June 16, 2004

SAIC Donates Key Virtual Reality Technology To
UCSD Center For Research In Computing And The Arts

By Patricia Quill

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), the San Diego-based research and engineering company, has donated 19 patents in the field of high-resolution video display and videoconferencing to the Center for Research in Computing and the Arts (CRCA) at the University of California, San Diego.

Marsha Chandler, acting Chancellor, UCSD and Tom Dillon, group senior vice president, SAIC

“This gift marks the cornerstone of an intellectual property repository that I have endeavored to build for CRCA,” said Sheldon Brown, CRCA director and head of New Media Arts in the California Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technologies [Cal-(IT)²]. “These patents will enhance the work that CRCA researchers are able to do in the field of virtual reality. Using this virtual reality technology with art as a filter, we will be able to re-contextualize these technologies in more diverse cultural realms. While many of these patents were initially developed for simulation and training purposes, we will also use them for applications in computer gaming and telecommunications.”

The SAIC gift includes patent rights in areas of: suspended-electrode plasma display devices, teleconferencing displays and video imaging devices, memory systems for high definition television display, multi-channel HDTV and video coders, light-pen systems for projected images, eye contact apparatus and videoconferencing systems, audio processing systems for point-to-point and multipoint teleconferencing, background extraction in video imaging, and other areas. These innovative patents are the results of pioneering work conducted by Telcordia Technologies, a subsidiary of SAIC.

“SAIC is pleased to be able to support research and technology commercialization at UCSD, through the donation of this portfolio of videoconferencing patents,” said Tom Darcy, SAIC corporate executive vice president and chief financial officer. “We believe this is an excellent example of how a public/private affiliation can expand the frontiers of science, and we are pleased to contribute to the long term commercialization of the university’s research efforts.”

In addition to the patents, SAIC will also provide support for maintaining the patents and certain research activities related to advancing the state-of-the-art technologies represented by the donated patent rights.

Sheldon Brown from Smoke and Mirrors

Sheldon Brown from Mi Casa Es Tu Casa

These patents will directly support the research work of Brown, a professor of visual arts at UCSD who is also a CRCA researcher in the field of virtual reality. His artwork examines relationships between information and space, and takes the form of public artworks and installations that combine architectural settings with mediated and computer-controlled elements. Since the 1990s, Brown has fashioned novel implementations of emerging virtual reality technologies, such as Smoke and Mirrors, a multi-user, shared virtual environment exploring the cultural dimensions of a lingering social dilemma and Mi Casa Es Tu Casa, a bi-national, shared, multi-user, virtual reality installation that explores the methods by which cultures create representations of themselves. His innovations have sparked the interest and garnered support of some of the country's leading technology companies.

All gifts to UCSD contribute to The Campaign for UCSD: Imagine What’s Next. Campaign priorities include supporting students and faculty through scholarships, fellowships and endowed chairs; creating and expanding academic programs; funding research endeavors and health sciences advancements; and providing innovation funds and unrestricted support.

About SAIC
SAIC is the largest employee-owned research and engineering company in the United States, providing information technology, systems integration and eSolutions to commercial and government customers. SAIC engineers and scientists work to solve complex technical problems in national and homeland security, energy, the environment, space, telecommunications, health care and logistics. With annual revenues of $6.7 billion, SAIC and its subsidiaries, including Telcordia Technologies, have more than 43,000 employees at offices in more than 150 cities worldwide. More information about SAIC can be found at www.saic.com.

About CRCA/Cal-(IT)²
The Center for Research in Computing and the Arts (CRCA) is an Organized Research Unit of the University of California, San Diego and one of the oldest digital arts research programs in the nation. CRCA, whose mission is to facilitate the invention of new art forms that arise out of the developments of digital technologies, has supported the interdisciplinary work of musicians, artists, and dancers collaborating with psychologists, computer specialists, and scientists for more than three decades. As part of the Cal-(IT)² New Media Arts Layer, CRCA will team faculty, students, and working artists professionals with the most advanced telecommunications, computer, software, and applications companies to broaden the reach of the internet and new media arts. Current areas of CRCA research include interactive networked multimedia, virtual reality, computer-spatialized audio, and live performance techniques for computer music and graphics. For more information about CRCA, go to http://crca.ucsd.edu.

Media Contacts:
Patricia Quill, (858) 822-0661 or Lindsay Orth, (858) 822-5309