MACAO, 26 October 2016 – Themed “Key to the Future”, SIGGRAPH Asia 2016 explores the next frontier in computer-generated imagery (CGI) and immersive environments: Virtual Reality. Widely known for its in applications for videogames, live events and entertainment, Virtual Reality is increasingly being applied across a wide range of traditional industries including engineering, education, healthcare, the military, real estate and retail. The implications for this are enormous, as in 2016 the market for Virtual Reality hardware and content is expected to top USD1 Billion and to rise exponentially to $80 billion by 2025.

(L – R): Paul Debevec, senior staff engineer at Google VR and Brian Cabral, Director of Engineering at Facebook

The SIGGRAPH Asia 2016 conference features the leading minds in the industry: Paul Debevec, a senior staff engineer at Google VR will deliver a keynote address, Achieving Photoreal Virtual Humans in Movies, Games and Virtual Reality; and Brian Cabral, Director of Engineering at Facebook, whose keynote is entitled VR Capture: Designing and Building an Open Source 3D-360 Video Camera.

Multiple panel sessions also take place at SIGGRAPH Asia. Two of the highlights this year include:

He’s Back! T2 25 Years Later

The Terminator 2 panel will feature the original team: Mark Dippe, Assistant Visual Effects Supervisor for T2 and Steve “Spaz” Williams, Computer Animation Supervisor for T2, as our panelists. Scott Ross, who was the General Manager of Industrial Light & Magic, Co-Founder of Digital Domain with James Cameron, will be moderating this panel discussion.

The Future Of Imaging

Brian Cabral moderates this panel discussion between Kurt Akeley, Chief Technology Officer, Lytro Inc; Radu B. Rusu, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Fyusion, Inc and Shen Shaojie; Chief Roboticist, Da-Jiang Innovations (DJI), who will share their past and current adventures as well as their visions for the future of the digital imaging industry.

SIGGRAPH Asia will also be hosting three Symposiums this year. Academia and industry come together at the Symposium on Education to discuss the teaching and integration of computer graphics and interactive techniques. The Symposium on Mobile Graphics and Interactive Applications explores the development, technology and marketing of mobile graphics and interactive applications; especially the novel uses of graphics and interactivity on mobile devices. The Symposium on Visualization brings to light the development, technology, and demonstration of visualization techniques and their interactive applications

Technical papers will be presented at sessions on, for example, Geometric Deep Learning, Modeling Behavior for Social Robots and Virtual Humans, Creating Virtual Environments with 3D Printing and Photogrammetry for example, alongside technical sessions for story development, optics, video development, modeling along with a wide range of subjects.

One of the most exciting parts of the program is the premier Computer Animation Festival, which brings together a collection of the year’s best, world-wide, animation works. An internationally recognized jury receives hundreds of submissions to select the most creative works of the year, which are aired over three exciting days at SIGGRAPH Asia 2016. From students’ works to professional pieces, the SIGGRAPH Asia Computer Animation Festival’s Electronic Theater runs for four screenings of two hours each during the event. The Festival Chair is Victor Wong Wang Tat from vfxNova Digital Productions Limited, Hong Kong and his Co-Chair is Shuzo John Shiota of Polygon Pictures Inc., Japan.

Also, highly sought after is the SIGGRAPH Asia Art Gallery, which showcases innovative and leading-edge digital contributions on Mediated Aesthetics from around the world. The exhibition highlights Digital Art projects that prioritize the expression of an alternative aesthetic, while employing the rich variety of techniques available to designers and artists who use computer mediation as a part of their creative palette. Mediated Aesthetics are a presentation of a combination of new media technologies, including algorithms, sensors, networking, augmented reality, biotechnology, networking and other technologies. Art evolves from the aesthetic investigation of these technologies. This program will be held off-site at the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST).

SIGGRAPH Asia 2016 will take place from 5 to 8 December 2016 at The Venetian Macao in Macao, China. For more information on SIGGRAPH Asia and its programs, please visit http://sa2016.siggraph.org/en/attendees.

MACAO, 26 October 2016 – At the 9th ACM SIGGRAPH Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, the exhibition promises to be a thrilling experience for attendees, who will witness how to apply state of the art hardware and software solutions to their art at the show. SIGGRAPH Asia attracts over 6,000 professionals who are industry leaders and practitioners in computer graphics and interactive techniques. They work in business, education, art and technology and come together at SIGGRAPH Asia to explore the latest technologies, state-of-the-art products and innovative services. DJI, a key sponsor at SIGGRAPH Asia 2016 and FORUM8 will have on display hardware and software options that visitors can experiment with. RICOH is is the sponsor of a lucky draw, which will see the winner walk away with a RICOH THETA SC model camera, which shoots in 360 degrees.

“DJI is the fastest growing UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) company in the world. By being at one of the biggest innovation and technical trade shows in Asia, SIGGRAPH Asia 2016 will provide us with the opportunity to showcase our latest aerial platforms and camera technologies to the world. The event also serves as a platform for us to exchange ideas with engineers and creative people from different industries. We are very excited to be a part of this event and together embrace innovation and technologies that will change the way we see the world,” says Kevin On, Associate Director of Communications, Asia-Pacific, DJI.

On the exhibition floor, delegates will be able to experience the latest in VR technology with some of the exhibitors including WeLight, KanDao VR, Dive by Durovis and Sigong Tech.

“Our exhibition showcase will allow delegates to experience first-hand the state-of-the-art VR technologies including Real-Time Interactive 3D VR Modeling, Simulation Software ‘UC-win/Road’ and cloud computing solution ‘VR-Cloud’. They will have opportunities to test FORUM8’s cutting edge hardware devices such as the Oculus Rift, Immersive Driving Simulator, and Digital Signage System. Attendees can expect an exciting variety of content and new technologies,” says Katsumi Matsuda, Executive Officer and System Sales Manager of FORUM8.

Exhibition attendees can test drive Ricoh’s Theta camera, which shoots everything in 360 degrees. The company is generously sponsoring one of these cameras as a grand prize for the onsite visitor lucky draw. To be eligible for the draw, exhibition visitors will be asked to participate in a survey using the SIGGRAPH Asia app. Each entry qualifies them for the lucky draw for the Ricoh Theta 360 degrees camera, which will be drawn at the end of the event.

SIGGRAPH Asia’s exhibition attracts 45 exhibiting companies that come from Bulgaria, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Macao, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan and Thailand. The exhibition is a showcase of animation and visual effects, hardware, software, post production and solutions associated with computer graphics; interactive and innovative technologies including virtual reality, motion capture, 3D printing, gaming technologies; education, training and research in arts, digital media and computer science; along with high performance computing, including visualization, big data and cloud computing.
Notable brands that exhibit include Altec International Ltd, Chaos Group, Cogito Software Co., Ltd, DJI, FORUM8 Co., Ltd, KanDao Technology Co Ltd, Landhigh Tech International Limited, Lenovo, MAXON Computer GmbH, Meitu, Inc., Next Limit Technologies, Nippon Carbide Industries Co., Inc., Shoogee GmbH & Co. KG, Sigong Tech Co., Ltd and uSens Inc., among numerous other brands.

The SIGGRAPH Asia exhibition inspires collaboration for project partnerships, makes introductions to industry leaders and potential investors as well as international media. It also attracts new graduates and students – the industry’s up-and-coming talents. National and international organizations, service companies, consultants and government officials are all represented among the visitors, who come from as far afield as China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, United Kingdom and USA.

In addition to the exhibition, SIGGRAPH Asia 2016 includes an Art Gallery, Computer Animation Festival, Courses, Emerging Technologies, Posters, Symposium on Education, Symposium on Mobile Graphics and Interactive Applications, Symposium on Visualization, Technical Briefs, Technical Papers, Workshops and for the first time, a Virtual Reality (VR) Showcase.

SIGGRAPH Asia 2016 will take place from 5 to 8 December 2016 at The Venetian Macao in Macao, China. For more information on SIGGRAPH Asia and its programs, please visit https://sa2016.siggraph.org/en/attendees.