Newsletter
IMSC eNews, October 2003
Contact: Nichole Phillips, (213) 740-3237 nicholep@imsc.usc.edu
RMI FEATURED IN SOUTH KOREA - IMSC's Remote Media Immersion (RMI) system, featuring groundbreaking video and audio technology for the Internet, was demonstrated in September at the dedication of a library at Inha University in South Korea. IMSC key investigators Prof. Tomlinson Holman and Prof. Chris Kyriakakis; James Donahue, recording engineer with WGBH in Boston; and Beomjoo Seo, an IMSC graduate student, traveled to South Korea to set up the demonstration. A complete Yima system (including server, client and communication components) and a 10.2-channel Immersive Audio setup were installed at the university to power the RMI demo. IMSC key investigator Prof. Roger Zimmermann managed the preparation for the Yima system installation. Dean of Engineering C.L. Max Nikias and Dr. Isaac Maya, IMSC Director of Industry and Technology Transfer Programs, also attended the event. Korean Airlines Chairman Y.H. Cho held the dedication in memory of his father, Choong Hoon Cho, who started the Hanjin Group, an international transportation conglomerate that includes Korean Airlines. Y.H. Cho was the catalyst responsible for organizing the creation of the Pratt & Whitney Institute for Collaborative Engineering, established jointly at USC and Inha University. For information on RMI, go to http://imsc.usc.edu/rmi.
NORTHROP GRUMMAN AWARDS GRANT - Northrop Grumman awarded a grant to IMSC in September for an in-house installation of the Center's augmented virtual environment (AVE) demonstration system. The AVE project, headed by IMSC Director Ulrich Neumann and Prof. Suya You, visualizes real-time video in 3D virtual environments. The visualizations are especially valuable in the areas of military operations and homeland security.
IMSC RESEARCHER CONTRIBUTES TO NEW UCLA EXHIBIT - J.P. Lewis, IMSC Research Associate, contributed to "Ecce Homology," a science/art exhibit at the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History that will open November 6 for an indefinite run. The Ecce Homology exhibit features an interactive 60-foot wide space that uses computer vision and graphics to allow visitors to experience the science of genetics through a novel calligraphic visualization of DNA information. The museum's phone number is (310) 825-4361 and its Web site is http://fowler.ucla.edu. The Ecce Homology exhibit Web site is http://www.insilicov1.org.
PANORAMIC ART EXHIBIT - IMSC and the School of Fine Arts co-sponsored a participatory art exhibit on campus in September that spotlighted the Center's 360-degree, panoramic camera. Exhibit visitors entered a "pano-chamber," a circular plexiglass screen system, to view a 360-degree, recorded mock news story on the homeless. A student journalist stood among the homeless and their makeshift shelters on a downtown Los Angeles street and reported on issues that affect them. Exhibit visitors also saw panoramic content projected on a wall. Additionally, they viewed the panoramic content by using a virtual reality headset. The exhibits were produced by students in an Art & Technology course developed by IMSC and the School of Fine Arts. For information about IMSC's projects making use of the panoramic camera, go to http://imsc.usc.edu/research/project/panvid.0
HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERFACE SPECIALIST SPEAKS AT IMSC - Prof. Gloria Mark, a specialist in the human-computer interface (HCI) field, addressed IMSC faculty in October on "Challenges for Next Generation Computer-Supported Cooperative Work Systems." Dr. Mark, an associate professor of interactive and collaborative technologies at the University of California at Irvine, is a leader in the field of computer-supported collaborative work.
PROF. MENDEL NAMED LIFE FELLOW OF IEEE - Prof. Jerry Mendel, IMSC's Associate Director for Education and Outreach, has been named Life Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), effective January 2004. Prof. Mendel specializes in uncertain rule-based systems and their applications.
IMSC STUDENT COUNCIL SPONSORS PRESENTATIONS - The IMSC Student Council sponsored two October presentations as part of its seminar series. Dr. Albert "Skip" Rizzo, head of IMSC's virtual environment projects, spoke on virtual reality rehabilitation, and Dr. Isaac Maya, IMSC's Director of Industry and Technology Transfer Programs, presented on intellectual property issues.
IMSC IN THE NEWS - IMSC Research Associate J.P. Lewis was cited in the October issue of the quarterly journal Cinefex for his graphics work on the "The Matrix Reloaded." He came up with a new approach to simulate skin translucency with digital techniques to make virtual characters look more real.
The Virtual Classroom, developed by Dr. Rizzo for the assessment and treatment of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, is featured in an article on the Science News for Kids Website at http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20031022/Feature1.asp. For more information on the project, visit http://imsc.usc.edu/research/project/virtclass/index.html.
The Integrated Media Systems Center is a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center at the University of Southern California.