SIGGRAPH 2024 was a remarkable event, bringing together a diverse range of professionals from various disciplines. This year’s conference was all about one key theme: collaboration. While headlines gravitated towards speakers like Mark Sagar, Jensen Huang and Mark Zuckerberg, a ton more had us excited about what’s ahead for the industry. Here’s a recap of the most impactful takeaways and highlights from the event.

What Stood Out The Most Onsite

1. Collaboration and Open Source Focus: Using one word to describe this year’s SIGGRAPH, it would be COLLABORATION. There was a significant emphasis on open-source software and practices, as well as interoperability initiatives such as Metaverse Standards Forum, OpenUSD, Open Review Initiative). These efforts are paving the way for a more integrated and cohesive digital future.

2. Virtual Efforts for Real-World Issues: There was a strong focus on using virtual technology to address real-world issues, such as countering racial bias, advocating for LGBTQIA+ individuals, and promoting peace. The community is actively seeking ways to leverage their virtual creations to make a positive impact in the physical world.

3. Advancements In Virtual Humans: Virtual humans were a major point of interest this year. NVIDIA held a comprehensive two-day, six-hour course on building virtual humans using generative AI, providing a clear definition of what constitutes a “virtual human.” Mark Sagar’s keynote from Soul Machines, titled "Beyond the Illusion of Life," was particularly inspiring. He demonstrated how different interactions could influence a virtual agent’s internal state, showcasing the need for experts from various disciplines to accurately represent humanity.

4. Expansive Conversations on AI and Virtual Spaces: Many papers and discussions focused on creating virtual humans from data and images and using AI to generate synthetic memories. There were numerous conversations about how these technologies are used not just for entertainment, but also for creating spaces of acculturation, communication, and learning. Notably, the New York Times has been developing immersive virtual experiences to communicate news stories, and a pair of nurses created a game studio using generative AI to foster empathy and self-discovery.

The Biggest Activations We Saw

Khronos Group, openUSD and the Metaverse Standards Forum: Collaborative efforts spearheaded by companies like NVIDIA, Autodesk, and Adobe found their way into many presentations rooms and conversations on the floor. The commitment is growing even though this effort requires significant investment from all players to ensure an interoperable digital landscape without fragmented individual sandboxes.

Companies That Stood Out

NVIDIA: NVIDIA dominated the event, hosting various talks, panels, and daily labs in the expo hall. Their presence was inescapable, and their influence was felt throughout the conference. Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, made a memorable claim: “SIGGRAPH is my ‘hood!”

Meta: Meta garnered attention with discussions around Segment Anything 2 [SAM2], and their  interest in leveraging open source and open standards to engage developers and promote interoperability.

Some Other Standouts Were:

• Movin Inc.’s demo of their motion capture hardware and software, which allows real-time motion capture without the need for a suit or even body attachments

• Warudo’s demo of their beginner-friendly VTubing system 

• KREA’s demo of their real-time AI image generation

• And Tim McGraw’s rage-cage style, pun-tacular presentation on Real-time voxelized soft-body destruction.

Best Chat / Presentation

Most Relevant: Roblox showcased the ML tech behind Roblox’s efforts to enable user-generated content avatars with new Roblox Studio tools. Additionally, his demonstration of Meta’s Avatar USD pipeline highlighted the industry’s movement towards open standards and developer engagement.

Most Potential: the technical papers presented for “Character Animation From Data” covered innovative research on automating avatar behavior through LLMs and diffusion models. This work has the potential to significantly advance the field of character animation and AI-driven behavior modeling.

Conclusion

This year's SIGGRAPH highlighted significant advancements in digital representation, open standards, and the creation of virtual spaces that foster community and compassion—areas central to our mission at Genies. As leaders in avatar technology, we were excited to see numerous new technologies that could greatly enhance our ecosystem. Now it's up to companies like us to build the tools around this research that unlock limitless expression and creativity.  These innovations are essential for empowering users to create and customize avatars, curate personalized spaces, and engage in shared experiences. By integrating these technologies, we can deepen user connections and promote a vibrant, inclusive virtual world where creativity and camaraderie flourish. 

SIGGRAPH 2024 reinforced our belief in the growing market for our vision, and we're more determined than ever to push forward.

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