2024 Metaverse Journal Awards: Celebrating Excellence and Contributions

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Asia Pacific Academy of Science Pte. Ltd. (APACSCI) specializes in international journal publishing. APACSCI adopts the open access publishing model and provides an important communication bridge for academic groups whose interest fields include engineering, technology, medicine, computer, mathematics, agriculture and forestry, and environment.

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2025

2024

2023

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Featured Articles

Garment-aware gaussian for clothed human modeling from monocular video

Reconstructing the human body from monocular video input presents significant challenges, including a limited field of view and difficulty in capturing non-rigid deformations, such as those associated with clothing and pose variations. These challenges often compromise motion editability and rendering quality. To address these issues, we propose a cloth-aware 3D Gaussian splatting approach that leverages the strengths of 2D convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and 3D Gaussian splatting for high-quality human body reconstruction from monocular video. Our method parameterizes 3D Gaussians anchored to a human template to generate posed position maps that capture pose-dependent non-rigid deformations. Additionally, we introduce Learnable Cloth Features, which are pixel-aligned with the posed position maps to address cloth-related deformations. By jointly modeling cloth and pose-dependent deformations, along with compact, optimizable linear blend skinning (LBS) weights, our approach significantly enhances the quality of monocular 3D human reconstructions. We also incorporate carefully designed regularization techniques for the Gaussians, improving the generalization capability of our model. Experimental results demonstrate that our method outperforms state-of-the-art techniques for animatable avatar reconstruction from monocular inputs, delivering superior performance in both reconstruction fidelity and rendering quality.

From paper to virtual: The meta-life of a historical cartographic artifact

The Charta of Rigas Velestinlis is one of the most important works of the eighteenth-century Neo-Hellenic Enlightenment and the most characteristic sample of Greek scholar cartography. Printed in Vienna in 1220 copies in 1796-1797, this emblematic map of the Balkan peninsula significantly influenced the development of ideas and perspectives that inspired the Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1821. The sixty (60) known remaining copies of this valuable material in Greece and abroad remain stored in the confined spaces of libraries, museums, and archives, strictly guarded for security, conservation, and preservation. This renders their access difficult to both the general public and the educational community. Since the Onassis Library and the General State Archives of Greece—Cartographic Heritage Archives both possess an original copy of this historical document each, they design and implement many educational programs aiming at highlighting its importance and reintroducing it to the public. This paper will present how the usage of new technologies, both in software and hardware, has facilitated the showcasing of cultural heritage artifacts, such as Rigas’ Charta, with an emphasis on technologies and resources that are freely available to everyone. It will also be demonstrated how the digitization projects, the digital libraries, repositories, and platforms implemented by many cultural and research organizations during the last decade, presented the opportunity for the new generation to come in contact with a variety of “locked away” historical documents, like Rigas’ Charta, allowing their reuse and reinterpretation while providing unlimited potential for the collection, research and presentation of facts, evidence and data. Furthermore, the incorporation of this digital cultural wealth in the school curriculum through targeted educational programs and the creative combination with open-source metaverse development tools, unleashed the possibilities of reviving the past, extending the life span of old materials to perpetuity. As a result, this multimodal approach paved the way for the emergence of a new more democratic, open-access, and inclusive educational model.

Deciphering avian emotions: A novel AI and machine learning approach to understanding chicken vocalizations

In this groundbreaking study, we present a novel approach to interspecies communication, focusing on the understanding of chicken vocalizations. Leveraging advanced mathematical models in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, we have developed a system capable of interpreting various emotional states in chickens, including hunger, fear, anger, contentment, excitement, and distress. Our methodology employs a cutting-edge AI technique we call Deep Emotional Analysis Learning (DEAL), a highly mathematical and innovative approach that allows for the nuanced understanding of emotional states through auditory data. DEAL is rooted in complex mathematical algorithms, enabling the system to learn and adapt to new vocal patterns over time. We conducted our study with a sample of 80 chickens, meticulously recording and analyzing their vocalizations under various conditions. To ensure the accuracy of our system’s interpretations, we collaborated with a team of eight animal psychologists and veterinary surgeons, who provided expert insights into the emotional states of the chickens. Our system demonstrated an impressive accuracy rate of close to 80%, marking a significant advancement in the field of animal communication. This research not only opens up new avenues for understanding and improving animal welfare but also sets a precedent for further studies in AI-driven interspecies communication. The novelty of our approach lies in its application of sophisticated AI techniques to a largely unexplored area of study. By bridging the gap between human and animal communication, we believe our research will pave the way for more empathetic and effective interactions with the animal kingdom.

The ongoing development of the Metaverse journal is deeply rooted in the unwavering support from our esteemed editorial board members, reviewers, authors, and readers.

Firstly, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Editors-in-Chief for their invaluable guidance and unwavering dedication. The Editor-in-Chief has played a crucial role in actively organizing the journal's activities and steering its strategic direction, while the Co-Editors-in-Chief have provided essential professional and academic leadership. Their collective vision and commitment have been instrumental in driving the journal's steady progress. On behalf of the Publishing House, we extend our heartfelt thanks and best wishes to the entire editorial leadership team.

Secondly, in acknowledgment of the significant contributions made by all stakeholders in enhancing the academic quality and influence of the journal, the editorial department of Metaverse has recently selected recipients for the Outstanding Papers, Outstanding Editorial Board Members, and Journal Contribution Awards for 2024.

Based on criteria such as article quality, international impact, views, and citations, five outstanding papers have been identified. Thirteen exceptional editorial board members have been recognized for their invaluable contributions to manuscript submission, solicitation efforts, editing processes, and promotional activities. Furthermore, fifteen individuals have received the Journal Contribution Award in recognition of their dedication to manuscript submissions, promotional initiatives, and active participation in journal-related events (the complete list of awardees is provided below).

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to all awardees! We also wish to express our sincere gratitude to all editorial board members, authors, and readers who have consistently supported and engaged with our journal. Your continued support serves as a vital driving force behind our success.

Outstanding Papers for 2024

(In no particular sequence)

Article title	Author(s)	Institute(s)
The role of generative AI in cyber security	Kevin Curran, Ethan Curran, Joseph Killen, Cormac Duffy	Ulster University, Northern Ireland
Artificial intelligence (AI) within manufacturing: An investigative exploration for opportunities, challenges, future directions	Zarif Bin Akhtar	University of Cambridge, UK
Computer vision meets metaverse	Vasiliki Zakynthinou, Venetis Kanakaris, Eleni Vrochidou, George A. Papakostas	International Hellenic University, Greece
Automatic labeling of 3D facial acupoint landmarks	Junjie Yin, Meie Fang, Weiyin Ma	Guangzhou University, China; City University of Hong Kong, China
Text to video generation via knowledge distillation	Huasong Han, Ziqing Li, Fei Fang, Fei Luo, Chunxia Xiao	Wuhan University, China

Outstanding Editorial Board Members for 2024

(Presented alphabetically)

Name	Institute
Fang, Meie	Guangzhou University, China
Khan, Dawar	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia
Liang, Hai-Ning	The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), China
Lv, Zhihan	Uppsala University, Sweden
Nwakanma, Cosmas Ifeanyi	Kumoh National Institute of Technology, Korea
Wang, Danli	Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Wang, Jianmin	Tongji University, China
Wang, Meili	Northwest Agriculture & Forestry University, China
Wang, Xun	Zhejiang Gongshang University, China
Xiao, Chunxia	Wuhan University, China
Yang, Chenglei	Shandong University, China
Yao, Junfeng	Xiamen University, China
Zhang, Luyao	Duke Kunshan University (DKU), China

Journal Contribution Awards for 2024

(Presented alphabetically)

Name	Institute
Chen, Yumiao	East China University of Science and Technology, China
Gupta, Shashi Kant	Eudoxia Research University, USA
Halabi, Osama	Qatar University, Qatar
Hutson, James	Lindenwood University, USA
Liu, Deyang	Anqing Normal University, China
Liu, Shuqing	University of Pittsburgh, USA
Liu, Yizhong	Beihang University, China
Lu, Xiaozhen	Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China
Shi, Yan	Hanzhou Dianzi University, China
Singh, Ravi Pratap	National Institute of Technology (NIT), India
Wang, Bohui	Xi'an Jiaotong University, China
Wang, Wenxiao	Macau University of Science and Technology
Yan, Baoping	Nanjing University of the Arts, China
Yang, Kaixiang	South China University of Technology, China
Zhang, Baochang	Beihang University, China

Editorial Office of Metaverse (eISSN: 2810-9791)

Academic Supporter

Institute for Metaverse, School of Artificial Intelligence, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology (NUIST), China

Editor-in-Chief

Prof. Zhigeng Pan

Director, Institute for Metaverse, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, China

Honorary Editor-in-Chief

Prof. Jianrong Tan

Academician, Chinese Academy of Engineering, China

Indexing & Archiving

News & Announcements

2025-05-20

Call for papers for SIGGRAPH ASIA 2025!

Conference Time

December 15-18, 2025

Conference Venue

Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center (HKCEC)

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2025-04-23

Metaverse Scientist Forum No.3

Metaverse Scientist Forum No.3 was successfully held on April 22, 2025, from 19:00 to 20:30 (Beijing Time)...

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Congratulations to Metaverse on being indexed in Scopus!

We received the Scopus notification on April 19th, confirming that the journal has been successfully indexed by Scopus...

2025-04-15

Updated Submission Guidelines for Manuscript Figures!

We are pleased to announce that we have updated the requirements for manuscript figures in the submission guidelines. Manuscripts submitted after April 15, 2025 are required to strictly adhere to the change. These updates are aimed at ensuring the highest quality of visual content in our publications and enhancing the overall readability and impact of your research. For more details, please find it in sumissions...

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