ARTS Lab @ UNM: [Gfx-cafe] GFX Cafe Seminar Friday Sept 19, 2008

GFX Café Seminar Friday September 19, 2008
12noon, ECE 118

Food will be served

TITLE:
Computer Vision in Archaeology: Recent Case Studies
by Kevin Cain
Director, Institute for Study and Integration of Graphical
Heritage Techniques

ABSTRACT:

Computing for archaeology is a study in contrasts: graphics and vision
techniques are still somewhat exotic, but interesting (and difficult)
problems abound! In this talk, we'll present a snapshot of current
needs in archaeology, framing the discussion with results from the past
seven seasons of field work at the memorial temple of Ramses II in
Egypt. Topics include: 3d representations of ancient sites, large
scale orthomosaics of inscribed wall surfaces, lighting capture,
relighting, and site reconstructions. We'll also take a look at efforts
to present archaeological results in novel environments, including a new
NSF 'full dome' film project /Maya Skies/ and a large digital projection
installation in Egypt's Valley of the Kings.

BIO:
Aiming to cross-pollinate computer vision with traditional
archaeological techniques, Kevin Cain heads INSIGHT. Mr. Cain has
organized digital cultural heritage projects in collaboration with a
diverse group of organizations, including: the Louvre Museum (Paris),
the American Research Center in Egypt (Cairo), the Institute for
Nautical Archaeology (Alexandria), the Egyptian Antiquities Dept. of the
British Museum (London), the Metropolitan Museum's Egyptian Art Dept.
(New York), the American Museum of Natural History (New York), the
Egyptian Antiquities Information Service (Cairo), and the US National
Parks Service.

Kevin's current interests include computational imaging, stereo vision and
applications of computer graphics & computer vision in archaeology. As
director of INSIGHT, Kevin has initiated a strong partnership with the
non-profit CyArk digital cultural heritage network. Kevin has also
maintained affiliate status with the Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative
(ECAI) at the University of California at Berkeley. When possible, Kevin
has worked on outside projects such as laser scanning for Star Wars
Episode II, realtime graphics programming for the startup Photon Factory,
and architectural visualization for unsprawl.net. Kevin served as
Director of Computer Arts at the Academy of Art University in San
Francisco in the late 1900s when the program grew into the largest visual
computing program in the United States, with more than 1500 students.
Mr. Cain was responsible for developing the curriculum for both
undergraduate and graduate students. Mr. Cain has also served as Chair
for yearly New Media Colloquia (1995 -- 2005) where lecturers have
included: Brenda Laurel, Joseph Lambert, Nick Philip, Chris Landreth,
Charles Ostman, Jon Tojek, and Paul Debevec.