Mixed Reality Production for Optimal User’s Quality of Experience in Digital Arts

Applications are invited for an interdisciplinary PhD studentship(s) for the project “Mixed Reality Production for Optimal User’s Quality of Experience in Digital Arts”, effective 1^st of October 2022. Successful applicants will receive an annual stipend (bursary) of £17,609, including inner London weighting, plus payment of their full-time tuition fees for a period of 36-months (3 years). Applicants must be classified as a home (UK) tuition fee paying student to be eligible for this studentship.

The successful applicants will join the internationally recognised researchers in the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, the Brunel Design School and the Games Design team at Brunel University London (BUL).

Project Description:

The use of XR (eXtended Reality) and virtual interactions has revolutionised production and shifted the pipelines and creative workflows of the filmmaking/creative industries. On the other hand, there have been significant developments in the use of machine learning in the production pipelines for the production of traditional content with immersive experiences. This doctoral research will focus on the application of machine learning techniques in the production of digital content using Mixed Reality (MR) technologies; this will include the creation of realistic virtual objects through capturing the kinetic properties of physical objects, production of AI-driven narrative and AI-driven actors/instruments etc.

The project will then examine the use of the developed MR technologies in theatre, looking at how MR can augment a theatre experience while exploring specific issues such as usability, accessibility, inclusivity of online/offline audiences, on/off-boarding user’s experience and multi-user interactions.

Please contact the principal supervisor Professor Abdul Hamid Sadka at abdul.sadka@brunel.ac.uk

Dr Damon Daylamani-Zad from the Design School at damon.daylamani-zad@brunel.ac.uk

Dr Mariza Dima from Games Design (Department of Arts and Humanities) at Mariza.dima@brunel.ac.uk

for an informal discussion about the project.

Eligibility

Applicants will have or be expected to receive a first or upper-second class honours degree in an Engineering, Computer Science, Multimedia Design, Digital Arts or a similar discipline. A Postgraduate Masters degree is not required but may be an advantage.

Experience in digital media design, use of multimedia technologies and handling of relevant software packages and digital design tools, will be an advantage. In addition, applicants should be highly motivated, able to work independently as well as in a multidisciplinary team, collaborate with others and have effective communication and technical reporting skills.

How to apply

Please submit your application documents (see list below) in one PDF file by Noon on the 29th of April 2022 to

cedps-pgr-office@brunel.ac.uk

Your up-to-date CV;
Your personal statement (300 to 500 words) summarising your background, skills and experience;
Your Undergraduate/Postgraduate Masters degree certificate(s) and transcript(s);
Evidence of your English language skills to IELTS 6.5 (or equivalent, 6.0 in all sections), if appropriate;
Contact details for TWO referees, one of which can be an academic member of staff in the College.

Interviews will take place in April/May.

Remember to state the title of the project at the top of your personal statement.

Meet the Supervisor(s)

Abdul Sadka - Professor Sadka has been an internationally recognised figure in Visual Media Processing and Communications for over 25 years, pioneering error resilient video communications and 2D/3D visual media processing. He is the Director of the Institute of Digital Futures, the former Head of the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering at Brunel University London (2006-2012) and the Head of the Media Communication Research Group. He has 200+ refereed publications, 3 patents and his textbook "Compressed Video Communications", published by Wiley in 2002, is widely acknowledged as a seminal book in error resilient video coding & transcoding. He has attracted over £12m worth of research funding to major projects and supervised over 50 PhD students and Research Assistants to successful completion. He frequently serves on influential advisory boards, evaluation panels and international committees, and provides consultancy as well as expert witness services to international Law firms in the area of Video Compression and 2D/3D Visual Media Systems. He has an industry-acclaimed track record of business engagement into academia through a variety of modes and instruments. His business engagement profile has earned him the only academic seat on the Steering Board of the NEM (New European Media) European Technology Platform (2011-14). He is broadly connected in the Telecom and ICT industries and has several entrepreneurial business engagements. He is a Chartered Engineer (CEng), Fellow of HEA, Fellow of IET and Fellow of BCS.

Damon Daylamani-Zad - Damon is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Media, focusing on Creative Computing (AI and Games).

Mariza Dima - Mariza is a Senior Lecturer in Games Design. She specialises in User Experience and User Interface design for developing meaningful and engaging interactions particularly using mobile, AR and haptic technologies. She has worked between academia and the creative industries as an interaction designer and creative technologist in R&D projects combining engineering and design approaches grounded on theoretical contexts of narrative, affective dramaturgy, and audience/player engagement. A keen knowledge hunter, she is often inspired by and experiments playfully with perspectives from different fields that could offer a useful alternative lens on user experience design and then turns them into a tool for designing engaging experiences. Her design approach is holistic and experiential where the designer embeds and immerses herself in a collaborative design process and views it as an educational and transformative experience rather than participating in it as a design expert. She also consults on strategies for devising and developing digital projects and user interactions in the creative industries and has expertise in design methods for collaboration and co-creation.