The University of Central Florida’s newest workshop series is an ongoing examination of the far future sparked by the imagination of artists scientists from around the world. 

The series' first workshop, Beyond VR: Simulating Identities, brought future-thinkers and visionaries to IST's conference rooms for a Friday evening reception and demonstration showcase followed the next day by an all-day workshop. the workshop was sponsored by the US Army PEOSTRI and the Joint Advanced Distributed Learning Co-laboratory.

The workshop examined the future of simulation and virtual technology and its impact on our self-perception. Attendees speculated on the advances in and possibilities of provoking intense identification with artificial identities and social environments. This workshop was designed to create thought provoking and diverse visions of a possible future when boundaries melt between the real and synthetic world.

This workshop ventured into novel approaches for tapping creative minds and provoking participation from industry leaders to produce a catalytic on-line document intended to inspire the next great scientific discovery or work of fiction in synthetic humanity.

The Friday evening reception was hosted by the National Center for Simulation (www.simulationinformation.com) and  sponsored by the Metro Orlando Film and Entertainment Commission. Cutting edge, virtual and real world boundary melting media technology was showcased with multi-sensory Mixed Reality under development by the Media Convergence Laboratory (www.mcl.ucf.edu). 

The research includes Time Portal, a prototype of an experiential movie trailer that allows you to experience an action scene of a movie as it immerses you in a theme-park-style video game; MS ISLE, a multi-modal, immersive game chamber for group interaction; MR MOUT a merging of live and virtual simulation for Military Operation in Urban Terrain; and other on-going research in experiential and immersive media.  At the convergence of the nation’s leading military research in simulation-based training and the world’s center for experience-based entertainment, Orlando is rapidly becoming the world’s center for experiential media.

Experimental Music was provided by the Orlando instrumental trio, Harbinger (http://www.lonekimono.org/).

A project underway in IST's labs aims to create robot vehicles that can venture onto unknown terrain, send back survey results and leave behind remote sensors that will continue to monitor the area.

The team is exploring creative ways to integrate GPS, Mote sensors (a form of miniaturized remote sensing device), a continuous localization algorithm and ad-hoc networking on a mobile robot platform.

The platform would have both indoor and outdoor capabilities. A variety of sensors, including GPS receivers, laser range finder, gyros and wireless video, would collect data and transmit the results to a remote user using a new Cognitive Packet Network architecture.

Cognitive packets route themselves and learn to avoid congestion and being lost or destroyed. The CPN protocol is unique in the sense that it departs from traditional packet switching networks that rely on the nodes for routing packets.

Dr. Guy Schiavone, Assistant Professor at IST and the Department of Computer Engineering, is lead researcher on the project.