ACM Siggraph 2008

SIGGRAPH (Special Interest Group on Graphics and Interactive Techniques) is the convention for all interactive device, 3D graphics, and related companies. Held this year in beautiful weather Los Angeles. SIGGRAPH is an interesting time, full of company announcements, product releases, workshops, tech discussions/classes, and more. For five days, people from all around the globe come together to geek out on a feast of graphics and tech. Tech panels, white papers, and workshops on all kinds of topics keep all the hallways busy as mainly entertainment focused booths dominate the expo floor. All the major Hollywood players are here, Disney, ILM, Dreamworks, and Pixar to name a few. Intel, ATI, and other hardware companies show off tech that could make any pc command center seem from 2050. Combine this with over a hundred other companies, universities, organizations, thousands of people, and what an event you get.

This year had to be the strongest presence of web3d so far at the show. The Web3d Consortium had a great looking booth of X3D technology from members Octaga, Bitmanagement, Yumetech, and the Fraunhofer Institute. Flyers of Vivaty's content contest went fast along with X3D SDKs. Always packed the days I was there, it showcased web3d that included: InstantMini- a X3D browser for the IPhone (super cool), X3D Earth - a virtual mirror of the real world (videos), medical visualization- Dr. Aratow took me for a tour inside his scanned 3D torso/head/brain, and other applications in both virtual and augmented realities. More than I said, "Here is where the real Metaverse is starting." Below is a video from Pixel Networks interviewing Web3D Consortium President Alan Hudson at the event.



The Wednesday afternoon Web3d Tech Talk was standing room only the entire time with presentations that spanned from social networking, GIS simulation, creation tools, and more (stay tuned for video/podcast). Examples of virtual heritage and 3D body scans in X3D could be found in other parts of the trade show floor.

I recommend anyone check out SIGGRAPH. A fun event full of information. I got to say hello to old friends, make new ones, and learn lots.

Enjoy a video I made (amateur producer, be forgiving) to share with you some of this cool event.

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