Virtual Reality News: 16 June 2002

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Users, Applications & Projects
01 European Aerospace & Defense Group Deal
02 Mechdyne Completes ITC Visualization Center
03 Austrian Manufacturer Moves to 3D
04 $7.6m Technology Grant for Miami-Dade

Quotes of the Issue
05 VREfresh Quote: President Bush
06 VREfresh Quote: COO of ITC
Products & Services
07 24/7 Help Desk for SEOS
08 Florida Facility for E&S
09 Opus Realizer 1.4 Released
10 Software for Terrain Analysis includes 3D
11 GeoMedia Grid
12 ENOVIA Version 5 Release 9
13 OpenGL Drivers for Wildcats

Companies & Markets
14 Anark & Turbo Squid to Co-market
15 Opticore and Immersion Graphics Co-marketing
16 ATI Buys NxtWave

Standards, Patents & Benchmarks
17 DVS Joins Khronos Group
18 Image Processing Patent for Canon

Events & Calls for Papers
19 Innovation during Countdown to Siggraph
20 2002 European Simulation Interoperability Workshop
21 SIGGRAPH 2002
22 VR World Congress V, Paris, France - Sept 9/10
23 PRESENCE 2002
24 Collaborative Virtual Environments 2002
25 Symposium on Interactive 3D Graphics
26 More Events

196.01 European Aerospace & Defense Group Deal

EADS, Europe's largest aerospace and defense group, has signed a seven-year multi-million Euro agreement in which EADS will use IBM's and Dassault Systemes' Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions for all development, construction and production across its divisions worldwide, including EADS Military Aircraft, Eurocopter, Astrium, EADS Launch Vehicles, and EADS CASA. This agreement expands EADS' existing installed base of roughly 1,100 CATIA workstations by 30 percent. During the initial stages of the agreement, EADS will migrate from CATIA V4 to CATIA V5 for virtual product design coupled with ENOVIA collaborative product data management solutions. SolidWorks and SmarTeam Corp, Dassault Systemes companies, offer 3D design-centric and collaborative PDM software solutions. Spatial, also part of the Dassault Systemes family, is a provider of 3D software components and services to meet the requirements of 3D in Internet-based e-commerce and B2B applications. With revenues amounting to EUR 30.8 billion in 2001 and a workforce of over 100,000, EADS is the largest European aerospace company and the No 2 worldwide.

URL: http://www.eads.net
URL: http://www.ibm.com
URL: http://www.dsweb.com

196.02 Mechdyne Completes ITC Visualization Center

Mechdyne and SGI have completed an immersive visualization system powered by an Onyx 3200 supercomputer for the Industrial Technology Centre (ITC) in Winnipeg, Canada. A $1.5 million venture funded by the federal and provincial governments, the system will be the focal point of ITC's new public Virtual Reality Center, intended to give Manitoba industry a competitive edge through the use of visualization technology to improve product design and lower costs. The system, an MD Flex, features two flat-screen vertical projection walls. One wall is in a fixed position and one is moveable to enable the system to be configured as an "L-shaped" system, a double-wide flat display or at any angle in between. The system was designed and integrated to make possible the easy addition of an additional wall and a floor projection surface, should ITC decide to upgrade the system in the future.

URL: http://www.sgi.com
URL: http://www.mechdyne.com

196.03 Austrian Manufacturer Moves to 3D

Kohlbach GmbH & Co., a leading manufacturer of biomass-fueled power stations and furnaces, has selected the Autodesk Inventor Series for its combination of 2D and 3D technologies. The company will use the software to optimize its product design process, achieving shorter time to market and cost savings. Kohlbach plants are in use in several European countries including Austria, Germany, Italy, and the Czech Republic. "The design of our large biomass-powered furnaces and power plants was originally done in the 2D environment," said Walter Kohlbach, CEO at Kohlbach GmbH. "The Autodesk Inventor Series allows us to work seamlessly in 2D as well as in 3D, a significant advantage for our designers who need to use both technologies." The Autodesk Authorized System Center MCDS of Linz, Austria, which has a long-standing relationship with Kohlbach, was essential to supporting the company's adoption of the Autodesk Inventor Series.

URL: http://www.autodesk.com
URL: http://www.kohlbach.at
URL: http://www.mcds.net

196.04 $7.6m Technology Grant for Miami-Dade

Miami-Dade Community College (M-DCC) will use a $7.6m technology grant from EDS PLM Solutions to expand the school's computer-aided design and manufacturing programs. The software and hardware package will be installed at the Emerging Technologies Center of the Americas (ETCOTA). The college will offer a complete curriculum, including design, engineering and production. The curriculum provides an opportunity for ETCOTA to become a Unigraphics technical training center for Latin America and South America, where the system is widely used. "Local companies like Gables Engineering, Piper Aircraft, and Pratt-Whitney use this software for their designs," said Michael J. Cubbin, M-DCC's Director of the School of Computer Information Systems and Design Technology. "As we implement this system, we will work with firms around the world to establish M-DCC as a major training provider for their operations." M-DCC is the USA's top producer of associate of arts degrees. It is Miami-Dade County's sixth largest employer with an estimated gross economic impact of about $800 million in the local economy every year.

URL: http://www.eds.com

196.05 VREfresh Quote: President Bush

"I was interested to read that our government plans to spend $53 billion on information technology next year. "Now, if you're one of the recipients of that $53 billion, make sure that the product actually works, please." - President George W. Bush.

196.06 VREfresh Quote: COO of ITC

"I see immersive visualization as another platform technology that will revolutionize the way engineering, architecture and other applications are conducted," - Trevor Cornell, chief operating officer at the Industrial Technology Centre.

196.07 24/7 Help Desk for SEOS

SEOS has established a 24/7 HelpDesk. SEOS customers will receive assistance 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year - no matter where in the world they are to support users of the company's displays and immersive solutions. The HelpDesk is the coordination of SEOS Customer Services offices in the UK, USA and Australia.

URL: http://www.seos.com

196.08 Florida Facility for E&S

Evans & Sutherland has opened a visual simulation facility in Orlando, Florida.

URL: http://www.es.com

196.09 Opus Realizer 1.4 Released

Opticore has announced the release of Opus Realizer 1.4, a real-time visualization software solution developed to meet the needs of designers within the manufacturing industry. It is used in parallel with different types of CAD-systems in the design process and utilized for the communication of design intent to all areas in the product development process. In addition to IRIX and Windows platform versions, this latest version includes the first completed port to the HP-UX platform. New and improved Alias Studio integration makes it possible to launch Realizer from Alias Studio and automatically import current Alias models into Realizer for real-time interaction.

URL: http://www.opticore.com

196.10 Software for Terrain Analysis includes 3D

Intergraph Mapping and GIS Solutions has unveiled its GeoMedia Terrain 5.0 software for terrain analysis, elevation derived feature generation, and 3D visualization. GeoMedia Terrain 5.0 includes color-coded elevations, shaded relief displays, contour generation, and 3D flythroughs - all in the Microsoft Windows environment. GeoMedia Terrain 5.0 integrates elevation data from a number of sources directly into the GeoMedia workspace and accepts elevation data in all formats and projections supported by GeoMedia. Accepted elevation formats include USGS Digital Elevation Model (DEM), USGS Spatial Data Transfer Specification (SDTS), Intergraph grid elevation data, Digital Terrain Elevation Data (DTED1 and 2), and GMT defined ASCII format. Included are the ActiveTerrain modeling tools and real-world objects for desktop creation of 3D terrain models. This enables users to generate models from elevation data, drape orthorectified imagery and maps over the model, and apply synthetic textures to create a realistic representation of the terrain. ActiveFlight lets users view and dynamically fly through the 3D terrain models they create.

URL: http://www.intergraph.com/imgs

196.11 GeoMedia Grid

Intergraph Mapping and GIS Solutions, in collaboration with Keigan Systems have announced GeoMedia Grid which enables advanced grid analysis within a single GIS environment. In addition to all of the previous functionality of MFworks for GeoMedia, GeoMedia Grid includes 3D visualization (including free-fly and flight-path modes).

URL: http://www.keigansystems.com
URL: http://www.intergraph.com/imgs

196.12 ENOVIA Version 5 Release 9

IBM and Dassault Systemes have announced the availability from July 26 of ENOVIA Version 5 Release 9 (V5R9). ENOVIA V5R9 delivers a total of 89 products for product development. ENOVIA provides decision support and lifecycle management solutions within the 3D PLM portfolio. In ENOVIA V5R9, the use of 3D images for the sharing and understanding of product information is facilitated by a new Photo Studio Optimizer 2, which produces high-quality virtual product images for professional photography or filmmaking, and enhancements in environmental rendering and real-time shadowing.

URL: http://www.ibm.com
URL: http://www.dsweb.com

196.13 OpenGL Drivers for Wildcats

Xi Graphics Inc, a software development firm specializing in graphics drivers for Linux/UNIX systems on Intel/AMD platforms, has released OpenGL graphics drivers for the Wildcat 6210 and Wildcat 5110-G graphics cards supporting the Genlock/Multiview/Framelock feature of these cards.

URL: http://www.xig.com

196.14 Anark & Turbo Squid to Co-market

Anark Corporation and Turbo Squid have reached a co-marketing and distribution agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Anark will bundle the Turbo Squid client application and offer 3D content through Anark Studio. Turbo Squid will offer Anark Studio to its marketplace of 3D artists. Customers that purchase the Anark Studio software will have access to 25 free Turbo Squid 3D models packaged with the Anark Studio CD. Anark is expected to publicly release Anark Studio 1.5 at next month's Siggraph.

URL: http://www.turbosquid.com
URL: http://www.anark.com

196.15 Opticore and Immersion Graphics Co-marketing

Opticore and Immersion Graphics have announced a co-operative marketing agreement. Under the alliance both companies are to deliver visualization solutions to the end customer. The alliance also encourages collaborations on sales and marketing projects to extend the reach of both companies' product suites.

196.16 ATI Buys NxtWave

Best known for its design and manufacture of 3D graphics and digital media silicon solutions, ATI Technologies is to purchase NxtWave Communications Inc for $20 million cash. NxtWave Communications is a leader in delivering broadband communications silicon using proprietary digital signal processing technologies adapted for applications in digital terrestrial and cable receivers.

URL: http://www.nxtwavecomm.com
URL: http://www.ati.com

196.17 DVS Joins Khronos Group

DVS, a German-based manufacturer of digital video products for OR&DO, film and television, has applied for and been accepted as a Promoting Member of the Khronos Group. DVS joins original Group Founders 3Dlabs, ATI, Discreet and SGI to participate in the development and deployment of royalty-free, open standard APIs, including OpenML, that will enable authoring and playback of dynamic media on a wide variety of platforms and devices. In order to enable any company to join the group, the Khronos Group has been structured to also accept memberships at the "Contributor" level. This category of membership will allow a company to participate in the development of the next version of the specification, the creation of reference implementations and the definition of conformance tests to ensure a high level of consistency between OpenML- and OpenGL- compliant devices. The OpenML 1.0 specification may be licensed, royalty free, by any company that wishes to become an "Adopter" in order to integrate OpenML functionality into their hardware or software products, through completing the OpenML 1.0 adoption agreement.

URL: http://www.khronos.org

196.18 Image Processing Patent for Canon

US Patent #6400362 has been assigned to Canon Kabushiki Kaisha for "image processing method and apparatus." "A virtual space including a plurality of different data is generated on the basis of a tree structure including, as construction elements, shape data, light space data, and the like, change processing such as addition, deletion, replacement, and the like of the construction element is done for the tree structure as a basis of the generated virtual environment, and the virtual environment is regenerated. The change processing can be done more efficiently for the virtual environment made up of various kinds of data."

196.00 Events & Calls for Papers

196.19 Innovation during Countdown to Siggraph

With only six weeks to go before Siggraph 2002, ACM SIGGRAPH has announced a Web Graphics program designed to teach animators, artists, educators, and engineers how their talent can cross over to the Web. Among the sessions Bing-Yu Chen and Tomoyuki Nishita from The University of Tokyo will present a proposed method for rendering objects with solid texturing for Web graphics using only Java to achieve an "almost-real-time" interactive response. Peter Coppin, Karl Fischer, Natalie Koch, Dana Martinelli, W. Ronald McCloskey, and Michael Wagner of Carnegie Mellon University will describe a telepresence interface through which students explore Mars. EventScope's 3D virtual environments are seamlessly integrated with a standards-based curriculum downloaded to classroom computers. Sandro Corsaro will make a comparison of television animation from the 1950s to the Web animation in the 1990s, including how the future economy of television animation will rely heavily on its storied past. Robert Reinhardt, [theMAKERS], has a presentation entitled Flash MX Live: Real-Time Video and Audio Delivery in Multi-User Environments. Ed Sims of Vcom3D will present a character-animation authoring system developed for educators who have no previous animation experience. Speaking for the World Wide Web Consortium/INRIA, Philipp Hoschka will present the SMIL language which enables interactive audio-visual multimedia for the Web. This summary of its key features explains some of the key insights into the Web-language design that influenced SMIL's development. Alan Hudson of Yumetech has a presentation which outlines the technical and organizational issues surrounding the community development process of the Xj3D browser. It is an open source API for developing X3D and VRML 97 applications.

URL: http://www.siggraph.org

196.20 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

196.21 SIGGRAPH 2002

ACM SIGGRAPH is dedicated to the generation and dissemination of information on computer graphics and interactive techniques: San Antonio, Texas, USA - July 21-26, 2002 (exhibition 23-25).

URL: http://www.siggraph.org

196.22 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.

URL: http://www.VREfresh.com

196.23 PRESENCE 2002

PRESENCE 2002, Portugal on October 9-11, 2002

URL: http://www.presence-research.org

196.24 Collaborative Virtual Environments 2002

ACM Collaborative Virtual Environments 2002: Bonn, Germany - September 30-October 2, 2002. CVE 2002 is a conference dedicated to the design, development and use of collaborative virtual environments (CVEs). Submission deadlines for Papers, Posters, Panels, Workshops, and Tutorials is May 1st 2002.

URL: http://www.cve2002.org/

196.25 Symposium on Interactive 3D Graphics

2003 Symposium on Interactive 3D Graphics: California, USA - April 27 to 30, 2003. Papers Deadline: 15 September 2002

URL: http://movesinstitute.org/I3D.html

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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

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