Emerging Technologies: Synthesis - Toward A New Perception

Follow these instructions when you prepare your proposal. The SIGGRAPH Asia 2008 Emerging Technologies programme offers a unique opportunity for contributors to showcase interactive work before a crowd of thousands. Although it is an extremely rewarding experience, presenting in Emerging Technologies can be very demanding. It is important to remember this as you put together your proposal.

The Proposal
Your proposal should consist of two parts:

1. Four-Page Abstract
The abstract will be used by the jury and reviewers to evaluate your submission, and it will appear in the SIGGRAPH Asia 2008 Full Conference DVD-ROM and Conference Select CD-ROM. You must submit your abstract in a PDF file properly formatted for those digital publications. For complete details on font, layout, and image requirements, and instructions for creating your PDF file, please see the publication guidelines.

  • Executive Summary
    A 50-word-or-less executive summary that clearly states the innovations that make your project new and unique. You will be meeting and speaking with hundreds of people each day, and you should be able to articulate your concept clearly and succinctly. We call this the "elevator speech" of your proposal. Answer this question: Is your focus primarily on technology innovation or on application of the technology. In either case, how will your work be used, and what impact or advancement will result from your work?
  • Provide at least one figure or image to illustrate your contribution. You will also submit a larger, higher-resolution image as a separate file (see Submission Rules and Requirements).
  • Vision
    Explain your vision for the future. How is your innovation going to change us? What are the larger implications for this project? What is the message that you would like to leave for SIGGRAPH Asia 2008 attendees?
  • Technical Innovations
    Describe your technical innovations in significant depth. What have you developed that is brand new? What are the critical pieces that you designed? What pieces of commercially available hardware and software are you incorporating? Is it a new technology or a creative use of an existing one? System diagrams are very helpful and encouraged.
  • Context
    It is also essential to place your work in context. How is this approach different from previous related work? You should include references to previous work. The jury is going to be very critical of this, so do your homework.
  • User Experience
    Give a detailed description of what a participant will experience. How many people can participate at once? How long is their experience? Is the audience throughput going to be a problem?
  • Credits
    Who developed this project? Give appropriate credit to any academic institution, company, student, faculty member, or researcher who contributed to your work.

2. Supplemental Materials
Video: Because of the nature of Emerging Technologies, it is impossible to fairly review submissions without video. Therefore, a video in QuickTime, MPEG, or Windows Media Viewer format is required. Limit your video to, at most, three minutes and your file to at most 50 MB. The video should show the essence of your submission and give a good idea of how your project will function. The jury is not guaranteed to watch more than three minutes, so be concise. Capture your most important elements in three minutes.

Mechanics
This summary of your project's mechanics and logistics must be submitted. It will be used by the committee to assess the viability of your proposal.

  • Logistics
    What are the logistics for presenting this project in Emerging Technologies? Remember that this is a hands-on exhibition of completed work. You must convince the jury that the work is viable at the time of submission and can withstand the abuse of thousands of SIGGRAPH Asia 2008 attendees.
  • How long will you need to set up your exhibition? How much space will you need? Provide a diagram with measurements for the space your project will occupy including overhead requirements (this is critical). What technical infrastructure must be in place to support this project (such as what needs to be suspended vs. on the floor, and power requirements)?
  • Does your work need an internet connection? Does it need wireless networking? Does your work use radio frequencies and if so, please specify?
  • Does your work have light and/or sound requirements or constraints?
  • Your Time Commitment
    How many people are needed to run your exhibition?

Participating in Emerging Technologies is approximately a six-month commitment. From the moment your piece is selected, we will begin working with you on the logistics of getting it installed and running at SIGGRAPH Asia 2008. For example, you will be able to apply for assistance from select Student Volunteers, who will be available to provide some additional operational support. The clearer you can be with the proposal, the easier that process will be. Your time commitment at the conference can also be demanding: more than seven days of intense activity. If you are unable to devote that much time to your installation, please consider submitting a summary of your work to Sketches & Posters.

Carefully read the entire Emerging Technologies Call for Participation. If you still have questions about the programme or process, please contact us for clarification or directions prior to submission. We want to make sure your work is shown in the best light possible for the jury session and that there are no misunderstandings about expectations.

We look forward to receiving your submission. Emerging Technologies promises to be a fun program for both contributors and attendees through its exciting and thought-provoking hands-on experiences.