Conference: SIGGRAPH 2005

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by: David Polinchock

Once again, we're preparing to visit the SIGGRAPH conference. As always, we expect to be well energized from our trip and look forward to seeing the way cool things that they have there.

Experience astounding images, and learn how they were created. Interact with tomorrow's digital systems, and understand them. Meet the leading international innovators in computer graphics and interactive techniques, and share their knowledge.

At SIGGRAPH 2005, you'll find all the data, techniques, people, and inspiration you need for another successful year of research, development, creativity, and production.  

Here are some of the interesting experiences that we will be reviewing once we're onsite: 

  • conscious=camera. The reality we perceive is not a flow of flat images as a digital camera or video camera would output, but consciousness "of things." This project attempts to represent that consciousness. If the movement is slow, only the face and hands are shown: this is the consciousness of a static person. If the movement becomes more important, the face and hands disappear and the body begins to appear: this is the consciousness of a less distinguishable body in motion. A trailing effect makes each image integrate the "before" and "after" moments, which are components of the consciousness of movement. Each consciousness shown leaves a mark on the background, which will very slowly vanish. This represents the memory.
  • Color Enhanced Emotion. The Color-Enhanced Emotion system recognizes facial expressions and controls skin-pigment components using a real-time processor. The installation allows attendees to experience a system that will usher in a new era in communication and movie editing.
  • Kobito Virtual Brownies (How could I not be excited about brownies of any kind!). Virtual creatures called "Kobito" interact with real objects and real people. One common way to create imaginary, virtual creatures is to overlay computer graphics images on real scenes. But this method is not sufficient, because it allows people to only see the imaginary creatures. In Kobito: Virtual Brownies, imaginary creatures interact with the real world. They move real objects, and people interact with them through the real objects. The real objects function as a kind of "haptic interface." This technology can be used in the fields of design, amusement, and healthcare because it conveys haptic information in addition to the visual information that is delivered in current artificial life systems.
  • The Living Room. How does mobile technology change how classical forms of cathartic entertainment, particularly theater and puzzle games, can be realized? How can storytelling, gameplay, and mobile technology be combined to create a successful, coherent, and rich interactive piece? Game design is now using mobile technologies to explore the potential of the real world as a playing field. Drawing from the availability and advantages of digital video, wireless, and RFID technologies, this project seeks to transform traditional theater and puzzle-gaming experiences into a new type of entertainment experience.
  • TouchLight: An Imaging Touch Screen and Display for Gesture-Based Interaction. In this novel interactive display technology, the outputs of two video cameras behind a transparent projection display are combined to produce an image of objects on the display surface. An otherwise normal sheet of acrylic plastic is transformed into a high-bandwidth input/output surface suitable for gesture-based interaction.
  • Ubiquitous Graphics. This system supports collaboration and interaction with very large computer graphics images. Position-aware handheld displays function as "magic lenses" that allow seamless access to both overview and detail on a large display. In-place annotations and modifications can be added easily and are propagated throughout the system to facilitate multi-user collaboration.  

    This is really but a small sampling of some of the experiences we'll be having over the next few days. So look for updates all of this week!

    Original Post: http://blog.brandexperiencelab.org/experience_manifesto/2005/07/_conference_sig.html