BERLIN, GERMANY --- On the 14th of November 2011, the EU funded group EMC2 organized a one-day industrial workshop on the future of 3D Media at the premises of the world-famous Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI) in Berlin. EMC2 is the first Pan-European competence center on Media, Computing, and Communications. The workshop draws together leading players from industry, research, and government to explore trends, developments, and future directions in the 3D industry.
A specific feature of the workshop was a keynote presentation from Mr. Viorel Peca, Head of the Unit of Networked Media in the DG Information Society of the European Commission. He presented the EU initiative to strengthen the environment for web entrepreneurs in Europe and how 3D Media on the web could be brought to the market by entrepreneurs by closing the gap between research and innovation.
Recent, rapid progress in 3D media technology is dissolving the boundaries between real and unreal, local and remote, visible and invisible, thus creating previously unimaginable visual, auditory, and tactile experiences, and opening up new markets for commercial exploitation. From ‘immersive’ film and TV, to lifelike ‘synthetic humans’, to complex and beautiful data visualizations; From robotic vision systems, to 3D printing and prototyping, to whole-body interaction, to flawless reconstructions of distant and imagined worlds – the technologies of 3D looks set to fundamentally change the ways in which we interact with computers, the physical world and each other, thus transforming daily experience.
THE FUTURE OF 3D MEDIA is an international event. It is designed to catalyze new thinking, new strategies, and new partnerships in the increasingly important field of innovation. The event represents a unique convergence of media and communications industries, world-class research, and European government.
In a packed program of activities, participants learned of new developments in 3D media, saw remarkable demonstrations, and forged connections with top industrial and academic players from Germany, France, Britain, Ireland, Greece, Eastern Europe, and Korea's very own Prof. Hyoung-joong Kim (Korea University) and Mr. Kevin Lee (WiseLogic).
Together, participants explored – and helped to create – the future of three-dimensional media.
The program included ‘Fabrique du Futur’, which promoted 3D virtual worlds as spaces for human-centered co-creation of future products and services. Berlin-based Imcube added new depth to classic movies with their groundbreaking 2D-to-3D conversion technology. HHI presented the vast, magical, 180-degree Cinema of Tomorrow. And pan-European research group 3DLife showed their 'Robust Virtual Mirror' – a glimpse, perhaps, of the future of shopping.
THE FUTURE OF 3D MEDIA included a presentation by pan-European knowledge transfer enterprise EMC2, an expert view of knowledge transfer from the USA, and exhibits by a broad selection of European media enterprises.
The day’s program concluded with a moderated discussion in which panel experts and audience tackled crucial questions on the future of the 3D industry and research, such as:
- Which areas of current 3D media research can become the mass-market products and services of tomorrow
- How can we develop closer and more productive relations between industry and research in Europe
- What are the possible repercussions of a world of flawless 3D creation and replication of places, people and behaviors
- How might 3D technologies change future lives, and what are the commercial and social implications
- Can 3D media technologies help to address hard social problems – such as the alienating effects of technology, social fragmentation, and loss of trust between governments and citizens
