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SIGGRAPH 2022 Electronic Theater, photo by Andreas Psaltis @ 2022 ACM SIGGRAPH

SIGGRAPH 2022 Hybrid Conference Enjoys Notable Numbers with In-Person and Virtual Attendees

CHICAGO—SIGGRAPH 2022, the 49th annual conference and exhibition on computer graphics and interactive techniques, closed the in-person portion of the conference, 8-11 August 2022 in Vancouver, Canada, with more than 11,700 attendees, 90-plus exhibitors from 16 countries, remarkable featured speakers, and a variety of panels, programs, and hands-on experiences. Access to the virtual component of SIGGRAPH 2022 will continue through 31 October 2022.

SIGGRAPH 2022 offered a platform to share exceptional offerings in digital art, technology, computer science, and various innovations from more than 2,400 contributors. The conference and virtual experience were enjoyed by an international audience from 74 countries and garnered 30,000-plus views during the livestream sessions across the four-day, in-person conference. The top five attended programs in the virtual platform included Technical Papers, Birds of a Feather, Talks, Courses, and Production Sessions.

“Every year we gather our global community to showcase how computer graphics and interactive techniques shape the future,” said Munkhtsetseg Nandigjav, SIGGRAPH 2022 Conference Chair. “After two years of meeting virtually, I was thrilled to host our return to a live, in-person conference in Vancouver. The city was a wonderful host, from the amazing location to the warm welcome from the local community. SIGGRAPH participants were incredibly joyful and excited to reunite and see the latest developments in our field. Being face-to-face at these SIGGRAPH conferences is an annual recharge. It’s an opportunity to come together to learn, share our passions, and enrich our skills. I’m honored to be a part of this celebration as we continue to encourage the development and innovation in the arts and sciences that impact the world around us. And I’m looking forward to seeing how our work continues to evolve headfirst into the future.”

Highlights from the conference included:

• Featured Speakers: Sougwen Chung, Ed Catmull, Pat Hanrahan, Sarah Bond, and Ime Archibong
• Production teams behind some of the year’s top films took part in the Production Sessions, including DNEG, Pixar Animation Studios, Wētā FX, and Walt Disney Animation Studios
• New for 2022, the inauguration of Conference Papers, where exciting emerging ideas were presented in a shorter format than traditional Technical Papers
• Technical Papers showcases the latest industry advancements and scientific contributions. A total number of 247 papers were selected out of a record number of submissions, and five “Best of” honors were awarded
• Roundtables allowed participants to connect directly and hold intimate conversations with Technical Papers, Art Papers, Courses, and Talks contributors, and interact in small group settings
• Emerging Technologies and Immersive Pavilion showcased the latest in VR, AR, and mixed reality innovations
• Metaverse discussions and workshops were covered in the Featured Speakers, Frontiers, Appy Hour, Real-Time Live!, and Courses programs
• VR Theater presented the evolved storytelling and growth of virtual reality content

SIGGRAPH 2022 also celebrated this year’s contributors by honoring some “Best of” from various programs, including:

Art Gallery
Best in Show – “Ray”
Weidi Zhang, Media Arts and Technology Program (MAT), University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB)

Art Papers
Best Art Paper – “Traditional African Dances Preservation Using Deep Learning Techiques”
Adebunmi Odefunso, Purdue University/Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Esteban Garcia Bravo, Purdue University; and Yingjie Chen, Purdue University

Electronic Theater
Best in Show – “The Seine’s Tears”
Yanis Belaid, Pôle 3D (France)

Jury’s Choice – “The End of War”
Lei Chen, Tsinghua University (China)

Best Student Project – “Yallah!”
Nayla Nassar, Rubika (France)

Audience Choice* – “Alternate Mesozoic”
Lucie Laudrin, ESMA (France)

Emerging Technologies
Best in Show – “HDR VR”
Nathan Matsuda, Yang Zhao, Alex Chapiro, Clinton Smith, and Douglas Lanman, Reality Labs Research, Meta

Immersive Pavilion
Top Selection – “Journal of My Journey: Seamless Interaction in Virtuality and Reality With Digital Fabrication and Sensory Feedback”
Miguel Ying Jie Then, Ching Lui, Yvone Tsai Chen, Zin Yin Lim, Ping Hsuan Han, National Taipei University of Technology

Real-Time Live!
Best in Show – “A Showcase of Decima Engine in Horizon Forbidden West
Hugh Malan, Maarten van der Gaag, Guerrilla

Audience Choice – “AI and Physics Assisted Character Pose Authoring”
Florent Bocquelet, Boris Oreshkin, Dominic Laflamme, Felix Harvey, Louis-Simon Ménard, Jeremy Cowles, and Bay Raitt, Unity Technologies

Technical Papers
Best Paper Awards
“Instant Neural Graphics Primitives With a Multiresolution Hash Encoding”
Thomas Müller, Alex Evans, Christoph Schied, and Alexander Keller, NVIDIA

“DeepPhase: Periodic Autoencoders for Learning Motion Phase Manifolds”
Sebastian Starke, University of Edinburgh/Electronic Arts; Ian Mason, University of Edinburgh; and Taku Komura, University of Hong Kong

“Spelunking the Deep: Guaranteed Queries on General Neural Implicit Surfaces via Range Analysis”
Nicholas Sharp, University of Toronto; Alec Jacobson, University of Toronto/Adobe

“Image Features Influence Reaction Time: A Learned Probabilistic Perceptual Model for Saccade Latency”
Budmonde Duinkharjav, New York University; Praneeth Chakravarthula, Princeton University/UNC Chapel Hill; Rachel Brown, NVIDIA Research; Anjul Patney, NVIDIA Research; and Qi Sun, New York University

“CLIPasso: Semantically Aware Object Sketching”
Yael Vinker, Tel Aviv University/École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Ehsan Pajouheshgar, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Jessica Y. Bo, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne/ETH; Roman Christian Bachmann, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Amit Bermano, Tel Aviv University; Daniel Cohen-Or, Tel Aviv University; Amir Zamir, EPFL; and Ariel Shamir, Reichman University

VR Theater
Best in Show – “On the Morning You Wake (to the End of the World)”
Steve Jamison, Mike Brett, Archer’s Mark and Astrea; Pierre Zandrowicz, Atlas V and Astrea; and Arnaud Colinart, Atlas V

*Vote tallied on-site via survey poll.
Best in Show awards determined by a six-member jury; Audience Choice awards determined by the live audience.

The SIGRRAPH 2022 virtual experience is available until 31 October 2022. To learn more and register for the ongoing virtual conference, go to s2022.SIGGRAPH.org/register.

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About ACM, ACM SIGGRAPH, and SIGGRAPH 2022
ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, is the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting educators, researchers, and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources, and address the field’s challenges. ACM SIGGRAPH is a special interest group within ACM that serves as an interdisciplinary community for members in research, technology, and applications in computer graphics and interactive techniques. The SIGGRAPH conference is the world’s leading annual interdisciplinary educational experience showcasing the latest in computer graphics and interactive techniques. SIGGRAPH 2022, the 48th annual conference hosted by ACM SIGGRAPH, will take place virtually with live events 9–13 August and on-demand content available starting 2 August through 29 October. Click here for news from the conference and its partners.

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Featured Speakers at SIGGRAPH 2022, the premiere conference and exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques

SIGGRAPH 2022 Presents its Lineup of Featured Speakers
From the Metaverse to Artificial Intelligence, Industry Experts Touch on Some of the Most Prominent Topics in Computer Graphics

CHICAGO—SIGGRAPH 2022 presents its lineup for its Featured Speakers program. Industry experts will discuss a variety of topics from artificial intelligence and the metaverse to accelerated computing and digital realities. Their talks will cover themes such as the advancements and evolution in technology, their personal and professional experiences, and how art, design, and technology can be blended to create amazing storytelling. The 49th annual conference will run 8–11 August in person, and virtually 25 July–31 October 2022.

“We’re honored to have these distinguished and notable Featured Speakers at SIGGRAPH 2022,” said Munkhtsetseg Nandigjav, SIGGRAPH 2022 Conference Chair. “Our community continues to create and merge art, design, and technology, developing and innovating for the future, and our celebrated speakers are a big part of this progression. Having Sougwen Chung, Ed Catmull, Pat Hanrahan, Sarah Bond, and Ime Archibong, among others, share their experiences with us is a unique distinction that only SIGGRAPH can provide. Their talks on how the various disciplines in the SIGGRAPH community can help the industry move forward and grow will be invaluable.”

Featured Speaker: Sougwen 愫君 Chung
Monday, 8 August 2022
9–10:15 am PT

Sougwen Chung’s performance lecture, ‘Seeing Double—Bridging Dualities with Relational Intelligence’ questions: Where does “AI” end and “we” begin? Chung’s ever-evolving work in human and machine collaboration builds upon a decade-long international journey. Starting with a simple line, the process has led to interdisciplinary insights, philosophical inquiry, and technological invention through pioneering artistic practice. Intertwining perspectives in art and science, Chung’s practice envisions alternative futures for the relationship of humans and machines.

Bio:
Sougwen 愫君 Chung is a Chinese-Canadian artist and researcher, and is the founder and artistic director of Scilicet, a London-based studio exploring human & non-human collaboration. Chung is a former research fellow at MIT’s Media Lab and is considered a pioneer in the field of human-machine collaboration—exploring the mark-made-by-hand and the mark-made-by-machine as an approach to understanding the dynamics of humans and systems.

Turing Award Lectures
Featured Speakers: Ed Catmull and Pat Hanrahan
Monday, 8 August 2022
2:15–3:15 pm PT

Ed Catmull and Pat Hanrahan will discuss the history and advancements of the computer graphics industry in a combined session. In “Shading Languages and the Emergence of Programmable Graphics Systems,” Hanrahan charts the path of shading languages; first pioneered by Ken Perlin and Rob Cook, then becoming widely available in Pixar’s RenderMan. This talk will review their history and discuss the broader implications for computing and the future of computer graphics.

With “The Wild, Unexpected, Exponential Ride Through Computer Graphics,” Catmull will address the early belief in the promise of computer graphics, the depiction of the research in graphics as impractical, the incorporation of graphics in workstations, the role of the SIGGRAPH community leading to advances enabling movies, the incorporation of algorithms in GPUs, and the exponential rise of computing power in those GPUs driven by the game industry leading to completely unexpected results.

Bio:
Pat Hanrahan is the Canon Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering in the Computer Graphics Laboratory at Stanford University. His research focuses on rendering algorithms, graphics processing units, and visualization. As a founding employee at Pixar Animation Studios in the 1980s, Hanrahan was part of the design of the RenderMan Interface Specification and the RenderMan Shading Language.

Bio:
Dr. Ed Catmull is a co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios and served as president of Pixar for 33 years, while also serving as president of Walt Disney Animation Studios for 13 of those 33 years. Catmull founded three of the leading centers of computer graphics research—including the computer division of Lucasfilm Ltd. and Pixar Animation Studios. Catmull earned B.S. degrees in physics and computer science and a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Utah.

Featured Speaker: Sarah Bond
Tuesday, 9 August 2022
9–10 am PT

In her fireside chat, Sarah Bond will discuss “How Digital Worlds Today Can Make the Real World Better Tomorrow.” Bond will address how gaming inspires empathy by fostering collaboration and enabling players to experience different perspectives. With 3D interactive experiences evolving from gaming to non-gaming environments, there will be an explosion of incredible content from a wave of new creators. As people experience the world through their screens, now more than ever, these worlds need to be built inclusively to cultivate their unique ability to break barriers, spark imagination, and create empathy.

Bio:
Sarah Bond is the corporate vice president of the Game Creator Experience and Ecosystem at Xbox. She leads the company’s engineering, business, and strategy to grow creator success, helping them create and publish more games, and reach more players on any device. Prior to Microsoft, Bond was a senior leader at T-Mobile and an Associate Partner at McKinsey. She holds a B.A. in Economics from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Bond sits on the Board of Councilors at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, as well as the Board of Directors at the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), Zuora, and CHEGG.

Featured Speaker: Ime Archibong
Thursday, 11 August 2022
2:15–3:45 pm PT

Ime Archibong will speak to how contributors to the computer graphics and interactive techniques community can—and should—help design the future, including the metaverse. In this fireside chat, he will talk about experimentation as an approach to innovation, share some examples of innovative ways people with a design mindset from around the world are more empowered than ever to build, and why it’s so important that designers of all expertise help make the next era a reality.

Bio:
Ime Archibong is Head of New Product Experimentation (NPE) at Meta, where he leads the unit testing new product experiences outside of Meta’s main platforms. He was previously the company’s Vice President of Product Partnerships, where he built the global team that worked with startups and developers to build new products with Meta’s platform tools and technology. Archibong is a listed inventor on more than a dozen technical patents. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Yale University and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Presented by NVIDIA: NVIDIA Special Address at SIGGRAPH 2022
Featured Speakers: Jensen Huang, NVIDIA; Rev Lebaredian, NVIDIA; Sanja Fidler, NVIDIA/University of Toronto, Ontario; Simon Yuen, NVIDIA; and Steven Parker, NVIDIA
Tuesday, 9 August 2022
9–10 am PT

Computer graphics is one of the most challenging computer science problems of our time. With GPU accelerated computing, AI, and physically accurate virtual world simulation, NVIDIA continues to deliver generational leaps to advancing the field of graphics. 3D worlds are no longer just for fun and games but for solving the world’s most challenging important problems. Join NVIDIA’s CEO and senior leaders for a special address at SIGGRAPH 2022 to get a glimpse into the future of AI-infused virtual worlds that provide new frontiers for artistic expression and creativity, or perfectly replicate nature’s systems — and the research and technology that power them.

Bio:
NVIDIA founder Jensen Huang has served as president, chief executive officer, and a member of the board of directors. Starting out in PC graphics, NVIDIA helped build the gaming market into the largest entertainment industry in the world today. The company’s invention of the GPU made possible real-time programmable shading, which defines modern computer graphics, and later revolutionized parallel computing. He holds a B.S. in electrical engineering from Oregon State University and an M.S. in electrical engineering from Stanford University in California.

Bio:
Rev Lebaredian is vice president of Omniverse and simulation technology at NVIDIA. For the last five years at NVIDIA, he and his teams have been combining the rendering, physics simulation, and artificial intelligence technologies pioneered by NVIDIA into a single platform for creating and simulating physically accurate virtual worlds — NVIDIA Omniverse. Lebaredian continues to lead the Omniverse product, engineering, and research teams.

Bio:
Sanja Fidler is an associate professor at the Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto, Ontario. She is also the vice president of AI research at NVIDIA. Previously, she was a research assistant professor at TTI-Chicago, a philanthropically endowed academic institute located on the campus of the University of Chicago, Illinois.

Bio:
Simon Yuen is senior director of avatar technology at NVIDIA where he leads the digital human efforts with the goal of developing new character technology and deep learning-based solutions that allow new and more efficient ways of creating high-quality digital characters. Prior to NVIDIA, Yuen spent over 21 years in the visual effects industry, straddling both the art and technology sides of the problem at many studios including Method Studios, Digital Domain, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Dreamworks, Blizzard Entertainment, and others, building teams and technologies that push the envelope of photorealistic digital character creation.

Bio:
Dr. Steven Parker is vice president of professional graphics at NVIDIA Corporation, where he holds responsibility for several ray tracing technologies, including NVIDIA RTX drivers and APIs such as NVIDIA OptiX, the RTX rendering systems in NVIDIA Omniverse, the Material Definition Language, and the NVIDIA IndeX® scientific visualization system. Combining a history of ray tracing, rendering, and high-performance computing, Parker has been focused on bringing physically based rendering systems to interactive applications.

Presented by Hexagon AB: Even Better Than the Real Thing: Worldbuilding With Digital Twins and AI
Featured Speaker: Burkhard Boeckem
Wednesday, 10 August 2022
9–10 am PT

Burkhard Boeckem, chief technology officer at Hexagon AB, will unveil a new category of digital reality technologies that fundamentally change how we think about worldbuilding, design, and production. Burkhard’s passion is the democratization of digital realities, which led to Hexagon’s development of the Leica BLK line of laser scanners, the launch of HxDR, a powerful visualization and collaboration platform, and recently led to the acquisition of Immersal, an AR technology for spatial mapping and anchoring. Discover the massive potential digital realities hold for worldbuilding, visualization, and immersive storytelling — from VFX to AEC, from metaverse to virtual production — in a world where ideas know no constraints.

Bio:
Burkhard Boeckem is the CTO of Hexagon AB and has worked in the geospatial industry for over 20 years. As CTO, he is responsible for driving innovation and development of Hexagon’s autonomous technology vision. Throughout his career, he has focused on R&D, delivering innovation in digital reality, and working with the latest advances in disruptive technologies, such as AI and 5D visualization. Boeckem holds an M.S. in geodesy from the University of Bonn in Germany, and a PhD from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich).

Presented by Unity: Lion: A Glimpse of the Future With Unity Art Tools
Featured Speakers: James Jacobs, Unity Technologies; Sara Hansen, Unity Technologies; Anton Blake, Moving Picture Company/Monster Emporium; Julio Cesar Garcia, Rocket Science VFX
Wednesday, 10 August 2022
2:15–3:15 pm PT

Watch the premiere of Unity’s latest demo, Lion. This production features innovations in real-time technology that shows content created with Ziva, Wētā Digital, SyncSketch, SpeedTree, and the Unity Editor artist tools. Lion showcases plans to help artists create boundary-pushing visuals, as well as foundations for richer creator workflows.

Bio:
James Jacobs is a Sci-Tech Academy Award-winning VFX artist with over 25 years of expertise. He has held leadership positions at Weta Digital, Digital Domain, DreamWorks, Mr. X, and Method Studios. In 2015, James cofounded Ziva Dynamics, a company dedicated to solving challenging and high-value character obstacles in media and entertainment. At Unity, he leads the continued development of Ziva tools and finds new ways to bring the realism and quality of film characters into the game/real-time industry.

Bio:
Sara Hansen is a CG generalist with 11 years of VFX industry experience. With more than 25 film and television projects, her experience spans multiple areas in CG including texturing, look development, layout, lighting, hair, simulation, and rendering. Her work led her to Wētā Digital as a groom artist, and she joined Ziva in 2020, where she now collaborates with Unity. She is passionate about creating assets from start to finish, using a mix of her technical and artistic skill sets.

Bio:
Anton Blake has been a professional animator for 13 years, having worked in film, TV, and game industries. After contributing to “The Lion King,” he chose to explore teaching and mentorship, starting with a tutorial based on the cubs from the film. The popularity of this tutorial motivated Anton to create entire animation workshops, eventually leading to Monster Emporium. He now works at MPC during the day and runs the Monster Emporium school at night.

Bio:
Julio Cesar Garcia is a VFX pipeline developer who enjoys mixing technology and art. He is currently working at Rocket Science VFX in Toronto. Julio’s strong passion for animal behavior led him to apply his knowledge to creature animation and simulation. In 2020, he joined Monster Emporium as pipeline developer and creature TD, where he develops new technologies and improves creature assets.

Presented by AMD: The Collision of Technology and Art
Featured Speakers: James Knight, AMD; Dylan Sisson, Pixar; Leif Pedersen, Pixar; and Francois Chardavoine, Lucasfilm
Thursday, 11 August 2022
9–10am PT

This address with James Knight, Dylan Sisson, Leif Pedersen, and Francois Chardavoine will discuss how technology and art push each other to benefit great storytelling. Using examples of how some of the world’s best creatives leverage advanced computing, giving artists more time with their pixels, they will explore how the creative sandbox is bigger and deeper than ever before.

Bio:
Dylan Sisson, marketing manager, Pixar Animation Studios, is an accomplished artist with more than 20 years of experience in feature film visual effects, combining a deep knowledge of computer graphics with a traditional background of painting, illustration, and toy design. Sisson brings a unique artistic style and a record of creative leadership to a diverse portfolio of work.

Bio:
James Knight is the global director of media and entertainment at AMD (Advanced Micro Devices), where he supports video streaming, VFX, virtual production, and post-production computing applications for the largest media brands, studios, and content streaming platforms in the world. Knight’s work spans two decades in production, post-production, real-time visual effects, and virtual production.

Bio:
Leif Pedersen has more than 15 years of production experience. He is a RenderMan specialist and CG generalist on Pixar’s RenderMan team, where he loves to showcase some of the most artistic and technical aspects of the renderer.

Bio:
As the chief technology officer, Francois Chardavoine is responsible for all aspects of global studio technology for Lucasfilm, Industrial Light & Magic, and ILMxLAB. With more than 20 years of experience in the VFX and animation industry, he is also a member of the VES Technology Committee and co-chair of the Academy of Motion Picture’s Science and Technology Awards subcommittee.

Access to the Featured Speakers program at SIGGRAPH 2022 is available in person and online. Learn more and register for the conference at s2022.SIGGRAPH.org/register.

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About ACM, ACM SIGGRAPH, and SIGGRAPH 2022
ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, is the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting educators, researchers, and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources, and address the field’s challenges. ACM SIGGRAPH is a special interest group within ACM that serves as an interdisciplinary community for members in research, technology, and applications in computer graphics and interactive techniques. The SIGGRAPH conference is the world’s leading annual interdisciplinary educational experience showcasing the latest in computer graphics and interactive techniques. SIGGRAPH 2022, the 48th annual conference hosted by ACM SIGGRAPH, will take place virtually with live events 9–13 August and on-demand content available starting 2 August through 29 October. Click here for news from the conference and its partners.

The post SIGGRAPH 2022 Presents its Lineup of Featured Speakers appeared first on SIGGRAPH 2022.

“Art in the Age of AI: Can Computers Create Art?” © 2022 Aaron Hertzmann, Adobe Research

SIGGRAPH 2022 Moves Forward and Looks Back: The Frontiers and Retrospective Programs Showcase How Legacy Drives Innovation
From Artificial Intelligence to the Arts and Gaming, Industry Experts Touch on Some of the Most Prominent Topics in Computer Graphics

CHICAGO—SIGGRAPH 2022 highlights the many voices that have facilitated the evolution of computer graphics and interactive techniques. The Frontiers and Retrospective programs feature pioneers and industry experts in panels and workshops for a passionate look at untold stories, influential voices, emerging topics, and new breakthroughs. The 49th annual conference runs 8–11 August in person, and virtually 25 July–31 October 2022.

The Retrospective program brings together the pioneers and leaders who have enabled computer graphics to improve lives. Panel topics have pioneers and practitioners taking ideas into new directions, compelling the industry to rethink assumptions, take risks, and achieve greatness. Panel topics include foundational events in computer graphics, how computer graphics impacts lives, how interfaces to computer graphics have evolved, and the groundbreakers and the unheard voices that have expanded computer graphics and user interfaces.

“While many computer graphics advancements have been recorded in textbooks and archives, there are still many noteworthy yet untold stories and unheard voices,” said Benjamin Lok, SIGGRAPH 2022 Retrospective program chair. “With our Retrospective panels, we go behind the images with a wide range of people and hear about their journeys to learn about critical moments, foundational events, and advancements that are impacting all of us today.”

Highlights of the Retrospective program include:

• Breaking New Ground: Establishing Graphics Worldwide
  Moderator: Mary Whitton, UNC Chapel Hill (Dept. of Computer Science, retired)
  Panelists: Jon Meads, NW Old Boys Rugby Club (retired); Maxine Brown, University of Illinois Chicago; Marcelo Knorich Zuffo, Universidade de Sao Paulo; Joaquim Jorge, Universidade de Lisboa (ULisboa), INESC-ID
  Computer graphics pioneers share how computer graphics expanded both throughout the United States and into different parts of the world. Their lessons learned along the way can be applied by today’s professionals for continued groundbreaking work in today’s new and fluid landscape.
• Pioneers in Computer Graphics
  Moderator: Masha Shugrina, NVIDIA Corporation
  Panelists: Carolina Cruz-Neira, University of Central Florida; Holly Rushmeier, Yale University; Joan Collins, ACM SIGGRAPH, West Coast Pictures, LLC; Theresa-Marie Rhyne, theresamarierhyne.com; Kristine Middlemiss, monstersaliensrobotszombies.com
  Powerful Women in Graphics panelists share industry and academic viewpoints and career journeys that have contributed to the historic advancements in computer graphics. Participants learn about opportunities on the horizon for the women in technology community and how the past can influence the future in this exciting time of growth.
• Computer Graphics Disruptions in Art, Science, Visualization, Engineering, and Modeling
  Moderator: Brian Wyvill, University of Victoria
  Panelists: Yoichiro Kawaguchi, The University of Tokyo (Emeritus); Eugene Fiume, Simon Fraser University; David Kasik, ACM SIGGRAPH; Alyn Rockwood, ACM SIGGRAPH
  Diverse panelists, all of them innovators and disruptors, look at how computer graphics is used to change the worlds of art, science, engineering, and — at the core of computer graphics itself — modeling. Their pathways to success serve as an inspiration for young SIGGRAPHers looking to make disruptions in their own chosen fields.

“Advancements in artificial intelligence, as well as augmented and virtual reality presents the need to talk about the latest in computer graphics to connect users to virtual environments and more,” stated Vathsal Veena Shashidhar, SIGGRAPH 2022 Frontiers program chair. “The talks and workshops allow us, as innovators, to cover these topics and much more. We can inspire and influence creators to make their impact in the physical and virtual worlds.”

Highlights of the Frontiers program include:

• Metric Telepresence Using Codec Avatars
  Contributor: Yaser Sheikh, Meta Research
  Yaser Sheikh of Meta Reality Labs discusses progress toward achieving metric telepresence. He describes Meta’s approach using codec avatars — neural networks to address computer vision and computer graphics problems in signal transmission and reception of photorealistic avatars. He also introduces the large-scale systems required to train codec avatars, visually and acoustically, and the research challenges ahead to achieve metric telepresence at scale.
• Art in the Age of AI: Can Computers Create Art?
  Contributor: Aaron Hertzmann, Adobe Research
  Can AI algorithms make art and be considered artists? Within the past decade, the growth of new neural network algorithms has enabled exciting new artforms with considerable public interest. Aaron Hertzmann discusses how these developments parallel the development of previous artistic technologies, like oil paint, photography, and traditional computer graphics.

Access to the Retrospective and Frontiers programs at SIGGRAPH 2022 is available in person and online. Learn more and register for the conference at s2022.SIGGRAPH.org/register.

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About ACM, ACM SIGGRAPH, and SIGGRAPH 2022
ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, is the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting educators, researchers, and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources, and address the field’s challenges. ACM SIGGRAPH is a special interest group within ACM that serves as an interdisciplinary community for members in research, technology, and applications in computer graphics and interactive techniques. The SIGGRAPH conference is the world’s leading annual interdisciplinary educational experience showcasing the latest in computer graphics and interactive techniques. SIGGRAPH 2022, the 48th annual conference hosted by ACM SIGGRAPH, will take place virtually with live events 9–13 August and on-demand content available starting 2 August through 29 October. Click here for news from the conference and its partners.

The post SIGGRAPH 2022 Moves Forward and Looks Back: The Frontiers and Retrospective Programs Showcase How Legacy Drives Innovation appeared first on SIGGRAPH 2022.

The post SIGGRAPH University: Changing Lanes: Mid-Career Change appeared first on SIGGRAPH 2022.

“Rosita’s Cocina” © 2022 Charles Reitcheck, Estela Antunez, University of Idaho 2022

SIGGRAPH 2022 Levels Up Immersive and Transformative Technology With Exciting Demonstrations and Presentations in Gaming Through Real-Time Live!, Appy Hour, and Courses Programs
From Machine Learning to Augmented Reality Mobile Apps, Top Creators and Innovators Will Share Their Latest Research and Breakthroughs

CHICAGO—SIGGRAPH 2022 is showcasing the latest gaming innovations with the Appy Hour, Courses, and Real-Time Live! programs. With more than 100 selected projects as part of these programs, SIGGRAPH offers a platform to emphasize breakthrough presentations and demonstrations in next-generation technology. The projects cover exciting research, design, and animation in gaming and live demonstrations. The 49th annual conference will run 8–11 August in person, with on-demand sessions from researchers available virtually 25 July–31 October 2022.

With games and gaming, innovation is key. These programs explore the latest in computer graphics and immersion technologies, and offer presentations and sessions from visionaries and creators from the game industry.

“I’m thrilled to share various innovations that will be a part of the games focus area at SIGGRAPH 2022,” said SIGGRAPH 2022 Games Chair Elizabeth Baumel. “This year’s works show how gaming can spread across multiple programs and allow technological exploration beyond the usual applications. The SIGGRAPH Games platform continues to generate excitement in the gaming market by providing opportunities to discover the advancements made in the industry.”

Real-Time Live! focuses on real-time technology demonstrations from scientific visualization to augmented reality. If projects feature transformative technology, the Real-Time Live! Program is the place to discover it all.

“The unique and fun part of the Real-Time Live! program is that anything can happen,” stated SIGGRAPH 2022 Real-Time Live! Chair Yibing Jiang. “Participants and attendees will experience demonstrations of technologies live and in person. We get to experience both the excitement and apprehension of demos being held live, from real-time rendering and facial rigging technology to photorealistic 3D reconstruction, and more.”

The Courses program is where experts are invited to share their knowledge of the computer graphics industry, whether they are researchers, academics, or practitioners. The Courses program covers a wide variety of topics, from foundational skills to next-generation technology developments.

“We have a number of topics being covered this year, as well as fan-favorite Natalya Tatarchuk presenting Advances in Real-Time Rendering in Games Pt. 1 & 2, and a new two-part course on the Metaverse,” said SIGGRAPH 2022 Courses Chair Tamar Shinar. “Courses is the opportunity to learn key concepts and expand horizons either in person in Vancouver or virtually.”

Through the Appy Hour program, participants can discover the creative and innovative applications that a mobile device can do. Attendees interact with developers and experience the future of mobile media. Appy Hour at SIGGRAPH 2022 will feature everything from education to machine learning to augmented reality.

“We’re excited to provide attendees with a fun, festive atmosphere now that we’re back in person,” said SIGGRAPH 2022 General Submissions Chair Chris Redmann. “Participants can interact with developers and discover all the various innovations from this year’s astonishing submissions.”

Game highlights from these three programs at SIGGRAPH 2022 include:

Real-Time Live! [in person]:

• FUTURE.STAGE by Evil Eye Pictures & Patrick Osborne
  Contributors: Dan Rosen, Yovel Schwartz, Alastair Macleod, Justin Schubert, Brian Smith, Ben Peck, Andrew Angulo, Evil Eye Pictures LLC; Patrick Osborne, Paid Time Off, Inc. and Evil Eye Pictures LLC; James Ritts, Evil Eye Pictures LLC and Haiba LLC
  This improvised comedy show asks audience members to submit suggestions using a web portal. The collaboration tools will coordinate the distributed components to help the remote performers act out the live “rideshare” performance that incorporates the suggestion.
• Real Time Technologies for Realistic Digital Humans: Facial Performance and Hair Simulation
  Contributors: Krasimir Nechevski, Daniel Gagiu, Unity Technologies
  This presentation demonstrates how Ziva’s proprietary machine-learning processes can improve the overall quality of RT3D faces for all productions while simplifying and accelerating the overall production workflow and enabling mass production of high-performance real-time characters.
• Instant Neural Radiance Fields
  Contributors: Thomas Müller, Alex Evans, Isaac Deutsch, András Bódis-Szomorú, Michael Shelley, Christoph Schied, Marco Foco, Alexander Keller, NVIDIA
  This demonstration showcases a pipeline that begins with a SLAM implementation that tracks and fuses frames from an RGB-Depth camera; this computes the camera pose by dense frame-to-model tracking and streams both the images and the computed camera poses to the NeRF algorithm in real time.
• A Showcase of Decima Engine in Horizon Forbidden West
  Contributors: Hugh Malan, Guerrilla; Maarten van der Gaag, Guerrilla-Games
  Get a behind-the-scenes look at some of the real-time systems that drive the rich dynamism of the world of Horizon. This presentation showcases a number of features of the Decima Engine that power the visuals and gameplay in Horizon Forbidden West.
• AI and Physics Assisted Character Pose Authoring © 2022 Unity Technologies
  Contributors: Florent Bocquelet, Boris Oreshkin, Dominic Laflamme, Felix Harvey, Louis-Simon Ménard, Jeremy Cowles, Bay Raitt, Unity Technologies
  To make authoring character poses easier on users, this tool leverages both machine learning and a physics engine to enable users with no artistic experience to author natural-looking poses in a few seconds.

Courses [in person]:

• Advances in Real-Time Rendering in Games: Pt. 1 & 2
  Contributors: Natalya Tatarchuk, Unity Technologies
  This research brings state-of-the-art and production-proven rendering techniques for fast, interactive rendering of complex and engaging virtual worlds of video games. Learn how to push the visual boundaries by employing a variety of sophisticated algorithms to produce groundbreaking 3D rendering during this two-part course.

Appy Hour [in person]:

• Rosita’s Cocina
  Contributors: Charles Reitcheck, Estela Antunez; University of Idaho
  This project brings you on a journey of immigrants finding it hard to maintain their culture after being removed from their homes. Rosita’s Cocina is designed to help kids learn about their family’s history, language, and traditional food.
• Light & Shadow AR App
  Contributors: Paulo Majano, Kwantlen Polytechnic University
  The Light & Shadow Augmented Reality app allows you to step into a full-size portrait lighting studio workshop from anywhere in the world. Learn all about studio lighting setups in 3D, plus gain more knowledge on light placement for portrait photography.
• Trios: Stylistic Rendering of 3D Photos
  Contributors: Ulrike Bath, Sumit Shekhar, Jürgen Döllner, Matthias Trapp, Hasso Plattner Institute, University of Potsdam; Hendrik Tjabben, Adobe Systems Engineering GmbH and Hasso Plattner Institute, University of Potsdam; Amir Semmo, Digital Masterpieces GmbH; Sebastian Pasewaldt, Digital Masterpieces GmbH and Hasso Plattner Institute, University of Potsdam
  This mobile app enables users to render and stylize 3D photos. The user interface provides interactive control over a variety of artistic filters, both classical and neural, as well as rendering aspects of 3D photos.

Access to SIGGRAPH 2022 Appy Hour, Courses, Games, and Real-Time Live! programming is available at varying registration levels. Learn more and register for the conference at s2022.SIGGRAPH.org/register.

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About ACM, ACM SIGGRAPH, and SIGGRAPH 2022
ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, is the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting educators, researchers, and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources, and address the field’s challenges. ACM SIGGRAPH is a special interest group within ACM that serves as an interdisciplinary community for members in research, technology, and applications in computer graphics and interactive techniques. The SIGGRAPH conference is the world’s leading annual interdisciplinary educational experience showcasing the latest in computer graphics and interactive techniques. SIGGRAPH 2022, the 48th annual conference hosted by ACM SIGGRAPH, will take place virtually with live events 9–13 August and on-demand content available starting 2 August through 29 October. Click here for news from the conference and its partners.

The post SIGGRAPH 2022 Levels Up Immersive and Transformative Technology With Exciting Demonstrations and Presentations in Gaming Through Real-Time Live!, Appy Hour, and Courses Programs appeared first on SIGGRAPH 2022.

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Courtesy of Archer’s Mark / Atlas V

Discover Unique Storytelling and Exquisite Visual Styling at the SIGGRAPH 2022 VR Theater Program

The VR Theater Presents Immersive, Interactive Stories, and Inspiring Narratives

CHICAGO—SIGGRAPH 2022 will feature leading directors, producers, and filmmakers with their creations in virtual reality. The VR Theater Program will showcase the latest in immersive and short form storytelling, utilizing the computer graphics and visual effects techniques to create alternate realities. From fantasy and documentaries to award-winning films, the VR Theater and VR Kiosks celebrate the evolution of Virtual Reality as a medium. The 49th annual conference will run 8–11 August in person, with on-demand talks available virtually 25 July–31 October 2022.

The VR Theater creates an unforgettable and engrossing experience for in-person attendees. This year’s selections showcase beautiful usage of volumetric capture technology and content that has evolved and developed through the years. From pacing and production quality to narrative techniques, the 2022 VR content emphasizes the growth and development of the medium.

There will be multiple showings of two films in the main theater from 9:30am to 5:00pm, 8 August through 10 August 2022, and from 9:30am to 2:00pm on 11 August 2022. The two stories characterize the next generation of longer length narrative pieces, and combine the best in techniques, storytelling, innovations, and theme. Attendees can also experience a “drive through cinema—with spaceships” in the virtual SIGGRAPH VR Theater lobby, which was co-developed with the Centre for Digital Media.

In addition to the main theater, there will also be four kiosks that provide additional viewings of other pieces from the 2022 selections. Showings will be available 8 August through 10 August 2022, from 10:00am to 5:00pm, and on 11 August 2022 from 10:00am to 3:30pm.

“The 2022 VR Theater picks emphasize visual style, immersive storytelling, and provide a glimpse into new ways creators can produce virtual realities,” said SIGGRAPH 2022 VR Theater Chair Yangos Hadjiyannis. “This year’s works allowed us to make the decision to have more pieces presented, in both the main theater and the VR kiosks. It allows SIGGRAPH attendees to see more content and get a full sense of trends and subject matters in the VR medium. Feeling present and having a visceral experience is being taken to new levels with every passing year. The involvement viewers can have with these stories make them more meaningful and exciting.”

Highlights from VR Theater Program include:

Paper Birds

Contributors: German Heller, 3Dar, Federico Carlini, 3Dar

Paper Birds is a story of a short-sighted child with an exceptional talent for music. He must find his way through the world of darkness to bring back his sister, taken away by the shadows. An interactive story about a young musician in search of true inspiration.

Goliath: Playing with Reality

Contributor: Kirsty Jenning, Executive Producer, Anagram

The award-winning Goliath: Playing with Reality uses mind-bending animation and explores the limits of reality. A true story of “schizophrenia” and the power of gaming communities, the narrator (Echo voiced by Tilda Swinton) guides the viewer through the many realities of Goliath, a man who spent years in isolating mental health institutions but finds connection in multiplayer games. Through heart-felt dialog, mesmerizing visuals and symbolic interactions, the viewer goes through multiple worlds to uncover Goliath’s poignant story.

Black Ice

Contributor: Arif Khan, Writer and Director, USC – Cinematic Arts

Black Ice tells the story of a cyberpunk future where a young woman visits a memory editor to suppress a dark memory of a murder she committed. However, the more she alters the memory, the more she finds herself wanting to kill again.

Red Tail Ep.1

Contributors: Fish Wang, Original Story and Director, Zero One Film; Meng-Yin Yang, Executive Producer, Kaohsiung Film Archive; Pei-Hua Yu, Executive Producer, Taiwan Public Television Service Foundation; Pu-Yuan Cheng, Executive Producer, Funique VR; Shuping Lee, Co-Executive Producer, Taiwan Public Television Service Foundation; Yi-Ching Chen, Producer, Zero One Film; Ming-Yuan Chuan, VR Supervisor, Funique VR

The Red Tail is an adventure story about a young boy always chasing a mysterious red tail. After passing through countless magical places, he finds himself waking up in a gentleman’s room. When the red tail reminds the boy of his own memory and sadness…what’s the secret hidden behind, and where will it lead him next?

On the Morning You Wake

Contributors: Arnaud Colinart, Director, Atlas V; Mike Brett, Director, Archer’s Mark, Astrea; Steve Jamison, Director, Archer’s Mark, Astrea; Pierre Zandrowicz, Director, Atlas V, Astrea

An immersive virtual reality documentary, On the Morning You Wake follows the 2018 ballistic missile alert in Hawaii. On January 13^th, 2018, an alert was issued to the 1.4 million citizens of Hawaii. A communication collapsed and panic took hold of the population, an understanding formed to the growing and urgent nature of today’s nuclear threat.

Access to the SIGGRAPH 2022 VR Theater and VR Kiosks are available in-person. Learn more and register for the conference at s2022.SIGGRAPH.org/register.

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About ACM, ACM SIGGRAPH, and SIGGRAPH 2022

ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, is the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting educators, researchers, and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources, and address the field’s challenges. ACM SIGGRAPH is a special interest group within ACM that serves as an interdisciplinary community for members in research, technology, and applications in computer graphics and interactive techniques. The SIGGRAPH conference is the world’s leading annual interdisciplinary educational experience showcasing the latest in computer graphics and interactive techniques.  SIGGRAPH 2022, the 49th annual conference hosted by ACM SIGGRAPH, will take place as a hybrid event, with live events 8–11 August at the Vancouver Contention Centre and virtual content available starting 25 July through 31 October. Click here for news from the conference and its partners.

The post Discover Unique Storytelling and Exquisite Visual Styling at the SIGGRAPH 2022 VR Theater Program appeared first on SIGGRAPH 2022.

The post THE PERFECT BLEND OF ART & TECH appeared first on SIGGRAPH 2022.

“Open Metaverse: Part I” Ⓒ 2022 Patrick Cozzi, Cesium; Marc Petit, Epic Games; Neal Stephenson, Lamina1; Guide Quaroni, Adobe; Steve May, Pixar Animation Studios; Natalya Tatarchuk, Unity; Rev Lebaredian, NVIDIA

Explore the Metaverse with the Advancements in Technology to See What Is Possible at SIGGRAPH 2022
Workshops and Programs Will Discuss and Showcase the Innovations that Deliver Content to the Metaverse

CHICAGO—SIGGRAPH 2022 delves into the evolution and advancements in technology for the metaverse. Several programs across the conference will explore the current state and future possibilities in this virtual universe. Conversations and workshops will be held to assist in creating content for the metaverse; while leading experts touch on the experiences, and other metaverse-related ideas, from discussions on interoperability, workshops on 3D modeling, and even tackling potential challenges in this environment. The 49th annual conference will run 8–11 August in person, with on-demand sessions available virtually 25 July–31 October 2022.

The metaverse, once considered a hypothetical virtual world, is now an immersive network of 3D worlds focused on social interaction. Advancements in technologies, including augmented and virtual reality, have made it easier to connect users in both these remote and 3D worlds. But how does an interactive experience affect one’s life in the metaverse? What will happen to how people socialize, work, learn, and play? How does it affect various industries such as art, gaming, fashion, healthcare, or movies?

At SIGGRAPH 2022, the metaverse will be the focus of many panels, courses, and hands-on workshops. Topics covered include how computer graphics deals with the mechanics of the human body, the sense of touch with physical hardware in a spatial environment, and even neural network algorithms in art. Programs including: Appy Hour, Art Papers, Birds of a Feather, Courses, Educator’s Forum, Emerging Technologies, Featured Speakers, Frontiers, Immersive Pavilion, Panels, Real-Time Live!, and Talks, will address these subjects.

“I believe SIGGRAPH 2022 is the ideal place to talk about the metaverse, discuss what is happening now, and exchange ideas as to what is possible,” said Munkhtsetseg Nandigjav, SIGGRAPH 2022 Conference Chair. “Our community is made up of creators and innovators. We want to further these discussions and promote how this experience will potentially change lives. We contribute to the variations and transformations occurring in this virtual world, and we can empower these creators to make an impact for the better.”

Highlights that will cover the metaverse include:

• [Frontiers Workshop] Challenges to Unlock the Metaverse: Haptics, Gaze, Prototyping Tools, & More!
  Contributors: Pedro Lopes, University of Chicago; Michael Nebeling, University of Michigan; Shan-Yuan Teng, University of Chicago; Mark Billinghurst, Empathic Computing Lab, The University of Auckland; Yudai Tanaka, University of Chicago
  Advances in augmented and virtual reality have paved the way for a new type of user interface that can connect users remotely via spatial interactions: the metaverse. This workshop will deep dive into some of the roadblocks to unlock the potential of the metaverse. These include integrating haptic sensations, integrating gaze and attention into user interfaces, and accelerating the prototyping of metaverse experiences.
• [Panel] Privacy, Safety, and Wellbeing: Solutions for the Future of AR and VR
  Moderator: Callie Holderman, Snap Inc.; Panelists: Eakta Jain, University of Florida; Michael Running Wolf, Northeastern University; and Liv Erickson, Mozilla
  There have been many discussions about the metaverse as a construct and how it will be populated, while issues such as privacy and safety have not been brought up. This panel touches on these topics.
• [Birds of a Feather] The Web3D Ecosystem and the Metaverse
  Contributor: Anita Havele, Web3D Consortium
  This session features a discussion on how technology contributes to the metaverse. From interactive real-time 3D to mixed reality and humanoid animation, everything done in 3D is significant to an open metaverse. See the scaling expertise in 3D, modeling and simulation, geospatial, augmented reality, and web audio toward an open, interoperable metaverse.
• [Courses] Building the Open Metaverse: Part I
  Contributors: Patrick Cozzi, Cesium; Marc Petit, Epic Games; Neal Stephenson, Lamina1; Rev Lebaredian, NVIDIA; Natalya Tatarchuk, Unity; Steve May, Pixar Animation Studios
  This session features an introduction to the concepts and building blocks for the open metaverse, covering the current state and potential future directions, including: 3D-first computing, interoperability, game engine ecosystems, the evolution of content creation, and scaling users and worlds. The themes of openness and collaboration are woven throughout all the topics.
• [Immersive Pavilion] Journal of My Journey: Seamless Interaction in Virtuality and Reality with Digital Fabrication and Sensory Feedback
  Contributors: Miguel Ying Jie Then, Ching Lui, Yvone Tsai Chen, Zin Yin Lim, Ping Hsuan Han, National Taipei University of Technology
  Journal of My Journey is a work that explores the possibilities of integrating seamless interactions in virtuality and reality. The choices users make in the virtual world can be output to the real world, thus enhancing the connection between reality and the virtual world.

Access to the various metaverse presentations and workshops at SIGGRAPH 2022 are available in person and online. Learn more and register for the conference at s2022.SIGGRAPH.org/register.

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About ACM, ACM SIGGRAPH, and SIGGRAPH 2022
ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, is the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting educators, researchers, and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources, and address the field’s challenges. ACM SIGGRAPH is a special interest group within ACM that serves as an interdisciplinary community for members in research, technology, and applications in computer graphics and interactive techniques. The SIGGRAPH conference is the world’s leading annual interdisciplinary educational experience showcasing the latest in computer graphics and interactive techniques. SIGGRAPH 2022, the 48th annual conference hosted by ACM SIGGRAPH, will take place virtually with live events 9–13 August and on-demand content available starting 2 August through 29 October. Click here for news from the conference and its partners.

The post Explore the Metaverse with the Advancements in Technology to See What Is Possible at SIGGRAPH 2022 appeared first on SIGGRAPH 2022.