CHICAGO—SIGGRAPH 2020, whose content is available online and on demand through October 27, offers virtual participants the chance to discover novel health care technologies that point toward a future bright with possibilities to transform and enhance lives.
“I am thrilled to shine a light on the new ideas and approaches to medical training and technologies that our incredible community has discovered in the last year,” shared SIGGRAPH 2020 Conference Chair Kristy Pron, of Walt Disney Imagineering.
Every day — now more than ever — virtual, augmented, and mixed reality, as well as other new technologies and applications, bring forth new possibilities to change how we approach the world and the ways in which we experience it. As communities across the globe deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, advances in technology hold with them a much-needed sense of hope and promise.
“This year, we have been impressed to see how the computer science community has found new ways to build on existing and emerging technologies,” added SIGGRAPH 2020 Adaptability Focus Area Co-chair Natalie Rountree. “These advancements help individuals with different abilities live better day-to-day, as well as help support health care professionals with training.”
As scientists continue to think beyond and evolve technology each day, here are a few highlights from the advances shared during SIGGRAPH 2020:
From Special FX to Medical Simulation | Frontiers Talks Session
This session explores how Lumenix’s Gregory J. Loan applies his artistic skills and special effects knowledge to the world of engineering, medicine, and artificial intelligence.
SlideFusion: Surrogacy Wheelchair With Implicit Eyegaze Modality Sharing | Emerging Technologies (On-demand: 17–28 August )
Researchers from Japan’s Keio University and AXEREAL Co., Ltd. present a novel, remote, surrogacy wheelchair system by integrating implicit eye-gaze modality communication between the wheelchair user and a remote operator.
Tactile Line Drawings for Improved Shape Understanding in Blind and Visually Impaired Users | Technical Papers (On-demand: 17–28 August)
With this research out of Dartmouth College and Boston University, tactile illustrations help blind individuals understand geometric information. Their novel design approach improves 3D shape understanding using multi-projection rendering and textures to embed surface geometry.
Invite Only VR: An Evidence-based VR Game for Health and Behavior Change | Talks (On-demand: 17–28 August)
play4REAL XR Lab presents a VR intervention experience, focused on e-cigarette prevention in teens. It is the first theory-driven, e-cigarette prevention game to be developed for a VR platform, and leverages the unique properties of VR to deliver an effective and engaging intervention.
CrowbarLimbs: A Fatigue-reducing VR Typing System | Posters (On-demand: 17–28 August )
From Yuan Ze University and University of Taipei, CrowbarLimbs is two deformable, virtual limbs, like crowbars, in a VR environment that allow a user to place their arms and hands in a comfortable posture, reducing the physical fatigue of different body parts after typing for a period of time.
Robotic Surgical Training Simulation for Dexterity Training of Hands and Fingers | Posters (On-demand: 17–28 August )
Researchers from Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology and Jagiellonian University share a robotic surgical simulation trainer that they developed to train surgeons in finger and hand dexterity.
MAGES 3.0: Tying the Knot of Medical VR | Immersive Pavilion (On-demand: 17–28 August)
MAGES 3.0 is a novel, VR-based authoring SDK platform for accelerated surgical training and assessment. With MAGES, trainees can perform lifelike surgery simulations in a risk-free environment to improve patient outcomes.
Access to conference programming varies based on registration level. People still register for SIGGRAPH 2020, the 47th international conference and exhibition on computer graphics and interactive techniques, through September 11 at s2020.SIGGRAPH.org/register.
Image caption: “CrowbarLimbs: A Fatigue-reducing VR Typing System” © 2020 Yuan Ze University, University of Taipei