TOKYO, Japan, 13 December 2018 – SIGGRAPH Asia 2018 concluded on a record high note in Tokyo, Japan. The 11th edition of the conference drew close to 10,000 attendees worldwide including computer graphics professionals, researchers, enthusiasts and trade visitors from 59 countries and regions. This makes this the largest and most successful SIGGRAPH Asia edition in the history of the event.
“SIGGRAPH Asia is a story of a diverse group of individuals coming together to celebrate the intersection of science, technology, art and entertainment. The variety of expertise under one roof allows for the cross pollination of ideas which is what makes it a great place for collaboration, disruption and innovation. We knew from the onset that SIGGRAPH Asia in Tokyo was going to a great destination and the end-result has proven that it was indeed an excellent choice. Tokyo’s achievement has been the cumulation of over two years of dedication from the conference and local SIGGRAPH Asia committees. SIGGRAPH Asia 2018 has set a new benchmark and we will strive to make the event even more impactful in the coming years.” said Prakash Ramajillu, Division Director – (Technology, Digital Media, Entertainment & Mobility) Koelnmesse Pte Ltd & Chief Staff Executive for SIGGRAPH Asia.
Around 750 speakers presented at the conference, discussing the latest industry developments and future of the computer graphics and interactive techniques industry. The exciting line-up featured distinguished keynote speakers such as David Oh, Senior Systems Engineer at NASA JPL who shared about NASA’s recent Mars exploration and their latest mission, Psyche – The first metal asteroid that humankind will visit; Erik Demaine, Professor in Computer Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who spoke about computational origami and how he uses math to create artistic sculptures; and Kaname Hayashi, Founder and CEO of GROOVE X (A member of Pepper Project in Softbank) who gave the final keynote on a “New Generation Household Robot’s” and his LOVOT concept (Love x Robot) exploring the relationship between human beings and robots.
Production and visual effects teams from Pixar Animation Studios, Weta Digital Ltd and ILM Singapore took to the stage to showcase their crossover work; from creating realistic virtual humans, to unforgettable characters in films such as Lord of the Rings and the Avengers franchise, to developing a backstory for Star Wars’ most iconic character, Han Solo.
The largest exhibition in SIGGRAPH Asia’s history featured 93 exhibitors from over 14 countries showcasing the latest hardware, software, technologies and innovations from around the world. Key exhibitors and brands included: ASTRODESIGN, Inc., AWS Thinkbox, BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc., BinaryVR, Inc., CLO Virtual Fashion Inc, CyberAgent, Inc., Dell Japan Inc., Digital Hollywood University, Dwango Media Village, EEZ Production Studios Co., Ltd., FORUM8 Co., Ltd., HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES JAPAN K.K., IMAGICA GROUP, InstaLOD GmbH, NOITOM, teamLab, Too Corporation, Tsinghua University-Tencent Joint Laboratory, Unity Technologies Japan G.K., VFX-Japan Association, Visual Computing Center at KAUST, Xsens Technologies B.V., YGGDRAZIL Group Co., Ltd, Zero C Seven, Inc. and more. Award-winners at SIGGRAPH Asia SIGGRAPH Asia featured an awards component for the Computer Animation Festival, Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR) and the Emerging Technologies programs.
The winners for the Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR) are:
• Best VR/AR Technology Voted by Committee: FiveStar VR: Shareable Travel Experience Through Multisensory Stimulation to The Whole Body by Kouichi Shimizu, Gaku Sueta, Kentaro Yamaoka, Kazuki Sawamura, Yujin Suzuki, Keisuke Yoshida, Vibol Yem, Yasushi Ikei, Tomohiro Amemiya, Makoto Sato, Koichi Hirota, Michiteru Kitazaki
• Best VR/AR Content Voted by Committee: Rapture of the Deep VR by Monja Dietrich, Vincent Suttner, Theres Buehler Second and third places of each of the above award categories can be found in Annex A. Under Emerging Technologies, the winning teams are:
• Best Demo Voted by Attendees Hap-Link: Wearable Haptic Device on the Forearm that Presents Haptics Sensations Corresponding to the Fingers by Taha Moriyama, The University of ElectroCommunications, Japan
• Best Demo Voted by Committee Relaxushion: Controlling the Rhythm of Breathing for Relaxation by Overwriting Somatic Sensation, by Yuki Ban, The University of Tokyo, Japan
The Computer Animation Festival honored the top talent in animation including:
• Best in Show: L'oiseau qui danse (France), directed and produced by Jean-Marie Marbach
• Jury Special Award: Vermin (Luxembourg), directed by Jérémie Becquer, Miyu Distribution and produced by Michelle Ann Nardone, Miyu Distribution, Denmark
• Best Student Film: Reverie (Mexico), directed by Philip Louis Piaget Rodriguez, Miyu Distribution and produced by Michelle Ann Nardone, Miyu Distribution, Denmark
Click here for the press release on the announcement of the Computer Animation Festival Award Winners.
SIGGRAPH Asia 2019 Next year’s edition, SIGGRAPH Asia 2019 will be held at Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC), Brisbane, Australia from 17 – 20 November 2019.
“Next year’s edition of SIGGRAPH Asia 2019 (SA2019) will be held for the very first time in Australia, in the beautiful subtropical city of Brisbane, which is referred to as Brissy by the locals,” said Tomasz Bednarz, SIGGRAPH Asia 2019 Conference Chair. “The leading theme of the conference is a DREAM ZONE!, therefore you can expect lots of magical experiences that expand perception and interaction through the creative use of computer graphics and interactive techniques, delivered in completely new innovative ways.
SIGGRAPH Asia 2019 will include the Studio Program from the North American editions. We will also debut a Demoscene Program, which is inspired by limitation-driven creative, real-time computer graphics underground hackcode-art communities. Mark your calendars for SIGGRAPHG Asia 2019! Join the conference and take the opportunity to explore beautiful Queensland.” Visit the website for more details: http://sa2019.siggraph.org.
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Japanese - SIGGRAPH Asia 2018、過去最大の参加者を集め、歴史的なコンピュータ・グラフィックスと インタラクティブ技術の「クロスオーバー」を実現
Official photos can be downloaded from here.
Please credit all photos to SIGGRAPH Asia 2018.
Notes to editors:
For the event pictures taken at SIGGRAPH Asia 2018, please visit: http://bit.ly/sa2018presskit. All photos should be credited to SIGGRAPH Asia 2018.
About SIGGRAPH Asia 2018
The 11th ACM SIGGRAPH Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques in Asia (SIGGRAPH Asia 2018) took place in Tokyo, Japan at the Tokyo International Forum from 4 – 7 December 2018. The event attracted the most respected technical and creative people from all over the world excited by research, science, art, animation, gaming, interactivity, education and emerging technologies. The four-day conference included a diverse range of juried programs, such as the Art Gallery, Computer Animation Festival, Courses, Emerging Technologies, Posters, Technical Briefs, Technical Papers and Virtual & Augmented Reality.
The exhibition held from 5 – 7 December 2018 also offered a business platform for industry players to market and showcase their innovative products and services to the computer graphics and interactive techniques professionals and enthusiasts from Asia and beyond.
For more information, please visit http://sa2018.siggraph.org.
Find us on: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube with the official event hashtag, #SIGGRAPHAsia.
About ACM SIGGRAPH
The ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques is an interdisciplinary community interested in research, technology, and applications in computer graphics and interactive techniques. Members include researchers, developers, and users from the technical, academic, business, and art communities.
ACM SIGGRAPH enriches the computer graphics and interactive techniques community year-round through its conferences, global network of professional and student chapters, publications, and educational activities.
For more information, please visit www.siggraph.org.
About Koelnmesse
Koelnmesse Pte Ltd is one of the world's largest trade fair companies. Its more than 80 trade fairs and exhibitions have the broadest international scope in the industry, as 60 percent of the exhibitors and 40 percent of the visitors come from outside Germany. The Koelnmesse events include leading global trade fairs for 25 sectors, such as Imm Cologne, Anuga, IDS, INTERMOT, Interzum Cologne, Photokina, Gamescom, and the International Hardware Fair Cologne. Koelnmesse is ACM SIGGRAPH’s event organizer for the last 10 editions of SIGGRAPH Asia. For more information, please visit www.koelnmesse.com.sg.
Media Contacts
Hitoshi Kasai
Head of Communications, SIGGRAPH Asia 2018
MIACIS Associates
hitoshi.kasai@siggraph.org
Jamie Huang
Marketing & Media Partnerships, SIGGRAPH Asia 2018
Koelnmesse Pte Ltd
jamie.huang@siggraph.org
Annex A - VR/AR Award Winners (Second and Third Places)
• Best VR/AR Technology Voted by Committee
2nd Place: MR360 Interactive: Playing With Digital Creatures In 360° Videos Author(s): Taehyun Rhee, Andrew Chalmers, Ian Loh, Kazuki Kumagai, Lohit Petikam, Ben Allen, Ken Anjyo Organization, Country: Victoria University of Wellington, OLM Digital, Inc, New Zealand, Japan
3rd Place: Lotus: Enhancing The Immersive Experience In Virtual Environment With Mist-Based Olfactory Display Author(s): Yang-Sheng Chen, Ping-Hsuan Han, Kong-Chang Lee, Chiao-En Hsieh, Jui-Chun Hsiao, Che-Ju Hsu, KuanWen Chen, Chien-Hsing Chou, Yi-Ping Hung Organization, Country: National Taiwan University, National Taipei University of Technology, National Chiao Tung University , Tamkang University, Tainan National University of the art, Taiwan
3rd Place: Space Fusion: Context-Aware Interaction Using 3D Scene Parsing Author(s): Hiroyuki Yabe, Daichi Ono, Tsutomu Horikawa Organization, Country: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc., Japan
• Best VR/AR Content Voted by Committee
2nd Place: The player is the star - Futuristic vision for Mixed Reality World of Author(s): Hirofumi Motoyama Organization, Country: Bandai Namco Studios. Inc, Japan
3rd Place: Art Plunge: Experiencing the Inner Worlds of Famous Artworks Authors(s): Martin Eklund, Space Plunge, VRcollab, Singapore; Martin Christensen, Space Plunge, Independent, Sweden
3rd Place: Flow Zone: A Cross-Modal Music Creation VR Experience to Induce Flow Authors(s): Tanner L. Person, Keio University Graduate School of Media Design, Japan; Benjamin Outram, Keio University Graduate School of Media Design, United Kingdom; Kouta Minamizawa, Keio University Graduate School of Media Design, Japan