PMP Future Media Online Seminar: AI, XR & Human Connection – 06.02.2025

Date: 6 February 2025 

Time: 10.00 – 13.30 (Madrid Time)

ESPRONCEDA – Institute of Art & Culture is proud to present the PMP Future Media Online Seminar, organized within the framework of the European project PMP – Professional Media Presence. As a multidisciplinary center dedicated to artistic creation, research, and education, ESPRONCEDA plays a key role in exploring the intersection of art, technology, and human connection, promoting innovation and the exchange of ideas in these fields.

About the European Project PMP – Professional Media Presence

Professional Media Presence is a European project aimed at exploring and enhancing the professional media presence in the digital age. Through collaboration between artists, technology experts, and creatives, PMP facilitates the development of new strategies and practices in media, focusing on the intersection of art, technology, and human connection. This online seminar is one of many PMP initiatives, designed to analyze the latest advances in Extended Reality (XR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Virtual Reality (VR), and how these technologies can transform creative processes.

Held on February 6, 2025, this online seminar brought together top-tier experts to discuss the transformative potential of XR, AI, and VR. Participants explored the reality-virtuality continuum, spatial computing, and immersive environments, as well as AI-driven creative processes that are redefining artistic expression.

PROGRAM

Below is the detailed program:

Time: 10.00 – 10.15. Introduction to the speakers and topics.

FIRST PRESENTATION

Title of presentation: Virtual Environments

Time: 10.15 – 11.15

Name of the speaker: Marc Galvez

Short description of the presentation:

An immersive exploration of XR (Extended Reality) designed to delve into the reality-virtuality continuum, spatial computing, AR Cloud, and the metaverse. The webinar covers essential topics such as head-mounted displays, immersive gadgets, digital twins, and techniques for interaction and navigation. The agenda includes demonstrations of advanced software and hardware that enhance XR experiences, providing practical insights into their applications. Simulator sickness is also addressed, with strategies to improve comfort and usability in immersive environments. The concept of story living is explored, highlighting its potential to create engaging and emotionally impactful virtual narratives. By the conclusion, participants will gain the knowledge and tools to design, evaluate, and refine their own innovative XR projects.

Coffee break: 11.15 – 11.30

SECOND PRESENTATION

Title of presentation: Embodied VR: Exploring the Boundaries of UX and Human Connection

Time: 11.30 – 12.30

Name of the speaker: Daniel González Franco

Short description of the presentation:

In a world where technology often isolates, I have explored how virtual reality can become a bridge to deeper human connections. My journey as an experience designer has led to projects such as The Machine to Be Another by BeAnotherLab, which uses body ownership illusions to foster empathy, and Eve, Dance is an Unplaceable Place, where dance and VR merge to reimagine the body as a universal language. From exploring intimacy in ImbueVR to addressing mental health through social support systems like MISS-U, my experiments aim to push the boundaries of technology while striving to uncover what makes us profoundly human. In this talk, I will share how creativity and humility can redefine the boundaries of user experience, transforming technology into a medium to inhabit the lives and emotions of others.

THIRD PRESENTATION

Title of presentation: AI in Your Art Practice

Time: 12.30 – 13.30

Name of the speaker: Daniel Sabio_The Glad Scientist

Short description of the presentation:

In this session, attendees will learn about artificial intelligence (AI) and its various possibilities for artists. We will debunk myths about AI, and understand fun and interesting ways that AI can be used throughout the process of art creation, distribution, and ideation. The topics will range from deep ideation and rapid learning to modern uses for image, sound, and video generation. Attendees should leave feeling empowered by the new possibilities of these emergent tools and how they can enhance their artistic practice.

SPEAKERS: 

MARC GALVEZ Graduated in Video Game Design and Development from Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (CITM), with extensive experience in virtual reality (VR) development and user experience (UX) design. Worked as a VR Developer and Project Manager at Espronceda Institute of Art and Culture, a UX Designer and UI Developer at Digital Twin Technology in Germany, and a VR/WebGL Developer for children’s serious games in MRI environments for the Ready Teddy project in the U.S. Contributed to artistic VR projects, including Temples del Zenit by Enric Pladevall, and cutting-edge initiatives like immersive drone-based light painting with Ars Electronica’s Futurelab. Designed Beat the Impact, a VR music game for individuals with intellectual disabilities, and developed VR platforms such as Inmensiva and Mozilla Hubs Virtual Gallery. Passionate about merging technology, art, and innovation.

Website: Marc Galvez, LinkedIn

DANIEL GONZÁLEZ FRANCO. Interdisciplinary research, artist and entrepreneur. Special interest in social innovation, developing immersive experiences towards a more empathetic society. One of the founders of the collective BeAnotherLab, creators of “The Machine to Be Another” an Embodied Virtual Reality system that addresses the relationship between identity and empathy. Their work has been awarded with the European Social Innovation Competition award, Laval Virtual Awards (‘Learning and Humanities Award’),  2 times Ars Electronica (Honorary Mention), and N.I.C.E. awards (‘solving the world´s major challenges´) among others. Daniel received the prestigious Laval Virtual Award 2019 in the Art&VR Category, And the VR Grand Prize in Kaoshiung Film Festival in Taiwan with his VR/Dance hybrid piece; “Eve, Dance is an Unplaceable place” along with Margherita Bérgamo.

Website: BeAnotherLab.

DANIEL SABIO is a Puerto Rican conceptual artist living and working in Barcelona.

Their work focuses on audiovisual performance and installation arts and is driven by a deep interest in science and spiritualism balanced with an understanding of emotional and transformational responses (plus a dash of humor).

The artist’s solo work and collaborations have been consistently welcomed at diverse festivals and events worldwide including Ars Electronica, Venice Biennale, ISEA, FILE, LEV, and DreamHack, among others. It has been awarded residencies for both art and music, and shown in galleries in Shanghai, Tokyo, New York, and Berlin.

Commercially, they have worked with Grammy-award-winning musicians, Under Armour, and Super Nintendo World, among others.

He is a professor at La Salle BCN, teaching AI animation and artistic system design in the Master’s of Digital Art and Creative Technology.
Website: The Glad Scientist.