Duboff
Kelsey Boncato (USC Roski '16) and Daniel Oldham (USC Thornton '15) are both artists and musicians based in LA. As an audio-visual collaboration, their recent work together explores desire, control, and nature. FOREST is a series of interwoven sound sculptures mixed in spatial audio and arranged into a unicursal labyrinth, offering a virtual space for reflection, movement, and being.
1:30 - 2:20 PM
Emergent Play: Innovations in XR Creation & Experience w/ Shawn Grover
2:30 - 3:15 PM
Panel on 3D Scanning & Fowler Project w/ Francesca Albrezzi
Break
3:30 - 4:00 PM
Content and Privacy Challenges in the Metaverse w/ Michael Karanicolas
Extended reality technologies (XR) comprise a range of applications designed to create a heightened sense of immersion with the digital world. Although there have been a number of false dawns related to their mass adoption, industry experts are still predicting that they represent the future for our information society. However, while these technologies show enormous potential across a range of useful applications, they also carry great risks, and the potential to massively increase the harms related to problematic content such as hate speech, misinformation, and non-consensual pornography. These challenges are compounded by the fact that effective moderation at scale in XR is not currently possible, and unlikely to be effective any time soon. This presentation provides a roadmap of emerging content regulation issues in the context of XR, with particular regard to the challenge that both companies and governments face in responding to illegal material, as well as the proliferation of “lawful but awful” content online. The talk scopes the history of online content regulation, as well as explaining why current paradigms of enforcement will present a challenge as XR becomes more popular. It goes on to propose some likely scenarios that may follow mass adoption, including the potential that major platforms will simply refuse to host political content, or that they will attempt to offload content responsibilities onto their community.
4:00 - 5:00 PM
Closing Remarks & Networking Session
Location
This is a hybrid event and will be held both in-person at Royce 314 and livestreamed over Zoom.
Special Thanks to our Sponsors!
