Augmented Reality/Frankencamera Highlight 6Sight Conference

Augmented Reality/Frankencamera Highlight 6Sight Conference

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The 6Sight Future of Imaging Conference will feature two leading imaging technology researchers as the 2010 keynote speakers.

The November 15-17 conference at The Sainte Claire hotel in San Jose, Calif., will focus on some of the most important and innovative topics in photo imaging, including augmented reality, computational photography, connected cameras, 3D cameras and displays, digital video, advanced output, and smarter camera phones.

Augmented reality (AR) merges image capture, display, computation, and connectivity to overlay information and graphics on top of our real-time view of the world around us. This innovative development leads off day one of the conference, with a keynote presentation from Blair MacIntyre, director of the Augmented Environments Lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He has conducted AR research for 17 years, developing AR potential as a new medium for games, entertainment, education, and work. MacIntyre will discuss how augmented reality will affect photo imaging in the near future and his work with Qualcomm, which recently joined with Georgia Tech to establish the Qualcomm Augmented Reality Game Studio. The research and design center is aimed at pioneering new advancements in mobile gaming and interactive media.

“I believe augmented reality will be a key technology driving the next generation of mobile phones, and I am excited 6Sight has chosen to make it a focus area for the conference this year,” says MacIntyre. “In the space of a few years, thanks to the increasing power of high-end camera phones, AR has moved from a topic of study in research labs to an exciting new way for millions of people to interact with smart-phone data out in the physical world. For the past decade, my colleagues and students in the Augmented Environments Lab at Georgia Tech have been creating tools and working with artists and designers to explore AR as a new medium. We’re excited to be able to apply what we’ve learned to creating and studying rich, interactive experiences on widely available mobile phones.”

Day two will focus on the future of digital cameras, with a keynote presentation by Marc Levoy, professor of computer science and electrical engineering at Stanford University. Levoy’s work focuses on computational photography, the use of advanced algorithms and processing to take imaging far beyond the mere replacement of film with digital sensors we’ve seen so far in camera design. Levoy has worked on computer animation; displaying three-dimensional functions, such as computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance (MR) data; and 3D laser scanning. Levoy also co-designed the Google book scanner and helped launch the Google Street View project. Levoy will demonstrate his current project, the “Frankencamera” – a fully programmable camera that embodies the ideal of capture devices that are open and can be customized, expanded, and upgraded.

“We (the Frankencamera research team) think you should be able to program your camera,” says Levoy regarding his keynote address at 6Sight. “We think there should be plug-ins for cameras and app stores that sell these plug-ins. We’d like to democratize cameras the way the Maker Faire is democratizing crafts. so anyone can play.”

Check out 6Sight to find out more.

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