How far can we see today? Not all the way to frogs or to musical composers (at least not good ones), for sure. In fact only very recently did physicists succeed in solving the equations of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) to calculate a convincing proton, by using the fastest chips, big networks, and tricky algorithms. That might sound like a paltry beginning, but it's actually an encouraging show of strength, because the equations of QCD are much more complicated than the equations of quantum chemistry. And we've already been able to solve those more tractable equations well enough to guide several revolutions in the material foundations of microelectronics, laser technology, and magnetic imaging. But all these computational adventures, while impressive, are clearly warm-up exercises. To make a definitive leap into artificial reality, we'll need both more ingenuity and more computational power.
Following Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005), discussed below, the third feature film by Aardman was Flushed Away (2006), in partnership with the American studio DreamWorks Animation. This was the first Aardman film made completely by 3D computer technology, though the CGI images are created over clay figures made previously, through special software developed by Aardman. The film tells the story of Roddy, a posh pet mouse, who falls into the sewer and has many adventures.
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