Paul Kruszewski

Paul Kruszewski (born 1967) is a Canadian AI technologist and serial entrepreneur known for his work in artificial intelligence and computer graphics. He is the founder and CEO of wrnch, an AI and computer vision software engineering company based in Montreal, Quebec. He has founded three AI startups, including wrnch, specializing in crowd simulation, NPC behaviours, and human pose estimation. His projects have gradually gotten more complex as he's moved from developing AI software capable of understanding many people doing simple tasks to fewer people engaged in more complex tasks to perfect knowledge of individual body language.

Paul Kruszewski
Born1967 (age 53–54)
Alberta, Canada
Alma materMcGill University
OccupationFounder and CEO of wrnch

Academic life

Kruszewski completed his bachelor's degree in computer science at the University of Alberta.[1] While attending U of A, he was president of the Computer Science Association. After graduating, he went on to obtain an MA and PhD in computer science from McGill University.[2] For graduate school, Kruszewski received a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Science and Engineering scholarship in 1992.[3] His PhD thesis on random binary trees suggested a method to produce realistic images of trees digitally.[4] His work was inspired by The Algorithmic Beauty of Plants by Przemysław Prusinkiewicz. After completing his thesis, Kruszewski developed and commercialized the software, naming it the "Tree Druid."

Professional life

Work in industry

After obtaining his PhD, Kruszewski held various positions across North America, Europe, and Asia. During this time he developed the first cloud-based human simulator at My Virtual Model. He also developed both the PS2 and Xbox game engines at Behaviour Interactive.[5]

BioGraphic Technologies Inc.

Kruszewski founded BioGraphic Technologies (BGT) in 2000.[5] BGT is best known for developing "AI.implant", a crowd simulation program. Working from his previous experience in video game development, Kruszewski focused BGT's vision on the film and gaming industries, collaborating with such companies as Lucas Films, Disney and Sony Computer Entertainment.[5][6] Engenuity Technologies, now Presagis, a modeling and simulation software provider, saw the benefits of simulating large civilian crowds for training purposes, purchasing the company in 2005. Kruszewski became the CTO of Engenuity.[6]

GripHeavyIndustries

In July 2007, Kruszewski founded GripHeavyIndustries, better known as Grip Entertainment, which created complex AI characters for a range of game developers, such as EA, Disney, and BioWare.[7] The company is credited on such titles as Army of Two: The 40th Day and Deus Ex: Human Revolution.[8]

In 2011, the company experienced some controversy when gamers rallied against Grip's boss fights at the end of the game Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Eidos Montreal had outsourced the development of the game's boss fights to Grip due to time constraints and the complex nature of the open-ended gameplay.[9] Players felt that the fights were inflexible when compared with the rest of the game, causing a stir in the industry.[10][9] That same year, Autodesk, a multinational software company, acquired Grip Entertainment.[7]

wrnch

Kruszewski's latest venture builds on previous experience gained from working with computer vision technology. He founded wrnch in April 2014 in Montreal's TandemLaunch incubator.[11] With wrnch he has developed BodySLAM, a deep learning AI body-tracking software.[12] As a man-machine interface, BodySLAM has multiple possible applications in various industries, such as health care, security, retail and entertainment.

Publications and patents

Publications

Patents
  • Method and Stem for On-Screen Animation of Digital Objects or Characters, (2004)
  • System and Method for Displaying Selected Garments on a Computer-Simulated Mannequin, (1999, 2009, 2011, 2012)

References
  1. "clp052213-a14". www.slideshare.net. Retrieved 2017-11-06.
  2. "Bloomberg Company Overview". Bloomberg. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  3. "Details - NSERC's Awards Database - Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada". www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca. 2016-06-28. Retrieved 2017-07-27.
  4. Kruszewski, Paul. The botanical beauty of random binary trees: a method for the synthetic imagery of botanical trees. Diss. McGill University, 1996.
  5. Riga, Andy (2000). "Virtual minds of their own" (PDF). Retrieved October 11, 2017.
  6. "Engenuity Technologies Acquires BGT BioGraphic Technologies". Military and Aerospace Electronics. Endevor Business Media. 11 November 2005. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  7. Berkow, Jameson (November 7, 2011). "Autodesk Acquires Montreal's Grip Entertainment". Financial Post. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  8. "Paul Kruszewski Video Game Credits and Biography - MobyGames". MobyGames. Retrieved 2017-10-12.
  9. "Eidos: 'Deus Ex bosses were our fault' | bit-tech.net". Retrieved 2017-10-12.
  10. Hamilton, Kirk. "Those Horribad Deus Ex: Human Revolution Boss Battles Were Outsourced". Kotaku. Retrieved 2017-10-12.
  11. "Portfolio - wrnch". Tandemlaunch. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  12. Hargrave, Christian (June 2, 2017). "wrnch debuts latest AR tech at Augmented World Expo 2017". App Developer Magazine. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
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