SUN

SUN Project

CORDIS Reference	Start date	End date	Coordinator	Project website
https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101092612	01/12/2022	30/11/2025	CNR Rome	https://www.sun-xr-project.eu/

Project description

Extended reality (XR) is an emerging technology with promising potential in many fields including health, communication and safety. However, overcoming XR’s limitations in providing authentic interactive social environments is key to further developing its applications. The EU-funded SUN project aims to advance the social interactivity of XR technology by establishing scalable models with sustained and convincing virtual environments. The project will also improve the data-processing capability of wearable devices and develop wearable sensors and tactile interfaces to improve user experience. SUN will validate these models in three real-life situations: rehabilitation therapy, improved safety and social interaction among workers, and facilitate interaction for disabled users.

Project outputs

Publications

Domain	Type of output	Title	DOI URL
AI, Machine Learning & Data Science	Conference proceedings	Information Dissimilarity Measures in Decentralized Knowledge Distillation: A Comparative Analysis	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-75823-2_12
AI, Machine Learning & Data Science	Conference proceedings	VISIONE 5.0: Enhanced User Interface and AI Models for VBS2024	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-53302-0_29
AI, Machine Learning & Data Science	Conference proceedings	Impact of generative artificial intelligence on workload, efficiency and labour productivity	https://doi.org/10.1016/J.IFACOL.2025.09.237
AI, Machine Learning & Data Science	Peer reviewed articles	A survey on class-agnostic counting: Advancements from reference-based to open-world text-guided approaches	https://doi.org/10.1016/J.CVIU.2026.104703
AI, Machine Learning & Data Science	Peer reviewed articles	The State-of-the-Art in Lifelog Retrieval: A Review of Progress at the ACM Lifelog Search Challenge Workshop 2022-2024	https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2025.3644952
AI, Machine Learning & Data Science	Peer reviewed articles	Training-free sparse representations of dense vectors for scalable information retrieval	https://doi.org/10.1016/J.IS.2025.102567
AI, Machine Learning & Data Science	Peer reviewed articles	The Devil is in the Fine-Grained Details: Evaluating open-Vocabulary Object Detectors for Fine-Grained Understanding	https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.13269555
AI, Machine Learning & Data Science	Peer reviewed articles	In the Wild Video Violence Detection: An Unsupervised Domain Adaptation Approach	https://doi.org/10.1007/S42979-024-03126-3
AI, Machine Learning & Data Science	Peer reviewed articles	Evaluating Performance and Trends in Interactive Video Retrieval: Insights From the 12th VBS Competition	https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3405638
AI, Machine Learning & Data Science	Peer reviewed articles	nSimplex Zen : A Novel Dimensionality Reduction for Euclidean and Hilbert Spaces	https://doi.org/10.1145/3647642
AI, Machine Learning & Data Science	Peer reviewed articles	Computer-Supported Strategic Decision Making for Ecosystems Creation	https://doi.org/10.3390/COMPUTERS13120322
AI, Machine Learning & Data Science	Peer reviewed articles	Geometric deep learning for statics-aware grid shells	https://doi.org/10.1016/J.COMPSTRUC.2023.107238
AI, Machine Learning & Data Science	Peer reviewed articles	A Learnheuristic Algorithm for the Capacitated Dispersion Problem under Dynamic Conditions	https://doi.org/10.3390/A16120532
AI, Machine Learning & Data Science	Peer reviewed articles	Tokenized Markets Using Blockchain Technology: Exploring Recent Developments and Opportunities	https://doi.org/10.3390/info14060347
AI, Machine Learning & Data Science	Peer reviewed articles	Algorithms	https://doi.org/10.3390/A17050200
Computer Vision, 3D Modeling & Rendering	Conference proceedings	Mind the Prompt: A Novel Benchmark for Prompt-Based Class-Agnostic Counting	https://doi.org/10.1109/WACV61041.2025.00774
Computer Vision, 3D Modeling & Rendering	Conference proceedings	Beyond human imagination: The art of creating prompt-driven 3D scenes with Generative AI	https://doi.org/10.32040/2242-122X.2024.T432
Computer Vision, 3D Modeling & Rendering	Conference proceedings	A Comparative Demonstration of Relevance Feedback Methods for Image Retrieval	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-06069-3_30
Computer Vision, 3D Modeling & Rendering	Conference proceedings	3D Visualization of Biological Data in Ultra High Definition Virtual Reality	https://doi.org/10.1109/VRW66409.2025.00104
Computer Vision, 3D Modeling & Rendering	Conference proceedings	Breaking the 2D Dependency: What Limits 3D-Only Open-Vocabulary Scene Understanding	https://doi.org/10.1109/CBMI66578.2025.11339286
Computer Vision, 3D Modeling & Rendering	Conference proceedings	Is CLIP the main roadblock for fine-grained open-world perception?	https://doi.org/10.48550/ARXIV.2404.03539
Computer Vision, 3D Modeling & Rendering	Conference proceedings	Skipping Spheres: SDF Scaling & Early Ray Termination for Fast Sphere Tracing	https://doi.org/10.2312/CGVC.20241219
Computer Vision, 3D Modeling & Rendering	Conference proceedings	Comparative Analysis of Relevance Feedback Techniques for Image Retrieval	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-2054-8_16
Computer Vision, 3D Modeling & Rendering	Conference proceedings	Spatio-Temporal 3D Reconstruction from Frame Sequences and Feature Points	https://doi.org/10.1145/3672406.3672415
Computer Vision, 3D Modeling & Rendering	Conference proceedings	Enhanced real-time motion transfer to 3D avatars using RGB-based human 3D pose estimation	https://doi.org/10.1145/3672406.3672427
Computer Vision, 3D Modeling & Rendering	Conference proceedings	The Emotions of the Crowd: Learning Image Sentiment from Tweets via Cross-Modal Distillation	https://doi.org/10.3233/FAIA230503
Computer Vision, 3D Modeling & Rendering	Conference proceedings	ViSketch-GPT: Collaborative Multi-scale Feature Extraction For Hand-Drawn Sketch Retrieval	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-06069-3_1
Computer Vision, 3D Modeling & Rendering	Conference proceedings	AI-Driven Specular Removal for 3D Asset Creation	https://doi.org/10.1109/DSP65409.2025.11075117
Computer Vision, 3D Modeling & Rendering	Conference proceedings	Multimedia Information Retrieval in XR	https://doi.org/10.1145/3664647.3689176
Computer Vision, 3D Modeling & Rendering	Conference proceedings	Text-to-Motion Retrieval: Towards Joint Understanding of Human Motion Data and Natural Language	https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2305.15842
Computer Vision, 3D Modeling & Rendering	Conference proceedings	SegmentCodeList: Unsupervised Representation Learning for Human Skeleton Data Retrieval	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28238-6_8
Computer Vision, 3D Modeling & Rendering	Conference proceedings	Vec2Doc: Transforming Dense Vectors into Sparse Representations for Efficient Information Retrieval	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-46994-7_18
Computer Vision, 3D Modeling & Rendering	Conference proceedings	MC-GTA: A Synthetic Benchmark for Multi-Camera Vehicle Tracking	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8335396
Computer Vision, 3D Modeling & Rendering	Conference proceedings	An Optimized Pipeline for Image-Based Localization in Museums from Egocentric Images	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-43148-7_43
Computer Vision, 3D Modeling & Rendering	Peer reviewed articles	Vi-SketchGPT: A Novel Multi-Scale and Context-Aware Representation for Sketch Generation and Classification	https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2026.3659732
Computer Vision, 3D Modeling & Rendering	Peer reviewed articles	Joint-Dataset Learning and Cross-Consistent Regularization for Text-to-Motion Retrieval	https://doi.org/10.1145/3744565
Computer Vision, 3D Modeling & Rendering	Peer reviewed articles	ACM Transactions on Graphics	https://doi.org/10.1145/3687898
Computer Vision, 3D Modeling & Rendering	Peer reviewed articles	Multimodal fusion of inertial sensors and single RGB camera data for 3D human pose estimation based on a hybrid LSTM-Random forest fusion network	https://doi.org/10.1016/J.IOT.2024.101465
Computer Vision, 3D Modeling & Rendering	Peer reviewed articles	Creating High-quality 3D Assets for Realistic xR Solutions	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17522038
Computer Vision, 3D Modeling & Rendering	Peer reviewed articles	Texture Inpainting for Photogrammetric Models	https://doi.org/10.1111/cgf.14735
Earth Observation, Environment & Smart Cities	Peer reviewed articles	A discrete-event simheuristic for enhancing urban mobility	https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SIMPAT.2025.103084
Earth Observation, Environment & Smart Cities	Peer reviewed articles	Modeling and Optimization of NO2 Stations in the Smart City of Barcelona	https://doi.org/10.3390/APP142210355
Education, Training & Serious Games	Conference proceedings	METAVERSE IN HIGHER EDUCATION	https://doi.org/10.21125/INTED.2025.1760
Education, Training & Serious Games	Peer reviewed articles	The Wizard Apprentice: A Serious Games System in Immersive VR as a Feasible Rehabilitation Approach in Children With Cerebral Palsy	https://doi.org/10.1109/TNSRE.2025.3595420
Education, Training & Serious Games	Peer reviewed articles	Procedural generation of geometric patterns for thin shell fabrication	https://doi.org/10.1016/J.CAG.2024.103958
Education, Training & Serious Games	Peer reviewed articles	Extended reality and metaverse technologies for industrial training, safety and social interaction	https://doi.org/10.1016/J.IFACOL.2024.09.274
Ethics, Society, Arts & Culture	Book chapters	Bridging the Digital Divide: A Human Rights-Based Approach to Digital Literacy and Equity in the EU	https://doi.org/10.5772/INTECHOPEN.1011614
Ethics, Society, Arts & Culture	Conference proceedings	MusiCityX: Conceptual Tools for Urban Architectural Design through Music Composition	https://doi.org/10.1145/3749012.3749068
Ethics, Society, Arts & Culture	Monographic books	SUN: Social and hUman ceNtered XR - A Horizon Europe Project Paving the Way for the Widespread Adoption of Extended and Virtual Worlds	https://doi.org/10.32079/ISTI-BOOK-2025/001
Ethics, Society, Arts & Culture	Peer reviewed articles	A biased-randomised iterated local search for the team orienteering arc routing problem allowing different origin and destination	https://doi.org/10.1007/S10732-025-09559-0
Ethics, Society, Arts & Culture	Peer reviewed articles	A Learnheuristic Algorithm Based on Thompson Sampling for the Heterogeneous and Dynamic Team Orienteering Problem	https://doi.org/10.3390/MATH12111758
Ethics, Society, Arts & Culture	Peer reviewed articles	Using Reinforcement Learning to Solve a Dynamic Orienteering Problem with Random Rewards Affected by the Battery Status	https://doi.org/10.3390/batteries9080416
Extended Reality (VR/AR/MR) & HCI	Conference proceedings	CONTEXT-GAD: A Context-Aware Gaze Adaptive Dwell model for Gaze-based Selections in XR Environments	https://doi.org/10.1145/3756884.3766048
Extended Reality (VR/AR/MR) & HCI	Conference proceedings	A Direct-Drive, Wearable Armband Device to Experiment Combined Continuous and Vibrotactile Haptic Feedback for Guidance in Motor Tasks	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-70061-3_18
Extended Reality (VR/AR/MR) & HCI	Conference proceedings	Effect of Gaze Visualization on Task Efficiency and User Behavior for Guidance Scenarios in Co-Located AR Collaboration	https://doi.org/10.1109/VRW66409.2025.00120
Extended Reality (VR/AR/MR) & HCI	Conference proceedings	The Social and hUman CeNtered XR: SUN XR Project	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-43401-3_15
Extended Reality (VR/AR/MR) & HCI	Conference proceedings	A Gaze Prediction Model for Task-Oriented Virtual Reality	https://doi.org/10.2312/EGP.20251020
Extended Reality (VR/AR/MR) & HCI	Conference proceedings	A Lightweight Haptic Feedback Glove Employing Normal Indentation, Lateral Skin Stretch and both Softness and Hardness Rendering	https://doi.org/10.1109/ISMAR-ADJUNCT60411.2023.00113
Extended Reality (VR/AR/MR) & HCI	Conference proceedings	A Miniature Direct-Drive Hydraulic Actuator for Wearable Haptic Devices based on Ferrofluid Magnetohydrodynamic Levitation	https://doi.org/10.1109/WHC56415.2023.10224414
Extended Reality (VR/AR/MR) & HCI	Conference proceedings	Social and hUman ceNtered XR	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7907108
Extended Reality (VR/AR/MR) & HCI	Peer reviewed articles	Rendering Fine Tactile Feedback With a Novel Hydraulic Actuation Method for Wearable Haptic Devices	https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3448368
Healthcare, Medicine & Accessibility	Conference proceedings	Hardware-Efficient EMG Decoding for Next-Generation Hand Prostheses	https://doi.org/10.48550/ARXIV.2405.20052
Healthcare, Medicine & Accessibility	Conference proceedings	SUN Accessibility Pilot: Extended reality for people with serious mobility and verbal communication diseases	https://doi.org/10.1016/J.IFACOL.2024.09.273
Healthcare, Medicine & Accessibility	Conference proceedings	Enhancing EEG Classification for Motor Imagery Control of a VR Game based on Deep Learning Techniques on Small Datasets	https://doi.org/10.1109/EMBC58623.2025.11251707
Healthcare, Medicine & Accessibility	Conference proceedings	Embodied Augmented Reality for Lower Limb Rehabilitation	https://doi.org/10.2312/CL.20241050
Healthcare, Medicine & Accessibility	Peer reviewed articles	Optimization frameworks for bespoke sensory encoding in neuroprosthetics	https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0249434
Healthcare, Medicine & Accessibility	Peer reviewed articles	The expanding horizon of neurotechnology: Is multimodal neuromodulation the future?	https://doi.org/10.1371/JOURNAL.PBIO.3002885
Healthcare, Medicine & Accessibility	Peer reviewed articles	Replacing Attention with Modality-wise Convolution for Energy-Efficient PPG-based Heart Rate Estimation using Knowledge Distillation	https://doi.org/10.1109/JBHI.2025.3580474
Healthcare, Medicine & Accessibility	Peer reviewed articles	Bridging Bench to Bedside for Brain Health: Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation for Neurodegenerative Diseases	https://doi.org/10.3390/CTN9030043
Healthcare, Medicine & Accessibility	Peer reviewed articles	Our research path toward the restoration of natural sensations in hand prostheses	https://doi.org/10.1111/AOR.14823
Healthcare, Medicine & Accessibility	Peer reviewed articles	Non-invasive stimulation of the human striatum disrupts reinforcement learning of motor skills	https://doi.org/10.1038/S41562-024-01901-Z
Healthcare, Medicine & Accessibility	Peer reviewed articles	A Knee Rehabilitation Exercises Dataset for Postural Assessment using Wearable Devices	https://doi.org/10.1038/S41597-025-04963-4
Healthcare, Medicine & Accessibility	Peer reviewed articles	Remapping Wetness Perception in Upper Limb Amputees	https://doi.org/10.1002/AISY.202300512
Healthcare, Medicine & Accessibility	Peer reviewed articles	Safety, tolerability and blinding efficiency of non-invasive deep transcranial temporal interference stimulation: first experience from more than 250 sessions	https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-2552/AD2D32
Healthcare, Medicine & Accessibility	Peer reviewed articles	A sensory-motor hand prosthesis with integrated thermal feedback	https://doi.org/10.1016/J.MEDJ.2023.12.006
Healthcare, Medicine & Accessibility	Peer reviewed articles	A Framework for Modeling, Optimization, and Musculoskeletal Simulation of an Elbow–Wrist Exosuit	https://doi.org/10.3390/ROBOTICS13040060
Healthcare, Medicine & Accessibility	Peer reviewed articles	Restoration of natural thermal sensation in upper-limb amputees	https://doi.org/10.1126/SCIENCE.ADF6121
Robotics, Manufacturing & Industry 4.0	Conference proceedings	Bibliometric Analysis of Immersive Technologies in Supply Chain Strategy: Knowledge-Based Systems Case	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-71739-0_18
Robotics, Manufacturing & Industry 4.0	Conference proceedings	A Framework for Vision-Based 3D Inspections for Maintenance Activities and Digital Twin Integration	https://doi.org/10.1109/CBMI62980.2024.10859253
Robotics, Manufacturing & Industry 4.0	Conference proceedings	Wireless Haptic Glove using Nitinol as a Force Feedback Actuator	https://doi.org/10.1145/3715071.3750433
Robotics, Manufacturing & Industry 4.0	Peer reviewed articles	Hand Teleoperation with Combined Kinaesthetic and Tactile Feedback: A Full Upper Limb Exoskeleton Interface Enhanced by Tactile Linear Actuators	https://doi.org/10.3390/ROBOTICS13080119
Robotics, Manufacturing & Industry 4.0	Peer reviewed articles	A Biased-Randomized Discrete Event Algorithm to Improve the Productivity of Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems in the Steel Industry	https://doi.org/10.3390/A17010046
Robotics, Manufacturing & Industry 4.0	Peer reviewed articles	A Hybrid Simulation and Reinforcement Learning Algorithm for Enhancing Efficiency in Warehouse Operations	https://doi.org/10.3390/A16090408
Robotics, Manufacturing & Industry 4.0	Peer reviewed articles	Simulation of Heuristics for Automated Guided Vehicle Task Sequencing with Resource Sharing and Dynamic Queues	https://doi.org/10.3390/MATH12020271

Technological assets

Title	Type of Asset	Link / DOI	Description
Simulation of Heuristics for AGV Task Sequencing	Dataset	https://doi.org/10.3390/MATH12020271	Replication data utilizing dynamic queues and resource sharing.
Knee Rehabilitation Dataset	Dataset	https://doi.org/10.1038/S41597-025-04963-4	A specialized dataset of knee rehabilitation exercises for postural assessment utilizing wearable devices.
MC-GTA	Dataset / Benchmark	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8335396	A synthetic benchmark dataset aimed at advancing multi-camera vehicle tracking capabilities.
Ubervvald	Software Library	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-5887-9_14	An advanced object detection library created to optimize complex Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs).