SIGGRAPH Asia 2016 to venture into Virtual Reality at Macao

MACAO, China, 3 October 2016 – According to a report by Statista, the virtual reality hardware market is estimated to reach a value of US 7.3 billion dollars while the software market is estimated to reach a value of US 4.8 billion dollars in 2018. The increasing adoption of VR technology has propelled immersive environments to the forefront of the animation and digital imaging industry today. SIGGRAPH Asia 2016 will introduce a new Virtual Reality (VR) Showcase for the first time to explore emerging trends and applications in virtual reality.

From the 5^th to 8^th December in Macao, the ninth edition of SIGGRAPH Asia will showcase the world’s top professionals, academics and creative minds who are on the forefront of digital imaging, research, science, art, animation, gaming, interactivity, education and emerging technologies. The event is the region’s largest annual conference and exhibition on computer graphics and interactive techniques. This year introduces a VR Showcase to the conference, allowing attendees to delve deep into digital worlds and experience state-of-the-art technologies. The showcase will give them opportunities to learn about new approaches for creative expression and collaboration within immersive environments within the world of VR.

Hongbo Fu, SIGGRAPH Asia’s Conference Chair andAssociate Professor at the School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong says, “SIGGRAPH Asia has grown from strength to strength since its introduction in 2008. This year in Macao, delegates will be inspired by top-notch research innovations, learning opportunities as well as amazing digital artwork, creative animations, and emerging technologies. The newly introduced VR showcase aims to take delegates into unbelievable, immersive virtual worlds. Furthermore, delegates will be able to engage with industry leaders from Google, Facebook, Pixar, DJI, Lytro, Fyusion, and more. SIGGRAPH Asia has always been the platform that brings academia and professionals together, and we hope that attendees will use this opportunity to explore, learn, experience and get connected, virtually and physically!”

This year’s edition is themed “Key to the Future” and will be showcasing innovative projects and emerging technologies for computer graphics and interactive techniques. More than 6,000 delegates from over 50 countries are expected to attend SIGGRAPH Asia, including industry professionals, academia and enthusiasts. There will also be a diverse range of programs, including 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 the new VR Showcase.

Returning segments at this year’s SIGGRAPH Asia

This year’s edition will see the return of two programs – the Symposium on Education and the Symposium on Visualization – both of which made their SIGGRAPH Asia debuts at last year’s event.

The Symposium on Education invites people from both academia and the industry to present innovative research, methods and positions about the teaching and integration of computer graphics (CG) and interactive techniques in all areas of learning.

This year’s Symposium on Visualization explores the opportunities and challenges of cutting-edge visualization techniques which facilitates human beings’ understanding of data sets. The program aims to cover the development, technology, and demonstration of visualization techniques and their interactive applications. The Technical Papers program is a platform presenting new scholarly work in computer graphics and interactive techniques. Technical Papers are published as a special issue of ACM Transactions on Graphics.

Also returning is the Computer Animation Festival; Asia's premier computer animation festival which showcases a world-wide collection of the year's best works. The festival will comprise of screenings and panels including presentations by industry experts related to computer animation and visual effects.

The event’s exhibitors will demonstrate their newest developments in hardware and software applications. The exciting line-up of exhibitor talks and panel sessions will discuss product innovation and their new projects designed to improve technical performance. Some of the workshops, exhibitor talks and sessions taking place at SIGGRAPH Asia 2016 include:

• KanDao Technology Co Ltd - 3D VR Live Streaming Technology
• Meitu Inc - Image Beatification Technologies and More
• Khronos Graphics, Compute and Vision APIs – including Vulkan Next Generation GPU
• Acceleration
• Samsung R&D Institute China
• uSens Inc

Expect to be dazzled by three days of evolving visual technology and artistic stimulations.

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About SIGGRAPH Asia 2016

The 9th ACM SIGGRAPH Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques in Asia will take place in Macao, China at the The Venetian Macao from 5 - 8 December 2016. The annual event held in Asia attracts the most respected technical and creative people from all over the world who are excited by research, science, art, animation, gaming, interactivity, education and emerging technologies. The 4-day SIGGRAPH Asia 2016 conference will include a diverse range of juried programs this year, including an Art Gallery, Computer Animation Festival, Courses, Emerging Technologies, Posters, Technical Briefs, Technical Papers, Symposium on Mobile

Graphics and Interactive Applications, Workshops, and two returning Symposiums – Symposium on Education and Symposium on Visualization. This year’s conference, themed “Key to the Future”, features a new VR Showcase, allowing attendees to delve deep into digital worlds and experience state-of-the-art technologies. A 3-day exhibition held from 6 -8 December 2016 will offer a business platform for industry players to market their innovative products and services to the computer graphics and interactive techniques professionals and enthusiasts from Asia and beyond.

About ACM SIGGRAPH

The Association of Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques (ACM SIGGRAPH) sponsors SIGGRAPH Asia 2016. Founded in 1947, ACM is an educational and scientific society uniting the world’s computing educators, researchers, and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources, and address the field’s challenges. ACM strengthens the profession’s collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence. The ACM SIGGRAPH deals with all aspects of graphical user/computer communication and manipulation: hardware, languages, data structure, methodology, and applications

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