january 2001

3D on the Web

  April 2001 release of Macromedia Director 9 (3D-Shockwave)

VRML had failed, and many of the VRML-based companies hoping to bring 3D to the web had folded. The Virtual Reality Markup, or Modeling, Language, was created in 1994 to put virtual worlds on the internet. It is the 3D version of HTML, used to create web pages.

The VRML failure did not, however put Web-based 3D graphics into the ashes forever. Without a standard definition of Web-3D to constrain them, new ways appeared to give web visitors real-time, 3D interactive computer graphics on the Web. These graphics could be viewed and manipulated via web 3D players (plug-ins) from within standard browsers (IE, Netscape). Web 3D players work like game engine : they put 3D-models or 3D-scenes onto visitor's screens, render the models in real time, and manage interactions. Typically, the players live on a Web 3D company's server and are accessed through browser plug-ins that must be downloaded and installed. The barriers to player usage have gone way down; today players automatically install and update. The quality you can get now with 3D-Demos is beginning to make business sense.

Of course, the narrow internet pipeline means that 3D graphics have to be relatively light. "We put a limit of about 2500 polygons on our models" says Brad deGraf, founder of DotComix SanFrancisco. Web 3D companies have concentrated on finding ways to send less data through the player. For exemple, smart streaming techniques in some Web 3D players send only the data needed to create the graphics that are in the user's view; and in other players, data-compression methods are used to pack more data into smaller files (Cult3D)

Data compresion is accomplished with authoring software, which can also be used to define interactions. Because this technology is proprietary and the methods are unique to each company, 3D scene created for one company's player cannot be viewed with another company's player. And because each player must be downloaded, this can be a difficulty for visitors who want to look at 3D models on website that use various players (unless plug-ins are already installed with standard browsers - as Flash is part of IE 5).

"There are probably 30 companies with Web 3D players right now," says Michael Arrington, director of software research for Jon Peddie Associates - Sausalito CA. That's likely to change as content creators begin focus on a few, popular 3D plug-ins. "Our strategy is to be the de facto standard; we want to be the MP3 of 3D-Demos on the Web" says Jim Madden, president and CEO of Cult3D  /Cycore USA SanMateo CA.

"But none of the 30 companies has a total solution" says Arrington, "However they have real sucess in various niches such as e-commerce, entertainment, training... standards will evolve for each of these different niches (as Macromedia Director is becoming a standard for CD games). To win the competition, having unique technology won't be enough."These companies need the right partners, the right business model, the right marketing and buzz, enough funding, and they need mind share" says Wanda Meloni, an analyst with M2 research SanDiego CA, who specializes in 3D models. And then they have to show that their solution works That is, it pays to put 3D-models on website rather than or in addition to text, images and video. Content creators have become competent at designing HTML-based web pages; however, relatively few have worked with 3D tools.

What's important is what 3D is being used for

To make money, the Web 3D companies use one of three schemes : selling their authoring software, licencing their technology to other companies, or charging Web sites a usage fee to publish 3D-models that streams through their 3D player. All companies provide the player plug-ins free for downloading.

Discreet SanFrancisco, a division of Autodesk SanRafael CA, is specialized in animation and digital video effects software. Discreet's 3DstudioMAX has become, arguably the standard 3D modeler and animation software for Web content creators - at least in term of entertainment and e-commerce, which are two markets targeted by many companies with Web 3D plug-ins.

On the entertainment side,
the companies offering 3D plug-ins that seem likely to succeed are Pulse Entertainment, BDE Brilliant Digital Entertainment and Eyematic (formerly Shout Interactive).
Pulse Entertainment's claim to fame is a player favored by artists creating animated 3D characters for the Web (MuppetWorld, Electronic Arts, entertaindom and DotComix - fresh cartoon daily with Trudeau's Duke running for president - all use Pulse's Web 3D player). Pulse charges a licensing fee to Web sites using Pulse Player based on usage; fees start at $2500. To help get Pulse Player into the hands of Web users, the company has collaborated with Real Networks, which will offer Pulse Playback to its 150 million registered users. To help get its authoring software into the hands of content creators, Pulse has collaborated with Discreet to bundle Pulse Producer with 3DstudioMAX (Pulse Producer and Pulse Creator are free and available on Pulse's website).
Like Pulse, BDE has been on the web for 3 years and has created episodic, interactive 3D cartoons (webisodes) such as Superman or  Xena Warrior Princess (licenced to websites like entertaindom). Last year BDE began selling B3d authoring software which allows the creation of multiple story paths, which users choose, and layers of animation with time tracks that turn the animation on or off.

In e-commerce,
The apparent leaders are Cycore Cult3D, Viewpoint MetaStream NY, and RichFX. Two e-commerce sites are using Pulse www.nutrisystem.com (a Virtual Exercise Instructor-character demonstrates slimming exercises) and FAO Schwarz

photorealistic interactive 3D-models on the Web

Also targeting the e-commerce niche on the Web is Viewpoint. Viewpoint Media Player 3.0 can play back QuickTimeVR, IPIX panoranic. Sony uses Viewpoint has created Aibo, a virtual dog that develops and grows based on a user's interaction with Sony website.

Cult3D claims that 10,000 product-3D-Demos can be viewed online with Cult3D player (with installed base of 6 million users), and 450 companies are using Cult3D on their websites including NEC, Boeing, Lego and Palm. Like Puse and Viewpoint, Cult3D gives away free authoring software and charges a license fee based on the number of unique visitors to a site. Cult3D imports models from 3D modelers as 3DstudioMAX, Alias-Wavefront's Maya and 3D.com's Strata3D, and is one of the few to support the Macintosh. To import more 3D models into Cult3D faster, RealViz France +SanFrancisco can convert photographs into 3D images.

RichFX helps Neiman Marcus website to sell models of Manolo Blahnik shoes in a 3D environment.

In development

Macromedia announced it will incorporate 3D internet technology from Intel's Architecture Lab plus 3DspeedDraw, a real time renderer from NxView into Shockwave, making the popular multimedia player 3D-enabled (with installed base of 137 million users). The Intel technology allows 3D-model to have multiple resolutions, automatically increasing or decreasing the 3D quality depending on computer power.

Last year Eyematic merged with Shout Interactive to target consumers with non-professional 3D Web publishing tools. Because Shout3D player works via a Java applet, there is no plug-in to download and the software is cross-platform. Eyematic's technology allows non-professionals to create personal 3D avatars of themselves from photographs.

education and training market are targeted by Vcom3D Orlando Fl.

Game and mapping are targeted by WildTangent Richmond WA. Although now primarily for retail games on Microsoft's Zone.com (msn Gaming Zone), one game is an e-commerce application: The Tacoma Adrenaline racing game, created for Toyota by WildTangent, the game is attracting as many players as retail games, according to Kevin Gliner, vp of product development. "It's an ad that people like to play" he says.

Making a market

Distribution of 3D player is vital, but ultimately the success of 3D on the web wil depend on content. 3D will be acceptable only if it adds value to the experience whether that's in commerce, entertainment, training or communication.

Presentation tool for product displays

For parts catalogs market, Actify Spinfire SanFrancisco put complex models created with a wide variety of CAD tools, on the web. "In the manufacturing space, the ability to measure a part impacts buying decisions. And service reps need to work with accurate designs" says  Spinfire mkg director, Mark Gisi. Even though the CVAD date are compressed by as much as 90%, the company claims that measurements are as precise as with the original data.
RealtyWave (Cambridge MA) VizStream is a 3D player that can stream complex CAD content (100MB file with hundred of thousands of parts). VizStream automatically converts XGL files (an open source file format based on OpenGL) into VizStream format, and can convert otherfile formats into XGL. Once encoded, the informatiooon is cached. A user can then click on a 2D image on a web site and the 3D data streams in. "We download view-dependant levels of detail. Engineers need to see parts in 3D to incorporate them in their products" says Aaron Freedman, vp of product development. RealtyWave charges a license fee for usage and has begun collaborating with companies to get applications of the technology on the Web.

Engineering tools for collaborative CAD
VRML
ProEng Mockup
Solidworks3

Barbara Robertson, Computer Graphics World Nov 2000

RealMedia Player
What types of media does RealPlayer 8 Plus play?

EKKLA Research (solutions sans fil d'imagerie 3D) optimise hardware et software pour obtenir des solutions embarquées:
-assistant personnel électronique PDA, embarquant un moteur 3D
-moteur 3D Surface, Terrain et Volume Rendering pour PC portable et PDA
-systèmes communicants sans fil pour le positionnement et la navigation
-système d'affichage 3D avec relief stéréoscopique cliquez ici
-serveurs de traitement d'images.
Nos technologies permettent d'envisager le développement de produits dérivés.

Pour voir un aperçu de différentes applications réalisables, cliquez ici.
Pour comprendre comment ces solutions s'intègrent dans les systèmes de transmissions de données, cliquez ici.

Spécifications:
Logiciels en C,C++, Java, sous OS Windows, Pocket PC, Linux
Librairies utilisées: Open GL ou Direct3D
Systèmes :
- développement logiciel sur prototype hardware communicant sans fil
- traitement d’images
Applicatifs : applications Java pour e-learning

modeleur 3D  www.opencascade.com

Nouvelle technologie 3d web, 3dsnet nom de code SunXi    www.intraneteurope.com/site3dsnet

-moteur OpenGL : plugin activeX de 130 ko
-IE seulement, portages en cours
-Multitexturing et rendu multipasses
-support patch et mesh (poids fichier << à la concurrence)
-streaming parametrable interactif
-module d'export  intégré a 3dsmax (visualisation dans viewport, animations, comportements, arbre de données et export final)

Calcul scientifique, crash-test  www.radioss.com