The 21^st European GameOn® Conference on Simulation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Computer Games will be hosted by the Department of Communication and Art, DigiMedia Research Centre at the University of Aveiro, from 24th to 25th of September 2020. This year, the event will take place in a virtual room, being broadcasted from the Department of Communication and Art, room 40.1.8.

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On September 24-25, 2020, the GameOn® Conference on Simulation and AI in Computer Games will be hosted by the Department of Communication and Art, DigiMedia Research Centre at the University of Aveiro, organized jointly with EUROSIS – ETI. This event involves DigiMedia members and collaborators in the organization committee, namely, Ana Veloso (chair), Óscar Mealha, Nelson Zagalo, José Nunes, Carolina Abrantes, and Liliana Costa. Carlos Santos, Luís Pedro, Mário Vairinhos, and Pedro Beça are some of the session chairs.

For 2 days, game designers, AI enthusiasts, programmers, and researchers will be gathered in an online event that counts with three keynote speakers, four thematic sessions, and one workshop.

Join us in room 40.1.8 these 2 days at the Department of Communication and Art, University of Aveiro.

Further information can be found https://www.eurosis.org/conf/gameon/2020/

On June 29th, 2020 takes place the 2^nd Annual Seminar of the LOCUS project entitled Digital Potentialities and Challenges for Cultural Heritage. The Seminar is organized in three main talks, considering the general topic.

The objective of this Seminar is to present the second-year results of the LOCUS project, with spaces for reflection on its main scientific areas: cultural heritage, internet of things, augmented reality, intergenerational, gamification, among others.

The target audience of the event is the academic community, as well as specialists who are interested in the topics that are going to be discussed and can intervene in order to contribute to the enrichment of the event and, consequently, of the project.

The event will take place online, via Zoom, between 2:00p.m. and 6:30p.m., under the scientific organization and moderation of Professor Lídia Oliveira, Professor Ana Carla Amaro and Professor Ana Melro.

Please register at https://forms.gle/cMyqxtSQgg1LYoXk9

Inquiries: anamelro@ua.pt

More information available in: https://locusproject.pt/

PROGRAM

2.00p.m. Welcoming

2.30p.m. Opening session | The impact of LOCUS in Amiais

Sérgio Soares (President of the Parish Council of Couto de Esteves)

Natália Braga (President of LANCE)

Mário Silva (President of ACSCE)

Lídia Oliveira (LOCUS Principal Researcher)

3.15p.m. Tangible tools for an alternate reality game: improving the experience of Cultural Heritage in children

Silvia Torsi (University of Bari, Italy)

Carmelo Ardito (University of Bari, Italy)

Cristina Rebek (Free University of Bolzano, Italy)

4.00p.m. Break

4.20p.m. Technological projects’ challenges and opportunities for people and territory. 2^nd year results of LOCUS

Lídia Oliveira (LOCUS)

Ana Carla Amaro (LOCUS)

Ana Melro (LOCUS)

Rui Rodrigues (LOCUS)

5.00p.m. Phygital tourist experience: landscape, heritage and culture in low density areas. A proposal for São Pedro do Sul

Claudete Moreira (CEGOT, University of Coimbra)

Rui Ferreira (CEGOT, University of Coimbra)

Tiago Santos (CEGOT, University of Coimbra)

6.15p.m. Closing

The 1^st Seminar of Students in Digital Technologies and Health/Wellbeing took place on 24th January at the Department of Communication and Art of the University of Aveiro. EhSemi aimed to be a discussion forum for students who are developing research projects related to innovative digital media-based solutions, capable of improving health, wellbeing and people’s quality of life. This seminar is an initiative of the E-health & Wellbeing group of the DigiMedia Research Center and Ana Margarida Almeida, the coordinator of the Research Group, was the Chair of the event.

The keynote speaker for the seminar was Jose Colucci, professor at the Design Institute for Health of the University of Texas / Austin, who also organized the two-days’ workshop on “Design for Health” (22^nd and 23^rd January). In this workshop the participants had the chance to see how Health represents one of the ultimate boundaries of Design and an excellent opportunity to apply its principles. To do this, they not only gained the understanding and practical experience in the basic methods and mental postures of design through some examples that have already been used to solve some of the most complex health problems, but also moved forward into ideas and prototypes.

Besides the Keynote Talk by Jose Colucci “Atenção primária à saúde: eHealth e humanização da tecnologia”, the programme of the seminar included 18 presentations by students. Several DigiMedia PhD students presented their research work in this seminar:

– Virgínia Chalegre – Avaliação de aplicações para a qualificação e empregabilidade de pessoas com deficiência

– Lersi Duran – Literacia Digital em Depressão junto de Estudantes Universitários: desenho metodológico de avaliação

– Eliza Oliveira – As agressões online e o impacto no desempenho ocupacional dos estudantes: reflexão sob o olhar da terapia ocupacional

– Carla V. Leite – e-Health for Childbirth Literacy in Portugal: An Analysis of Resources from SNS

– Jailma Bulhões – Iterative aspects of designing a gamified storytelling tool to Brazilian students with dyslexia

– Daniel Carvalho – Os Seniores e os serviços iTV: Identificação de Tipologias de interação

Videojogos is an annual conference on videogame sciences and arts, promoted by the Portuguese Society of Video Games Sciences (SPCV). The conference has been promoting the scientific gathering of researchers and professionals in the expanded field of videogames.

The University of Aveiro held the 1st edition of the Conference in 2009 and held it again in 2019, between 27th and 29th November (http://videojogos2019.web.ua.pt/). The event was co-organized by the Department of Communication and Art of the University of Aveiro (DeCA), DigiMedia Research Center and the Portuguese Society of Video Games Sciences (SPCV). Ana Veloso (Conference chair), Nelson Zagalo (Scientific chair), José Nunes (Organizing chair), Óscar Mealha (Co-organizing chair), Pedro Beça (Workshop chair) and Mário Vairinhos (Demo chair) were part of the Organizing Committee.

This year, 10 years after the first conference, SPCV and the co-organizers decided to convert the conference into a full international event, with English as a working language.

The Keynote speakers (of the conference were Ernest Adams (game designer and professor at the University of Uppsala, Sweden) and Diogo Gomes (professor at the Dep. Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics, University of Aveiro, Portugal).

The Book of abstracts is available in https://ria.ua.pt/handle/10773/27038. And the full Proceedings will be available soon at Springer (https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030379827).

The project Mind Safety – Safety Matters II (2018-2021), a 3-year project funded by the Erasmus+ Programme, started in September 2018 and follows up on the work from Mind Safety – Safety Matters! (2015-2018) (http://mindsafety.web.ua.pt/).

The Multiplier Event of the 2018-21 MS-SM project took place on the 20th of November 2019 in the CCCI Auditorium of the University of Aveiro with around 75 participants (teachers, psychologists, stakeholders, etc). This dissemination seminar was recognized as a short-term training action by the Aveiro and Albergaria-a-Velha Schools Association Training Center (CFAECAAV).

The Mind Safety – Safety Matters (MS-SM) projects aim to improve and innovate methods of teaching safety and health issues in the classroom, motivating and preparing young people (12 to 18 years old) to work in safe conditions and to live and learn to be responsible citizens after leaving school. The projects also promote teachers’ active involvement and active participation in their own training, to test, experiment, develop and implement methodologies and tools in schools, enhancing the quality and relevance of the learning process.

The Autoridade para as Condições de Trabalho (ACT) coordinates a consortium of 7 partners: the University of Aveiro, the University of Minho, the University of Girona (Spain), the Safety Science Group of Delft Technologies University (the Netherlands), the Center for Labour and Social Security Training and Research (ÇASGEM, Turkey) and the Youth in Science and Business Foundation (YSBF, Estonia).

Ana Margarida Almeida (Deca/DigiMedia) and Luis Pedro (Deca/DigiMedia) are part of the project’s team. The UA team includes members from the Research Centre on Didactics and Technology in the Education of Trainers (CIDTFF/DEP), the Digital Media and Interaction Research Centre (DigiMedia/DeCA) and the Aveiro Research Centre of Risks and Sustainability in Construction (RISCO/DECivil).

The Erasmus+ HiLives project (Including and Connecting in Higher Education: networking opportunities for independent lives) aims to share knowledge and good practices in (i) including students with Intellectual and Development Disabilities (DID) in Higher Education Institutions and (ii) their transition for an active and independent life, exploring the role digital media can play in this process.

The University of Aveiro coordinates a consortium of eight partners: four Higher Education institutions – University of Aveiro, Portugal; University of Ghent, Belgium; University of Salamanca, Spain; and University of Iceland, Iceland – and four institutions and associations that work directly with young adults with DID and their families – ASSOL, Pais-em-Rede, FORMEM and AvisPT21.

Ana Margarida Almeida (Deca/DigiMedia) and Virgínia Chalegre (PhD student, Deca/DigiMedia) are part of the project’s team. The UA team includes members from the Research Centre on Didactics and Technology in the Education of Trainers (CIDTFF/DEP), the Digital Media and Interaction Research Centre (DigiMedia/DeCA) and the Pedagogical Office.

The Kickoff Meeting (TPM) and the 1st Learning/Teaching/Training Activity (LTTA) will take place from 25 to 29 November 2019.

The DigiMedia centre in partnership with the INET.md unit are organizing a talk about mixed realities. 

The 360º Mixed Realities Audiovisual Initiative will be held on September 27th at 2:30 PM in the Auditorium of the Department of Communication and Art. The first part is free and open to the UA community and will include a talk about 360º video production for imersive 3D spaces by Tiffany Marques, 360º sound recording by Isaac Raimundo  and  Modulating emotions in acting by Isabela Souto. Next, there will be a technical hands on workshop (by invitation only) that will overview 360º video and sound production, ending with a practical session on body language in the expression of emotions.

This initiative is organized by Mário Vairinhos and Pedro Almeida (DigiMedia researchers) in partnership with Helena Marinho and Nery Borges (INET.md researchers).

Last Saturday, July 20th, DigiMedia organized a meet-up in the walkways over the Ria de Aveiro.

Celebrating the end of a very successful academic year was the moto for the organization of a meet-up of DigiMedia researchers held last Saturday, July 20^th. This very informal event included a pleasant tour over the Ria de Aveiro walkways and a shared snack on the relaxing area of the “Passadiços” bar. We wish this first edition of the DigiMedia Summer meet-up has just started a tradition!

On June 25th, 2019 it will take place the 1st Annual LOCUS Seminar, entitled Amiais’ Cultural Heritage. The Seminar will have the talk of Daniela Petrelli, Professor at Sheffield Hallam University, specialist in novel forms of interaction design that combine digital technology with product design, also known as Tangible and Embedded Interaction.

The objective of the Seminar is to present the first year results of LOCUS project, with spaces for reflection on its main scientific areas: cultural heritage, internet of things, augmented reality, intergenerational, gamification, among others.

The target audience of the event is the academic community, as well as specialists who are interested in the topics that are going to be discussed and can intervene in order to contribute to the enrichment of the event and, consequently, the project.

The event will take place at the Department of Communication and Art of the University of Aveiro, room 40.2.15, between 2:00 pm and 6:30 pm, under the scientific organization and moderation of Professor Lídia Oliveira and Professor Ana Carla Amaro.

PROGRAM

14h Welcoming

14h30 Opening session – Amiais Territory
António Coutinho (Mayor of the Sever do Vouga Municipality)
Sérgio Soares (President of the Parish Council of Couto de Esteves)
Lídia Oliveira (LOCUS Researcher in Charge)

15h15 Amiais Cultural Heritage from local speeches
Lídia Oliveira
Ana Carla Amaro
Ana Melro

16h Break

16h20 LOCUS: brand & identity
Joana Quental

17h Beyond the Phone: Mobile Cultural Heritage in the Age of the Internet of Things
Daniela Petrelli

18h15 Closing

Please register at https://forms.gle/QAEeYDsDQRrFshZy9
Inquiries: anamelro@ua.pt

SCIENTIA holds another edition, May 15, at ISCA-UA, organized by DigiMedia researcher João Batista and Professor Alberto Costa. In this edition, the keynote speaker is Professor Penousal Machado coordinator of the Cognitive and Media Systems group and the scientific director of the Computational Design and Visualization Lab. of the Centre for Informatics and Systems of the University of Coimbra, which addresses the theme “Artificial Intelligence: Fake it until you make it?” . Research work developed in the context of the ISCA-UA will be presented.

Admission is free, although registration is required. Please follow the available link [1]

Detailed program can be found in the available link [2]