With our ability to capture, manipulate and synthesize images increasing rapidly, there is a growing interest in making the visual experience of that content more compelling. The growing accessibility of video projector technology opens up a panoply of immersive viewing configurations in which visual content is taken "out of the box" and projected directly onto surfaces in the viewer's world.

Of particular interest are the simultaneous use of multiple video projectors to acheive a large composite image, and projections onto "immersive" or non-planar surfaces. The success of both depend critically on the details of the surface shapes and their layout in 3D space. Sébastien Roy has developed a new method of automatic alignment for such configurations, in which a 3D reconstruction of the screen surface is made using structured light. The 3D reconstruction allows the projectors to be calibrated so as to guarantee that their overlapped images produce a single seamless image of large dimension.

The graphics world's answer to "surround sound"? Come and find out!

The second half of this evening will be informal, giving attendees a chance to visit two immersive environments installed at the event:

• Dr. Roy will be providing live demonstrations of his projection techniques with a 30-foot-diameter immersive dome surrounded by multiple projectors.
• Workspace-Unlimited founders Thomas Soetens and Kora Van den Bulcke invite attendees to experience Virtual World of Art, a networked, multi-user virtual reality installation. Built around the Quake game engine, it opens up a new kind of immersive space for artistic and experimental purposes. Currently on display is the Virtual SAT environment, an architectural experiment based on a recreation of the SAT building itself. This will be networked with another Virtual World of Art site at the Vooruit in Ghent, Belgium, in 2004.

This event is organized in collaboration with the Society for Arts and Technology.