Keynote Speakers

Wednesday, June 5

Dr. Leonardo Chiariglione

Moving Picture, Audio, and Data Coding by Artificial Intelligence (MPAI), Italy

AI-processed data for manifold applications

  • Leonardo Chiariglione obtained his MS degree from the Polytechnic of Turin and his Ph. D. degree from the University of Tokyo.

    He has been at the forefront of a range of initiatives that have helped shape media technology and business as we know them today. Among these is the Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG) standards committee which he founded and chaired for 32 years. In June 2020 he left ISO and the MPEG group he founded no longer exists.

    In September 2020 he launched MPAI - Moving Picture, Audio and Data Coding by Artificial Intelligence, a non-profit organisation developing AI-enabled data coding standards while bridging the gap between standards and their practical use. In 3 years MPAI has published 10 standards on AI app execution environment, AI-enhanced audio, human-machine conversation, prediction of company performance, neural network watermarking, portable avatar, connected autonomous vehicles, and MPAI Metaverse Model Architecture. MPAI is also exploring other technical areas, such as XR Venues, AI for health, AI enhanced video coding and end-to-end video coding.

    Dr Chiariglione is the recipient of several awards: among these are the IBC John Tucker Award, the Eduard-Rhein Foundation Award, the IEEE Masaru Ibuka Consumer Electronics Award, the Kilby Foundation Award, and the IEEE SA Lifetime Achievement Award.

    Since January 2004 he is the President of CEDEO.net, a company providing advanced media technologies, solutions, and services and advising major multinationals on digital media matters.

    More at https://leonardo.chiariglione.org/communications/biography/

  • Data is the lifeblood of our society. As more fields transform their processes into digital versions, the amount of data increases. Data convey information, but the meaning of data generated by digital processes may not be easily accessible. Processing is required to enable the combination of data with other data in complex processing architectures. Processed data with known semantic can be re-used in other processed and offer better insight into the outcome of machines.

    MPAI – Moving Picture, Audio, and Data Coding by artificial intelligence – is the international, non-profit, and unaffiliated organisation whose mission is to promote better user of data through standards. The talk will present two MPAI projects. One on how properly trained networks with functions mimicking those of the game engines of an online game server can assist when data from a client is missing or when suspicious data need to be validated for acceptance. The second will introduce two approaches to AI-enabled video coding.

Thursday, June 6

Prof. Mariano Luis Alcañiz Raya

Laboratory of Immersive Neurotechnologies (LabLENI), Human-Centered Technology Institute (Human-Tech), Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Spain

Virtual agents: A new interface to characterize human cognition?

  • Prof. Alcañiz is founding director of the Immersive Neurotechnologies Lab (LabLENI) at UPV and Professor (tenure position) of Biomedical Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Valencia.

    His general research interests hover around a better understanding and enhancement of human cognition combining insights and methods from computer science, psychology, and neuroscience. His work is centered on using empirical, behavioural science methodologies to explore people as they interact in digital worlds, but he also engages in research geared towards developing new ways to produce Extended Reality (XR) simulations. Towards this end, he has been involved in projects related to clinical psychology, neurodevelopmental disorders, consumer neuroscience, organizational neuroscience, education, and training.

    Prof. Alcañiz has published more than 350 academic papers, in interdisciplinary journals as well domain-specific journals in the fields of biomedical engineering, computer science, psychology, marketing, management, psychology and education. His work has been continuously funded by the Spanish Research Agency and the European Commission for 30 years. He has been coordinator of several national R&D programs of excellence, program coordinator of the Information Society Technology (IST) of the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain and he has been the Spanish representative for ICT area at the Horizon 2020 European Research Program Committee. He is also member of the executive committee of EURO-XR association. He has also founded several spin-off companies related with his research field.

  • In this talk, Prof. Alcañiz will introduce Virtual Humans (VH) as a powerful tool for studying and characterizing various aspects of human cognition within controlled virtual environments. VH can aid in understanding cognitive processes such as decision-making, problem-solving, and social behavior through behavioral studies. They also serve as standardized testing platforms for assessing cognitive functions like memory, attention, and language processing. Moreover, VH can simulate human behavior and emotions, enabling investigations into social cognition and how individuals perceive and respond to emotions and social cues in virtual interactions. Throughout the talk, Prof. Alcañiz will provide examples of VH applications in human cognition assessment, presenting research projects and their results. Finally, he will discuss potential future implications of VH in this field.

Friday, June 7

Prof. Marcelo Knörich Zuffo

Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil

Engaging Minds, Enhancing Reality: Leveraging Artificial Intelligence in Immersive Serious Games for Learning, Discovery and Training Critical Procedures

  • Marcelo Knörich Zuffo (57), IEEE Member, is a full professor of the Electronics Systems Engineering Department of the Escola Politécnica da USP (EPUSP). He is currently coordinator of Interactive Electronics Group at the Laboratory for Integrated Systems where he leads research and developing projects on Consumer Electronics including virtual reality, digital image processing, Digital Health, multimedia hardware, digital TV, embedded computing, Internet of Things, interactive and distributed systems. He is a pioneer developing digital technologies in Brazil. He was responsible for the implantation of the first CAVE Digital (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment) of Latin America. He has been active in the definition of the Brazilian Digital TV System, which is currently adopted by almost all countries in Latin America. In partnership with Linux evangelist Jon Maddog Hall, he created Caninos Loucos, an open-source IoT platform. He is currently Coordinator of the Interdisciplinary Center on Interactive Technologies of USP. Since March 2020 he is in the war against COVID designing and manufacturing Mechanical Ventilators: the Inspire Ventilador. In January 2021 he mentored iTEX, and is a board member, a non-profit global organization to promote open-source exponential technologies. He is currently the director of InovaUSP, University of São Paulo Innovation Center.

  • Immersive serious games are virtual reality games designed for purposes beyond entertainment, focusing on solving problems, educating, or training users in critical applications. Unlike games developed primarily for leisure, immersive serious games have explicit educational, training, health, policy, or strategic objectives. They apply the engaging immersiveness of virtual reality and interactive elements of game design to teach, develop skills, or change behavior in a wide range of fields, including education, art, health care, military, industry, business, and environmental policy. This keynote will explore the next generation of immersive serious games through the convergence of virtual reality with artificial intelligence. The synergy between artificial intelligence and virtual reality promises to amplify VR's three core elements: Interactivity, Immersiveness, and Imagination (narrative), thereby increasing the believability of artificially simulated immersive environments. The presentation will highlight the experiences of the author's research team in creating immersive serious games for applications in power grid maintenance, prehistoric archaeology, mathematics education, interactive museums, and environmental conservation.