<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><style></style></head><body lang=EN-US link="#467886" vlink="#96607D" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1>Call for Papers: Workshop on Virtual Humans and Crowds in Immersive Environments @ IEEE VR 2025<o:p></o:p> We are thrilled to announce that the 9th edition of the workshop on Virtual Humans and Crowds in Immersive Environments (VHCIE) will take place during the 32nd IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces, held from March 8-12, 2025 in Saint-Malo, France (<a href="https://ieeevr.org/2025/">https://ieeevr.org/2025/</a>). VHCIE is a half-day onsite workshop, focused on exploring advancements in creating believable virtual humans and crowds within immersive virtual environments (IVEs). For more details, please visit <a href="http://files.inria.fr/vhcie/2025">http://files.inria.fr/vhcie/2025</a>.<o:p></o:p> Today, various tools, including algorithms and systems, enable the creation and design of believable virtual humans and crowds in IVEs. Sophisticated crowd simulations can efficiently populate city-sized environments with thousands of realistic virtual characters, called virtual agents, interacting with each other and with users. A wide range of applications and scenarios can be envisioned, ranging from virtual tour guides to the creation of virtual platforms for training professionals or studying human behavior, or even the reproduction of a concert. However, several challenges remain, particularly regarding the multimodal representation of interactions (such as haptic feedback for physical collisions, sound integration, etc.), the responsiveness of virtual humans at both verbal and non-verbal communication levels, and understanding the individual and situational factors affecting social interactions in populated environments. In addition, accessibility in virtual environments is an increased area of focus within the VR community. Ensuring that these social interactions are accessible to users of all abilities is essential. This includes addressing challenges like enhancing user interfaces for diverse needs, creating more inclusive social virtual spaces, and developing tools that support a wider range of physical and cognitive abilities, making virtual reality a more universally accessible medium for all.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p>In this context, the goal of the VHCIE workshop is to foster discussions on the latest research related to these issues in a cross-community approach. Thus, we invite research contributions not only from the VR community but also from fields that contribute to understanding human behavior during social interactions - especially work with potential applications in VR or those exploring how to transition to VR. We encourage discussions and feedback from our community to help facilitate this process. We also warmly welcome contributions from the intelligent virtual agents (IVA) community, with which we aim to strengthen our connection due to significant overlaps and potential collaboration. This focus is reflected in our topics, committee structure, IPC, and invited keynote. Finally, we explicitly welcome work-in-progress and student projects. <o:p></o:p>We encourage submissions of research papers, technical notes, position papers, and work-in-progress research on the following topics including but not limited to:<o:p></o:p><ul style='margin-top:0cm' type=disc><li class=MsoPlainText style='mso-list:l3 level1 lfo2'>Virtual Humans (VH)<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoPlainText style='mso-list:l3 level1 lfo2'>Virtual Crowds (VC)<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoPlainText style='mso-list:l3 level1 lfo2'>Immersive populated spaces<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoPlainText style='mso-list:l3 level1 lfo2'>Interaction with VH & VC<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoPlainText style='mso-list:l3 level1 lfo2'>Multimodal rendering of VH & VC<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoPlainText style='mso-list:l3 level1 lfo2'>Virtual Reality applications to VH & VC, including accessibility topics<o:p></o:p></li></ul> Important Dates<o:p></o:p><ul style='margin-top:0cm' type=disc><li class=MsoPlainText style='mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1'>December 20th, 2024: Scientific Paper submission<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoPlainText style='mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1'>January 9th, 2025: Notification of Scientific Paper acceptance<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoPlainText style='mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1'>January 16th, 2025: Camera-ready material to be published in IEEE Xplore<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoPlainText style='mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1'>February 7th, 2025: Late Breaking Report submission<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoPlainText style='mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1'>February 14th, 2025: Notification of Late Breaking Report acceptance<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoPlainText style='mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1'>February 21st, 2025: Camera-ready material to be published on our website<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoPlainText style='mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1'>March 8th or 9th, 2025: Half-day onsite workshop<o:p></o:p></li></ul>Each deadline is 23:59:59 AoE (Anywhere on Earth) == GMT/UTC-12:00 on the stated day, irrespective of the submitter’s location. Format and Submission Guidelines<o:p></o:p>The workshop will include: <o:p></o:p><ul style='margin-top:0cm' type=disc><li class=MsoPlainText style='mso-list:l1 level1 lfo3'>A Keynote by Catherine Pelachaud, an IVA expert on effective communication of embodied conversational agents through non-verbal cues <o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoPlainText style='mso-list:l1 level1 lfo3'>Two scientific paper sessions <o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoPlainText style='mso-list:l1 level1 lfo3'>A poster and demo session with time for informal discussions and networking. <o:p></o:p></li></ul> Scientific Papers must be written in English and they need to be anonymized. Submissions must be submitted as PDF and adhere to the IEEE Computer Society VGTC format (<a href="https://tc.computer.org/vgtc/publications/conference/">https://tc.computer.org/vgtc/publications/conference/</a>). We follow a double-blind review process, where a committee of expert reviewers evaluates all submissions made through the particular workshop track available at the online submission site (PCS, <a href="https://new.precisionconference.com/submissions">https://new.precisionconference.com/submissions</a>), and provides constructive feedback. Accepted scientific papers will be included in the Abstracts and Workshop Proceedings of IEEE VR 2025 and archived in the IEEE Digital Library. We welcome the following submissions (page limits include references): <o:p></o:p><ul style='margin-top:0cm' type=disc><li class=MsoPlainText style='mso-list:l4 level1 lfo4'>Research papers: 4-6 pages<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoPlainText style='mso-list:l4 level1 lfo4'>Technical notes: 2-4 pages<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoPlainText style='mso-list:l4 level1 lfo4'>Position papers: 2-4 pages<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoPlainText style='mso-list:l4 level1 lfo4'>Work-in-progress research including student projects: 1-4 pages<o:p></o:p></li></ul> Additionally, we invite Late Breaking Reports (0.5 to 4 page), which will NOT be published in the IEEE Xplore Library. These reports will also be managed via PCS but reviewed through a single-blind process by the workshop organizers. Late Breaking Reports have separate submission timelines closer to the workshop and do not require anonymization.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p>Both Scientific Papers and Late Breaking Reports will be presented during a dedicated scientific plenary oral session. Supplemental materials, such as videos or images, can be uploaded to the submission site but are not mandatory. Furthermore, authors of accepted submissions are encouraged to present a demo or poster at the workshop in addition to their oral presentation for further feedback from attendees. Please indicate your interest in this during your initial submission in PCS for our planning purposes. After acceptance, we will request technical requirements for your presentation.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p>Contact<o:p></o:p>For more information, please contact the Workshop Organizers<o:p></o:p><ul style='margin-top:0cm' type=disc><li class=MsoPlainText style='mso-list:l0 level1 lfo5'>Andrea B�nsch, RWTH Aachen University, Germany<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoPlainText style='mso-list:l0 level1 lfo5'>Mathieu Chollet, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoPlainText style='mso-list:l0 level1 lfo5'>Anne-H�l�ne Olivier, University of Rennes, France<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoPlainText style='mso-list:l0 level1 lfo5'>Julien Pettr�, Inria Rennes, France<o:p></o:p></li></ul>supported by student volunteer Jordan Martin (Inria Rennes, France) at <a href="mailto:vhcie.vr@gmail.com">vhcie.vr@gmail.com</a> <img border=0 width=240 height=135 style='width:2.5in;height:1.4062in' id="Grafik_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.jpg@01DB39ED.FB18A3D0"><o:p></o:p></div></body></html>