Distinguished Invited Speakers

Animation Factory - A Reality?
By Hock Soon Seah, School of Computer Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Abstract : With the availability of low cost powerful computer systems, fast network connection, affordable large storages and improved algorithms, we believe that traditional (2D) animation will make a comeback. Although lower cost of computer infrastructure will also benefit 3D production, more is to be gained in 2D production, which is more labor-intensive than its 3D counterpart. The 2D production pipeline is very amendable to computerization as it was designed for division of labor. The introduction of software system forces standardization which will facilitate collaborative work among a large group of people in different geographical locations.

In this talk, we outline the concept of an Animation Factory, where the art and craft of traditional animation is made accessible to and embraced by more people. A good production pipeline and an appropriate infrastructure will multiply the effort of artists to deliver high quality animation at a reasonable cost. We discuss some of the innovations that we have achieved in developing a 2D animation production framework.

Biography : Dr Hock Soon SEAH is the Dean of the School of Computer Engineering at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Concurrently, he had served as the Protem Chairman of the NTU School of Art, Design and Media from March 2003 to February 2005 to oversee the conceptualisation and development of the new art school.Seah serves in the Editorial Board of Computer & Graphics Journal published by Elsevier. Seah is the Founding President of both the ACM SIGGRAPH Singapore and the South East Asian Computer Graphics Society (SEAGRAPH). He is also the Leader of Digital Media Virtual Grid Community under the Singapore National Grid Office. His current research areas are in geometric modeling, image sequence analysis with applications to digital film effects, automatic in-between frame generation from hand-drawn sketches, augmented reality, 3D profilometry and advanced medical visualization. He has been the principal investigator of several research funds with a total amount of more than $1.4 million. Currently, he is the leader of the Computational Arts Group whose work on Interactive Free-Hand Drawing and Animation System won a Bronze Award for the most outstanding exhibit in the NTU College of Engineering Technology Week Exhibition in May 2005. He was general co-chair with Tosiyasu Kunii for the International Conference on Cyberworlds in 2003 and 2005, general co-chair with Kim Machan for the Multimedia Art Asia Pacific (MAAP) Conference on New Media Art, Technology and Education and co-programme chair with Alan Chalmers for the International Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques (GRAPHITE) in 2004. He holds a Bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering, a Masters degree in Computing Science and a PhD degree in Computer Graphics.

Entertainment and Robotics
By Ryohei Nakatsu and Naoko Tosa, Kwansei Gakuin Univeristy/Kyoto University, Japan

Abstract :Even though in recent years research and development of humanoid robots has increased, the major topics of research generally focus on how to make a robot perform specific motions such as walking. However, walking is only one of the complicated motions humans can perform. For robots to play an active role in society as our partner, they must be able to simulate precisely various kinds of human actions. Based on this consideration, we study and develop various types of robot motions such as dancing, “Tai-chi,” and “Noh.” Also by measuring our brain activities while we are interacting with these robots that can perform such actions, we want to show the importance of physical interactions between human and computer.

Biography : Ryohei Nakatsu received the B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electronic engineering from Kyoto University in 1969, 1971 and 1982 respectively. After joining NTT in 1971, he mainly worked on speech recognition technology. In 1994, he joined ATR (Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute) as the president of ATR Media Integration & Communications Research Laboratories. From the spring of 2002 he is a professor at School of Science and Technology, Kwansei Gakuin University. At the same time he established a venture company, Nirvana Technology Inc., and became a president of the company. His research interests includes nonverbal information processing, nonverbal communications, and communication robot/agent. In 1978, he received Young Engineer Award from the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers Japan (IEICE-J). In 1996, the best paper award from the IEEE International Conference on Multimedia. In 1999, 2000 and 2001, Telecom System Award from Telecommunication System Foundation and the best paper award from Virtual Reality Society of Japan. In 2000, the best paper award from Artificial Intelligence Society of Japan. He is a fellow of the IEEE and the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers Japan (IEICE-J), a member of the Acoustical Society of Japan, Information Processing Society of Japan, and Japanese Society for Artificial Intelligence.

Networked Appliances in Home Entertainment
By Madjid Merabti, Liverpool John Moores University

Abstract :Networked Appliances offer many opportunities to support the convergence of technology used in Home Entertainment. These appliances involve many challenges in connecting them reliably and seamlessly. This talk will focus on efficient architecture, secure component composition and future technology to enable their deployment aiming at home entertainment devices integration.

Biography : Madjid Merabti (www.cms.ljmu.ac.uk ; M.Merabti@ljmu.ac.uk) is Professor of Networked Systems and Director of the School of Computing & Mathematical Sciences, at Liverpool John Moores University, UK. He has over 15 years experience in conducting research and teaching in the areas of Computer Networks (fixed and wireless), Mobile Computing, and Computer Network Security. Prof. Merabti is widely published, over 100 publications, in these areas and leads the Distributed Multimedia Systems and Security Research Group, which has a number of UK Government, EU, and industry supported research projects. He is principal investigator in a number of current projects in Digital Rights Management, Games Technology, Multimedia Networking, Mobile Networks Security and Privacy Architectures and Protocols, Secure Component Composition in Ubiquitous Personal Networks, Networked Appliances, Mobile and Ad-Hoc Computing Environments, and Sensor Networks. He is Co-Editor in-Chief for the International Journal of Pervasive Computing and Communications (JPCC), Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Multimedia, Area Editor for Networked Appliances and Home Networking for IEEE Communications Magazine, and a Member of Editorial Board for the International Journal on Computer Communications. Madjid Merabti has been technical programme chair for several international conferences since 2000. Madjid Merabti is a member of the EPSRC Peer College and Coordinator of a UK EPSRC funded Network on the Convergence of Telecommunications, Networking, and Broadcasting and which involves some of the major UK Universities and Industry.

Rethinking Learning Games: Why They Must Evolve In Order To Survive 
By Scot Osterweil, MIT Education Arcade

Abstract :Play has no agenda. Children play for their own reasons, and even though their play can exhibit fierce determination, persistence, and a will to mastery, it does so only in the service of goals that children set for themselves. Play is a private entertainment space. It is distinct from school, where some learning goals may be set by the child, but where more commonly they are set externally, and where success is often met with extrinsic rewards. To succeed, we must look at where the strengths and challenges of both classrooms and games lie and situate learning games at the most productive intersection of these separate environments. We will examine these issues through concrete examples of existing best practices, and speculative designs currently under development at MIT's Education Arcade, and elsewhere.

Biography : Scot Osterweil is the project manager for the Education Arcade and currently directs "Learning Games to Go," a federally funded project designed to develop mobile games that teach math and literacy to underserved youth. Before coming to MIT, Scot was the Senior Designer at TERC, an educational R&D firm. He designed Zoombinis Island Odyssey, winner of the 2003 Bologna New Media Prize, and the latest game in the Zoombinis line of products (Riverdeep/TLC). Scot is the creator of the Zoombinis, and with Chris Hancock he co-designed the multi-award winning Logical Journey of the Zoombinis, and its first sequel, Zoombinis Mountain Rescue. Scot is the also the designer of the TERCworks games Switchback, and Yoiks!, the latter also with Chris Hancock. Scot's other software designs include work on the educational products Tabletop II, Tabletop and Tabletop Jr., and IBM's The Nature of Science. At TERC he participated in research projects on the role of computer games in learning, and on the use of video in data collection and representation. Previously, he worked in television, on the production of Public Television's Frontline, Evening at Pops, and American Playhouse, and as an animator on a wide range of programs. He is a graduate of Yale College with a degree in Theater Studies.

Game AI - Industry vs. Academia - Round 1
By Alexander Nareyek, interactive intelligence Labs (ii Labs)

Abstract :Academia and commercial game development are very different animals, and so are their goals and processes. People often talk at cross-purposes, and this leads to many misunderstandings. In this talk, I will focus on the area of game AI, and provide an overview and discussion of the different approaches and views. Participants will also gain insights about selected AI techniques and future directions. Don't expect, however, that industry and academia are equally right in their approaches - round 1 shouldn't end with a cliffhanger!

Biography : Alexander Nareyek directs the interactive intelligence Labs (ii Labs) at the National University of Singapore, where he also holds an assistant professorship. He received his diploma and Ph.D. from the TU Berlin/Germany, held positions at GMD-FIRST/Germany, Carnegie Mellon University/USA, and the Cork Constraint Computation Centre/Ireland, and served as CEO and CTO for Digital Drama Studios/Czech Republic. He is one of the leading figures in the field of game AI and serves on numerous academic and industrial committees. For the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), he is responsible for matters regarding artificial intelligence, and serves as chairperson of the IGDA's Artificial Intelligence Interface Standards Committee.

Animating human and creature characters with procedurally generated anatomical elements
By Jian J. Zhang, Bournemouth University

Abstract : Realistic animation of human and creature characters requires the skin shape deformation to be modelled in such a way that it visually matches the characteristics of the character concerned. Despite numerous research efforts, the development of skin deformation techniques able to accommodate realism, computational speed and ease of use in computer animation remains a great challenge.

Two broad skin deformation approaches exist. The first involves the direct deformation of the character’s skin, whiles the other is based on the character’s anatomy, mainly the muscles. Although the former is widely adopted by the animation industry, due to lack of reference to the underlying anatomical structure, it is very difficult to represent a wide range of possible skin deformations. On the other hand, the anatomy-based skin deformation technique enables detailed visual realism to be achieved. But unfortunately, one has to lay many individual muscles on the skeleton before the character is skinned, making it unintuitive to the animator.

In this talk, we present an anatomy-based technique that will start with an already modelled character and procedurally works out its underlying muscle structure by studying the surface geometry of the skin. The extracted muscles are then used to deform the skin in areas where there exist complex deformations. This technique therefore combines advantages of both existing approaches.

In order for the muscles to produce realistic local skin deformation during animation, muscle bulging and special movements are also studied. Whereas the former ensures volume preservation, the latter allows a muscle not only to deform along a straight path, but also to slide and bend around joints and bones, resulting in the generation of sophisticated muscle movements and deformations.

Biography : Jian J Zhang is Professor of Computer Graphics and Director of the Computer Animation Research Centre at Bournemouth University. He received his PhD from Chongqing University in 1987. Since then he has worked at various universities including Bristol University, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Chongqing University, Queens University of Belfast and Brunel University.

Jian Zhang is a member of many international programme committees and has been involved in the organisation of a number of international conferences and symposia. He is a member of both AHRC and EPSRC Peer Review Colleges.

His research focuses on various issues of 3D computer animation, including modelling, deformation, motion and physically-based graphical simulation. He is also interested in medical visualisation using computer graphical techniques. He has undertaken many research projects funded by the AHRC, EPSRC, DTI, charities, academic and industrial institutions. Jian Zhang has been giving a number of invited and keynote lectures around the world and produced over 100 peer reviewed publications.