Who will be able to close the Deal?    

Details for i.Match Dealroom @ Accelerate:     

Date: 23rd September 2010     

Time: 1pm (Seating starts at 12:15pm)     

Venue: Suntec Convention Center Singapore, Room 301/302     

Panelists include:    

· Chin Tahn Joo (Hina Capital)     

 · Joi Ito (Neoteny)     

 · Jupe Tan (Plug N Play)    

 · Jeffrey Paine (Founders Institute)    

 · Seow Yoke Han (MediaCorp)    

 · Hoang Duc Trung (Vinacapital)    

 · Prof Wong Poh Kam (BAF Spectrum)    

 · Representative from SingTel    

 · Representative from Telkomsel    

 As a prerequisite to pitch at the i.MATCH track – The Deal Room, companies are required to participate in a pre-selection process conducted by a panel of judges. Apart from pitching during your allocated 10 minute slot (inclusive of interrupted Q&A), you are also welcome to observe the other pitches and possibly explore synergies with other startups.     

 i.MATCH Deal Room pre-selection details:      

 Date: 17th September 2010     

 Time: 10am to 5pm    

 Venue: SingTel Auditorium    

Program of the Day:    

12:15pm  Free Seating Starts. Priority will be given to i.MATCH pass holders who attended the pre-selection on 17th September 2010 (details below).    

1:00pm-1:05pm Welcome Remarks1:05pm-1:15pm Introduction of Panelists:- Chin Tahn Joo (Hina Capital)    

- Joi Ito (Neoteny)    

- Jupe Tan (Plug N Play)    

- Jeffrey Paine (Founders Institute)    

- Seow Yoke Han (MediaCorp)    

- Hoang Duc Trung (Vinacapital)    

- Prof Wong Poh Kam (BAF Spectrum)    

- Representative from SingTel    

- Representative from Telkomsel    

1:15pm-3:00pm Deal Room Pitching: 1st half of shortlisted companies from pre-selection will be making pitches to the panel    

3:00pm-3:30pm Break 

3:30pm-5:30pm Deal Room Pitching (Continued): 2nd half of shortlisted companies from pre-selection will be making pitches to the panel.    

5:30pm onwards Network Session: Free and easy networking session with panelists and pitching companies.    

Panelists for the pre-selection includes:    

Barry Jones (Maroon Analytics), William Klippgen (Tigris Capital), Tan Yinglan (National Research Foundation), Prof. Lawrence Wong (National University of Singapore), Dmitry Levit (IDG Ventures), Wong Meng Weng (JFDI Asia), Chow Yen-Lu (WholeTree Technologies), Reto Callegari (Adval CIC), Pete Bonee (Innosight Ventures), Eric Teo (Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore), Yong Soo Ping (Walden International), Kris Leong (Walden International), Carmen Yuen (SPRING), Tai Hock Lin (NUS Entrepreneurship Center), Murli Ravi (JAFCO Investment Asia Pacific Ltd)    

Each attendee for i.MATCH will also receive a complimentary conference pass to Accelerate 2010 worth $399 !    

Only limited slots available so do register now: REGISTER    

For more details, please refer to: DETAILS     

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]]> http://www.idm.sg/i-match-the-deal-room-2/feed/ 0 http://www.idm.sg/ring-of-champions-the-road-to-l-a-press-release/ http://www.idm.sg/ring-of-champions-the-road-to-l-a-press-release/#comments Tue, 07 Sep 2010 05:44:36 +0000 yingyan http://www.idm.sg/?p=1398 RING OF CHAMPIONS: THE ROAD TO L.A. PRESS RELEASE

Garena Holds Tournament To Send Southeast Asia’s Best League Of Legends Players To L.A.

SINGAPORE, August 18th 2010 – Garena, the world’s leading online gaming service provider, is organizing a League of Legends tournament from 4th to 5th September 2010 to determine Southeast Asia’s best League of Legends team. The winning team will be sent to the World Cyber Games Grand Finals 2010 in Los Angeles, California, where they will compete against the top League of Legends teams from USA, Europe and China.
Ring of Champions will be one of the biggest gaming events held in Southeast Asia, with 40 gamers from Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam battling it out at the Singapore Expo for a chance to fly to the City of Angels.
All the action from the tournament will be broadcasted online in the form of a video miniseries at lol.garena.com/roc, and will feature exclusive player profiles and interviews in addition to recaps of the games played.
“League of Legends is a top-quality title and Garena is very excited to be bringing it to gamers throughout Southeast Asia,” said Ulf Waschbusch, Chief Product Officer of Garena. “Ring of Champions is a fantastic opportunity for our gamers to be sent to Los Angeles and showcase their skills on the world stage. It is the first of many League of Legends events that gamers can look forward to in the near future.”
This will be the first time that League of Legends will be included in the WCG Grand Finals.
“Riot Games is extremely eager to see the outcome of the Ring of Champions tournament,” said Marc Merrill, co-founder and President of Riot Games. “Some of League of Legends’ best players hail from Southeast Asia and we know they are going to be well represented at the WCG Grand Finals.”

Event Details
Date: 4th – 5th September 2010
Venue: Singapore Expo, Conference Halls H and J (Beside Hall 2)
Timing: 4th September – 9 AM to 6 PM
5th September – 9 AM to 6 PM

League Of Legends – Riot Games’ debut title is a session-based, multiplayer online game where teams of players compete for victory. Built by a veteran development team and the original creators of Defense Of The Ancients, one of the world’s most popular player-made mods, League Of Legends combines elements of the role-playing and strategy genres with addictive competitive action.
For more information about League Of Legends, please visit www.leagueoflegends.com and lol.garena.com.

About Riot Games, Inc.
Riot Games is a direct-to-consumer video game developer and publisher of premium, competitive online games. Riot Games, based in Los Angeles, is funded through venture capital firms Benchmark Capital and Firstmark Capital and China’s largest online services corporation, Tencent. The company was established in 2006 and has quickly become a leading global developer and publisher of premium free-to-play online video games for hardcore gamers, launching their debut title, League of Legends, in October 2009. To date, more than 3 million gamers play League of Legends and log more than 15 million hours of playtime each month.
For more information, please visit www.riotgames.com.

About Garena Online Private Limited.
Founded in Singapore, Garena is today the world’s leading online gaming service provider and game content distributor serving over 50 million users.
For more information, please visit www.garena.com.

SPONSORS
Official Airline- Air Asia
Official Product Sponsor- Razer
Official Partner- Informatics
Supported By: Red Bull, SCOGA

CONTACT:
Jason Ng
Garena Online
+65 62708100
info@garena.com

EVENTS come and go, but virtualisation in the form of online 3D worlds or models ensures a lasting legacy.

Mr Lim Yeow Chong, Creative Director, Crystal Computer Graphics, talks about how the Shanghai World Expo virtual world was built using the company’s proprietary suite of 3D architectural virtualisation technologies called NCity.

What is NCity?

NCity is a suite of virtualisation technologies that Crystal Computer Graphics has developed to build 3D virtual models. Drawing on the power of cloud computing, where services are delivered through the Internet, NCity can be used on a web platform without the need to install any client software.

Why create a virtual world of the Shanghai World Expo?

The virtual world mirrors the real Shanghai World Expo right down to every detail. And there are no spatial limitations. So, if people can’t attend the expo or if the venue is too crowded, they can just visit it virtually. Six months later, when the expo has ended, they can still view it online.

What kind of experience can the virtual world offer?

There are two versions of the Shanghai World Expo virtual world. One is the mirror world replicating the expo, where online visitors can take a tour of every country’s pavilion. The Singapore Pavilion, for example, introduces Singapore, its culture and its food diversity. There is also a virtual garden on the top floor, where visitors can watch orchids “grow” and get information on them.

The other version is a game world where the setting is also the mirror world, but the focus is on user-generated content. Visitors can create and contribute any content, be it videos, building models or flash games. It is also meant to be social, where visitors can chat online and enter contests.

What challenges did you face?

Building the models using NCity was not difficult. The challenge was in sourcing for information in order to build accurate models that would also look good. Our deadline to finish building the mirror world was in March this year, and even in March, many countries have yet to finish building their physical pavilions. It was difficult to visualise the pavilions using just floor plans. So we had to do the best we can and spend a lot of time at the worksites talking to the architects and designers to understand the pavilions.

How did the company get started on virtualisation projects?

We actually started out as an architectural firm but began building virtual models of buildings to offer to clients as an additional service. We could put all our work online using cloud computing, which was just taking off. Taking a step further four years ago, we applied for a grant from the Interactive Digital Media R&D Programme Office hosted by the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) to help us defray the research cost for NCity. When we were breaking into the international market, MDA also helped link us to other governments. It also connected us with commercial partners and potential clients.

One of our first projects resulting from the research was the virtualisation of Singapore’s landscapes such as Marina Bay. We then worked with a number of real-estate developers in China and even did a visualisation of China’s first manned space walk. When the expo came around, we thought it was a good idea to make a mirror world of the whole expo, and our new technology got the organiser interested.

What other virtual landscapes has the company built?

We built the virtual arenas of the Beijing Olympics and are now working those of the upcoming London Olympics. The Beijing Olympics organisers used the virtual arenas for the training of volunteers. In Jordan, we are now involved in a project using NCity for the master planning of cities. We are also working with property developers and urban planning ministries in China, Singapore and India.

What is the future trend of virtualisation?

Many virtual worlds have come and gone. They have been touted as social platforms but they have not worked. The main thrust of virtualisation should be serious games, to make the content more learning based.

Tell us about your upcoming projects.

We are currently researching new technologies to be used for education. One potential new project is a virtual world using NCity to teach Mandarin to children, where they have to use the right Chinese characters in order to buy virtual items or to kill monsters. This way, parents can quantify how much their children have learnt.

 - Crystal Computer Graphics is an IDMPO-supported company. This article was taken from the Singapore Media Fusion e-newsletter.

When it comes to the future of media in Singapore, one thing’s for sure – interactive digital media (IDM) will be one of the most significant growth pillars, redefining how businesses work and how consumers live and play.

The IDM growth engine is set to continue picking up speed. In recent months, the Interactive Digital Media R&D Programme Office (IDMPO) hosted by the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) has launched several new initiatives that are aimed at catalysing IDM breakthroughs.

The Future of Media initiative  aims to catalyse growth in the IDM sector by pulling together companies and combining their user bases, distribution networks, development platforms and marketing/promotion resources towards the goal of accelerating global market success.

A Vibrant IDM Ecosystem

IDMPO has, through its various funding and business-matching initiatives, kick-started numerous quality projects targeting international markets and supported innovations for niche sectors in which Singapore can become a global or regional leader.

Singapore-built digital media applications and services have to date been used by 50 million users from over 200 countries. Some notable examples include: ADME Network, an advanced content delivery platform developed by PGK Media, which enables videos and pictures to be sent from anywhere using mobile devices and the Internet; the mobile application BuUuk, which allows iPhone users to find any restaurant quickly and easily; and NCity, a suite of virtualisation technologies developed by Crystal Computer Graphics, which has been adopted for the virtual world of the Shanghai World Expo.

IDMPO’s efforts have created a vibrant IDM ecosystem in Singapore. It has so far funded a total of 330 R&D projects, with 160 new products and services launched and 28 patents filed. The efforts to seed innovation within the young industry have produced over 170 startups and supported more than 550 IDM entrepreneurs.

IDM Research Centre

Moving forward, IDMPO continues to plant the seeds for the IDM industry’s growth not just in size, but in depth as well. Among its recent initiatives to boost Singapore’s capabilities in IDM research was the establishment of the Fraunhofer IDM Centre@NTU.

Facilitated by IDMPO and funded by Singapore’s National Research Foundation, the Fraunhofer IDM Centre@NTU is a collaboration between the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (Fraunhofer), Europe’s largest institute for applied research. It will focus on the promotion of applied research and the commercialisation of IDM innovations.

MDA, NTU and Fraunhofer will be pumping in a total of S$14 million into the new centre. On top of this, the institution will receive another S$11 million in investment arising from a licence agreement with Fraunhofer.

Fraunhofer IDM Centre@NTU is the latest addition to the international network of IDM R&D institutions that Singapore is building, which includes the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab, China-Singapore Institute of Digital Media and Keio-NUS Connective Ubiquitous Technology for Embodiments (CUTE) Centre.

Mr Michael Yap, Executive Director, IDMPO, noted: “We are attracting the best talents and institutions around the world, making Singapore a preferred place for IDM R&D. We hope that the research development resulting from these institutions will be adopted by our IDM industry and give us a competitive edge in this exciting sector.”

Future of Media

The IDM ecosystem continues to flourish thanks to IDMPO’s Future of Media initiative, which encourages companies to innovate and conduct research on next-generation media applications in television, mobile phones, virtual worlds, books and games.

Recently IDMPO announced its selection of 23 projects from the Future of Media call for proposal. It will award a total of S$10.5 million to these projects, which are expected to generate about S$50 million worth of total investments in Singapore and create 200 new jobs over the next two years.

One of the selected projects is TangoFX from Above Technologies. This interactive media platform allows users to create their own television or movie channels and watch shows together with their families or friends no matter where they are, using built-in cameras on computers and mobile phones. It is based on cloud computing and delivers services through the Internet.

TangoFX has been in development for just eight months but has already netted Microsoft and Cisco as partners. Above Technologies has started working with Microsoft to push this service on the Windows Mobile platform and Microsoft’s cloud computing service Azure, said it’s Chief Executive Officer Poonacha Machaiah. Its collaboration with Cisco focuses on the backend video system for the platform.

Another Singapore firm, Innosoft, which develops mobile applications, would virtually not have hit the big time without business matching from IDMPO. It paired the small company with phone giant Nokia, and the matchmaking resulted in a mobile application, iGV, for Singapore-based cinema operator Golden Village last year.

Under the Future of Media initiative, Nokia and Innosoft are collaborating again, this time on a new mobile application which works like an online cinema. Users will be able to buy and watch movies on their mobile phones, which will be cheaper than going to the cinema, said Innosoft’s Director Dennis Yin.

Commenting on the prospects of the IDM industry, Mr Yin said: “Take the mobile phone sector, for example. These days almost everyone carries a Smartphone, and there are more platforms like Google Android. There is a lot of growth potential for IDM.”

“I’m grateful to MDA for giving us the opportunity to work on a project with a big partner like Nokia. MDA-organised industry meet-ups have also been very helpful for my firm.”

- Taken from Singapore Media Fusion (SMF) e-Newsletter -

These developments were shared at the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab Industry & Media Day, where 39 new students fresh from a 9-week internship at MIT showcased seven newly developed game prototypes to some 90 industry players, representatives from tertiary institutes, members of the media, and others. Among them were representatives from Lucasfilms, Ubisoft and Boomzap, which have been sending representatives to attend the annual GAMBIT event for a first look at its latest crop of interns and their game prototypes.  

Said Mr Olivier de Rotalier, Managing Director, Ubisoft Singapore said, “Having worked with GAMBIT over the past two years, I would say this programme presents a fantastic opportunity for both the students and the video game industry. The management team of the programme is doing a great job in selecting students of a certain caliber and sieving out only those with the right motivation for the industry. In addition, this internship also enhances the maturity level of participating students by enabling them to understand the challenges of complex projects earlier than their counterparts.”  

Dr Milagros Rivera, Head of the Communications and New Media Programme at National University of Singapore, agreed. She said: “GAMBIT’s Summer Internship Program has created opportunities for our students that we would have never been able to provide in the classroom. Spending uninterrupted time with students from other institutions at MIT and immersing themselves in a creative environment has been very enriching for those students who have participated. I think this program has done more than just provide the games industries in Singapore with trained professionals. For those students who have participated, the internship has been life transforming; and that is something you cannot measure.”  

Building on its strong momentum of talent and game development, the GAMBIT programme was recently awarded the Eighth Best Game Design Program out of 500 in North America and Canada by The Princeton Review, a non-profit establishment in the United States that provides advisory services for pre-college students. It was also the only non-degree programme listed in the top 10.  

The event also recapped some of the notable achievements resulting from GAMBIT’s past summer game prototypes. Among these was a 2009 summer game prototype titled Waker, which was nominated as one of the Top Six Finalists in the non-professional category at the Indie Game Challenge 2010 held in Las Vegas. It was featured at the Pax East Boston Indie Showcase in March 2010, together with Dearth, another 2009 summer game prototype.  

The 2008 alumni has also made much headway, with the popular CarneyVale: Showtime turning into a runaway success, becoming one of the first Singapore games available on all three Microsoft platforms – Xbox Live, Windows-LIVE on the PC platform and Windows Mobile 7.  

For the first time, GAMBIT students have set up their own games companies. Three Singapore Management University students from the 2008 GAMBIT batch founded The Dumpling Dimension, which successfully released an educational iPhone game Bee Spelled earlier this year and is planning for more releases in the pipeline. Notably, another GAMBIT student from the 2007 batch, Travis Ho, also found success through his own start-up company called Touch Dimensions. Its flagship game, Autumn Dynasty, beat over 100 entries from the Asia Pacific to win the “Best Student Game” at the inaugural Independent Games Festival China 2009. The company was also recently commissioned by Microsoft to create some 20 free casual entertainment applications on the Windows Mobile operating system.  

The Singapore-MIT GAMBIT game lab is a five-year initiative involving the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) and MIT, and is supported by the National Research Foundation in Singapore. It aims to address important challenges faced by the global digital game research community and industry. The core focus is to identify and solve research problems using a multi-disciplinary approach that can be implemented and applied by Singapore’s digital game industry. It involves a summer internship programme where local tertiary students are attached to MIT to create new innovative games based on research topics.  

Apart from talent and game development, GAMBIT’s primary focus is on research, innovating on the artistic, creative, business, technical and social aspects of games. To date, GAMBIT has published 75 research papers in international journals/conferences and books, with 11 new papers this quarter alone – a positive indication of the maturation of game research work in Singapore. These papers have been actively sought by the industry, enabling professionals and researchers to share their insights and develop ground-breaking gameplay.  

Dr Christopher Chia, Chief Executive Officer, MDA said: “The Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab has established itself as the cornerstone for grooming talent for the games industry, and we are encouraged to learn that the skill sets acquired by GAMBIT students and the training they have received continue to be highly valued by reputable industry players, even with the economic uncertainty last year. With GAMBIT approaching the 200-mark in terms of student participation thus far, it will continue to enhance its internship programme with greater value-add, thereby inspiring future batches of young talents to mature into competent and capable games professionals who will help project the Singapore brand name far and wide in the future.”  

“GAMBIT is a great demonstration of a successful collaboration, not just between countries, but between students, faculty, and industry,” says Professor William Uricchio, Director of the MIT Comparative Media Studies programme. “More than just teaching students how to develop games, GAMBIT provides an opportunity to rethink the types of games that can be made. More than just taking a course, the students are an integral part of the research process. Research publications, new start-up companies, and ongoing collaborations with the Singapore-based games industry all work together to push the envelope of games with the GAMBIT imprint of innovative thinking.”  

For more information, please contact:  

Michelle Lim  

Assistant Manager  

Media Development Authority, Singapore  

Tel: +65 8183 3947  

Email: michelle_lim@mda.gov.sg  

Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA)  

Formed in 2003, the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) plays a vital role in transforming Singapore into a Global Media City and positioning it at the forefront of the digital media age. MDA spearheads initiatives that promote developments in film, video, television, radio, publishing, music, games, animation, media services and Interactive Digital Media. At the same time, in ensuring clear and consistent regulatory policies and guidelines, MDA helps to foster a probusiness environment for industry players and increase media choices for consumers. For more information, please visit www.mda.gov.sg and www.smf.sg.  

The Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab (GAMBIT)  

The Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab is a five-year research initiative that addresses important challenges faced by the global digital game research community and industry, with a core focus on identifying and solving research problems using a multi-disciplinary approach that can be applied by Singapore’s digital game industry. The Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab focuses on building collaborations between Singapore institutions of higher learning and several MIT departments to accomplish both research and development. For more information, visit http://gambit.mit.edu.  

The National Research Foundation (NRF)  

The National Research Foundation (NRF), a department under the Prime Minister’s Office, sets the national direction for research and development (R&D) by developing policies, plans and strategies for research, innovation and enterprise, funds strategic initiatives, builds up R&D capabilities and capacities through nurturing our own and attracting foreign talent, and coordinates the research agenda of different agencies to transform Singapore into a knowledge-intensive, innovative and entrepreneurial economy. It provides secretariat support to the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council (RIEC), chaired by the Prime Minister. A five-year budget of S$5 billion has been allocated to the NRF in 2006 to achieve this mission. For more information, please visit www.nrf.gov.sg .  

2010 Summer Games Projects inspired by Innovative Research from Singapore & MIT  

1. Afterland

Project Synopsis  

Afterland is a side-scrolling 2D platformer that immerses the player ina world out of time with a penchant for collecting. One day, in his wanderings, he discovers an ancient parchment that he can barely decipher, a remnant of the past. Inspired by his discovery, he seeks to fill his house with the fascinating artifacts that have captured his imagination. Can you help him to find fulfillment and inner peace?    

2. ELUDE

Project Synopsis  

Life is a never-ending struggle, full of rising and falling moods. Elude mirrors this struggle against the rising tide of depression, and the search for a path to happiness. Yet happiness remains elusive. Again and again, losing passion for anything in life, you plunge into depression. Only by continually calling out to the world can you find experiences that resonate, allowing you to ascend into happiness.  

For people who have never experienced it before, depression is difficult to understand. It is not simply sadness, as many may think; it is more akin to an all-encompassing hopelessness, a failure to connect to or derive meaning from the outside world. By tapping into the experiential aspects of the video game medium, Elude’s metaphorical model for depression serves to bring awareness to the realities of depression by creating empathy with those who live with depression every day.  

Interestingly enough, the word “Elude” originates from the Latin word “e-ludere” which means “away from” and is itself derived from the “ludo” with the meanings “to play” and “to trick.”  

3. IMPROVISO

Project Synopsis  

Improviso is a role playing game that focuses on improvisation and role-playing between two players as they interact with each other and the objects in the world to create a personalized experience that is unique to them. Players will be placed on a stage and they will assume the role of actors. A scenario will be given to them at the start of the game and both players will have to work together to act out the scene. Several tools have been provided to aid them in their role-playing: numerous props for them to use, the ability to swap between different characters in-game, and the ability to change the soundtrack to bring out the mood of the game.   

4. POIKILIA

Project Synopsis  

 Designed as an educational game for middle-school-age students, Poikilia includes modular narrative components to allow for gameplay with and without story, as part of ongoing research on narrative in educational games. Players, employing their knowledge of additive and subtractive colour theory, control a young boy who has to navigate his way past the ruins of a labyrinth.   

5. Symon

Project Synopsis  

Symon is a point-and-click adventure game that takes place inside the dreams of a paralyzed patient. Through exploration of the pensive and sentimental dreamscape, he discovers repressed memories and tries to reconcile his troubled past. The game requires the player to think differently, stepping out of the normal boundaries of conventional adventure game logic. Symon places a heavy emphasis on dream-logic, focusing memory and synesthesia to form the (il)logical connections required to solve the puzzles.  

Each dream world is populated with characters and objects that represent the player character’s broken past. Each time he returns to the dream state, the puzzles are different, so every playthrough is different. While most traditional adventure game puzzles are hard-coded, Symon aims to bring a fresh experience through the introduction of procedurally generated puzzles and game-spaces. 

6. SEER 

Project Synopsis

Seer is an exploration game where players control an unassuming and mysterious figure in his trusty rubber ducky as they wander and explore a dark seascape. However, darkness is not the only adversary they must face; whirlpools, rocks, and ripping currents all stand between them and the truth.

However, whether the truth is something that the curious duo really wants to find is something that remains to be seen. Will they hunt down the lighthouses and conquer the challenges necessary to light them? What about when they realize they can quit searching and leave at any time?

7. Yet one word

 Project Synopsis

Yet one word is a platformer that makes the player reflect on their lives, actions, and relationships to progress while maneuvering a faceless horned character through a world of perilous platforms. Unlike other platformers the player doesn’t directly control the avatar’s movement and jumps; instead they command the avatar from platform to platform through typing. Throughout Yet One Word the avatar will grow and develop to face increasingly dangerous challenges. This growth comes not through defeating enemies or completing objectives, but through the player answering personal, and occasionally uncomfortable, questions.  

The 3-D multi-platform solution provides a true 3-D immersive environment with localized information on weather, traffic, bus routes, real-time parking lots availability on Orchard Road and 18 YOG competition venues. It is available for download at SingTel’s website, Apple AppStore and Android Open Market.

KPB is the First in Asia to provide such ubiquitous access to localized information in an intuitive 3-D environment and it is a successful demonstration of the greater 3-D Singapore plan envisioned by IDMPO. The swift delivery was attributed to the fact that the same large-scale 3-D modeling methodology has been deployed in producing the entire Singapore in 3-D, in a previous project funded by the IDMPO.

NCS’s domain expertise in building the network infrastructure as well as the system integration efforts is also the key to the success. LTA and NEA have contributed traffic information and weather updates in the event respectively. An open Standard XML API was used for the integrations.

Contact: Simon Fong
KPB Technology Pte Ltd
Tel: 6571 8138
Fax: 6333 4636

The National University of Singapore (NUS) and Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, together with the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA), have officially launched the new NUS-Tsinghua Extreme Search Centre.

This was announced by DPM Wong Kan Seng at the sidelines of the China-Singapore Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation. The NExT Search Centre (N for NUS, Ex for Extreme, and T for Tsinghua), facilitated by the Interactive Digital Media R&D Programme Office (IDMPO), focuses on researching the technologies, framework and applications of live media search, as well as exploring the commercialisation of technologies of companies in Singapore, China and further abroad.

Supported by a funding of S$10 million over five years by IDMPO, which is hosted by MDA, with combined contributions in kind from NUS and Tsinghua, NExT has a total vaue of support of approximately S$20 million. The Centre also aims to raise an additional S$4 million in external grants to support its work. The agreement to set up the Centre was signed between NUS, Tsinghua University and MDA on 1 May 2010.

There are plans for NExT Search Centre to engage more than 150 graduate students and researchers, and a total of 25 principal investigators from both NUS and Tsinghua University will be leading various projects at the Centre. The Centre will be overseen by a Management Committee comprising senior personnel from MDA, NUS and Tsinghua University.

The NExT Search Centre will carry out research in the following four areas:

a) Live media search: to research on the analysis, filtering and retrieval of information embedded within thousands of live sensors, along with mobile devices and other associated news, calendar and e-mailing information.

b) Live forum search: to study the mining and retrieval of multilingual and multimedia forum data, including opinion mining, question-answering and extraction of user behaviours and interests.

c) Distributed infrastructure: to tackle the key research challenges in developing distributed and networking support for the sampling, updating and distribution of data from millions of live sensors over large geographical regions.

d) Extreme database support: to examine database support for live stream indexing, and spatial-temporal querying of millions of live streams.

Further links in the media: CNA, ZaoBao 

2.   MXR gains traction in the Chinese market  

IDMPO-supported MXR Corporation recently signed 3 agreements with Chinese companies, as part of its push into the Chinese market. These agreements were signed during the showcase of Singapore IDM companies at the Shanghai World Expo. This media showcase at the Singapore Pavilion featured many of MXR Corporation’s mixed reality products, including its popular Magic Cards product.

The agreements –signed with Changzhou Dinosaur Land Culture & Creative Co. Ltd.Suzhou H&H Capital Co. Ltd. and Shanghai Jiecui Digital Co. Ltd—span a variety of business activities, including co-development of mixed reality products and venture capital funding. Having already established offices in Nanjing, Beijing, and Hong Kong, MXR Corporation is strengthening its presence in the Chinese market with these new agreements.

Of particular note is the investment agreement signed with Suzhou H&H Capital Co. Ltd, by which Suzhou H&H Capital will invest in MXR Corporation to help the company expand in China. Mr. Hou, Chairman of SuZhou H&H Capital Co., Ltd. is optimistic about MXR Corporation, saying: “We are confident (that) our investments are well placed. With the support of the Chinese government and the hard work that MXR’s staffs are putting in to contribute to the development and popularization of Mixed Reality, we believe that MXR can expand successfully in China.” This investment agreement also marks one of the first steps for Suzhou H&H Capital to build plans to invest in Singaporean companies.

MXR Corporation is a spin-off from Mixed Reality Lab of the NUS, and its mixed reality education products have been sold in dozens of countries worldwide since its inception in 2007.

3.    Personal eMotion (PEM) signs licensing deal with Tien Wah Press

PEM has signed a definitive term sheet with Tien Wah Press (TWP), for licensing of PEM’s KooBits software platform.  TWP is among the Top 10 printers in the world and has some of biggest publishers in the world, with its portfolio. The licensing deal requires PEM to commit to using their platform and patented technology to convert books to the interactive e-Platform.

4.   VEEV and CETV partner to develop and market new educational tools

VEEV Interactive has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with China Education TV (CETV) for a partnership to develop new media educational content and technologies. The 2 companies will be co-developing and promoting several products and services, including the “Chinese Village”, which is a 3D virtual learning community for Chinese language. CETV is one of only 3 nation-wide Chinese broadcasters, and it is the only national education TV station in China.

VEEV and CETV will also be marketing bilingual teacher-training, and vocational and professional training courses. They will jointly develop and market the largest iTNC (Interactive TV Network for Campus), where regional schools can share their work, resources, ideas and experiences.

5.    Time Voyager’s new venture into China

Within two years of receiving IDMPO funding, Time Voyager has set up a branch office in China and also acquired another game company in Hangzhou. With the acquisition of Azure Studio (China), Time Voyager will bring on board Azure’s strengths to enhance the level of in-game art quality and visual effects.

Time Voyager is a Singapore-based, IDMPO-supported company with founders hailing from Singapore, Taiwan and China. The 50-man strong company is currently working on a large-scale 3D Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) titled “PROJECT A”, and the core development team members have an average of between 8 to 15 years of experience developing online games, animation, software, game publishing and operational management.  

6.    Visual Factory moves into China market

IDMPO-supported company Visual Factory signed an agreement with Beijing Hong Zilan Art Centre to provide a new next generation 3D immersive plug-in for the art centre’s “China Art 114″ website. This plug-in is the foundation of Beijing Hong Zilan’s online 3D art galleries, which promote art to the global market. The new plug-in will support all spectrums of standard web-browsers and will enable web users to enjoy highly optimized 3D graphics for online art.

Visual Factory has also created other similar products such as an online 3D virtual showroom called Cybermuseum for the National Heritage Board of Singapore. The Cybermuseum showcases some collections in the Singapore National Museum, Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore Philatelic Museum, as well as the Singapore National Archives. 

Visual Factory recently opened a new representative office in Beijing, and within a month this news received media coverage at the China ArtIntern website , Chine 99ys.com , and China Art guide .These sites went on to state that museums and art institutions are currently looking to use 3D technology, and this brings benefits such as initiating the exchange of different cultural heritages around the world. With future developments in 3D technology being planned, there are now more possibilities than before to bring arts and heritage culture closer to the younger generation.

                                                                                                     Visual Factory CEO Ilan Ofek (first from the left); Ms. Zhou, owner of Beijing Hong Zilan Arts Centre;  Ms. Ying Shu, Chief Representative Visual Factory (China); and Prof. Zhou, owner of Hong Zilan.

Held over a 24-hour period, the competition has as its goal to develop a web-based or mobile application, and this year’s theme was to develop such applications to help reduce environmental impact or promote sustainable living in Singapore.  This year’s competition took place on 23 July 2010, and the winners were announced on 3rd August 2010.

 The winning team for the open category, The Dynamics, consisted of 3 students from Nanyang Polytechnic, clinched the top prize with their ‘Green Remote Estate Network ‘(GREN) program which impress the judges by a web-based building application that can be installed to any residential, commercial premises to conserve energy, allowing users to monitor and maintain electrical appliances even if the user is not present at the premise. Users can also check the premises real time through a CCTV surveillance camera. In addition, the GREN system can be set based on weather conditions to adjust utilities settings, such as reducing the fan speed or air conditioning when the weather gets cool.

Team member Kishan Manokaran said that the team aims to expand the range of controllable appliances from lights, fans and PCs to ‘printers, escalators, lift and so on’, and eventually commercialize GREN. “We are working closely with our teachers on making sure we can achieve something that can really be used by a lot of buildings. If anyone wants to buy our stuff we would welcome them,” Manokaran told Business Times.  

The second prize went to Anjels, formed by a team of three practicing industry professionals, who developed “Green Police”, a multi-user Web-based 3D application for checking on energy wastage in a building. Last but not least, third prize winner berYL, formed by three Singapore Management University (SMU) students, came up with an integrated Web and iPhone application called “Eco-Watch Adviser” which allows users to conveniently access information and tips on living a greener lifestyle, including energy consumption guide from the National Environment Agency (NEA), live traffic data and weather forecast, and a calendar of upcoming ‘green’ events and activities in Singapore.

“We are very pleased that almost half of the finalists in the Open Category used GermaniumWeb in their entries. They have successfully used GermaniumWeb to visualize in 3D the buildings controlled by their applications, right in a Web browser. Some have integrated other Web-enabled technologies and even hardware into their applications, and in these entries, GermaniumWeb allows their users to virtually view the hardware that is being controlled. For example, in one of the entries the user can remotely turn off the PCs that are displayed in the 3D view,” commented Mr. Ian Loh, Product Manager for GermaniumWeb at G Element.

Further details at  The Business Times.

The winning team: Team Dyanmics from NYP uses the IDMPO supported GElement plugin, GermaniumWeb to create their winning application for CXA 2010

Application "GREN'

Date: 8 September 2010, Wednesday

Time: Registration @ 2pm

Venue: Genexis Theatre, Level 5, Fusionopolis

Guest of Honour: Mr Lui Tuck Yew, Acting Minister for Information, Communication and the Arts

Time               Item

2.00pm            Registration. (All guests to be seated by 2.55pm)

3.00pm            Arrival of Guest of Honour

3.05pm            Introduction

3.10pm            Opening address by Guest-of-Honour

3.20pm            Launch of Digital Advertising Alliance

3.25pm            Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Revenue Report Autumn 2010

3.40pm            Consumer Best Practices by Mobile Marketing Association

3.55pm            IAB Industry Insight Initiatives

4:05pm            Marketplace: Calls-for-Proposals by SiTF, SingTel and MDA/IMDPO

5.00pm            Network and Showcase of Innovative Digital Advertising Applications/Solutions @F11, Level 11

                       Symbiosis Tower (Refreshments will be served)

To register for the event, please visit here

Product & service demos by

2359 Media
Brandtology
Circos
Dentsu
Lotus Partners
Mediacorp Pte Ltd
Microsoft
PGK Media
Singtel iMedia
smoov
SPH Search
ST Razor TV
StarHub
TechSailor

Participating organisations
Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Singapore (4As)
Institute of Advertising Singapore (IAS)
Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB)
Mobile Marketing Association (MMA)
Singapore infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF)
Singapore Media Association

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