Marian Ursu | University of York (original) (raw)

Papers by Marian Ursu

Abstract: This paper considers the problem of resource allocation in the service industries appro... more Abstract: This paper considers the problem of resource allocation in the service industries approached from an agent-based perspective. Agent technologies seem to be well suited to this domain by providing a distributed environment, are network centric, semi-autonomous and collaborative and can communicate with each other to achieve better optimisation with little human intervention. The paper describes the context of this solution, a general power model and several pathways with corresponding example implementations with results and discussion The novelty of the solution resides in the fact that it is a natural and versatile formulation that combines an agent-based model with various artificial intelligence and operations research techniques such as rule-based expressions of allocation strategies and multi-criteria optimisation expressions of allocation objectives.

ACM International Conference on Interactive Media Experiences, 2020

We examine the concept and characteristics of “Augmented Reality Television” (ARTV) using a four-... more We examine the concept and characteristics of “Augmented Reality Television” (ARTV) using a four-step investigation method consisting of (1) an analysis of commonly-accepted perspectives on Augmented and Mixed Reality systems, (2) a literature survey of previous work on ARTV, (3) relevant connections with other areas of scientific investigation from TVX/IMX, such as Ambient Media, Interactive TV, and 3-D TV, and (4) by proposing a conceptual framework for ARTV called the “Augmented Reality Television Continuum.” Our work comes at a moment when the excitement and hype about the potential of AR for home entertainment has overlooked rigorous analysis and clear-cut examinations of the concepts involved, which should be the hallmark of any exact science. With this work, our goal is to draw the community’s attention toward fundamentals and first principles of ARTV and to tease out its salient qualities on solid foundations.

In team sports, it can be a non-trivial task to compare players and understand how much they cont... more In team sports, it can be a non-trivial task to compare players and understand how much they contribute and in what way, especially when those players are fulfilling significantly different roles on a team. What metric do you use to compare a Pitcher to a Batter? A Point Guard to a Center? Understanding what degree players are performing and how they compare to one another allows for greater depth in storytelling for the broadcasting team. It also provides audiences with overall performances across team positions.

Participatory filmmaking offers opportunities to counterbalance stereotypes about mental health o... more Participatory filmmaking offers opportunities to counterbalance stereotypes about mental health often endorsed by the mainstream media, by involving participants who have a lived experience of mental health problems in production. It is our experience, however, that the linear videos traditionally resulting from such processes can fail to fully accommodate and represent a plurality of participant voices and viewpoints and, as a consequence, may lead to oversimplified accounts of mental health. Interactive film, on the other hand, could open up a space of opportunities for participatory films that allow multiple voices and complex representations to coexist. In this paper, we explore this opportunity by reviewing Stepping Through, a linear film produced by five men with mental health problems in 2016 about isolation and recovery. Through a series of workshops, the film was deconstructed by its creators, who analysed which additional possibilities of both form and content that could b...

This paper introduces a generic framework for OBM storytelling. Aiming to function as a complete ... more This paper introduces a generic framework for OBM storytelling. Aiming to function as a complete end-to-end reference for authoring OBM narrative content - from conception to realization - it proposes an integrated model that includes the three essential levels: conceptual, technological and aesthetic. At the conceptual level, we introduce a set of abstractions which provide a unified reference for thinking, describing and analysing interactive narrative structures of OBM content. Their recursive nature make our model stand out in terms of its power of expression. These abstractions have direct one-to-one operational counterparts implemented in our production-independent authoring toolkit – Cutting Room. This ensures that any specific story designs conceived within the proposed conceptual model are directly realisable as OBM productions. This isomorphic relationship between the abstract concepts and their operationalisation is another distinguishing aspect of our overall proposition...

Proceedings of the IEEE/ACM 42nd International Conference on Software Engineering Workshops

This paper presents an experience report of Digital Creativity Labs (DC Labs), an 'impact hub... more This paper presents an experience report of Digital Creativity Labs (DC Labs), an 'impact hub' created at the University of York in the UK. The impact hub is dedicated to fostering impactful collaborations between practitioners and researchers in the world of games, interactive media and the rich space in which these converge. In this paper we describe how the impact hub works and the activities undertaken to build a culture of academic entrepreneurship that allows academic researchers to understand the goals of external partners and align with them. We also present some illustrative case studies before proposing initial lessons learned from experiences of the Lab. Multi-disciplinary academic teams can generate excellent impact, but this doesn't happen automatically. A culture of entrepreneurship is needed, and opportunities must be created for researchers to tackle problems jointly. Effort must be put into maintaining collaborations with partners.

Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

Brooke Leave Home is a personalized film designed to engage a non-expert audience with open data ... more Brooke Leave Home is a personalized film designed to engage a non-expert audience with open data about the support young adults receive when leaving the care system in England. The film draws upon a range of video-based data storytelling techniques to present each viewer with a personalized perspective on the topic based on data from their own local area. We present the film's design and describe how its storytelling techniques were developed to support viewers in understanding, and fostering empathic connections with, the data sources featured and the implications they have for care leavers. We also present a study with 47 viewers, which explores how these techniques were experienced and how effective they were in aiding engagement with the data included and its meaning.

Proceedings of the 2017 ACM Conference Companion Publication on Designing Interactive Systems

Modern TV viewing has moved away from the traditional shared living room and sofa experience towa... more Modern TV viewing has moved away from the traditional shared living room and sofa experience towards consumption on an ever-evolving set of devices, in a variety of locations, as individuals, or as physically co-located and geographically dispersed groups. However, the consumption of broadcast media still remains a relatively linear experience, fixed at production time. Significant interest has surfaced within the broadcast industry into the production of nonlinear, context specific forms of media presentation. The design of these interactive and reconfigurable televisual experiences at a public facing level requires a user-centered approach. Through the collaboration of researchers, designers, practitioners and stakeholders within the television industry, this workshop will provide a focused day for the design of future reconfigurable televisual experiences.

Unlike traditional physical sports, Esport games are played using wholly digital platforms. As a ... more Unlike traditional physical sports, Esport games are played using wholly digital platforms. As a consequence, there exists richdata (in-game, audio and video) about the eventsthat take place in matches. Thesedata offerviable linguistic resourcesfor generating comprehensible text descriptions of matches, which could, be used as the basis of novel text-based spectator experiences. We present a study that investigates if users perceive text generated by the NLG system as an accurate recap of highlight moments. We also explore how the text generated supported viewer understanding of highlight moments in two scenarios: i) text as an alternative way to spectate a match, instead of viewing the main broadcast; and ii) text as an additional information resource to be consumed while viewing the main broadcast. Our study provided insights on the implications of the presentation strategies for use of text in recapping highlight moments to Dota 2 spectators.

Different forms of story telling have been developed to suit different distribution media: cinema... more Different forms of story telling have been developed to suit different distribution media: cinema has feature films, the printing press has novels, but what new story form is proposed for broadband? Currently, information and entertainment is distributed over broadband networks via forms borrowed from other media. This paper introduces story forms specifically created for broadband distribution and a software kit that supports their production.

An emergence of applications based on live audio-visual content streams could be observed in rece... more An emergence of applications based on live audio-visual content streams could be observed in recent years. While the technological infrastructure in terms of bandwidth and device capabilities has advanced, media formats and related consumption paradigms have not changed as fundamentally. Meanwhile, a considerable amount of research has addressed automatic personalization of multimedia content for the sake of enabling immersive multimedia experiences, however, mostly considering pre-recorded and not live content. This paper states the case for more research to be conducted on what we refer to as Virtual Director technology as one key enabling technology for the hyper-personalization of live content delivery. A Virtual Director is software that automatically selects, frames, mixes and cuts from a number of AV content streams. It aims to automate the complex and challenging tasks that a broadcast director and team undertake during a live event broadcast. Virtual Director software can b...

Proceedings of the 23rd ACM international conference on Multimedia - MM '15, 2015

This paper reports on an experimental production of The Tempest that was developed in collaborati... more This paper reports on an experimental production of The Tempest that was developed in collaboration with Miracle Theatre Company realised as a distributed performance from two separate stages through a dynamically configured telepresence system. The production allowed an exploration of the way a range of technologies, including consumer grade broadband, cameras and projection technologies could affect the development and delivery of live theatre by regional touring company. The architecture of the communication platform used to deliver the performance is introduced as are two novel software tools that are used to describe and control the way the play should be captured and represented. The experimental production was thoroughly evaluated and the feedback from audience and theatre professionals is presented in some detail. A considered observation of the process and the way it differs from film, TV and theatre suggest that distributed theatre can be treated as a new genre of storytelling.

Proceedings of the 3rd International Workshop on Immersive Media Experiences - ImmersiveME '15, 2015

Proceedings of the 2014 workshop on Understanding and Modeling Multiparty, Multimodal Interactions - UM3I '14, 2014

Proceedings of the ACM International Conference on Multimedia - MM '14, 2014

Proceedings of the 21st ACM international conference on Multimedia - MM '13, 2013

Computer, 2014

To move beyond the current "talking heads" paradigm and enable truly natural and immersive shared... more To move beyond the current "talking heads" paradigm and enable truly natural and immersive shared experiences, video-mediated communication systems must be able to understand the context of the shared activity as well as the social layer of interaction. With the increasing number of heterogeneous devices accessing the Internet and many people using multiple devices-sometimes simultaneously-to communicate, the notion of connected shared experiences is gaining momentum within the social networking and social computing communities. In this column, the authors highlight a paradigm shift in video-mediated communication from "talking heads," in which we see each other's faces but not much else, to more natural and intimate interactive environments. In such environments, the system's ability to adapt to the context and to social cues is critical to achieving a satisfactory quality of experience. The authors outline fundamental system requirements and call for the development of new use cases. Christian Timmerer, column editor People are social beings: whether engaging in work, play or social conversations, we seek to interact with others. Current technologies support various types of interaction among individuals at different locationsfor example, remote learning, connected healthcare, and multiparty videoconferencing-but are limited in both coverage and flexibility. However, research in this area has flourished in recent years and is moving communication from static interpersonal exchanges to dynamic shared experiences. The challenge is to export promising results from the lab to the world. The following provides an overview of the present state of technology in this field through a few examples and discuss future possibilities and challenges. We highlight a key research goal: to provide adaptive communication systems that react not only to changes at the network and application layers, but also at the social layer of interaction. Connected Shared Experiences Linking multiple people across physical spaces is not a new idea. As Figure 1 shows, connected shared experiences were envisioned soon after the telephone's invention in 1876. Since then, academic and industry efforts to achieve immersive group communication have met with varying degrees of success. 1 Recent developments include the rapid adoption of video-mediated communication technologies by home users 2 and children reading with long-distance family members via background-subtracted video communication. 3 We have made great strides in the past century and a half but still have a long way to go. The next step, as discussed in a workshop at the 2013 ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (http://clab.iat.sfu.ca/beyondtalkingheads), is to move beyond the "talking heads" paradigm that characterizes most video chat systems, like Skype and Google Hangouts, to provide rich communication support for everyday activities such as holiday get-togethers, outdoor sports events, shared meals, birthday parties, storytelling, or just "hanging out." Solving these challenges will open new opportunities for the realization of connected shared experiences. Still, the obstacles ahead are significant. Real-time content analysis algorithms that enable communication systems to understand what's going on are very difficult to construct, given the inherent noise. We're still in the infancy of comprehending the effect of each remote activity and the level of intimacy on parameters affecting QoE. Standards and methodologies for assessing QoE are nonexistent. Automatic adaptation mechanisms that consider the network, application, and social layers are rather basic and limited to specific use cases. This article is a call for the research community to focus on these fundamental research questions that will in turn enable new use cases, like distributed performing arts reaching large interactive audiences at home, as in Figure 2b. Technological advances such as more efficient video-streaming protocols, more powerful sensors, faster processors, and improved networking abilities aren't sufficient to move beyond today's talking heads paradigm and enable connected shared experiences. Video-mediated communication systems must also be able to understand the nature of the shared activity and social cues to make such experiences natural and immersive. Key challenges to realizing this vision include context awareness, cue processing, QoE monitoring, and reasoning processes that dynamically adapt to environmental changes at the networking layer (such as longer end-to-end delays), application layer (turn changes during board game play), or social layer (the fact that someone doesn't talk, for example). To achieve such automatic adaptation, new reasoning approaches and algorithms need to be developed and studied.