SCOPE

The aim of IMMERSCOM is to focus on multi- and cross-disciplinary research on capturing, processing, analyzing, coding, communication and rendering of rich audio-visual content in order to enable remote immersive experiences of objects and environments. The body of technologies that enable such immersive remote experiences is collectively referred to as immersive telecommunications technologies. Applications of immersive telecommunications technologies can be varied, and include telepresence, industrial automation, health care, education, and entertainment. Many of these are also beginning to be viewed as potential green technologies.

A variety of traditionally disjoint research communities have been involved with developing immersive technologies in different ways. These can be loosely categorized into Multimedia Signal Processing and Coding; Computer Graphics and Computer Vision; and Mixed/Augmented Reality. However, in order to deliver truly compelling remote immersive experiences, all these classical disciplines as well as many other emergent ones need to come together and work alongside the Networking and Communication community. A close coupling between the traditional Multimedia (2D digital video and audio) and the Networking/Communication research communities have led to worldwide commercial deployment of multimedia services and products in recent years. However, this is much less true for Computer Vision, Computer Graphics and Virtual/Augmented Reality research communities.

IMMERSCOM hopes to create a forum that enable and promote such multi- and cross-disciplinary interactions and build communities that can work together to create technologies robust and compelling enough for commercial success in the foreseeable future. Other goals of IMMERSCOM include assessment of emergent immersive telecommunication technologies as well as identification of technical challenges in various application areas.

PAPERS

The conference invites original technical papers that were not previously published and are not currently under review for publication elsewhere. Topics include, but are not limited to:

* Scene capture for Immersive Rendering: 3D scanning, multi-camera and depth sensor based capture systems, ad hoc multimedia sensor networks, multimodal scene capture, 3D reconstructions and other representations from capture data, view synthesis and interpolation, pervasive sensing
* Interfaces for Immersive Interaction: stereoscopic, auto-stereoscopic and multiview displays and interfaces; multi-projector and projector-camera systems; mixed/augmented reality interfaces, interactive environments; affective user interfaces, haptics, interfaces for handheld and wearable devices, multimodal interfaces; telepresence interfaces; perceptual interfaces, human factors
* Computer Vision and scene understanding: 3D reconstruction and modeling, Activity detection, face and pose detection and recognition, gesture recognition, body tracking, mobility issues, Tele-reality, data fusion
* Multimedia Coding: Coding of video, multi-view video, multi-view video with depth; coding of various 3D representations; distributed single- and multi-view video coding and coding for distributed sensor (camera) arrays; real-time coding
* Networking for Immersive Applications: Communication for rich 3D visualization, telepresence, and mixed/augmented reality; QoS for immersive applications; robustness to loss over networks, low latency communication, real-time protocols, synchronization
* Applications, Systems and Architectures: Telepresence; gaming; medical and bio-medical applications; educational systems; virtual museums, meetings and classrooms; social networking

Please prepare your submission in 2-column format using these guidelines with a maximum length of 6 pages. The due date for submission of full papers for consideration for presentation at the conference is November 1, 2008.

PROPOSALS FOR PANELS

Proposals for panels on Immersive communications, and related topics are solicited. Proposals should consist of:

1) title and outline of materials to be presented,
2) description of potential audience,
3) justification of why the proposed topic is interesting and timely and,
4) biographical sketch of the presenter(s).

Panel topics should address innovative, controversial, or otherwise provocative issues of interest related to immersivecommunications. Please submit your proposals to the appropriate chairs by Oct 1, 2008.

DEMOS/EXHIBITS

If only pictures said a thousand words, demonstrations of real immersive telecommunication systems should speak millions. IMMERSCOM plans to make demonstrations and exhibits a big part of the conference, and we invite researchers from academia and industry to make an effort to demonstrate their technologies either at the conference or at a site in the San Fracisco Bay area. A Bay area bus tour will be organized for demonstrations in various locations in the area. Please submit your proposal for demonstration with a brief description of the system and the setup requirements, to the appropriate chair by Oct 1, 2008.

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Sponsorship provides a company or an organization with a unique opportunity to increase its visibility and product awareness within a highly specialized, influential community. Acknowledgments of the sponsors, such as the company's name, product, and logo, will appear in the main page of the conference website and in all official documentation of the conference. For information on sponsorship opportunities, please contact the conference's Sponsorship Chair.

IMPORTANT DATES
Full Papers due: November 1, 2008
Notification of Acceptance: February 1, 2009
Camera-ready Manuscripts due: March 1, 2009
Conference Dates: May 27-29, 2009