Dec. 10 -- Fancy seeing yourself, real as life, in 3D holographic display? Or having a surveillance camera that raises an alarm on your wrestling kids? Or how about impressing your visiting overseas friends that you know all about the founding of Singapore simply by snapping a photograph of Sir Stamford Raffles statue? Visit A*STAR's booth at SIGGRAPH Asia 2008 to experience the future of computer graphics and interactive techniques!

The Singapore Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) will be introducing 13 new technologies in areas of 3D graphics and animation, intuitive human-computer interaction technologies and neural signal processing, at the region's version of the world's largest and most prestigious computer graphics show -- SIGGRAPH (Special Interest Group on GRAPHics and Interactive Techniques) Asia 2008.

These technologies, developed by A*STAR research institutes such as the Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R), Data Storage Institute (DSI), Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC) and Singapore Bioimaging Consortium (SBIC), will be put up for licensing by A*STAR's Exploit Technologies at the exhibition.

Additionally, two companies that are working with Exploit Technologies will also be showcasing their product offerings, which are built with technologies created by A*STAR.

Prof Chong Tow Chong, executive director of Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) said, "In the exciting computer graphics industry, our multi-disciplined researchers seek to develop use-inspired research that could enhance how we live; enrich our playing and learning; and more importantly, improve how we work. We look forward to some of these technologies becoming commercial applications in the near future.

Said Mr Lim Chuan Poh, chairman of A*STAR, "The showcase of technologies developed by A*STAR research institutes at this exhibition will give businesses and companies, especially SMEs, an idea of what are available at A*STAR and how the companies can avail themselves of the technologies to enhance their business operations and market offerings. This is especially critical in this current economic climate when companies need a strong competitive edge to sustain and grow their businesses. I am pleased to say that A*STAR is happy to partner Singapore-based companies in their quest to stay ahead of the competition through strategic technology adoption and application."

Mr Boon Swan Foo, executive chairman of Exploit Technologies said, "We have put together a robust pool of innovative A*STAR's technologies to be exhibited at the upcoming SIGGRAPH Asia 2008. Since Exploit Technologies' inception in 2002, we have been proactively engaging the industry. To date, we have granted more than 250 licences for our technologies. Estimated business revenue to be generated by licensees from sales of products and provision of services using or incorporating A*STAR's technologies is projected to be over S$500M. More than 70 percent of our licensees are local SMEs. I am happy to note that muvee and HGI Games, the two local companies that Exploit Technologies has been working with to build their applications upon A*STAR's technologies, are also at our SIGGRAPH booth. We hope to see more industry players coming forth at SIGGRAPH Asia. Exploit Technologies can work with you to enrich and empower your business through effective adoption of A*STAR's technologies."

The technologies that are available for licensing include:

   1. Image-Based 3D Face Modeling;
   2. Brain Control for Attention Training;
   3. Brain Explorer;
   4. Camview – Total Digital SLR Capture Control;
   5. DJ-SIM: DJ Simulation Game with a Remote Gesture Control Interaction Mechanism;
   6. Holographic 3D Display System;
   7. Human Action Recognition Technology;
   8. Interactive Multimedia Jockey System;
   9. Lightdraw: Human-Computer Interaction for Large Screens;
  10. Machine Translation: Real-Time, Automatic Translation of South-East Asian Languages;
  11. MPEG-2 to H.264/AVC Transcoder;
  12. Snap2Tell & Snap2Play: Interactive Mobile Image Recognition System; and
  13. Personalisable Talking Head.

A*STAR's exhibits are at Booth F21, Suntec Convention Centre, Hall 401 and 402, from Dec. 11-13 in Singapore. All media representatives and photographer/film crew are cordially invited to visit A*STAR's booth at SIGGRAPH Asia 2008, from Dec. 11-13, 2008, at Suntec Convention Centre, Hall 401 and 402, Booth F21.

About Agency for Science, Technology and Research

A*STAR is Singapore's lead agency for fostering world-class scientific research and talent for a vibrant knowledge-based Singapore. A*STAR actively nurtures public sector research and development in Biomedical Sciences, Physical Sciences and Engineering, with a particular focus on fields essential to Singapore's manufacturing industry and new growth industries. It oversees 22 research institutes, consortia and centres, and supports extramural research with the universities, hospital research centres and other local and international partners. At the heart of this knowledge intensive work is human capital. Top local and international scientific talent drive knowledge creation at A*STAR research institutes. The Agency also sends scholars for undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral training in the best universities, a reflection of the high priority A*STAR places on nurturing the next generation of scientific talent. For more information about A*STAR, visit www.a-star.edu.sg.
 
About Exploit Technologies Pte Ltd

Exploit Technologies is the strategic marketing and commercialisation arm of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). Its mission is to support A*STAR in transforming the economy through commercialising R&D. Exploit Technologies enhances the research output of A*STAR scientists by translating their inventions into marketable products or processes. Through licensing deals and spin-offs with industry partners, Exploit Technologies is a key driver of technology transfer in Singapore. It actively engages industry leaders and players to commercialise A*STAR's technologies and capabilities, bridging the gap from Mind to Market. Exploit Technologies' charter is to identify, protect and exploit promising intellectual property (IP) created by A*STAR's research institutes. For more information, visit http://www.exploit-tech.com.
 
About Institute for Infocomm Research

The Institute for Infocomm Research (I²R - pronounced as i-squared-r) is a member of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) family. Established in 2002, our mission is to be the globally preferred source of innovations in Interactive Secured Information, Content and Services Anytime Anywhere through research by passionate people dedicated to Singapore's economic success.

I²R performs R&D in information, communications and media (ICM) technologies to develop holistic solutions across the ICM value chain. Our research capabilities are in information technology and science, wireless and optical communications, and interactive digital media. We seek to be the infocomm and media value creator that keeps Singapore ahead. Web site: www.i2r.a-star.edu.sg

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Source: Singapore Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)