A few weeks ago, I had the chance to attend the SIGGRAPH CG animation and technology expo in Los Angeles. After hitting the floor and talking with a bunch of vendors, I’ve come up with a list of some of favorites. Here are a few cool releases and developments I would love to keep an eye on:
• Atom View by Nurulize: This is point-based display system for VR and Unreal Engine. Instead of making polys, why not use the raw point data from scans, deep renders, or any other source that creates points? This delivers faster throughput with higher fidelity.
• HP’s VR Backpack: The pro version of the backpack HP released earlier in the summer is one of their higher-end ZBooks, squished into a pack that can be docked for dev work. You can then slap it on your back with your VR headset of choice, a couple of batteries, and you will be walking around the world you have just created.
• Cinema4D R19: The new release offers lots of new render power including AMD ProRender support for fast GPU intense PBRs. I was particularly blown away by the dynamic boolean with edgeloop support.
• Total Appearance Capture Ecosystem: X-Rite Pantone’s scanner and presentation system for acquiring and utilizing surfaces and materials works with new AxF file format to maintain the appearance of the original material. It is supported by Allegorithmic Designer/Painter.
• Meet Mike: FXGuide‘s Mike Seymour went digital on the floor with a virtual representation of himself being driven by realtime facial capture and a slew of GPUs
• Sonnet’s eGPU Chassis for Laptops: The eGFX Breakaway Box is an extension of your Thunderbolt equipped laptop that allows you to bolster your display with workstation-sized graphics cards…like maybe an NVidia P6000
• Technical White Papers: Every year you should go through the technical papers. There are usually video presentations. But if you want to see what is going to be the next big thing in the next two year, here is where it lives.
• VoCo: Adobe’s Voice Replacement technology was shown earlier this year, but it amazes and terrifies me every time I see it.
• Tiny the Giraffe: Yes, a real three-year-old giraffe was part of the SIGGRAPH expo this year to help with a discussion about drawing and observing animals. Necessary? No, but it was so cool to see. (Animal activists were not thrilled and sent a Change.org petition—with 1,579 supporters to date—to the organizers.)
