Computer Graphics & Animation

The art or process of making movies with drawings, computer graphics or photographs of static objects, including all techniques other than the continuous filming of live-action images. It is the creation of the “illusion of movement” using a series of still images. This track covers the following subtopics: Traditional animation, Stop motion animation, Character animation, Special effects animation, Physics-based Animation and Behavioural Animation.

Though most people think of animation as being used primarily for entertainment in movies, TV shows, and video games, it has many other uses. It's commonly used in educational videos and advertisements both on TV and on the Internet, and it can also be used in the process of research and development to create simulations of how a machine or process would work. Scientists use digital animation as well to create visualizations of abstract concepts or objects that are too small or large to be seen easily, which is helpful both for research and for analysis.

The rapid advancement of technology has made computer animation available to the masses and the animation industry is one of the fastest growing industries. The demand for animated entertainment has expanded with the increase in broadcasting hours by cable and satellite TV along with the growing popularity of the Internet. The major markets include the United States, Canada, Japan, France, Britain and Germany. More broadly speaking, animation is increasingly used in video games, and movies are also increasingly reliant on animation and computer graphic special effects.

Modeling is the representation of an object or phenomena, which is used by simulation. Models may be mathematical, physical, or logical representations of a system, entity, phenomenon, or process. Models are, in turn, used by simulation to predict a future state. It is a discipline for developing a level of understanding of the interaction of the parts of a system, and of the system as a whole.

Simulations are abstractions of reality. It is defined as the process of creating a model of an existing or proposed system (e.g., a project, a business, a mine, a watershed, a forest, the organs in your body) in order to identify and understand those factors which control the system to predict the future behaviour of the system. Simulation is a powerful and important tool because it provides a way in which alternative designs, plans and policies can be evaluated without having to experiment on a real system, which may be prohibitively costly, time-consuming, or simply impractical to do.

The future of innovation is simulation.  Whereas before, we would sit amongst ourselves, decide how the world might work and test our ideas in the market, now we can test them in a virtual environment built by real world data at much lower levels of cost and risk. Modeling and simulation is a leading way that companies are reducing their development time while maintaining or increasing the quality of their products. This approach helps engineers explore design alternatives quickly without the need for as much prototype hardware.

Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) is a particular electronic circuit outlined and create to increase the effectively & effective production of images in a frame by frame intended for better output to a display device. GPUs are used in mobile phones, embedded systems, workstations, personal computers and game consoles or platforms. GPU technology accelerates the computing and is the usage of a GPU together with a Control Processing Unit (CPU) to quicken profound investigation, learning, and building applications. GPU Technology accelerators now power energy-efficient & effective data centers in universities, government labs, industries, and small-and-medium businesses across the globe. They play an eminent role in accelerating applications in platforms ranging from artificial intelligence to cars, drones, robots and its applications.

Gaming is evolving from the traditional in-home console based platforms to digital titles being played on mobile devices and connected consoles. Mobile gaming in its various flavours is the fastest growth segment of digital gaming Game design is the art of applying design and aesthetics to create a game to facilitate interaction between players for playful, healthful, educational, or simulation purposes. Game design can be applied both to games and, increasingly, to other interactions, particularly virtual ones. Video games are a $30 billion industry in the U.S., especially as more people play games on their mobile phones, according to Reuters. Game designers are an important part of a comprehensive team of designers and developers that coordinate the complex task of creating a new video game.

Game development is the software development process by which a video game is produced. The game industry requires innovations, as publishers cannot profit from constant release of repetitive sequels and imitations. 

Mobile, the fastest growing digital gaming segment, is projected to account for 34% of the global gaming market in 2017 compared to 20% in 2012, growing from $12.3 billion to $29.6 billion or at a 19% CAGR, according to IDG. The Quarterly Global Games Market Update, from Newzoo, pins the total estimated value of mobile games at $25 billion for the year, a huge leap of 42 per cent from the total value in 2013. For now, Apple remains the top dog in terms of mobile gaming income, edging out a predicted revenue total of $3 billion dollars for Google Play in 2014. Brands have entered the scene to capitalize on this diverse demographic, and present a set of terrifying new market players to smaller developers looking to build and cultivate their own intellectual property

Gamification: The utilization of diversion mechanics and prizes to energize conduct change in a non-amusement setting. While this definition gives a satisfactory review of gamification, it doesn't give much understanding into how it truly functions. One valuable method for comprehension gamification is to separate it into: Game Mechanics, Reputation Mechanics and Social Mechanics.

Social Game Mechanics are a notoriety enhancer. In isolation, notoriety is just a curiosity; you feel great when the framework names you as a shrewd individual yet you're most likely not going to care all that profoundly. When the framework recognizes user as a brilliant individual and shares their data with a thousand other individuals, all of a sudden the notoriety is a great deal more noteworthy. Social mechanics are any elements that empower or empower perceivability amongst players and include: Activity streams, Leader sheets, Teams, Status identifications, Followers and warnings, sharing and prescribing, Social mechanics give the way to share notoriety and empower client to-client connection. The more obvious notoriety is the all the more rousing it gets to be.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning and their application for automatic solving of problems in computer vision and computer graphics. Artificial intelligence techniques in 3D scene modeling and rendering. Present research work of the Intelligent Computer Graphics community, a community evolving towards future. If at the beginning of Computer Graphics the use of Artificial Intelligence techniques and research which quite unknown, more and more researchers across the globe are nowadays interested in intelligent techniques allowing substantial improvements of traditional Computer Graphics methods, research, and technology. Its alternative main contribution of intelligent techniques in Computer Graphics is to allow invention of completely new methods.

Computer Aided Designing is mainly used for detailed engineering of 3D models and/or 2D drawings of physical components, but it is also used throughout the engineering process from conceptual design and layout of products, through strength and dynamic analysis of assemblies to definition of manufacturing methods of components. Education and Training: Computer generated models of physical, financial, and economic systems are often used as educational aids.  It helps the trainees to understand the operation of the system like Simulators for practice sessions or training of ship captains, aircraft pilots, heavy equipment operators, and air traffic-control personnel. Entertainment: Motion pictures, music videos, and television shows.  Sometimes the graphics scenes are displayed by themselves, and sometimes graphic objects are combined with the actors and live scenes Computational biology sometimes referred to as bioinformatics, is the science of using biological data to develop algorithms and relations among various biological systems. Computational physics is the study and implementation of numerical analysis to solve problems in physics for which a quantitative theory already exists. Digital art is an artistic work or practice that uses digital technology as an essential part of the creative or presentation process. Graphic design is the process of visual communication, and problem-solving through the use of type, space, image and color. Infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge intended to present information quickly and clearly. They can improve cognition by utilizing graphics to enhance the human visual system's ability to see patterns and trends. Web design encompasses many different skills and disciplines in the production and maintenance of websites.

Virtual reality is a form of technology which creates computer generated worlds or immersive environments which people can explore and in many cases, interact with. It refers to a high-end user interface that involves real-time simulation and interactions through multiple sensorial channels. Virtual Reality is often used to describe a wide variety of applications, commonly associated with its immersive, highly visual, 3D environments. The development of CAD software, graphics hardware acceleration, head mounted displays; database gloves and miniaturization have helped popularize the concept. Born of technology, virtual reality at its core is an organic experience. Yes, it’s man meets machine, but what happens is strictly within the mind.

Augmented reality is a similar form of technology in which the lines are blurred between the real world and computer generated imagery, e.g. video. Sound, video or images are overlaid onto a real world environment in order to enhance the user experience. On the spectrum between virtual reality, which creates immersive, computer-generated environments, and the real world, augmented reality is closer to the real world. Augmented reality adds graphics, sounds, haptic feedback and smell to the natural world as it exists. Both video games and cell phones are driving the development of augmented reality. Augmented reality is changing the way we view the world - or at least the way its users see the world.

Global dedicated devices augmented reality market is expected to reach $659.98 million by 2018, whereas the immersive virtual reality market is expected to reach $407.51 million by 2018. The major driving forces of augmented reality technology and virtual reality are the advancement and in computer technology and internet connectivity. The major companies included which offer AR & VR technology in various applications are Total immersion (France), Qualcomm Inc. (USA), Metaio GmBH (Germany), Vuzix Corporation (USA), Layar B.V (The Netherlands), Wikitude GmBH (Austria) and so on.

Image processing is a method to convert an image into digital form and perform some operations on it, in order to get an enhanced image or to extract some useful information from it. It is a type of signal dispensation in which input is image, like video frame or photograph and output may be image or characteristics associated with that image.

Visual information is the most important type of information perceived, processed and interpreted by the human brain. One third of the cortical area of the human brain is dedicated to visual information processing. Digital image processing, as a computer-based technology, carries out automatic processing, manipulation and interpretation of such visual information, and it plays an increasingly important role in many aspects of our daily life, as well as in a wide variety of disciplines and fields in science and technology, with applications such as television, photography, robotics, remote sensing, medical diagnosis and industrial inspection.

Image processing applications already range from industrial uses and security systems to transportation and medical technology. Even so, industry experts agree that only about 20% of all possible applications have been addressed so far. According to estimates provided by a number of manufacturers, the worldwide market volume for machine vision systems presently amounts to about 6.5 billion euros, with annual growth rates extending into the double-digit range.

Rendering refers to the process of building output files from computer animations. When an animation renders, the animation program takes the various components, variables, and actions in an animated scene and builds the final viewable result. A render can be an individual image or a series of images saved individually or sequenced into video format. Rendering research and development has been largely motivated by finding ways to simulate these efficiently. Some relate directly to particular algorithms and techniques, while others are produced together: shading, texture mapping, shadows, reflections, transparency, photorealistic rendering, non-photorealistic rendering, etc.

The market is moving toward the mature phase in many developed countries. Therefore, 3D rendering service providers have begun to focus on alternative revenue generation. For instance, they are providing value-added services and packaged services. Currently, many 3D rendering service providers are offering 3D rendering as a part of their 3D modeling services. The analysts concluded that the Global 3D Rendering and Virtualization Software market grew at a CAGR of 21.4 % over the period 2011–2015.

Visualization is any technique for creating images, diagrams, or animations to communicate a message. Visualization today has ever-expanding applications in science, education, engineering (e.g., product visualization), interactive multimedia, medicine. Scientific visualization is the use of interactive, sensory representations, typically visual, of abstract data to reinforce cognition, hypothesis building, and reasoning. Data visualization is a related subcategory of visualization dealing with statistical graphics and geographic or spatial data (as in thematic cartography) that is abstracted in schematic form. Educational visualization is using a simulation not usually normally created on a computer to create an image of something so it can be taught about. Information visualization concentrates on the use of computer-supported tools to explore large amount of abstract data. The use of visual representations to transfer knowledge between at least two person aims to improve the transfer of knowledge by using computer and non-computer-based visualization methods complementarily is called knowledge Visualization.  Product visualization involves visualization software technology for the viewing and manipulation of 3D models, technical drawing and other related documentation of manufactured components and large assemblies of products. Visual communication is the communication of ideas through the visual display of information.

3D printing (also known as additive manufacturing) is any of various processes used to synthesize a three-dimensional object. In 3D printing, additive processes are used, in which successive layers of material are laid down under computer control These objects can be of almost any shape or geometry, and are produced from a 3D model or other electronic data source. The technology is used in the fields of jewellery, footwear, industrial design, architecture, engineering and construction (AEC), automotive, aerospace, dental and medical industries, education, geographic information systems, civil engineering, and many others.

Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is a discipline concerned with the design, evaluation and implementation of interactive computing systems for human use and with the study of major phenomena surrounding them.  HCI has expanded rapidly and steadily for three decades, attracting professionals from many other disciplines and incorporating diverse concepts and approaches. To a considerable extent, HCI now aggregates a collection of semi-autonomous fields of research and practice in human-centred informatics. A user interface, such as a GUI, is how a human interacts with a computer, and HCI goes beyond designing screens and menus that are easier to use and studies the reasoning behind building specific functionality into computers and the long-term effects that systems will have on humans.

Brain-computer interface (BCI) also known as direct neural interface (DNI), or brain–machine interface (BMI), is an immediate correspondence pathway between an upgraded or wired cerebrum and an outside gadget. BCIs are frequently coordinated at looking into, mapping, helping, expanding, or repairing human intellectual or tactile engine capacities.

Animal-Computer Interaction (ACI) as of late an expanding collection of work, with an attention on: a) considering the communication amongst creatures and innovation in naturalistic settings, around particular creature exercises or interspecies relations; b) creating client focused innovation that can enhance creatures' welfare and bolster creatures in their exercises; c) educating client focused ways to deal with the outline of innovation planned for creatures, got from both association plan and creature science.

Web3D was at first the thought to completely show and explore Web destinations utilizing 3D. By expansion, the term now alludes to all intuitive 3D content which are inserted into pages html, and that we can see through a web program. Present day Web3D pages are usually controlled by WebGL. 3D web substance can be costly regarding computational power. Previously, 3D content in a program would be rendered by the CPU and couldn't profit by your PC's devoted design handling unit (GPU). Besides, if the substance was stacked into a site instead of created on the client's CPU, surfaces, networks, movement information, and sound would back off load times, making the experience not exactly ideal.

Advances are Flash Stage3d, Unity3d and Unreal Engine and so forth. 3D illustrations on the web have made some amazing progress. There are many contending advances out there, all battling to be the lord of the 3D web. It can turn out to be exceptionally hard to pick one from the changing instruments and document designs for your venture. Despite everything it stays to be seen which one, assuming any, get to be institutionalized.

Machine learning is a part of data science which majorly focuses on writing algorithms in a way such that machines (Computers) are able to learn on their own and use the learning’s to tell about new dataset whenever it comes in. Machine learning uses the power of statistics and learns from the training dataset. It is the interesting data-driven disciplines that help organizations make better decisions and positively affect the growth of any business. Statistics also deal with designing surveys and experiments to get quality data which can further be used to make an estimation of the population.

• Supervised learning

• Empowering decision makers through data visualization

• Algorithms for data analysis in Statistics

• Designing surveys and experiments