25/04/2023

IMPA project with UFRJ aims to bring dance to the metaverse.

IMPA and UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) have joined forces to develop a project that transfers dance movements to the metaverse. On April 27th and 28th, the group will present part of their work at the Dance & Tech event, held at the Angel Vianna college in Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro. The program is free and takes place from 2 pm to 7 pm. Registration can be done at this link.

The research group from Visgraf (Computer Graphics Laboratory of IMPA) and the Digital Image Processing Laboratory (LAPID) of the National Museum – UFRJ, is studying the movement of virtual avatars in the metaverse, based on the capture of images of real dancers in the laboratory.

Among the project's objectives are the creation of performances that combine physical and virtual bodies and the monitoring of the impacts of physical activity on the health and movement of the dancers. According to Luiz Velho, the lead researcher of Visgraf, the research explores experiences where the boundary between the dancers and the audience is more blurred.

“The public is invited to participate. Several groups in Brazil are already exploring the latest things related to the metaverse and new media, which break down the barriers of time and space. Through technology, we can have people in different places, but in the same virtual space, in an interaction that is very dynamic,” explained Luiz Velho.

Since 2006, Visgraf has produced more than six studies on dance . The event was conceived to popularize the topic and generate interest among mathematicians and dancers who are not yet familiar with the intersection between these research areas. The Dance and Technology seminar will feature lectures, experimental workshops, and an art exhibition.

Entitled “Dance and Technology in Perspective”, the first panel on Thursday (27) will be led by Ana Carolina Navarro and Thaisa Martins Coelho, PhD students at UFRJ.

Ana Carolina studies the biomechanics of dance and explains that the technology can be applied in biomedical engineering. “I work from the perspective of movement analysis, so I'm interested in studying the balance of dancers or the most appropriate way to perform a certain step so that they don't get injured, for example. This has artistic applications, but also in terms of dance and health,” stated Ana Carolina.

Thaisa, on the other hand, is interested in the study of body movements, but through the lens of dance archaeology. Her doctoral research focuses on Indian cultural manifestations. She points out that technology is still underutilized in this field.

"The field of dance studies has a lot of difficulty accessing these technological materials because they are expensive and require specialization to know how to use them. It's something we have very little of in Brazil. Our idea is to spark interest in students and show that this interaction is possible," she stated.

Check the event website for more information.