I just returned from Siggraph 2007 a few days ago. It was a mixed collection of interesting technologies and ideas. As one would expect, the primary focus of the conference was computer graphics and related technologies, but I was primarily interested in the artistic exhibits and emerging display and interface technologies on display. Here’s a brief collection of a few that I found interesting.

Overall, I was most impressed by the “lower” tech innovations. A few great examples were SOAP and Globe4D.

[flv:http://mediamill.cla.umn.edu/mediamill/download.php?file=3702.flv http://mediamill.cla.umn.edu/mediamill/thumb.php?id=2485%26big=true” 640 480]

To put it simply, Globe4D is kind of like a large trackball or an upside-down mouse with an additional optical sensor to measure rotation. Additionally, there is a turntable around the edge that allows users to explore another dimension such as time. The projection comes from overhead and seems to employ pretty simple OpenGL texture mapping onto a sphere. A very nice, responsive physical interface.

Continue reading Notes from Siggraph, 2007 …

I walk past this poster by Karl Bickel almost every day.  One day, to my surprise, I noticed that the artist's signature looked a lot like the Bluetooth logo.  A quick side-by-side comparison of the tiny blue logo on my cell-phone and the poster confirmed the match.  I also found this example of Karl's signature (it is in the center of the image).

A little bit of internet research revealed that the Bluetooth logo was supposedly constructed from Nordic runes that represent the initials of the Danish king Harald Blåtand after whom Bluetooth was named (see this wiki article).

Anyway, I found no mention of any connection between Bickel's signature and the Bluetooth logo on the internet.  Has anyone noticed this before?