{"51241":{"#nid":"51241","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Media Power Gives $5M to GVU Center","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EATLANTA (May 28, 2008) \u2013\u2013 Media Power Inc., a global developer of\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nhigh technology products, today announced it is donating $5 million\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nover the next five years to Georgia Tech\u0027s GVU Center for research and\u003Cbr \/\u003E\neducational activities in Augmented Reality (AR) and mobile computing.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nIn addition to the funding, Media Power is providing hardware and\u003Cbr \/\u003E\ndevelopment tools to the GVU Center to aid research and will assist the\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nCenter to find realistic settings to deploy and evaluate game ideas.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nThe gift partners Media Power\u0027s AR division, Magitech, with the GVU\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nCenter to envision, prototype and evaluate the next generation of\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nmobile AR games and entertainment applications and positions the\u003Cbr \/\u003E\ncompany as a leader in AR.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\nAugmented Reality (AR) is a field of computer research that deals\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nwith the combination of real-world and computer-generated data. At\u003Cbr \/\u003E\npresent, most AR research is concerned with the use of live video\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nimagery that is digitally processed and \u0022augmented\u0022 by the addition of\u003Cbr \/\u003E\ncomputer-generated graphics.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAugmented Reality is one of the\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nmost exciting technologies available today. Thus far, it has only\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nexisted in the research lab. It is our intention to commercialize the\u003Cbr \/\u003E\ntechnology and make it available to the public at large. Augmented\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nReality offers us the opportunity to create an entirely new advertising\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nparadigm,\u201d said Carl Freer, Co-Founder and Visionary.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u003Cbr \/\u003E\npartnered with Georgia Tech because of their reputation for excellence\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nin this area. The work they have done thus far is very exciting and\u003Cbr \/\u003E\ntheir open stance with commercial entities such as Magitech provides\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nfor a great opportunity,\u201d said Rich Jenkins, CEO Media Power. \u201cWe are\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nvery excited about the work we will do together.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUnder the\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nguidance of Georgia Tech professor Blair MacIntyre, GVU\u0027s faculty and\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nstudents with expertise in computer science, human-centered computing,\u003Cbr \/\u003E\ndigital media and game design will partner with Magitech to explore new\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nmobile AR application concepts.  The gift from Media Power also enables\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nresearch in new kinds of design and authoring tools for handheld AR\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nsystems, including systems empowering end-users to create AR games\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nthemselves.  The partnership will create opportunities for GVU\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nresearchers to evaluate commercial-grade AR applications in realistic\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nsettings.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAugmented Reality is one of the most significant\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nemerging industries in the world right now,\u201d said Rich DeMillo, Dean of\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nthe College of Computing at Georgia Tech. \u0022Its influence will be felt\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nfrom entertainment to education to health care. Georgia Tech\u2019s\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nleadership in AR research and Media Power\u2019s strength in\u003Cbr \/\u003E\ncommercialization make this an ideal partnership to achieve our mutual\u003Cbr \/\u003E\ngoal of creating breakthrough technologies that achieve sustained real\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nworld impact.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cGVU has a long track record in Augmented\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nReality and mobile computing,\u0022 said Elizabeth Mynatt, Director of the\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGVU Center. \u0022This partnership with Media Power strengthens our ability\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nto look at the entire ecosystem of mobile computing from human\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nexperience to technology, design strategies to business opportunities.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMagitech also announced today the opening of its Atlanta\u003Cbr \/\u003E\noffices, located at 817 West Peachtree Street in the Biltmore Hotel\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nbuilding, a location providing easy access to Georgia Tech.  Magitech\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nhas already hired a sizable compliment of designers, 3D modelers, AR\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nprogrammers, researchers and content developers, consisting of over 15\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGeorgia Tech and Savannah College of Art and Design-Atlanta graduates.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMagitech is Media Power\u2019s Atlanta-based augmented reality\u003Cbr \/\u003E\ndivision. Its world class research partners include the Georgia\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nInstitute of Technology in Atlanta, the Graz University of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nin Austria and the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. Magitech\u2019s\u003Cbr \/\u003E\ngoal is to develop commercial grade Augmented Reality products and\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nnetworks.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAbout Media Power\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMedia Power is a unique\u003Cbr \/\u003E\ntech company that develops consumer and business products based on\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAugmented Reality technology (AR) and other advanced systems. Media\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nPower has four divisions offering a range of hi-tech goods and\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nmarketing services: Magitech; GetFugu.com; Gizmondo; and Chinetic. For\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nmore information visit the company\u0027s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.themediapowergroup.com.\/\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u0026lt;p\u0026gt;\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt;\u0026lt;b\u0026gt;About GVU\u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/p\u0026gt;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u0026lt;p\u0026gt;The\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGVU Center at Georgia Tech is an interdisciplinary research center\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nencompassing a number of individual colleges at Georgia Tech as well as\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nexternal collaborators. GVU focuses on unlocking and amplifying human\u003Cbr \/\u003E\npotential through technical innovation in computing technologies. The\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nfaculty and students associated with GVU bring expertise ranging from\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nscience and engineering to the humanities and design. It is through\u003Cbr \/\u003E\ndeep collaboration between these diverse domains that enables the GVU\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nCenter to engage in research that would otherwise be difficult to\u003Cbr \/\u003E\ntackle in traditional academic and industrial settings.\u0026lt;\/p\u0026gt;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u0026lt;p\u0026gt;After\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nmore than a decade and half of practicing interdisciplinary research,\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGVU has gained an international recognition in 3D Compression,\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAnimation, Augmented Reality, Collaborative Work, Educational\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nTechnologies, Gaming, Graphics, Human-Computer Interaction, Information\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nVisualization, New Media, Online Communities, Perception, Robotics,\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nUbiquitous Computing, Virtual Reality and Wearable Computing. For more\u003Cbr \/\u003E\ninformation visit the center\u0027s \u0026lt;a href=\u0022\u0026gt;website\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAbout GVU\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe GVU Center at Georgia Tech is an\u003Cbr \/\u003E\ninterdisciplinary research center encompassing a number of individual\u003Cbr \/\u003E\ncolleges at Georgia Tech as well as external collaborators. GVU focuses\u003Cbr \/\u003E\non unlocking and amplifying human potential through technical\u003Cbr \/\u003E\ninnovation in computing technologies. The faculty and students\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nassociated with GVU bring expertise ranging from science and\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nengineering to the humanities and design. It is through deep\u003Cbr \/\u003E\ncollaboration between these diverse domains that enables the GVU Center\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nto engage in research that would otherwise be difficult to tackle in\u003Cbr \/\u003E\ntraditional academic and industrial settings.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAfter more than a\u003Cbr \/\u003E\ndecade and half of practicing interdisciplinary research, GVU has\u003Cbr \/\u003E\ngained an international recognition in 3D Compression, Animation,\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAugmented Reality, Collaborative Work, Educational Technologies,\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGaming, Graphics, Human-Computer Interaction, Information\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nVisualization, New Media, Online Communities, Perception, Robotics,\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nUbiquitous Computing, Virtual Reality and Wearable Computing. For more\u003Cbr \/\u003E\ninformation visit the center\u0027s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/gvu.cc.gatech.edu\/index.php\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ewebsite\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor more information, contact:\u003Cbr \/\u003EBecky Biggs\u003Cbr \/\u003EGCI Group\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:rbiggs@gcigroup.com\u0022\u003Erbiggs@gcigroup.com\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E(404) 260-3510\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EATLANTA (May 28, 2008) \u2013\u2013 Media Power Inc., a global developer of\nhigh technology products, today announced it is donating $5 million\nover the next five years to Georgia Tech\u0027s GVU Center for research and\neducational activities in Augmented Reality (AR) and mobile computing.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27154","created_gmt":"2010-02-09 21:40:56","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:04:36","author":"Louise Russo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2008-05-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2008-05-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}