From: Laurent.Moccozet@cui.unige.ch (Laurent Moccozet) Subject: CONF: VSMM'97 (10-12 Sept., Geneva) Virtual Systems and MultiMedia'97 Date: Mon, 01 Sep 1997 11:47:24 +0000 (GMT) Organization: University of Geneva Virtual Systems and MultiMedia'97 VSMM'97 http://miralabwww.unige.ch/~vsmm97/ vsmm97@cui.unige.ch PALEXPO, ROOM G, Geneva, 10-12 September 1997. VSMM'97 MEETS TELECOM Interactive'97 at PALEXPO in GENEVA, A WEEK FULL OF VR, COMPUTER ANIMATION and MULTIMEDIA EVENTS. VSMM 1997 is the third annual conference of the Society of Virtual Systems and Multimedia (VSMM), founded in 1995 in Japan by Professor Ojika. VSMM will take place in the PALEXPO exhibition complex in Geneva, Switzerland and is organized by the University of Geneva (MIRALab-CUI). The conference will be part of TELECOM Interactive 1997, together with a number of other events focusing on interactive media and telecommunications. Unique aspects of VSMM 1997: 1- Participants will sample the other events featured at TELECOM Interactive, such as the exhibition, lectures for more general audiences, interactive demonstrations and displays, and the 1997 Computer Animation Film Festival . 2- Two exhibitions featuring virtual humans will take place: - CYBERDANCE, a virtual choreography mixing real and virtual dancers. - ANYONE FOR TENNIS, a virtual tennis play over the net involving avatars of real players located at remote sites. 3- The presentations at VSMM will be through panels and discussions only. Researchers will discuss the significance of their research results with the others at the same session, instead of having the full contents of each paper read out one after another. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Registration Information Online registration form at http://gold.itu.int/TELECOM/int97/forum.97.registration.html (Select the VSMM 97 event and follow the instructions) Registration fees for VSMM'97 : 300 Swiss Fr. Registration form can also be requested by fax from Mr. Jean Claude Dufour - +41 22 730 59 26 Hotel accomodation: Carslon Wagonlit Travel (Official Accomodation Agency for TELECOM Inter@ctive'97) 29 Rue de Pre-Bois Case Postale 427 CH-1215 Geneva 15 Tel: +41 22 788 7766 Fax: +41 22 7887787 email: cwtcong@worldcom.ch Conference Language: English ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- PROGRAM * WEDNESDAY 10 September 1997 o VSMM opening session o Session I: invited Lecture o Papers Panel I: Telerobotics and VR devices o Session II: invited lecture o Papers Panel II: Collaborative Virtual Environments o VSMM welcome cocktail * THURSDAY, 11 September 1997 o Session III Invited lecture o Papers Panel III: Distributed Multimedia o Papers Panel IV: Virtual Heritage o Papers Panel V: VR and Virtual Humans o Papers Panel VI: Image/Video processing for Multimedia o VSMM visit of the Bodmerian library * FRIDAY, 12 September 1997 o Session IV: Invited Lecture o Papers Panel VII: VR Systems and Applications o Papers Panel VIII: Modeling and Rendering for Virtual Environments o Panel IX: Research in VR and MultiMedia o Closing Session * OTHER EVENTS LINKED TO VSMM'97 o SATURDAY, 13 September 1997 + Art and Creation of Virtual Worlds + Social Impact of Cyberculture o SUNDAY, 14 September 1997 + Computer Animation@TELECOM (Interactive TELECOM closing session) + Anyone for tennis ? + Computer Animation Film Festival (first part) + Cyberdances + Computer Animation Film Festival (second part) + Computer Animation'97 film festival awards ceremony ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WEDNESDAY 10 SEPT. 10:30 - 11:00 VSMM opening session Session chair : Prem Kalra, University of Geneva, Switzerland. Welcome address by Nadia Magnenat Thalmann, University of Geneva, Switzerland, VSMM'97 general chair & program co-chair. Tsuneo Morimoto, Vice-governor of Gifu prefecture, Japan. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11:00 - 11:30 BREAK ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11:30 - 12:15 Session I: invited Lecture Session chair: Prof. John Sutherland, Abertay University Dundee, Scotland Prof. Michitaka Hirose, University of Tokyo, Japan. "CABIN - Multiscreen Display for Computer Experiment" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12:15 - 13:00 Papers Panel I: Telerobotics and VR devices Papers Panel Chair: Prof. Michikata Hirose, University of Tokyo, Japan. Panelists: * Tsutomu Miyasato, ATR, Kyoto, Japan. * Olivier Michel, Swiss Federal Insitute of Technology, Lausanne, Switzerland. Papers List: * "Allowable Delay Between Images and Tactile Information in a Haptic Interface" T. Miyasato, R. Nakatsu * "Khep On The Web": An Experimental Demonstrator in Telerobotics and Virtual Reality" O. Michel, P. Saucy, F. Mondada ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13:00 - 14:00 LUNCH ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14:00 - 14:45 Session II: invited lecture Session chair: Prof. Nadia Magnenat Thalmann, University of Geneva, Switzerland Prof. Jose L. Encarnacao, Fraunhofer-Institut, Darmstad, Germany. "TRADE: A Transatlantic Research and Development Environment" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14:45 - 16:00 Papers Panel II: Collaborative Virtual Environments Papers Panel chair: Prof. Jose L. Encarnacao, Fraunhofer-Institut, Darmstadt, Germany. Panelists: * Akihiro Katayama, Mixed Reality Systems Laboratory Inc., Japan. * Igor S. Pandzic, University of Geneva, Switzerland. * Samuli Pekkola, The University of Jyvaskyla, Finland. * Shinkuro Honda, Keio University, Yokohama, Japan. Papers List: * "Collaborative CyberMirage : A Shared Cyberspace with Mixed Reality" S. Uchiyama, A. Katayama, A. Kumagai, H. Tamura, T. Naemura, M. Kaneko, H. Harashima * "MPEG-4 for Networked Collaborative Virtual Environments" I. Pandzic, T. Capin, N. Magnenat Thalmann, D. Thalmann * "Collaborative Virtual Environments, Real-Time Video and Networking" S. Pekkola, M. Robinson * "A Virtual Office Environment for Home Office Worker Based on 3D Virtual Space" S. Honda, H. Tomioka, T. Kimura, T. Ohsawa, K. Okada, Y. Matsushita ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16:00 departure of the VSMM bus to the welcome cocktail 17:30 - 19:00 VSMM welcome cocktail at Palais Eynard, Geneva ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- THURSDAY, 11 September 1997 9:30 - 10-:15 Session III Invited lecture Session chair: Dr. S. P. Mudur, National Centre for Software Technology, India. Prof. Hermann Maurer, University of Graz, Austria. "What we want from WWW as distributed multimedia system" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10:15 - 11:15 Papers Panel III: Distributed Multimedia Papers Panel Chair: Hermann Maurer, University of Graz, Austria. Panelists: * Jens Deponte, University of Dortmund, Germany. * Jurgen Vaupel, University of Marburg, Germany. * Christoph Hornung, Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics, Darmstadt, Germany. Papers List: * "Design and Implementation of a System for Multimedia Distributed Teaching and Scientific Conferences" J. Deponte, H. Mueller, G. Pietrek, S. Schlosser, G. Stoltefuss * "The Modular Training System (MTS) A System Architecture for Internet-Based Learning and Training" T. Wang, C. Hornung * "Multimedia Education, Distance Learning and Electronic Commerce Applications" J. Vaupel, M. Sommer ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11:15 - 11:45 BREAK ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11:45 - 12:30 Papers Panel IV: Virtual Heritage Papers Panel Chair: Prof. Nadia Magnenat Thalmann, University of Geneva, Switzerland Panelists: * John N. Sutherland, University of Abertay Dundee, Scotland. * Jonathan Kelly, Virtech Software Ltd, UK. Papers List: * "Towards Greater Reality in Virtual Heritage - Modelling the Frigate HMS Unicorn" J.N. Sutherland, T. Ojika * "Using Multiple Data Sources within VR at Urquhart Castle" J. Kelly, A. Bishop ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12:30 - 14:00 LUNCH ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14:00 - 15:15 Papers Panel V: VR and Virtual Humans Papers Panel Chair: Prof. Daniel Thalmann, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne, Switzerland. Panelists: * Jens Piesk, Academy of Media Arts Cologne, Germany. * Pascal Volino, University of Geneva, Switzerland. * Laurent Moccozet, University of Geneva, Switzerland. * Bernard Achermann, University of Bern, Switzerland. * Markus Kohler, University of Dortmund, Germany. Papers List: * "Animated Interactive Fiction : Storytelling by a Conversational Virtual Actor" J. Piesk, G. Trogemann * "Developing Simulation Techniques for an Interactive Clothing System" P. Volino, N. Magnenat Thalmann * "Multilevel Deformation Model Applied to Hand Simulation for Virtual Actors" L. Moccozet, N. Magnenat Thalmann * "Face Recognition Using Range Images" B. Achermann, X. Jiang, H. Bunke * "System Architecture and Techniques for Gesture Recognition in Unconstraint Environments" M. Kohler ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15:15 - 15:45 BREAK ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15:45 - 16:45 Papers Panel VI: Image/Video processing for Multimedia Papers Panel Chair: Dr. Pascal Fua, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne, Switzerland Panelists: * Seiki Inoue, ATR, Kyoto, Japan. * Raymond K.W. Chan, Chinese University of Hong Kong. * Francisco Garcia-Ugalde, University of Washington, USA. * Shinji Tsuruoka, Mie University, Japan. Papers List: * "An Image Expression Room" S. Inoue, M. Ishikawa, S. Tanaka, J.-I. Park * "3D-DCT Quantization as a Compression Technique for Video Sequences" R.K.W. Chan, M.C. Lee * "Segmentation of Moving Human Body Parts by a Modified MAP-MRF Algorithm" F. Garcia-Ugalde, J. Savage-Carmona, T.A. Furness III, D. Gatica-Perez, V. Garcia-Garduno * "Extraction of Hand Region and Specification of Finger Tips from Color Image Tsuruoka Shinji, Kinoshita Akio, Miyake Yasuji, Ishida Muneaki ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16:45: departure of the VSMM bus to the Bodmeriana Library, Cologny. The Bodmeriana Library is one of the world's richest and most originally devised private collections on literature as history of the human mind. Many rare manuscripts and first editions can be viewed. 17:30 - 18:30 VSMM visit of the Bodmerian library 18:30 - 20:00 VSMM conference buffet 20:00 VSMM bus back to the major hotels near the airport/PALEXPO. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- FRIDAY, 12 September 1997 9:30 - 10:45 Session IV: Invited Lecture Session chair: Dr. Ronan Boulic, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne. Dr. Larry Rosenblum, Naval Research Laboratory, USA. "VR Systems: Out from the Laboratory" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10:45 - 11:15 BREAK ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11:15 - 12:30 Papers Panel VII: VR Systems and Applications Papers Panel Chair: Dr. L. Rosenblum, Naval Research Laboratory, USA. Panelists: * Nicholas J. Pioch, BBN Corporation, Cambridge, USA. * Kazuyoshi Korida, Oita Prefectural College of Arts and Culture. * Jari Vaario, Nara Women's University, Kobe, Japan. * Hiroshi Oyama, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan. * Francis Pelletier, Public Works & Government Services Canada, Hull, Canada. Papers List: * "A Virtual Environment for Learning to Pilot Remotely Operated Vehicles" N.J. Pioch, B. Roberts, D. Zeltzer * "An Interactive 3D Interface for A Virtual Ceramic Art Work Environment" K. Korida, H. Nishino, K. Utsumiya * "Factory Animation by Self-Organization Principles" J. Vaario, N. Fujii, D. Scheffter, M. Mezger, K. Ueda * "Evaluation of a Virtual Reality System for Medicine" H. Oyama, F. Wakao * "The Virtual and Real Environments : Symbiosis" F. Pelletier, P. Boulanger, G. Godin ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12:30 - 14:00 LUNCH ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14:00 - 15:00 Papers Panel VIII: Modeling and Rendering for Virtual Environments Papers Panel Chair: Dr. Laurent Moccozet, University of Geneva, Switzerland. Panelists: * Pierre Boulanger, National Research Council, Ottawa, Canada. * Takeshi Naemura, The University of Tokyo, Japan. * Christian Schuetz, University of Neuchatel, Switzerland. * Deepraj S. Dixit, National Centre for Software Technology, India. Papers List: * "Sensor Based Creation of Indoor Virtual Environment Models" S.F. El-Hakim, P. Boulanger, F. Blais, J.-A. Beraldin * "Ray-Based Creation of Photo-Realistic Virtual World" T. Naemura, T. Takano, M. Kaneko, H. Harashima * "Free-form 3D Object Reconstruction from Range Images" C. Schuetz, T. Jost, H. Huegli * "A Distributed Task Delegation Framework for Walkthrough Computations" S.P. Mudur, D.S. Dixit, S.H. Shanbhag ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15:00 - 15:30 BREAK ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15:30 - 16:30 Panel IX: Research in VR and MultiMedia Panel Chair: Prof. Nadia Magnenat Thalmann, University of Geneva, Switzerland Panelists: * Hermann Maurer, University of Graz, Austria * Jose L. Encarnacao, Fraunhofer-Institut fuer Graphische, Germany * S. P. Mudur, National Center for Software Technology, India * Michikita Hirose, University of Tokyo, Japan * Larry Rosenblum, Naval Research Laboratory, USA ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16:30 - 17:00 Closing Session * Closing address Nadia Magnenat Thalmann, University of Geneva, Switzerland. * VSMM98 presentation Takeo Ojika, University of Gifu, Japan. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OTHER EVENTS LINKED TO VSMM'97 To attend these events registration to the Internet@TELECOM97 event from the TELECOM Interactive'97 is required. Registration fees are 200 Swiss Fr. During all the TELECOM Inter@ctive '97 events, the Computer Animation Films Festival will be screened. People will be able to vote for their favorite film for the Public Award sponsored by ITU. SATURDAY, 13 September 1997 Roundtable sessions organized by the Maison Saint-Gervais, Geneva and MIRALab, University of Geneva. 14:00 - 15:30 Art and Creation of Virtual Worlds PALEXPO, ROOM D Chairs: Andre Iten, Maison Saint Gervais, geneva, Switzerland and Nadia Magnenat Thalmann, MIRALab, University of Geneva, Switzerland. Once we have the computer tools to design or animate any object or figure, we need to spend time on choregraphy and design. First fo all, we need creativity as it is not necessary to be able to draw or have any natural skills in drawing. Working with a computer needs first to be able to see in 3D and have a sense of choregraphy, light and camera positions. Also we need to know very well which are the best capabilities of the computer system we are using in order to take the best advantage of it. Designers, architects of virtual worlds will present their last experience at work. Panelists * Laurence Suhner, MIRALAB, University of Geneva * Nabil Sidi-Yacoub, MIRALab, University of Geneva * Jean-Claude Moussaly, MIRAlab, University of Geneva * Sebastien Milano, Choregraph, Geneva * and others ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15:30 - 16:00 BREAK ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16:00 - 17:30 Social Impact of Cyberculture PALEXPO, ROOM D What is the impact of cyberculture on our daily life ? Will it improve our knowledge, our development, our way to interact to each other ? What are the drawback ? Are we going to enjoy more the cyberworld than the real world ? Will virtual humans do our jobs ? Are we going to have a lot of free time to do finally what we like to do ? All these issues will be discussed and addressed to the public audience. Panelists * Barbara Kopp, Weltwoche * Jean-Jacques Daetwyler, 24 Heures and Tagesanzeiger * Turhan Boysan, Journal de Geneve and Campus * Pierre Skrebers, Service des spectacles et concerts, Ville de Geneve * Jean-Pierre Zahno, Sony Suisse, Geneva * Eric Bachmann, Telecom PTT, Geneva * Chantal Savioz, La tribune de Geneve * Bob Bishop, Silicon Graphics * and others ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SUNDAY, 14 September 1997 Computer Animation@TELECOM at the CLOSING SESSION FOR TELECOM Interactive '97 14:00 - 14:30 Anyone for tennis ? A VR performance featuring two clones of (hopefully) world famous tennis players interacting in real-time over an ATM network, between EPF Lausanne and PALEXPO. Directed by Prof. N. Magnenat Thalmann and D. Thalmann from MIRALab, University of Geneva and Computer Graphics Lab, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14:30 - 15:00 Computer Animation Film Festival (first part) Organized by MIRALab, University of Geneva. 1. Marilyn at the United Nations- Miralab - CH 2. Chicken Crossing - Microsoft Studio - USA 3. Guten Appetit - Hochschule fur Film und Fernsehen -D 4. Atlanta in Motion - CVU Center Georgia Tech - USA 5. Hungry - ENSA/AII - F 6. James and the Giant Peach - Sony Pictures Imagesworks- USA 7. Cahin-Caha - Universite Paris 8 - F 8. Tiny - Texas A&M University - USA 9. Shell Kiwi - Animation Rasearch LTD - NZ 10. Ragnarok - Bild for Bild- S 11. Shell Card Gymnastics - R/GA - USA 12. Robit - Microsoft - USA 13. Reboot - Andraia Alliance International - CAN 14. Huzzan (Bobaloo the Beast Boy) - Lamb & Compagny - USA 15. Stormfront - University of Bradford - UK ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15:00 - 15:30 BREAK ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15:30 - 16:00 Cyberdances A VR interactive dance choregraphy mixing reality and dreams: who is real, who is not ? * Virtual dancers and VR technology directed by Prof. N. Magnenat Thalmann, MIRALab, University of Geneva. * Choregraphy and dance scenario by Sebastien Milano. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16:00 - 16:30 Computer Animation Film Festival (second part) Organized by MIRALab, University of Geneva. 1. The Xian Soldiers - Miralab - CH 2. Ziride - Supinfocom - F 3. Pepsi Swingers - Blue Sky Studios INC - USA 4. Mass Manipulator - Florencia Faivre - AR 5. Barbie Nibbles on Horse - R/GA - USA 6. Grand Prix - New Wave International - B 7. The Roulette - ENSAI/AII - F 8. Joe's appartment "Roach Rally" - Blue Sky Studios, INC - USA 9. Krakken - Exmachina - F 10. Divination - Robin Lipner Digital - USA 11. Superstition - Monda S.A. - B 12. ADN - Okenite - F 13. Contemporary Times - ECAL - USINE - CH 14. Sticky Business - SVC - UK 15. Joe's appartment "Funky Towel" - Blue Sky Studios, INC - USA ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16:30 - 17:00 Computer Animation'97 film festival awards ceremony * Grand Prix of the film festival, by the City of Geneva * Public Award, by ITU * Technological Innovation Award, by Silicon Graphics * Best Fiction Award, by Sony(Suisse) * Best 3D Effect Award, by the OPI * Best Artistic Film Award, by Swiss TELECOM