IMMERSE Weekly Seminar Series

Location: SC 2405 (Map)  

Welcome back to Spring semester! This will be a time to meet up as an IMMERSE community and plan out opportunities to share work in the coming weeks. Bring a laptop or mobile device to contribute to the planning process. 

Location: SC 2405 (Map)  

ILLIXR: An End-to-End Systems Research Approach to Enable the Era of Immersive Computing

Immersive computing (including virtual, augmented, mixed, and extended reality) has the potential to transform most industries and human activities. Delivering on this potential, however, requires bridging an orders of magnitude gap between the power, performance, and quality-of-experience attributes of current and desirable immersive systems. With a number of conflicting requirements - 100s of milliwatts of power, milliseconds of latency, unbounded compute to realize realistic sensory experiences – no silver bullet is available.  Further, the true goodness metric of such systems must measure the subjective human experience within the immersive application. The ILLIXR research group is engaged in an integrative research agenda developing codesigned end-to-end systems from hardware to system software stacks to AI models spanning the end-user device/edge/cloud, with metrics that reflect the immersive human experience, in the context of real immersive applications. Central to our work is ILLIXR (Illinois Extended Reality testbed), an open-source end-to-end XR system and research testbed, to democratize immersive systems research.  In this talk, members of the ILLIXR group will describe the ILLIXR testbed and our research providing orders of magnitude higher efficiency and new functionality for XR systems.

Watch the recording.

Location: SC 2405 (Map)

RAISe Lab - Enhancing Human-Robot Collaboration in Construction Through Immersive and Intelligent User Interfaces

The construction industry is experiencing a transformative shift with the adoption of advanced technologies to address its long-standing challenges, such as safety risks, stagnant productivity, and labor shortages. Among these advancements, robotic systems are emerging as valuable tools to assist human workers in demanding construction tasks. However, the dynamic and unpredictable nature of construction sites necessitates seamless human-robot collaboration to ensure both safety and operational efficiency. This seminar explores how emerging technologies, including immersive environments, artificial intelligence (AI), and wearable sensing, can bridge the gap between humans and robots on construction sites. These technologies can provide a safe and controlled setting to simulate real-world scenarios, enabling workers to test and refine collaborative workflows, build confidence, and optimize performance before working in complex, real-life environments. A key focus of the presented research is the introduction of an adaptive immersive interface that tailors to the unique needs of each user. As such, the seminar highlights the potential of these next-generation tools to improve communication, enhance safety, and foster trust in human-robot collaboration in construction.

Location: SC 2405 (Map)  

Physics Outreach and Instruction through New Technologies (POINT): Using Virtual Reality to Visualize and Teach Gravity

Understanding the nature of gravity, especially in the context of general relativity and its possible extensions or modifications, presents a significant challenge due to the abstract and multi-dimensional nature of spacetime. The Physics Outreach and Instruction through New Technologies (POINT) project leverages virtual reality (VR) as an interactive tool for both research and education. This talk will provide an overview of three key aspects of POINT: (1) the development of VR simulations that visualize gravitational wave polarizations beyond general relativity, (2) an education research study evaluating the effectiveness of immersive learning for improving conceptual understanding of curved spacetime, and (3) the integration of these tools into outreach efforts within the local community. By collaborating with researchers in physics, computer science, and education, POINT aims to make complex physics concepts more accessible and engaging for students and the general public.

Kristen Schumacher is a graduate student in theoretical astrophysics, studying gravitational waves to test general relativity and explore modified theories of gravity. As an NSF Fellow, she used visualization tools and virtual reality to make astrophysics more accessible. She will be starting a postdoc at UT Austin in the fall.

Refreshments Provided. This seminar will be streamed and recorded via Zoom, please check the IMMERSE newsletter announcement for details.

Location: SC 2405 (Map)  

Improving Experience in Virtual Reality: Measuring and Mitigating Cybersickness using Brain Activity - Parasol Lab

Why does virtual reality (VR) make some users feel fully immersed while leaving others feeling sick — and how can we fix it? VR promises to transport us to new worlds, but for some people, that journey comes with a disruptive side effect: cybersickness. This discomfort, which can arise when using head-mounted displays (HMDs), threatens to undermine the potential of VR and other immersive technologies. To create truly seamless virtual experiences, we must first understand some of the root causes for cybersickness and evaluate strategies to prevent it. In this talk, I will discuss my research on cybersickness during telepresence through mobile robots and VR HMDs, as well as contributing factors and potential solutions for cybersickness more broadly. I will also discuss how methods like electroencephalography (EEG) and event-related potentials (ERPs) can be used in innovative ways to track and enhance user experience in immersive environments.

Refreshments Provided. This seminar will be streamed and recorded via Zoom, please check the IMMERSE newsletter announcement for details.

Watch the recording.

Location: SC 2405 (Map)  

Foundational Elements of UX (User Experience) in VR Development

Speakers: Dan Cermak

Abstract: Developers that are new to VR often start a project without understanding the special requirements of VR design and development.  VR is one of the most interesting and challenging platforms to design for, and all members of the development team need to understand how their work impacts the user experience (UX).  Ergonomics, kinesiology, psychology, narrative, audio, and game play mechanics are just some of the elements that play a role in creating a positive experience.  My talk will touch upon the various considerations developers should take into account as they design and develop their projects.  The talk will delve into some of the key physiological factors and development processes that will lead to a more impactful user experience.

Bio: Dan brings 30+ years of experience in the video game industry to teaching Video Game Design and Production classes as part of the Informatics department. In addition, he co-taught a VR/AR class in CS and has been part of the university since spring 2018.

Refreshments Provided. This seminar will be streamed and recorded via Zoom for remote attendees.

March 13, 2025 - Robb Lindgren