Behind the Art | Bob Sumner | TEDxZurich

Today, when we look at the world, we basically see what’s there: We see reality. This will soon change. Several sophisticated technologies that amplify each other are all simultaneously reaching maturity: augmented reality, computer vision, natural language processing, semantic scene understanding, and artificial intelligence. We’re reaching a turning point where these technologies will alter the reality we perceive. The core idea is that digital systems will recognize and understand the world around us and embed contextualized information that’s relevant and useful, delivered via augmented reality. This information will take many forms — from simple text, images, and audio to 3D, animated, and even intelligent digital models that seamlessly blend with reality. So, in whatever situation we find ourselves, we will have access to a plethora of different digital lenses with which to view the world. Some will be professionally created and officially sanctioned. Others will be amateur and free form. Prof. Robert Sumner is the Associate Director of Disney Research Studios and an Adjunct Professor at ETH Zurich. At Disney, Robert leads the lab’s research in computer animation. His research group strives to bypass technical barriers in animation production pipelines with new algorithms that expand the designer’s creative toolbox in terms of depiction, movement, deformation, stylization, control, and efficiency. At ETH, Robert is the founder and Scientific Director of the ETH Game Technology Center, which explores the unique way game technology can impact science and education. Robert also teaches a course called the Game Programming Laboratory in which students from ETH and the Zurich University of the Arts work in small teams to design and implement novel video games. Robert received a B.S. degree in computer science from the Georgia Institute of Technology and his M.S. and Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He spent three years as a postdoctoral researcher at ETH Zurich before joining Disney. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx