Web3D Symposium 2005 - School of Informatics, University of Wales, Bangor, UK

Keynote Session: 3D Graphics and the Film Production Pipeline

Wednesday 30th March, 2005

Martin Reddy Pixar Animation Studios

Abstract

Recent years have seen an increase in the quantity and popularity of high-quality 3D computer-animated feature films. These films rely on (and refine) techniques and algorithms from the 3D computer graphics industry. Yet 3D is only one portion of a production pipeline that includes story, art, modeling, layout, animation, lighting, shading, special effects, and rendering. This talk will describe the stages of development of a modern computer-animated film and the role of 3D graphics within this process. This will be done with a focus on the complexities of scale found in the production environment and the useful adaptation of research results into this process. Additionally, the computer games market has catalysed a rapid evolution of 3D graphics hardware, making the use of real-time techniques within the film production pipeline more widespread and influential. The talk will therefore also provide an emphasis on the converging relationship between the real-time 3D graphics and photorealistic rendering arenas.

Biography

Dr Martin Reddy is a lead engineer in the Studio Tools R&D department at Pixar Animation Studios where he develops new software solutions for upcoming feature films. Previously, he worked at SRI International in the area of terrain visualization, involving the real-time display of massive terrain databases distributed over wide-area networks. His doctoral research involved the application of models of visual perception to real-time 3D computer graphics, enabling the selection of level of detail based upon measures of human perception. He received his B.Sc. from the University of Strathclyde and his Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh. Martin served for two years on the Board of Directors of the Web3D Consortium, was the team leader of Consortium's Specification Team, and chair of the GeoVRML Working Group. He was the co-author and implementer of the GeoVRML specification, which now forms part of the X3D ISO standard, and he has recently published a book called "Level of Detail for 3D Graphics."

Keynote Session: What can Web3D do for Medicine?

Thursday 31st March, 2005

Organised by the Web3D Medical Working Group

Invited Speakers

Derek A. Gould, Consultant Interventional Radiologist, Royal Liverpool University Hospitals
Rory F. McCloy, Senior Lecturer and Consultant Surgeon, Manchester Royal Infirmary
Nick Phillips, Consultant Neurosurgeon, Leeds General Infirmary

Abstract

Three experienced clinicians, who are all advocates for the use of 3D technologies and virtual environments in the medical field, will talk about how the Web3D community can help to impact on the current methods of training, surgical planning, and diagnosis. The perspective from three different disciplines will be given: interventional radiology; hepato-pancreatic surgery; and neurosurgery. The Web3D Medical Working Group will respond to the requests of our speakers by detailing some of the latest initiatives and technolgy developments that can be deployed. The medical field is an area where contributions from the Web3D community can make a real difference. This session will present many opportunities for research and commercial exploitation. It is not to be missed!

Biographies

Derek A Gould is a consultant interventional radiologist at the Royal Liverpool University Hospitals, with 23 years experience in developing, performing and teaching interventional radiological techniques. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists, Fellow of the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, and a founder member of the British Society of Interventional Radiologists. He has over 60 papers in journals and conferences, has invented a number of interventional devices, and is programme director of a multicentre, randomised study of thrombectomy. He has trained medical students, radiologists, MRCP, FRCS and FRCR candidates, as well as local and national training courses in radiology, interventional radiology and gastroenterology. He has taught clinical skills using fixed vascular models, including the teaching of aneurysm endoluminal repair. In 1999, he established an industry funded fellowship in interventional training, one of but a small number in the UK. His current interests centre on the application of virtual environments to clinical skills training in interventional radiology. To this end he has been instrumental in developing a collaboration across the key disciplines of medicine, computer science and clinical engineering (www.craive.org.uk).

Mr Rory McCloy, BSc, MD, FRCS Appointed in 1984, Rory McCloy is Senior Lecturer and Consultant Surgeon at the Manchester Royal Infirmary, Manchester UK where he is Administrative Head of the University Department of Surgery. He is also the Director of the North of England Wolfson Centre for minimally invasive therapy. His main research interests have been in the pathophysiology of upper gastrointestinal diseases and for most of his career has had a strong interest in the medical and surgical management of acid-related diseases. He has a large clinical and research interest in pancreatitis. His main speciality is pancreato-biliary surgery. Mr McCloy has been Secretary of the Endoscopy section of the British Society of Gastroenterology and has been intimately involved with audit, working parties and educational courses on intravenous sedation and procedural safety for endoscopy. He is regularly involved with committees and working parties for the Department of Health (UK Government) and the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Currently Mr McCloy is involved in projects on new technologies in medicine including telemedicine, 3D imaging, virtual reality and surgical simulation as well as robots in the operating theatre. He has helped develop one of the world's first commercially available virtual reality simulators for assessing surgical skills and for training. His interest in virtual reality and his collaborative work with Professor Robert Stone has led to new research interests in combining virtual endoscopic techniques and exploring the possibility of VR as the human-machine interface for micro- and nano-robots.

Nick Philips is a consultant Neurosurgeon at the Leeds General Infirmary. He has been involved in the development of VRML tools for training neurosurgery procedures such as ventricular catheterisation and Trigeminal Neuralgia. See the Web Site for Web-Based Surgical Simulators and Medical Education Tools.