3pm 9 April 2019, VS221 (Architecture and Design, Te Aro Campus)

Abstract: My talk will start with my vision of human digitization, and present how our research at the University has evolved over the years:
starting from face capture, to hair digitization, full 3D avatar creation, to advanced 3D deep learning technologies.
Next, I will talk about how my startup Pinscreen was born, and how we began our adventure, from a simple research prototype to building a platform for AI-driven human digitization. I will talk about the challenges when evolving from a technology to a product, and how a business can be built successfully under the pressure of VC investors, fierce competition, and funding. I will share my experiences in doing a start up as a CEO and co-founder, while being a full time tenure track faculty and director of an additional government sponsored research lab.
Finally I will leave you with some take-aways messages on how to avoid mistakes and win!

Bio: Hao Li is a Computer Science professor and entrepreneur, working in the fields of Computer Graphics and Computer Vision. He is founder and CEO of Pinscreen, Inc., assistant professor of Computer Science at the University of Southern California, as well as director of the Vision and Graphics Lab at the USC Institute for Creative Technologies. He was previously a visiting professor at Weta Digital and a research lead at Industrial Light & Magic / Lucasfilm. His algorithms for 3D processing are widely used in the visual effects industry for automating the creation of digital humans, as well as enabling the ability to capture facial performances in real-time in virtual production. At Weta Digital, he was responsible for the high-fidelity facial performance capture pipeline that reenacted the deceased actor Paul Walker in the movie Furious 7 (2015). For his contributions, Li received the TR35 Award in 2013, recognizing him as one of the top 35 innovators under the age of 35, from the MIT Technology Review.