Virtual Reality News: 11th April 2002Virtual Reality News: 11th April 2002
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01 As Seen in Business Week
Users, Applications
& Projects
02 National Geographic to Exhibit Titanic in 3D
03 University of Bielefeld Gets a TRI CUBE
04 Emerson Use 3D to Get to Market Faster
05 Use of 3D Expanded at ASM Pacific Technology
06 Caterpillar Awards Two Contracts
07 Nike Online 3D Soccer Game
08 Behind the Scenes
09 Call for Projects
Quote of the Issue
10 ASM Pacific Technology
Products &
Services
11 HandGear Touchpad
12 Wireless RF Modules from InterSense
13 Tucan-Series 2002
14 trueSpace5 for Atmosphere
15 SolidMech 4.0
16 Rover 3.2
17 Character Software Enhances PowerPoint
18 Royalty-free Libraries
Companies & Markets
19 Quantum3D Raises $20m
20 More on blaxxun Insolvency... investors welcome
21 New Business Unit for 3Dims.de
Worth Watching
22 Worth Watching: Mapping, GIS & IBM
Events & Calls
for Papers
23 3D Insiders' Summit 2002 & Second OpenHSF Meeting
24 2002 European Simulation Interoperability Workshop
25 VR World Congress V
26 VSMM - Call for Papers
27 More Events
Is the business world waking up to 3D? Let's hope so. A good sign is two editorials in Business Week magazine. The first describes how emergency room doctors treating patients in life-threatening situations have a new diagnostic weapon available to them. A medical imaging technology from Mercury Computer Systems can produce a 3D X-ray image in about 15 seconds. Using ordinary X-ray gear, it takes doctors 5 to 10 minutes to create such an image. Mercury's secret is a dedicated circuit board that can run image-reconstruction algorithms far more quickly than a PC microprocessor. The second aserts that giving devices the power to comprehend the 3D world around them has long been a central pursuit of machine-vision researchers. Cheap digital cameras have made it simple enough to generate images that computers can process.
By keeping things small and simple, Canesta may be close to providing a primitive 3D vision to a variety of inexpensive products. Called "electronic perception," the approach uses infrared light and a sensor chip like those in digital cameras. Light is beamed at the target, and the differences in the time it takes rays to return to specific points on the chip are measured. Gauging distance based on the time that signals travel to and from a target is the principle behind radar. Canesta uses the time differences to compute a 3D relief map of the target.
DDD Group and StereoGraphics Corporation have teamed to enable underwater video footage of the Titanic to be shown on 3D TV without glasses as part of a National Geographic exhibit. The exhibit will be on display at National Geographic's museum, Explorers Hall, in Washington, DC, USA, until September 2, 2002. "Icons of the Sea: The Artistry of Ship Models" will include 3D footage of the Titanic when it was found in 1985. The exhibit features models of 16 vessels, including battleships, a destroyer, an aircraft carrier, an ocean liner, a royal yacht and a whale boat. DDD converted the Titanic footage from 2D to 3D, and its TriDef 3D playback system will be used to display the content on StereoGraphics' SynthaGram monitor. The SynthaGram combines a liquid crystal display panel, lenticular screen and DDD's TriDef 3D playback system to enable viewing in 3D without glasses.
The University of Bielefeld in Germany has chosen 3Dims.de as a supplier of their new VR facility. 3Dims.de is building a TRI CUBE (3 side cave) based on high resolution D-ila technology with circular polarized channel separation. This stereo display technology allows the TRI CUBE user to see a bright, colorful immersion over hours without getting tired from flickering images. The University of Bielefeld is a leader in research and education for artificial intelligence and gestic input in 3D DMU.
URL: http://www.3dims.de
Emerson has awarded a contract to provide product lifecycle management (PLM) software solutions. Emerson will use EDS PLM Solutions software and Web-based technologies to support greater collaboration among its divisions, suppliers and customers in new product design, and to bring these products to market faster and with less cost. EDS will provide its Teamcenter and Solid Edge software to support Emerson's e-engineering initiatives. Teamcenter enables product manufacturers, suppliers and customers to collaborate in e-business environments that manage, share and evaluate product knowledge across the product lifecycle. Solid Edge is 3D CAD software for the design and development of mechanical products.
URL: http://www.eds.com
ASM Pacific Technology Ltd has expanded its deployment of Solid Edge CAD software to include more than 100 licenses. ASM uses Solid Edge to model its worldwide line of semiconductor machinery. ASM originally replaced its previous 2D system with 52 licenses for operations in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia and has now added 50 more.
URL: http://www.solidedge.com/
URL: http://www.asmpacific.com
EDS has won two contracts for product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services with Caterpillar Inc., the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines. First, EDS PLM Solutions will implement its Teamcenter Visualization software and services to enable collaborative product development globally across three divisions of Caterpillar: Building & Construction Products, Mossville Engine Center and Cat Electronics. Suppliers, plant-floor employees, engineers and others throughout the manufacturing process will use the software. Under the second contract, EDS will deploy Unigraphics' CAD/CAM/CAE software and services to Caterpillar's Fuel Systems Division. These software and services integrate conceptual engineering, product design, digital simulation and manufacturing, improving product quality and increasing the effectiveness of new product designs.
URL: http://www.eds.com
WildTangent, in cooperation with Nike, has released an online game as an element of Nike's Global "Secret Tournament." Scorpion Knock Out was developed in cooperation with the web developer FramFab Denmark. In the game, enthusiasts can play online and challenge friends or the top overall scorers while competing for prizes, or download the offline version. They enter Scorpion Knock Out by selecting their three-man dream team from 24 of the world's best soccer players. Players will be immersed into Nike's secret tournament as they train their team through five games of drills or opt to jump into tournament play. Skill training includes practicing special moves (like the Scorpion kick and Bicycle kick) and training players in skills, allowing them to improve over time.
URL: http://www.wildtangent.com
URL: http://www.nikefootball.com
SOFTIMAGE|XSI was the 3D animation tool of choice for a first-of-its-kind application of pre-visualization for last week's release of David's Fincher's latest movie, "Panic Room." Pixel Liberation Front (PLF) who provided the pre-visualization services relied on Softimage's system to produce 3D digital animatics representing roughly two thirds of the movie, allowing the director to design much of the film's action and determine, in precise detail, how sets would be configured, and scenes would be shot, before the production even began. This helped Fincher communicate his vision to the entire crew, saving time and money during both production and post-production. Moreover .avi files of the XSI pre-visualization work were sent to the Avid editor creating a streamlined workflow between editing carried out using three Avid Media Composers, connected via an Avid Unity MediaNet based network.
URL: http://www.softimage.com
URL: http://www.avid.com
The Daniel Langlois Foundation for Art, Science, and Technology has launched its 2002 call for projects for organizations: the next deadline is June 30, 2002. The program for organizations has two components: the Exhibition, Distribution and Performance Program for Organizations and the Program for Organizations from Emerging Regions. Application information is now available in French, English and Spanish. Applicants in the Program for Organizations from Emerging Regions may submit their proposal in Spanish provided it includes a one-page summary in French or English. Note that although the Foundation accepts proposals in Spanish, all correspondence will be in English or French.
"Our move to 3D was made in order to reduce design time and lower the number of costly design changes. The result has been a very positive impact on downstream processes that speed manufacturing." - Gary Fong, CAD section manager at ASM Pacific Technology.
DSI Datotech Systems has released their HandGear touchpad, which uses a hand-gesture interface to provide the capability to 'grab' and modify 3D objects, allowing three-axis navigation in 3-D, and the ability to edit, transform and modify in real time. In addition to being able to simultaneously translate, rotate and scale a virtual 3D object, HandGear offers 3D camera pan, orbit, dolly and zoom capabilities. The product is available for order immediately with an API Plug-in for Discreet's 3ds max. Plug-ins for Softimage XSI and Alias/Wavefront's Maya are scheduled for release shortly.
URL: http://www.dato.com
InterSense has new wireless RF modules for use with the IS-900 product family. The new devices are plug compatible with existing IS-900 VET & VWT systems and are connected to a small, belt clip module containing a rechargeable battery and RF transmitter/receiver circuitry. As with the original MiniTrax devices, the new wireless implementation is ergonomically designed for use with existing data gloves and stereo glasses.
awaron ag, a VR software company founded in 2001, is already announcing its first VR solution called Tucan-Series 2002. The product features numerous modules, a real-time modeler and object-oriented VR models. These functionalities are complemented with a viewer with automatic light & shadow play, reflections and multimedia integration.
Caligari has launched a custom version of its trueSpace5 3D authoring software for Adobe Atmosphere. Currently available as a public beta, Atmosphere is a Web tool for authoring, viewing and interacting with virtual 3D worlds. Caligari trueSpace5 is focused on the needs of web content creators. It combines modeling, rendering and animation with an intuitive user interface based on direct manipulation of objects.
Cadalog (formerly EMT Software) has released SolidMech 4.0, adding several improvements to the parts library for SolidWorks. SolidMech 4.00 is a Gold Certified Product for SolidWorks and runs with SolidWorks 2001 Plus. Price for new users is £195.
Flatland Rover 3.2 has been released. Rover now contains dynamic colored lights and fog as well as a directory of spots to visit. Rover is now shareware. The player is free for 30days, then $30 after that.
Right Seat Software has introduced Vox Proxy/CD Prep, a new version of its 3D talking animated character software. It fully integrates as an add-in to Microsoft's PowerPoint. For those who want to deliver content directly to a user's desktop, Vox Proxy with CD Prep gives them tools to create royalty-free, self-starting CDs fully narrated by the family of 3D characters included in the software. Vox Proxy software delivers a personalized approach to capture audiences' attention. Characters perform numerous animations, speak in multiple languages using either synthetic text-to-speech engines or actual recorded voices, respond to voice commands, and carry on interactive conversations. Vox Proxy/CD Prep is priced at $229.
Artbeats, the provider of royalty-free stock footage for broadcast, desktop video and multimedia, has released 16 new D1 resolution collections. Artbeats' latest collections include "Mad Scientist" containing clips for sci-fi themes with gothic laboratories, body tubes, equipment walls, lightning towers, generating coils, globe chambers, ringed rods, turbines, shark tanks and more in computer generated photo-realistic 3D rendering.
Quantum3D Inc has closed a $20m round of venture funding. Berg & Berg Investments led the round, with investors Techfarm Ventures, Charter Ventures, TechFund Capital and J.P. Morgan/Chase Capital also participating.
As signaled in VREfresh 185, it is confirmed that blaxxun interactive AG has filed for insolvency, but the blaxxun group consists of three companies, blaxxun interactive AG, blaxxun interactive Inc and Cybertown Inc. blaxxun's board of directors, the new interim CEO Bernhard Keim and several investors are working on the reorganization of the blaxxun interactive group. A range of alternatives from carrying on with new investors to selling the technology completely is in discussion. Interested investors are still welcome.
VRconsulting is a new business unit of 3Dims.de, aimed at helping customers choose the right VR equipment. 3Dims.de is a supplier of 3D stereo solutions from small, ultra light stereo-projectors with foldable back projection screens up to customized display systems such as SHAPES, CAVES or multichannel Powerwalls.
Intergraph Mapping and GIS Solutions have reached a marketing agreement with IBM. They are establishing a relationship worldwide between their technical, sales, and marketing teams to sell Intergraph's GeoMedia product suite together with IBM's DB2 database management software. Targeted global markets include transportation, government, and location-based services, and, in Europe, the banking industry.
188.23 3D Insiders' Summit 2002 & Second OpenHSF Meeting
The 3D Insiders' Summit 2002, sponsored by AMD and Simmetrix, will be held May 13-15, 2000 in Colorado, USA. The second OpenHSF meeting will be taking place at the 3D Insiders' Event, and product overviews of upcoming Spatial releases as well as announcements and demonstrations will take place.
URL: http://www.spatial.com
URL: http://www.openhsf.org188.24 2002 European Simulation Interoperability Workshop
The 2002 European Simulation Interoperability Workshop (Euro SIW) is sponsored by the Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization (SISO) in cooperation with The Society for Computer Simulation - Europe International Training Equipment Conference (ITEC, Ltd.). The 2002 Euro SIW will be held June 24-26, 2002 at the University of Westminster, UK.
URL: http://www.sisostds.org/siw/02euro/index.htm
188.25 VR World Congress V
VR World Congress V will be held in Paris, France on September 9th and 10th, 2002 and offers an exceptional opportunity to identify project partners to make proposals to the European Commission's Sixth Framework Programme (the budget for the 5th was $3.5bn). A copy of the current working draft agenda is available. The delegate fee for this not-for-profit event is just $150 and, as numbers are limited, early registration will be essential.
188.26 VSMM - Call for Papers
CALL FOR PAPERS: 8th International Conference on Virtual Systems and Multimedia (VSMM 2002), September 25-27, 2002, Gyeongju, Korea. VSMM2002 will be held in Gyeongju, the capital of the ancient Shilla Kingdom, rich with 1000 year long culture and tradition, and the site of one of the UNESCO designated World Heritages. Papers are sought with special emphasis on: Virtual Heritage, Media Art and Creative Technology, Media and VR Technology, Wireless Life and Culture, and Virtual Medicine/Health Science.
For extensive information about events relevant to the European VR/i3D community, see the events pages on El.pub: for Europe: base05.htm, for the rest of the world: connone.htm
| About VREfresh news Each edition of virtual reality news is now published on a separate page, ensuring that links (particularly from VREfresh) continue to remain current. To view news from previous issues, please use the navigation buttons below. |
VREfresh Email alerter of news items and associated URLs, send an email with your name, organisation, country (and for the US a zip code) to the Editor via the link above. |
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