On 14 November 2011 the EU-funded Support Action EMC2 is holding 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 centre in Media Computing and Communication. The workshop draws together leading players from industry, research and government to explore trends, developments and future directions for 3D industry and research.

A special feature of the workshop is a keynote presentation from Mr Viorel Peca, head of the Unit of Networked Media in DG Information Society of the European Commission. He will present the EU initiative to strengthen the environment for web entrepreneurs in Europe and describe how 3D media on the web could be brought to market by entrepreneurs bridging 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, 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 visualisations, to robotic vision systems, to 3D printing and prototyping, to whole-body interaction, to flawless reconstructions of distant and imagined worlds – the technologies of three dimensions look set to fundamentally change the ways we interact with computers, the physical world and each other. In short, to transform daily experience.

THE FUTURE OF 3D MEDIA is an international event. It is designed to catalyse new thinking, new strategies and new partnerships in an increasingly important field of innovation. The event represents a unique convergence of media and communications industries, world-class research and European government.

The programme

In a packed programme of activities, participants will learn of new developments in 3D technology, see remarkable demonstrations, and forge connections with top industrial and academic players from Germany, France, Britain, Ireland, Greece, Eastern Europe and the Far East.

Together, participants will explore – and help to create – the future of three-dimensional media.

Heinrich Hertz Institute will present their vast and magical Cinema of Tomorrow and Virtual Mirror (a glimpse, perhaps, of the future of shopping), whilst presentations from other top-level research institutes and technology companies will show current activity in diverse areas of 3D industry and commerce.

HHI will also present their 3D Innovation Centre (3D-IC), a new facility opening next year to enable research institutes, private development labs and media/ telecoms companies to access state-of-the-art technologies for 3D development, production and distribution.

THE FUTURE OF 3D MEDIA includes a presentation by EMC2, an expert view of knowledge transfer in the USA, and exhibits by a wide selection of European enterprises.

Panel experts look to the future

The day’s programme concludes with a moderated discussion in which panel experts and audience will tackle crucial questions on the future of 3D industry and research:

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 behaviours?
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?

Who the workshop is for

THE FUTURE OF 3D MEDIA is for all those working at the forefront of 3D visualization or simulation, 3D display, sound or interaction, virtual or mixed realities, gaming, image analysis or reconstruction, future TV or cinema and related areas.

No serious contender in the competitive field of three-dimensional media can afford to ignore this unique event, which is FREE for all attendees and exhibitors.

www.3dlife-noe.eu