SIGGRAPH 2008 New Tech Demos (formerly Emerging Technologies) present creative, innovative technologies and applications in many fields including displays, robotics, input devices, and interaction techniques. These New Tech Demos will be unveiled this August during SIGGRAPH 2008 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

To broaden the scope and increase the quality of the attendees' interactive experiences at SIGGRAPH, a combination of curated demonstrations and juried interactive installations will be presented. Only the most innovative 35 of the more than 180 juried submissions were selected and will be on display and available for interaction with attendees. There will be an additional nine curated pieces.

"Many of these cutting-edge technologies exemplify how our past informs our future and how it affects the upcoming opportunities and challenges of computer graphics and interactive techniques," said MK Haley, SIGGRAPH 2008 Conference Director of Encounters with Disney-ABC Digital Media. "The technologies and installations in New Tech Demos encourage people to engage with the future, as well as celebrate our past, as we invigorate, explore, and define our potential."

Following are highlights of this popular venue:

Rome Reborn

Contributors:

Bernard Frischer, Dean Abernathy, University of Virginia; Gabriele Guidi, Politecnico di Milano; Joel Meyers, Past Perfect Productions; Cassie Thibodeau, Antonio Salvemini, mental images; Pascal Müller, Procedural; Cole Krumbholz, MITRE Corporation

The largest virtual historical reconstruction, cultural heritage, and digital archeology project undertaken to date. Approximately 7,000 reborn buildings recapture Rome at the peak of its glory, in 320 A.D., at the time of Constantine the Great.

Rome Reborn revolutionizes the way we explore, discover, research, and publish in archeology. It offers new approaches for exhibiting historical findings in museums. It opens new channels for collaboration within a community of research scientists, and for the public at large. And it could transform the way history is taught in our schools.

MDS (Mobile-Dexterous-Social) Robot for Human-Robot Teamwork

Contributors:

Cynthia Breazeal, Mikey Siegel, Matt Berlin, Jesse Gray, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Rod Grupen, Patrick Deegan, University of Massachusetts Amherst; John McBean, Kailas Nerendran, Xitome Design; Jeff Weber, Meka Robotics

Featuring an amazingly life-like humanoid robot with a novel combination of mobility, dexterity, human-centric communication, and interaction abilities.

In the near future, personal robots will assist people as capable partners in tasks that require cognitive, physical, and social competence. By integrating mobile manipulation with human-centric interaction abilities, this project aims to develop partner robots that enhance health, education, and home environments.

Copycat Arm

Contributors:

Kiyoshi Hoshino and Tomida Motomasa, University of Tsukuba

Copycat Arm is a robot system that imitates the human motions without time delay, by visually estimating the human hand and arm postures at high accuracy with a processing time of 100 fps or more.

A robot communicating with sign language can be developed by teaching it different motions and their meanings. An information input device in which the contents on the screen change depending on the motions of the user's hand can be realized, eliminating the use of a mouse and a keyboard. For inputting three-dimensional models such as clay art, the user has to move his/her hand or arm in the desired manner and form a particular shape. Further, the virtual objects in computer games can be operated using different hand and finger motions such as kneading, twisting, or crushing.

Matsumoto-jo: A Virtual 16th Century Japanese Castle

Contributor:

Jonathan Amakawa, Studio Amakawa