Our expertise in the field of metavers requested by the CNPEN, the National Digital Ethics Steering Committee

Submitted on 19/01/2023

At the beginning of 2023, our scientists welcomed the CNPEN - Comité National Pilote d'Ethique du Numérique - to present their research in the field of metavers

The CNPEN is the pilot national committee for digital ethics, under the aegis of the CCNE (national consultative committee for ethics).  Its role is to enlighten the public debate on the ethical issues of the digital age and to draft proposals for the continuation of national reflection.

Digital technology is a field where development is very rapid and where the issues and impacts are sometimes difficult to grasp. As part of its mission on metavers, the CNPEN called on IRISA and the Inria centre at the University of Rennes for its expertise in the field of virtual reality and interactions with virtual environments.

Démos de RV lors de la viste du CNPEN
 (© Camille Sicot / Inria).

 

Scientists, mainly from the Hybrid research team but also from Rainbow, Mimetic and Virtus, presented the progress of research on :

  •  the different technologies of immersion in virtual and augmented reality (headsets, glasses, large screens)

  • the different scenarios of embodiment and appropriation of a body that is not our own (avatars) and the extent to which these embodiment and appropriation protocols work

  • Brain-machine interfaces: communication systems that measure the user's electrical brain activity and translate it, in real time, into an exploitable command. This type of device allows an individual to control a computer or other automated system directly through the brain and without using the arms, legs or voice

  • Haptic interfaces: devices that simulate the perception of touch with force feedback or tactile feedback.

  • Collaborative interactions in virtual environments with several users.

In addition to video games, this research work has many areas of application such as medicine, training, digital arts, education, sport, etc. and several research projects are carried out in collaboration with partners in the ecosystem such as the Rennes University Hospital, the Rennes Museum of Fine Arts, the Rennes Stadium, Rennes Métropole, Interdigital, etc.

The widely recognised expertise of our scientists has thus contributed to the CNPEN's reflection on the ethical issues raised by scientific progress.