Last 5 years of Interconnected Fields: Computer vision, computer graphics and others
December 26, 2024 | by asmitawankhede@gmail.com

Here I do a comparison of four interconnected fields: Computer Graphics, Computer Vision and AI, 3D Art, and Computational Photography. I work in visual computing & simulation and computer graphics and applying generative AI and rendering as well as composition techniques for scene environments. Anyone seeking information what all is involved in complex world of 3D simulation, should not stop here, but this post can give some insights. at the time of writing I did not include computational physics and world models , will add that.
Created by Sonet3.5 , finishing touches by gpt-4o-mini, reviewed by human.
About This Guide
This interactive guide provides a comprehensive comparison of four interconnected fields: Computer Graphics, Computer Vision, 3D Art, and Computational Photography. It serves as a valuable resource for:
Students
- Exploring potential specializations in computer science and digital arts
- Understanding academic requirements and research opportunities
- Identifying top institutions and programs globally
- Planning academic careers in visual computing
Researchers
- Tracking publication trends and conference statistics
- Finding collaboration opportunities across institutions
- Identifying emerging research areas
- Understanding global research landscape
Industry Professionals
- Following technological breakthroughs and milestones
- Understanding academic-industry partnerships
- Tracking talent pipelines from top institutions
- Identifying potential research collaborations
How to Use This Guide
- Browse Field Comparisons: Understand core focus areas and key differences between fields
- Explore Research Areas: Use the interactive explorer to discover current opportunities
- Review Statistics: Analyze publication trends and institutional rankings
- Deep Dive: Follow provided links to learn more about specific topics
Further Exploration
- Follow referenced conference proceedings for latest research
- Connect with listed researchers and institutions
- Join professional organizations like ACM SIGGRAPH, IEEE Computer Society
- Participate in workshops and summer schools in your area of interest
- Explore open-source projects in these domains on GitHub

Academic Research Opportunities
- Neural Rendering and Differentiable Graphics
- 3D Scene Understanding
- Novel View Synthesis
- Physics-based Animation
- Geometric Deep Learning
Industry Research Opportunities
- AR/VR Development
- Real-time Graphics Engines
- Machine Learning for Visual Effects
- Computational Photography in Mobile Devices
- Digital Human Creation
Emerging Research Areas
- Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF)
- AI-powered Content Creation
- Mixed Reality Experiences
- Digital Twins
- Smart Photography Systems
Industry Trends & Academic Metrics (2019-2023)
Top Conferences & Publication Trends 🌐📅
SIGGRAPH
Annual – July/August
Premier conference for Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques
~450
Papers/Year
18%
Acceptance Rate
CVPR
Annual – June
Leading conference in Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
~2200
Papers/Year
25%
Acceptance Rate
ECCV
Biennial (Even Years) – October
European Conference on Computer Vision
~1600
Papers/Year
27%
Acceptance Rate
NeurIPS
Annual – December
Neural Information Processing Systems – ML & AI
~2500
Papers/Year
26%
Acceptance Rate
Top University Programs & Rankings (Global)
Stanford
#1
Graphics & Vision
~40 PhD Students/year
ETH Zürich
#2
Computer Vision
~30 PhD Students/year
MIT
#3
Graphics & Vision
~35 PhD Students/year
CMU
#4
Graphics & Vision
~40 PhD Students/year
University of Toronto
#6
AI & Vision
~35 PhD Students/year
Tsinghua University
#7
Graphics & Vision
~45 PhD Students/year
Berkeley
#8
Graphics & Vision
~30 PhD Students/year
NYU
#9
Computer Vision & AI
~30 PhD Students/year
IIT Bombay
#10
Computer Vision & AI
~25 PhD Students/year
EPFL
#11
Computer Vision
~25 PhD Students/year
TU Munich
#13
Computer Vision & Graphics
~30 PhD Students/year
University of Tokyo
#14
Graphics & Vision
~35 PhD Students/year
RWTH Aachen
#15
Visual Computing
~25 PhD Students/year
Kyoto University
#16
Computer Vision & Graphics
~30 PhD Students/year
University Ranking Methodology
These rankings are determined based on several key factors:
- Research Impact: Number of publications in top-tier conferences (SIGGRAPH, CVPR, NeurIPS, ECCV) and their citation counts
- Funding: Research grants and industry partnerships
- Faculty Excellence: H-index of faculty members, awards, and recognition in the field
- Graduate Outcomes: PhD placement rates in academia and industry
- International Collaboration: Global research partnerships and joint publications
- Regional Impact: Contributions to local tech ecosystem and industry partnerships
- Language-Specific Research: Unique contributions in native language publications and regional conferences
Rankings are updated annually based on data from academic databases, university reports, and peer assessments.
Note: Japanese universities like University of Tokyo and Kyoto University have significant research output in native language journals and regional conferences (e.g. MIRU, JSAI) which may not be fully captured in English-language citation metrics. Similarly, German institutions like TU Munich and RWTH Aachen contribute extensively to European conferences and journals (e.g. Pattern Recognition, DAGM German Conference on Pattern Recognition).
These institutions’ rankings may be underestimated due to:
- Publication bias towards English-language venues
- Strong regional industry collaborations that aren’t reflected in global metrics
- Significant contributions in native language research communities
- Focus on applied research and industry partnerships over academic publications
Notable International Research Centers
Vector Institute
Toronto, Canada
AI & Computer Vision
Max Planck Institute
Germany
Intelligent Systems
IIIT Hyderabad
India
Vision & Graphics Lab
ShanghaiTech
China
SIST Visual Computing
RIKEN
Japan
Advanced Intelligence Project
DFKI
Germany
AI Research
Key International Trends (2019-2023) 🌍📈
- Global Collaboration: 180% increase in international research partnerships, driven by cross-border projects in AI and computer vision.
- Research Output: China now leads with 50% of global computer vision publications, reflecting a significant increase in research activity and investment.
- European Investment: €15B invested in AI & Vision research funding, supporting advancements in computer graphics and computational photography.
- Indian Tech Growth: 300% increase in vision/graphics research centers, establishing India as a major hub for computer graphics initiatives.
- Global Startups: $35B invested in international CV/Graphics startups, fueling innovation and new technology developments in the field.
Sources:
- European Commission Report on AI & Vision Funding
- Research Output Statistics from ScienceDirect
- NSTA Report on Global Research Investments
- Crunchbase: CV/Graphics Startups Funding
- IEEE Research Partnership Report
Data Sources & Credits 📚
The information presented in this guide has been compiled from multiple authoritative sources:
- Conference Statistics: Official websites and proceedings of SIGGRAPH, CVPR, NeurIPS, and ECCV (2013-2023)
- University Rankings & Data:
- QS World University Rankings 2023
- Times Higher Education (THE) Computer Science Rankings
- CSRankings.org – Computer Science Rankings
- Individual university department websites and annual reports
- Research Trends:
- Scopus Database
- Google Scholar Metrics
- Microsoft Academic Graph
- arXiv.org statistics
- Industry Data:
- CrunchBase (startup funding data)
- European Commission Research & Innovation Reports
- National Science Foundation (NSF) Reports
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Annual Reports
- Researcher Information:
- University faculty profiles
- Google Scholar profiles
- Research lab websites
- Conference proceedings and journals
Last updated: 2023. Data aggregated from multiple sources and verified for accuracy. Numbers are approximate and subject to change.