Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/589428
6 cgw s e p t e m b e r . o c t o b e r 2 0 1 5 S P O T L I G H T n August, practi- tioners of computer graphics and inter- active techniques once again gathered together at the annual SIGGRAPH conference and exhibition to learn, discuss, and collabo- rate in an effort to advance the state of the industry. What began as a small gathering of those working in the relatively new field of computer graphics and interactivity in 1974 has since grown into the largest event serving the industry. This year's conference theme was "Xroads of Discovery," with humans forging new technological pathways built from the intersection of their interconnected hardware and soware. Indeed, new technology could be seen throughout the conference and exhibi- tion hall. This year, like past years, the editors of Com- puter Graphics World had a difficult time assessing the products and technologies at the show that have the potential to greatly impact the industry. So, without further adieu, here are the winners of the CGW Silver Edge Awards for best in show at SIGGRAPH 2015. CGW SELECTS SIGGRAPH 2015 BEST OF SHOW I Chaos Group's V-Ray – Chaos gets high marks for its newly released V-Ray for Nuke, which introduces a new approach to light- ing and compositing by enabling compositors to take advantage of V-Ray's lighting, shading, and ren- dering tools within Nuke's node-based workflow. It gives compositors the chance to adjust light- ing, materials, and render elements up until final shot delivery. More exciting, though, is the advanced VR tools within V-Ray, which give those working in the emerging fields of VR and AR a much-needed boost. For instance, V-Ray 3.1 for Maya adds new stereoscop- ic camera types that will render 6x1 cube maps and spherical images, while the introduction of Shade Map optimizes stereo rendering. Fabric Soware's Fabric Engine 2.0 – When I first spoke to Fabric Soware a few SIGGRAPHs ago, it was unclear exactly what Fabric Engine did. The explana- tion is still very techie: It is a digital content creation platform with a visual pro- gramming system that lets users build complex tools and applications for games, visual effects, VR, and more. In a nutshell, it simplifies complex tasks, providing super-fast processing within existing production pipelines. A tool like this will be especially vital as developers create VR and AR applications, where content creation, editing, and reviewing directly within such experiences will be more critical than ever. Nvidia's DesignWorks – The expectation at a conference like SIGGRAPH is that Nvidia will roll out a new GPU (and it did, presenting the M5000 and M4000). This year, though, the company surprised many with a somewhat different offering: DesignWorks, a suite of soware tools, technologies, and librar- ies that enable interactive photorealistic rendering and provide developers with easy access to physically-based rendering and physically-based materials. As a result, designers can utilize high-quality material designs and physically-based rendering on their Nvidia GPUs with little expense. DesignWorks combines rendering, materials, display technology, VR, and live video ca- pabilities that work "behind the scenes" with the soware that designers can continue to use. Among the tools/technologies included within DesignWorks are: Iray SDK, Material Definition Language, vMaterials, OptiX, and DesignWorks VR, a suite of tools for incorporating virtual reality into design soware. IKinema's Intimate – Animation can be difficult. But, IKine- ma, a developer of real-time inverse kinematics technology, is trying to make it easier. The objective of Intimate (a code name for its natural language animation interface), whose release is about a year and a half down the pike, is for users to direct action via simple voice commands and written direc- tions. The firm is converting animation libraries into a run-time rig, resulting in a seamless transition from one animation to another with simple words such as "walk, turn le, then run to the red door." The technology, now in the prototype phase, could offer an intuitive interface for VR applications.