ETH Zurich teams up with Disney on R&D

ETH Zurich revealed a five-year R&D initiative with The Walt Disney Co. The Disney Research lab in Zurich will be one of only two newly-created industrial laboratories worldwide. Its mission will be to conduct basic applied research and share technical resources.

"Creating the next generation of sophisticated technologies requires long-term vision and collaboration with world-class innovators," Ed Catmull, president, Disney and Pixar Animation Studios was quoted during the annual SIGGRAPH Conference on Computer Graphics and

Interactive Techniques in Los Angeles, California.

The Disney Research lab in Zurich will be the only Disney-related laboratory to be located outside the United States. The second Disney Research lab will be located at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The aim of the two laboratories is to conduct applied research in computer animation, geometric modelling, computational photography, image generation, video processing, artificial intelligence, robotics and related fields.

Creativity hub
Working to strengthen its commitment to R&D, the laboratory in Zurich will allow Disney to tap into ETH Zurich's extensive talent in science and technology, specifically in computer animation, computational cinematography, autonomous interactive characters, robotics, and data mining and user interfaces. Up to 10 senior principal investigators will be engaged over the collaboration's initial five-year period. With a total staff of about 20 people, the lab will also engage professors, post docs, consultants, academic collaborators and Disney engineers. Disney Research will open its doors in Zurich in October, and be located at ETH Zurich's main campus in facilities currently under renovation.