Dave Rolston Joins Image Metrics’ Board of Directors
Image Metrics, the leading developer of performance-driven computer generated (CG) facial animation in video games and film, today announced that Dave Rolston, Ph.D., has joined its board of directors. Rolston, who is Chairman and CEO of Forterra Systems Inc, comes to Image Metrics’ board with more than 35 years of experience in a broad spectrum of technical industries, including extensive involvement in 2D and 3D graphics, imagery, gaming and entertainment, simulation and training, and artificial intelligence.
“Dave’s extensive experience in many of the entertainment industries we are working in is an invaluable asset to Image Metrics,” said Mike Starkenburg, chief operating officer of Image Metrics. “We are pleased to add his extraordinary technical knowledge to our board as we continue to deliver realistic facial animation for games and films with our proprietary computer vision solution.”
“Throughout my career, I have been passionately working on technologies that help to replicate human experiences through computer-created media,” said Rolston. “Image Metrics’ technology is breaking new ground in facial animation by providing studios with an innovative and cost-effective method for driving more realism into CG faces. I’m excited to support the growth of that technology and their company with my experience.”
Rolston is currently the Chairman and CEO of Forterra Systems, a developer of virtual worlds that provide a realistic 3D environment in which people meet to train, collaborate, bring products to market and manage operations. Before Forterra, Rolston served as vice president of engineering for ATI and was responsible for the design of graphics chips that drive a large percentage of the world’s PCs and game consoles. Prior to joining ATI, he was CEO of Multigen-Paradigm, a company that provides foundational software for the simulation industry. Rolston has also worked for Silicon Graphics, where he rose from the director of marketing to GM of the Advanced Graphics Division.
Rolston earned a Ph.D. in computer science from Arizona State University with an emphasis in simulation and artificial intelligence. He holds several patents, has published a large number of technical papers and authored a best-selling book on artificial intelligence, Artificial Intelligence and Expert System Development.
About Image Metrics
Image Metrics brings digital characters to life. Providing the entertainment industry’s first and only marker and makeup free performance-driven facial animation solution, Image Metrics is creating some of the most emotionally compelling animated characters in computer-generated media today. Developed over the past seven years by a team of computer vision Ph.D.s, the process enjoys widespread adoption by some of the best known production studios in the entertainment world, including Digital Domain, Activision, EA, Rhythm and Hues, Rockstar Games and Sony Imageworks. The company is located in Santa Monica, California, with R&D headquarters in Manchester, U.K. Company investors include Saffron Hill Ventures.