by Mel Slater
The PRESENCE Project is a consortium of seventeen research and industry organisations across eleven countries aimed at advancing Extended Reality (XR) experiences. The core objective is to bridge the “digital-physical divide” by enhancing the sense of presence in virtual environments, focusing on three technological pillars: holoportation, haptics (digital touch), and intelligent virtual humans.
The project employs a human-centred design approach, rigorously evaluating the technology through user studies and tests across two primary demonstrators: Professional XR Setups (for collaboration and manufacturing training) and Social XR Setups (for health and cultural heritage).
Ultimately, PRESENCE seeks to create a toolset of realistic, inclusive, and affordable XR technologies to revolutionise work and social interactions while embedding European ethical and societal values.
We are pleased to present a series of webinars that will expose the concepts, technological developments, analyses and applications of the project.
These webinars will take place weekly over Zoom as follows:
|
Week |
Date & Time |
Title |
Speaker 1 |
Speaker 2 |
Video |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Week 1 |
21-01-2026 | 5:00-6:00 CET |
Introduction to the PRESENCE Project. |
Sergi Fernandez Langa (Chair) |
Mel Slater | |
|
Week 2 |
28-01-2026 | 5:00-6:00 CET |
Intelligent Virtual Humans |
Mel Slater (Chair) |
Frank Steinicke | |
|
Week 3 |
04-02-2026 | 5:00-6:00 CET |
The physics of Virtual Humans |
Frank Steinicke (Chair) |
Joan Llobera | |
|
Week 4 |
11-02-2026 | 5:00-6:00 CET |
Representing Participants by Avatars |
Joan Llobera(Chair) |
Veronica Orvalho | |
|
Week 5 |
18-02-2026 | 5:00-6:00 CET |
Holographic Transportation |
Veronica Orvalho (Chair) |
Sergi Fernandez Langa | |
|
Week 6 |
25-02-2026 | 5:00-6:00 CET |
The Development and use of Haptics in PRESENCE |
Sergi Fernandez Langa (Chair) |
Gijs den Butter | |
|
Week 7 |
04-03-2026 | 5:00-6:00 CET |
Tracking Brain Measures in Shared Virtual Envoironments |
Gijs den Butter (Chair) |
Ana Zappa & Antoni Rodriguez-Fornells | |
|
Week 8 |
11-03-2026 | 5:00-6:00 CET |
Integration and Applications |
Ana Zappa (Chair) |
Michael Wiesing | |
|
Week 9 |
18-03-2026 | 5:00-6:00 CET |
The Ethics of PRESENCE |
Michael Wiesing (Chair) |
Iris Jennes | |
|
Week 10 |
25-03-2026 | 5:00-6:00 CET |
A Cross Project Panel Discussion |
Mel Slater (Chair) |
Roundup |
Register Now:
Presence XR is a Horizon Europe Innovation Project co-financed by the EC under Grant Agreement ID: 101135025
