The author and her assistants Click photo to enlarge

Imagine that this is your first trip to the big top at the circus. You wait in a long line wondering if the doors will ever open. They finally open at 10:00 am and you enter except you are not met by lions and tigers but by colorful booths, light displays, announcers on loud speakers, objects moving across screens, and even live objects captured on screens. This is not the big top; this is even bigger; it is the exhibitor's floor at Siggraph 2002. For three days, 200 hardware and software computer graphic related vendors will promote their wares. You and over 17,000 other people will surge in and out of this exhibit, sometimes wandering aimlessly as you go in a frustrating circle trying to find your way around. The excitement is palpable as is the noise level. But the flow of adrenaline is contagious. Old friends are met and new acquaintances are born. The excitement is overwhelming.

This is only a part of Siggraph. What exactly is Siggraph? It is the annual international gathering of the world's computer graphics community. It consists of panel discussions, brainstorming sessions, courses, technology demonstrations of the future, art galleries, animation and film showings, job fairs, hands-on workshops, and, as stated in the first paragraph, three days of exhibits by major graphic software and hardware companies.

The emphasis of Siggraph 2002 was 3D work and 3D animation. Since this is where the greatest advances are technologically, this emphasis can be expected. However, not everything was 3D and animation. A number of the 59 courses offered as well as many of the panel discussions and papers given dealt with topics such as copyright laws, beginning graphics, virtual medicine, and interactive geometric computations and more. There was so much happening at Siggraph that every time I wanted to attend a panel or a paper, I had an appointment to interview a vendor or see a presentation. I met with some very exciting and important people in the field of graphic software. It was thrilling!

Some areas required numerous visits. Emerging Technologies was an area that needed to be experienced a few times. After going through it once, I must admit I came away confused. I needed to read the Press Release Fact Sheet and pay it another visit to be able to assimilate the possibilities of the technologies of the "robots in our world" and the "humans interacting with each other in the virtual world."

One display that I found especially interesting was the SmartFinger developed by Hideyuki Ando from the Japan Science and Technology Corporation. This device is worn on a person's finger and it enhances tactile experience. It is hoped that it can be used to extend the capability of the visually impaired.

There was so much to do at Siggraph that one could get dizzy keeping track of all of it. The Electronic Theatre was a special treat. The short animations were wonderful. Especially interesting, I felt, was their variety. They showed not only how software can be pushed to the maximum, but how that maximum can be in many directions. The creativity on the part of all those involved in these short animations was simply amazing.

Going to Siggraph could become very addictive. I think I will now start counting the days until Siggraph 2003 at San Diego.