***SIGGRAPH: The Last Round
by David Lohse

For our final story regarding SIGGRAPH (I promise!), we examine what it
revealed about the current and future trends in entertainment and
networked interaction. In doing so, we interviewed several key industry
players, including Warren Katz, COO of MaK Technologies, Louis Brill, a
consultant for the high-tech entertainment industries, and Clark
Dodsworth, co-chair of the Digital Bayou and Director of Osage
Associates.

Warren Katz

In the context of the Digital Bayou, MaK Technologies demonstrated their
DIS-Lite technology, a slimmed-down version of the DoD's DIS, optimized
for low-bandwidth networks such as the Internet by leaving out many of the
military-specific capabilities. DIS-Lite powered the Digital Bayou's Bayou
Sauvage demonstration, which, according to Mr. Katz, was the first-ever
demonstration of true networked interactive gaming for a cross-platform,
cross-vendor implementation. With MaK already developing an Internet tank-
based game (due in 3-6 months), Mr. Katz indicated that planning was
already underway for next year's SIGGRAPH. For next year's event, they are
planning a much larger scale: an estimated 30 companies are expected to
participate, as well as 100's or even 1,000's of players.

On the issue of DIS vs. VRML, he echoed the sentiments of many in the
industry: VRML is just not very good for real-time rendering. He felt that
VRML will not prove to be adequate for online vis-sim or gaming markets;
rather a streamlined technology such as DIS-Lite will be required to
support online multiplayer gaming.

Alert: MaK Technologies and their DIS networking technology will be
profiled on CNN this Saturday.

Louis Brill

Asked about the most important or influential entertainment-related
technologies on display at this year's SIGGRAPH, Mr. Brill felt that both
tactile feedback and motion capture will play an increasingly important
role in entertainment applications. Tactile feedback, which has been
around for several years but is only now going mainstream, infuses games
with force-feedback capabilities, further enhancing the realism of the
gaming experience. In particular, Mr. Brill cited a hoverball-like game in
the Digital Bayou, which employed force-feedback techniques in a networked
multiplayer game.

Motion capture, which has also been around for several years but is only
now beginning to find widespread acceptance due to increased exposure and
lower prices, was featured prominently at the show. Animators utilizing
motion capture can greatly increase the realism and ease of animation,
using either wired (typically magnetic) or wireless (typically infrared)
motion capture techniques. Around 10 companies demonstrating motion
capture systems were at SIGGRAPH this year, including leaders Acension
Technology and Polhemus, as well as Motion Analysis, Adaptive Optics
Associates, Vicon Motion Systems and several others.

Clark Dodsworth

Clark Dodsworth, co-chair the Digital Bayou, gave us his impressions on
both the Digital Bayou as well as SIGGRAPH in general. The Digital Bayou
held at least one distinction from previous years: almost every exhibit
(around 50) used video projection. Drawing on his experience in the
entertainment and amusement park industries, Mr. Dodsworth wanted optimal
presentation of the Bayou content to the attendees. Regarding the future,
his suggestion for next year's Electric Garden was to allow corporate
sponsorship; until now, this practice has been disallowed, but he feels
that if done tastefully it could infuse the exhibition with increased
funding and contributors.

Mr. Dodsworth felt that some of the most important or influential
technology demonstrated at the show were closely related, including
synthetic personalities/avatars and online worlds. Regarding avatars, the
Spirit of the Bayou demo by the NYU Media Research Lab (very possibly the
coolest thing at the whole show) featured real-time 3D expressive avatars
imbued with artificial intelligence in a fantasy setting, and the Virtual
Kabuki System by ATR of Japan featured avatars with multimodal (facial,
gestural and positional) expression. This is the area in which he feels
the current state of avatars is seriously lacking: although calling them
avatars, current virtual representations are often just repositional
objects, while a genuinely useful avatar must be able to express some
emotion, acts and expressions of the user.

Regarding 3D online environments, the Digital Bayou contributors included
an extraordinary total of 23 different virtual worlds, done for a range of
applications goals. Many were done in VRML 2.0, by companies like Sony,
Intel, SGI, and OnLive!, and others were developed using military real-
time environment tools, including Bayou Sauvage and the Virtual Lego(tm)
_in-world_ worldbuilding application by MultiGen. Brian Blau, co-producer
of Digital Bayou, and Mr. Dodsworth see significant interest and momentum
building in Hollywood for online versions of theme parks and other
licensed properties.

Mr. Dodsworth is currently finishing a book, "Digital Illusion" on the
tools, techniques, and future of interactive entertainment for Addison-
Wesley, due in 4Q96. Each chapter is written by a top practitioner in
their field, including Turner Whitted's on "Personal Image Generators,"
and it should prove to be a useful reference and overview of this many-
faceted industry.



Wave Issue 9608 9/13/96 Article 4-01