SIGGRAPH 2013 Releases Emerging Technologies Preview

SIGGRAPH 2013, 21 -25 July at the Anaheim Convention Center in California, released its list of 2013 Emerging Technologies highlights that will be featured at this year’s conference.

SIGGRAPH 2013 Emerging Technologies presents innovative technologies and applications of the latest developments in several fields, from 3D displays and interactive input devices to collaborative environments and robotics, and technologies that apply to film and game production. The Emerging Technologies program provides attendees a unique hands-on opportunity to interact with select innovative technology before they become hot topics in the mainstream media and blogs.

“We had an incredible response from many fields, including displays, robotics, input devices, interaction techniques, gaming, and computer vision,” said Dylan Moore, SIGGRAPH 2013 Emerging Technologies Chair. “We were especially pleased that our call for assistive technologies was answered. The focus was to only showcasing those technologies that blew the jury away on every level, and meeting a high bar for quality and novelty.  We can't wait to get these technologies in the hands of our attendees to try out."

SIGGRAPH 2013 Emerging Technologies Highlights:

An Autostereoscopic Projector Array Optimized for 3D Facial Display
Authors: Koki Nagano, University of Southern California; Andrew Jones, USC Institute for Creative Technologies; Jing Liu, University of California at Santa Cruz; and Jay Busch, Paul Debevec, Mark Bolas, Xueming Yu, USC Institute for Creative Technologies

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This dense-projector-array display is optimized in size and resolution to display an autostereoscopic life-sized 3D human face with a wide 110-degree field of view. It has multiple applications, including 3D teleconferencing and fully synthetic characters for education and entertainment.

IllumiRoom: Peripheral Projected Illusions for Interactive Experiences
Authors: Brett Jones, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Hrvoje Benko, Eyal Ofek, and Andrew Wilson, Microsoft Research

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IllumiRoom is a proof-of-concept system that augments the area surrounding a television with projected visualizations to enhance traditional gaming experiences. It changes the appearance of the room, induces apparent motion, extends the field of view, and enables entirely new physical gaming experiences.

Light-in-Flight: Transient Imaging Using Photonic Mixer Devices
Authors: Felix Heide, Matthias Hullin, James Gregson, and Wolfgang Heidrich, The University of British Columbia

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Commercial time-of-flight sensors based on photonic mixer devices (PMDs), are used to capture transient images of photons in-flight. Through the use of readily available components, Light-in-Flight is orders of magnitude less expensive than previous approaches, while simultaneously simplifying and speeding up the capture process.

Near-Eye Light-Field Displays
Authors: Douglas Lanman and David Luebke, NVIDIA Research

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Near-eye light-field displays depict sharp images by synthesizing light fields corresponding to virtual scenes located within a viewer's natural accommodation range. This system optimizes optical trade-offs among resolution, field of view, and form factor, and demonstrates a thin, lightweight HMD prototype, containing a pair of microlens-covered OLEDs.

Skyfarer: A Mixed-Reality Shoulder Exercise Game
Authors: Marientina Gotsis, Vangelis Lympouridis, David Turpin, Fotos Frangoudes, University of Southern California; Somboon Maneekobkunwong, Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center; and Maryalice Jordan-Marsh, University of Southern California

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A mixed-reality shoulder exercise game developed for prevention and treatment of shoulder pain for individuals with spinal cord injury.

A detailed list of all SIGGRAPH 2013 Emerging Technologies is available here.

SIGGRAPH 2013 Seeking Mobile Content

SIGGRAPH Mobile also features an interactive area where attendees can investigate mobile technologies.

Mobile graphics is growing at an incredible speed. Only a few years ago, mobile devices were so limited in display capabilities and processing power they were hardly considered a viable platform for computer graphics. Today, smartphones, tablets, and handheld gaming devices with powerful graphics hardware can easily run advanced games, productivity apps, and multimedia presentations on large full-color screens.

"The mobile devices in our pockets keep us connected to our friends, entertain us whenever we have a spare minute, and help us find information when we most need it," said Lars Erik Holmquist, SIGGRAPH 2013 Mobile chair from Yahoo! Labs. "And they pack in additional features such as cameras, sensors and location awareness that make the possibilities for new graphics experiences practically endless."

SIGGRAPH Mobile will feature a variety of activities during a full day of SIGGRAPH 2013 in Anaheim and is looking for the best content from all types of participants including industry, media, art, academia, and more. Like many SIGGRAPH programs, it is jury-reviewed to ensure the best quality experience for participants and presenters. There are many different formats for presentation - from single-speaker sessions to full-blown workshops and presentations.  The deadline for content is 17 March 2013.

"At SIGGRAPH Mobile, we want to see the exciting things that are happening in the field of mobile graphics and apps! Come and show your newest mobile game, your amazing augmented-reality app, or your ass-kicking graphics hardware," said Holmquist. "Share experiences on mobile development and design tools, how to get to millions of users in the app stores, and how to harness the power of social networking. If it is new, useful, or just plain cool, we want to see it at SIGGRAPH 2013!"

To ensure that all types of work can be shown and discussed, there are four submission categories:
• Presentations are focused talks, typically by one speaker, on a single topic, technology or result.
• Panels are multi-speaker presentations and discussions in a particular area.
• Workshops are hands-on tutorials on current mobile technologies and tools.
• Demonstrations of the latest and greatest mobile applications, software, and hardware.

Submitters can select their presentation times and target different types of SIGGRAPH audiences.

An international jury will judge all submissions according to quality, novelty, diversity of topics, and relevance to the SIGGRAPH Mobile program. To round out the program, the jury and the chair may invite additional presentations. The jury includes Jesse Barker, ARM, Inc.; Henriette Cramer, Yahoo! Labs; Matt Jones, Swansea University; Florian Michahelles, ETH Zürich; and Mark Piszczor, Nukotoys, Inc.

For more information on submitting, click here.

New Program: SIGGRAPH 2012 Seeks the Latest in Mobile Graphics - SIGGRAPH Mobile: Call for Participation

For the past 40 years, SIGGRAPH has provided attendees with access to the most cutting-edge advances in computer graphics and interactive techniques. As the breadth of technology continues to expand its reach, SIGGRAPH continuously adapts its program to ensure attendees a front row seat to the latest and greatest in the industry.

Thus, SIGGRAPH 2012 in Los Angeles, 5-9 August 2012, is introducing SIGGRAPH Mobile , a first-time SIGGRAPH program developed to showcase the incredible advancements in mobile development.

SIGGRAPH Mobile seeks innovative mobile pioneers to submit their latest discoveries in the field of mobile graphics and apps. The program is divided into four submission categories:

• Presentations – One speaker presents on a single topic, technology, or result

• Panels – Multiple speaker presentation and discussion of a particular area

• Workshops – Hands-on tutorials for current mobile technologies and tools

• Demonstrations – Full-day demonstrations of the latest and greatest mobile applications, software, and hardware

“Mobile graphics is growing at an incredible speed. Over the past few years mobile devices have evolved into powerful smartphones, tablets, and handheld gaming devices that society relies on to stay connected, entertained, and informed,” said Lars Erik Holmquist, SIGGRAPH Mobile Chair and Principal Research Scientist at Yahoo! Labs. “What better place to showcase this prevalent pioneering technology than at SIGGRAPH, a world-renowned conference for computer graphics and interactive techniques? SIGGRAPH Mobile provides the perfect forum for participants of all industry backgrounds to come together for a day of sharing, growing, and learning about the future of mobile graphics and apps.”

The SIGGRAPH Mobile submission deadline is 1 May 2012. Every piece submitted to SIGGRAPH Mobile is reviewed by a highly qualified and diverse jury composed of top practitioners in both academia and industry, including Ericsson, Motorola, Swansea University (U.K.), Mobile Life Centre (Sweden) and Layar (The Netherlands). Entries will be judged on quality, novelty, diversity of topics, and relevance to the SIGGRAPH Mobile Program.

Submit online today.