Steve DiPaola, PhD

profile

Position:

Professor & Artist

Contact:


https://ivizlab.github.io/

Affiliations:

Simon Fraser University

Biography

Steve DiPaola, active as an artist and sci­en­tist, former direc­tor of the Cognitive Science Program at Simon Fraser University, and leads the iVi­zLab (ivizlab.sfu.ca), a research lab that strives to make com­pu­ta­tional sys­tems bend more to the human expe­ri­ence by incor­po­rat­ing bio­log­i­cal, cog­ni­tive and behav­ior knowl­edge models.

Projects

Pathways to flourishing

Leveraging Virtual Reality for cultivating compassion, resilience, social connectedness, and healthy habits in emerging adults facing chronic health challenges About half of youths with chronic physical conditions develop anxiety and/or depression, causing significant distress and disruption within their lives over many years. This underscores their need for well-being tools- particularly ones t...


Lucid Loop: A Virtual Deep Learning Biofeedback System for Lucid Dreaming Practice

Can VR and neurofeedback deep learning art help enhance attention and lucid dreaming practice? Lucid dreaming, knowing one is dreaming while dreaming, is an important tool for exploring consciousness and bringing awareness to different aspects of life. We created a system called Lucid Loop: a virtual reality experience where one can practice lucid awareness via neurofeedback. Visuals are creativ...


Publications

Quesnel, D., DiPaola, S., & Riecke, B. E. (2018). Deep Learning for Classification of Peak Emotions within Virtual Reality Systems. International SERIES on Information Systems and Management in Creative EMedia (CreMedia), 2017/2, 6–11. http://www.ambientmediaassociation.org/Journal/index.php/series/article/view/274
Kitson, A. J., Muntean, R., DiPaola, S., & Riecke, B. E. (2022). Lucid Loop: Exploring the Parallels between Immersive Experiences and Lucid Dreaming. DIS ’22 Proceedings of the 2022 Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (ACM DIS ’22), 1–16.
McIntosh, L., Riecke, B. E., & DiPaola, S. (2012). Efficiently Simulating the Bokeh of Polygonal Apertures in a Post‐Process Depth of Field Shader. Computer Graphics Forum, 31(6), 1810–1822. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8659.2012.02097.x
Kitson, Alexandra, Steve DiPaola, and Bernhard E. Riecke. 2019. “Can We Support Lucid Dreaming Practices with a Creative Deep Learning Algorithm and Immersive Virtual Reality Biofeedback System?” Poster presented at the 24th Annual CyberPsychology, CyberTherapy & Social Networking Conference (CyPsy24), Norfolk, VA, USA, June. https://www.interactivemediainstitute.com/cypsy24/.
Kitson, A., DiPaola, S., & Riecke, B. E. (2019). Lucid Loop: A Virtual Deep Learning Biofeedback System for Lucid Dreaming Practice [Project Demo at Interactivity Hot Desk]. ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
Kitson, Alexandra, Reese Muntean, Steve DiPaola, and Bernhard E. Riecke. 2023. “Exploring Introspection with Lucid Loop: A Neurofeedback-Augmented Immersive Experience.” In 26th Annual CyberPsychology, CyberTherapy & Social Networking Conference (CYPSY26), 1. Paris, France. https://easychair.org/smart-program/CYPSY26/2023-07-13.html.
Stepanova, Ekaterina R. 2018. “Virtual Reality as a Medium for Designing and Understanding Transformative Experiences: The Case of the Overview Effect.” MSc Thesis, Surrey, BC, Canada: Simon Fraser University. https://summit.sfu.ca/item/18603.