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Mission
To lead in the business of Environmental Technology (ET)
innovation and accelerate ET commercialisation to meet the
regional needs for a sustainable economic development.
Core Activities of the Centre:
Incorporated in Oct 2004 as a NTU subsidiary company, iESE
aims to lead in the business of environmental technology (ET)
innovation and commercialization through the undertaking of
promising technology development generated by members
within Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute
(NEWRI) and business collaboration with industry players. In
this regard, iESE acts as NEWRI’s window to industry.
It is one of the few business entities that specialises in
technology development/commercialisation and is wholly
owned by a University, straddling between the industry and
university. Through this unique platform, IESE’s business and
value-add activities include technology test-bedding,
commercialization, application development, environmental
specialist consultancy, process modeling/simulation and
feasibility/treatability studies. The company strives to
generate maximum economic value and return for itself and
stakeholders through its business activities in its niche areas -
Environmental Technologies, Water and Energy.
Institute for Media Innovation (IMI)
Director: Professor Nadia Magnenat-Thalmann
Vision
The Institute for Media Innovation (IMI) is an incubator of
multidisciplinary, cutting edge, media-related research ideas.
It strives to build a strong reputation as a leading, global
Interactive Digital Media (IDM) hub. In response to
Singapore’s national priority to develop IDM as a strategic
R&D area, IMI aspires to facilitate and promote
cross-disciplinary collaboration in media research at NTU.
Mission
It also seeks to provide a one-stop interface to the outside
community by forging partnerships with the Singapore
government, industry players, and other international entities.
Another important role of IMI is to enrich the educational
experience of students by exposing them to the multifaceted
field of IDM.
Overview
The Institute for Media Innovation was founded upon
Professor Bertil Andersson
's initiative in April 2008. On the
launch of IMI, then Provost and President designate said:
"This Institute is dedicated to create an environment where
technology and creativity can coexist and develop". The
Institute is directed by Professor Nadia Magnenat Thalmann
who is a world pionneer in IDM research, particularly in all
aspects of Virtual Humans simulation.
The general objective of IMI Core Research framework is to
create true synergies between the real and the virtual worlds.
This means the development of a true interaction between
real people and virtual or artificial creatures like virtual
humans, virtual animals and robots in a way of creating a real
social relationship.
Taking the lead in the development of cutting-edge
communication technologies, the Institute for Media
Innovation at Nanyang Technological University (NTU,
Singapore), together with the Swiss Federal Institute of
Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich, Switzerland) and the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill,
USA) have launched a new research centre which has
started on December 15, 2010. All directors have come
together to set up a new international research centre for
telepresence and telecollaboration, known as the BeingThere
Centre. The new proposed technologies are set to
revolutionise the way humans communicate in the 21st
century, in the same way that the telephone revolutionised
long-distance communication when it was introduced in the
19th century.
The BeingThere Centre represents a S$23 million investment
(approximately US$18 million or $17 million Swiss francs) by
the three universities and the Media Development Authority of
Singapore, and aims to leverage on the synergy between the
universities, each of which are at the forefront of research and
development (R&D) of the technology.
The collaboration will employ a team of 32 top scientists
across three continents embarking on joint R&D projects to
develop four prototypes of the telepresence system of the
21st century. The parties will share the intellectual property
and commercialisation benefits arising from the joint research
conducted at the BeingThere Centre.
Key Research Projects at IMI
Virtual Pink Dolphins
Principal Investigator: Associate Professor Yiyu Cai, School of
Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
Co-Principal Investigators:
Assistant Professor Noel Kok Hwee Chia, National Institute of
Education
Professor Daniel Thalmann, Institute for Media Innovation
Associate Professor Jianmin Zheng, School of Computer
Engineering
Professor Nadia Magnenat-Thalmann, Institute for Media
Innovation
Mr. Norman Kiak Nam Kee, National Institute of Education
Assistant Professor Kenneth Feinstein, School of Art, Design
and Media
This proposal is interested to investigate the modeling of
virtual pink dolphins, and develop novel visualization,
simulation and interactive techniques for the purpose to
replace the real pink dolphins for various applications. Virtual
Reality technology will be studied aiming to equip the virtual
pink dolphins with multi-sensorial channels (visual, audio, and
tactile) for human-dolphin communication. Research will be
directed towards better understand the anatomy,
bio-mechanics, and social behaviors (including crowd
modeling) of pink dolphins as well their underwater living
environment.
This project is an interdisciplinary effort contributed from
Institute of Media Innovation (IMI), School of Mechanical &
Aerospace Engineering (MAE), School of Computer
Engineering (SCE), and National Institute of Education (NIE).
The project is also a collaboration between Nanyang
Technological University (NTU), and Underwater World
Singapore (UWS).
EEG-based Immersion and 3D Interaction: E-learning, Art,
and Medical Application
Principal Investigator: Asisstant Professor Olga Sourina,
School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Co-Principal Investigators:
Asisstant Professor Ina Conradi, School of Art, Design, and
Media Associate Professor Theng Yin Leng, National Institute
of Education