'Our motivation is innovation,' says Velho about publishing the book.

“Our motivation is innovation,” said IMPA researcher Luiz Velho about the launch of the book “Expanded Reality: new media and AI” , this Thursday (7), in Rio de Janeiro. In physical and digital format, the book addresses advances in research in new technologies and media, such as metaverses, expanded reality, AI and virtual agents. To participate in the launch, register at this link.

Funded by Faperj (Rio de Janeiro State Research Support Foundation), the work originated as a report for the research project “IMPA: a locus of experimentation for expanded reality in shared media spaces ,” initiated in 2020 through a partnership between the Pi Center (IMPA's Center for Projects and Innovation) and Visgraf (IMPA's Vision and Computer Graphics Laboratory). Over the five years of research, the project gained another research center, the Department of Arts and Design at PUC-Rio. Other laboratories also joined the initiative: the Digital Image Processing Laboratory (LAPID) at the National Museum; BIODESIGN LAB at PUC-Rio; ABC Cinema Courses; and VFXRio Live.

“Doing research is about seeing a direction and then moving forward, discovering things. The cool thing I think about doing research is seeing what's interesting to explore as innovation, considering what will be good for society. We start exploring that and we discover new things. In this work, that was our intention. Our motivation is innovation. We know a direction, we know the world is going in that direction, and we work precisely in those areas,” Velho explained.

In 2020, the project was born with the goal of keeping pace with the digital and computational revolution that was erupting in society. The researchers relied on mathematics—as the basis of this revolution—to think about new media and, especially, the speed of technological and digital changes.

For this purpose, three major areas of activity were chosen: scientific and cultural heritage; medicine; and audiovisual media. The fields of application are based on three main components.

The first application incorporates new media, working with concepts of mathematical modeling, 3D digitization, and the creation of virtual worlds. The objective was the reconstruction of artifacts using digital technologies and their visualization in Augmented Reality. The main theme explored was Ancient Egypt, in various projects. “V-Horus 1.0” involved the reconstruction of a mummy that lived approximately 2,000 years ago in Egypt; while “Neferhotep 360” is a 360-degree immersive film that transports the viewer inside Theban tomb 49 (TT49).

The second line of research proposes applications of augmented reality and medicine, through experiences with fetal medicine; fetal magnetic resonance imaging; demonstrations with the AstraZeneca vaccine; and 3D ultrasound projection in pregnant women.

In the latest application, in audiovisual media, the researchers worked on a platform that integrates traditional forms of entertainment (dance, theater, and film) with advanced interactive media resources (virtual reality and games). Research in dance was the flagship of this field, through the documentation of motion capture techniques (MoCap) and experiments with multi-modal choreography.

In 359 pages, the book promotes interactive experiences in augmented reality and virtual reality in both physical and digital formats. The work also yielded a rich body of scientific output, including three master's theses, one doctoral dissertation, four scientific articles, four lectures, and five technical reports.

The work is signed by Velho, Heron Werner, Jorge Lopes and Sergio Azevedo. The launch will be this Thursday (7), at 7 pm, in the Alta Botafogo auditorium (Rua Voluntário da Pátria, 423). Register at this link .

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