Be Amazed by Interactive Technologies, Virtual and Augmented Reality at SIGGRAPH Asia 0

HONG KONG - This year sees the sixth annual SIGGRAPH Asia grace Hong Kong, promising to immerse attendees with the best in animation, human-computer interaction, new media art works and speculative ideas across the globe.

From November 19 to 22, 2013, over 7,000 artists, designers, researchers, manufacturers and developers, as well as trade visitors from all over the world, will convene at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) to exchange spectacular ideas and excellent examples of computer graphics (CG) and interactivity that may help to shape the way we live our lives in the future.

Augmented and virtual reality - Learn to look at the world in a different way Leading this convergence of creativity will be two keynote speakers. At this years SIGGRAPH Asia, Thad Starner and Philip Rosedale will be exploring the topics of augmented and virtual reality, both of which are rapidly advancing sectors in the industry.

Have you ever imagined a future where computers are so discreet that you can wear them anywhere on your body, performing specific functions to make your life easier? Where perhaps a glove teaches you new melodies on the piano or a wearable device can help you to interact with animals? SIGGRAPH Asia 2013 gives visitors the opportunity to come face-to-face with the first man to fully integrate a wearable computer into his everyday life, augmented reality pioneer and the Technical Lead of Google Glass, Thad Starner. As the first keynote speaker at SIGGRAPH Asia 2013, Starner will address the very real topic of Wearable Computing: Through the Looking Glass, focusing on Google Glass and the future of wearable computers; what they are currently used for and ways that they will be applied in the future, including descriptions of some of the more surprising and unusual projects being explored by Starner and his group at Georgia Institute of Technology.

Virtual reality has been at the heart of the science-fiction genre since it first emerged and has retained its place as technology has advanced. As our relationship with technology becomes more symbiotic, the question of virtual reality and how it will manifest is increasingly pertinent in our physical world. SIGGRAPH Asia 2013s second keynote speaker, Philip Rosedale, has been providing answers to that question for years. He is the founder of the online virtual world Second Life and co-founder of High Fidelity, a company dedicated to creating a next-generation immersive 3D experience like nothing we have ever seen before. The subject of Rosedales talk is The Revenge of Virtual Reality, an in-depth look into the history and aspirations of virtual reality and how advances in technology, mobile devices and sensor technology have brought it closer to widespread use. Rosedale will illustrate his lecture with live demonstrations of unreleased technology and audience participation.

Developments that will change the way we interact with technology Just as augmented and virtual reality have become more important and complex as the field has matured and we have advanced within it, so too have other interactive technologies. Developments in this sector are as groundbreaking as any other, transforming the way that we relate to the world around us throughan ever increasing depth and sophistication of interactivity and graphics.

This year, SIGGRAPH Asia invited submissions around this pertinent topic, looking for interactive technologies which could potentially benefit our future lives. Among the many submissions received, one that stood out was Cuddly, a smartphone application developed by Keio University that enchants and animates soft objects using the phones camera and light to bring your soft objects to life.

SIGGRAPH Asias Emerging Technologies Director, Yoshifumi Kitamura from Tohoku University in Japan, said of this program, Interactive technology has been one of the most important inseparable wheels of SIGGRAPH and SIGGRAPH Asia, and the Emerging Technologies program plays a vital role in driving the development of research communities all over the world to pursue technical innovations that will have a great impact on everyday life.

Symposium on Mobile Graphics and Interactive Applications This years Symposium on Mobile Graphics and Interactive Applications explores the opportunities and challenges of mobile applications that exist within the global graphics community, highlighting the novel uses of graphics and interactivity on mobile devices.

Among those selected for presentation is Mobile Virtual Archery, submitted by the University of Applied Sciences D sseldorf. They have created a system that attaches a real archery bow to a mobile device, providing a realistic and believable archery experience that supports users when practicing the motions of traditional archery in a virtual environment.

At the other end of the spectrum is Can You Copy Me?, a touch-based tablet game that provides a conducive, engaging and effective platform to encourage emotional development in children, particularly children with autism. Created by the University of Technology in Sydney, the application shows children a range of facial expressions which they then have to copy and uses state-of-the-art facial expression tracking.

Learn the skills of sophisticated animation For the first time ever, SIGGRAPH Asia will offer industry master classes conducted by leading professionals and pioneers in their field, allowing attendees from the industry to have a more hands on learning experience and develop new skills whilst at the conference.

Academy Award-winning animator, John Kahrs, will lead one of the industry master classes, giving participants the opportunity to learn about visual storytelling and the future of animation in todays technologically advanced climate. Best known for his Academy Award-winning animated short, Paperman, Kahrs has wo

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