This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Mark Sagar's TEDxTalk is exceptional as he describes how robotics and technology have advanced. Creating robots that are able to mimic human emotion and movement remind us of how far we have come, and it's a taste of what the future has in store. Brain based computing is real, and it's fascinating to hear about it firsthand.
Mark Sagar
Academy Award winning Digital Animation Technologist, Director of The Laboratory for Animate Technologies
Academy Award winner Dr. Mark Sagar is the director of the Laboratory for Animate Technologies at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute.
Mark is interested in bringing digital characters to life using artificial nervous systems to empower the next generation of human computer interaction. Mark's laboratory is pioneering neurobehavioral animation that combines biologically based models of faces and neural systems to create live, naturally intelligent, and highly expressive interactive systems.
Mark previously worked as the Special Projects Supervisor at Weta Digital and Sony Pictures Imageworks and developed technology for the characters in blockbusters such as Avatar, King Kong, and Spiderman 2. He has co-directed research and development for Pacific Title/Mirage and Life F/X Technologies which led groundbreaking development of realistic digital humans for film and eCommerce applications driven by artificial intelligence.
His pioneering work in computer-generated faces was recognized with two consecutive Scientific and Engineering Oscars in 2010 and 2011. Dr. Sagar holds a Ph.D. in Bioengineering and is a recipient of the University of Auckland's 2012 Distinguished Alumni Award.
