VolkswagenStiftung supports research project with about 800.000 Euros

Prof. Cañal Bruland​ recently received a Momentum grant by the VolkswagenStiftung for a project entitled "Navigating Anticipation Research to New Frontiers". The project is initially supported for four years with about 800.000 Euros.

As highlighted in the project description in the grants database of the VolkswagenStiftungExternal link the goal of Prof. Cañal Bruland and his future Momentum team is to broaden the scope of current approaches towards anticipation by examining anticipatory processes in dynamic, interactive real-time encounters. The project integrates interdisciplinary impulses, for instance, from the social cognitive neurosciences with the aim to truly embrace and uncover the social dynamics in real-time interactions. As previous approaches turned a blind eye on the social dynamics of anticipation, this Momentum project is aimed at establishing a new paradigm by setting up a VR laboratory. This VR set-up allows to simulate, experimentally manipulate and hence examine dynamic movement interactions between participants and virtual avatars. To realize the aims of the project we just advertised three research positions to build an interdisciplinary team, including two postdocs with backgrounds in social cognitive neuroscience and human movement science/biomechanics as well as a computer scientist.