[visionlist] NSF VISION WORKSHOP ON NETWORKED VIRTUAL AND AUGMENTED REALITY COMMUNICATIONS

[Chakareski, Jacob]

NSF VISION WORKSHOP ON NETWORKED VIRTUAL AND AUGMENTED REALITY COMMUNICATIONS Washington, DC, April 23-24 http://www.jakov.org/NSF_NetworkedVRAR_Workshop/

Virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) have the potential to advance our society. Together with another emerging technology, 360° video, they can suspend our disbelief of being at a remote location, akin to virtual human teleportation. Presently limited to offline operation and synthetic content, and targeting gaming and entertainment, VR/AR are expected to reach their potential when deployed online and with real remote scene content, enabling novel applications in disaster relief, the environmental sciences, transportation, and quality of life. Networked VR/AR applications will play a major role in the envisioned/emerging global Internet of Things framework and are expected to represent the bedrock of the anticipated 5G tactile Internet ecosystem.

There are considerable challenges ahead in the form of technology limitations and infrastructure costs. The objective of the workshop is to gather a forum of experts and interdisciplinary practitioners to help identify the most promising horizons to explore to address these challenges. By setting a rigorous long-term vision platform of science and technology, the workshop will help chart the field technically. In turn, this will help accelerate the introduction and broad adoption of related societal applications.

Participants responding to this open public call are requested to submit a 2-page white paper identifying their interest in and vision of the four themes comprising the workshop program, as they relate to future networked VR/AR communications, and the novel research opportunities they can lead to in those settings. Submission deadline for the open call participants is February 28, 2018. Travel support in the amount of up to $800 will be provided to the first forty registered participants.