ÚTIA joins the MSCA Doctoral Network EXPLORA
The Institute of Information Theory and Automation (ÚTIA) of the Czech Academy of Sciences has joined the newly launched European project EXPLORA, funded under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks scheme.
EXPLORA focuses on understanding how humans actively explore materials, objects and space, and how perceptual experience is shaped through dynamic interaction with the environment. The project brings together research from science, engineering, design and the arts, aiming to improve models of perception and to support the development of multisensory and interactive technologies.
Within the project, ÚTIA participates as a research partner through the Pattern Recognition Department (RO). The institute will contribute to research on capturing and modelling changes in material appearance during exploratory movements. This includes establishing links between physical material parameters and dynamically changing visual information, as well as studying how variations in mechanical properties such as stretching or bending influence perceived appearance. The research carried out at ÚTIA will also focus on improving the sharing and communication of visual material properties across different measurement representations and software platforms. The project activities will involve advanced methods in reflectance measurement, image and pattern analysis, computational modelling, and eye-tracking.
ÚTIA’s participation in EXPLORA also includes involvement in the training of an early-stage researcher within the doctoral network. The research activities will be carried out under supervision of Jiří Filip and Prof. Michal Haindl, from the Pattern Recognition Department.