May 18, 2005
The Web3D Consortium has received two grants from the National Library of Medicine (NLM - part of the National Institutes of Health) and the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC) for a total of $20K. This funding is specifically directed to support the work of the Medical Working Group to extend the X3D standard to support volumetric imaging, the type of imaging commonly used in medical diagnosis and treatment. Distribution of the funds for work is available to members of the Consortium. Both NLM and TATRC understand the need for interoperable imaging standards and extending X3D will enable the creation of content that can be used in a wide variety of medical systems and applications such as medical education, surgical practice and planning, patient education, and many more. Pursuit of the grants was led by Mike Aratow and Sandy Ressler. Consortium members can find out more by joining the Med Working Group email list.
May 18, 2005
The first part of this two-part series examined the emerging mobile 3D market and the many forms that 3D content may take as it begins to appear on a new generation of hardware-accelerated mobile devices. Part 2, in contrast, looks at the core group of open standards and technologies that developers will use to create mobile 3D applications. Specifically: X3D, Java Mobile 3D Graphics APIs, and OpenGL ES. In addition, Part 2 describes the organizations and key corporate members behind these technologies to shed light on the size and scope of these industry-led efforts.
May 17, 2005
Parisi spoke with CNET News.com about why the Web is finally ripe for 3D content, why the Web browser is yesterday’s paradigm, and what the architects of the next Internet interface have to learn from gamers, among other topics.
May 16, 2005
H3D API is a C++ implementation of the X3D standard as an open source API for the development of haptic (touch-enabled) applications. H3D API uses the C++ Standard Template Library as well as open source libraries such as Python, FreeImage, Xerces, FreeType, FTGL and GLEW. Graphics rendering is performed using OpenGL and haptics rendering using SensAble Technologies’ Open Haptics SDK. Users who do not have a haptic device can still evaluate the API with haptics disabled, effectively using H3D as a stand-alone X3D compliant API. The new release adds support for 3D textures and initial support for shaders.
May 12, 2005
RawKee is an open source plugin for Maya Complete and Maya Unlimited that not only allows users to export the X3D file format, but also allows them to setup X3D scripting and routing from with Maya through the RawKee X3D interaction editor. V 0.4 includes support for: WindowsXP/200: Maya 4.5-6.5 and adds support for Mac OS X: Maya 6.0 & 6.5 (binaries and cross-platform builds available). Maya 6.0 & 6.5 binaries for Linux available soon.
Features in this release include:
- VRML97 Export
- X3DV Export
- X3D Export
- X3D Interaction Editor (Includes Route Setup Control Tree)
- Scripting and Routing
Nodes Supported:
Transform, Group, Viewpoint, DirectionalLight, SpotLight, PointLight, Switch, Collision, LOD, ProximitySensor, TouchSensor, TimeSensor, PositionInterpolator, OrientationInterpolator, Script, NavigationInfo, WorldInfo, MetadataDouble, MetadataFloat, MetadataInteger, MetadataSet, MetadataString, IndexedFaceSet, Box, Sphere, Cone, Cylinder, Coordinate, TextureCoordinate, Normal, Color, ImageTexture, TextureTransform, MovieTexture, Appearance, Shape, Material, Anchor, Inline, ColorInterpolator, CoordinateInterpolator, NormalInterpolator, ScalarInterpolator, BooleanSequencer, IntegerSequencer, BooleanTrigger, BooleanToggle, IntegerTrigger, TimeTrigger, CylinderSensor, KeySensor, LoadSensor, PlaneSensor, SphereSensor, StringSensor, VisibilitySensor, PixelTexture, AudioClip, Sound, BooleanFilter, MultiTextureCoordinate, MultiTextureTransform, MultiTexture
May 11, 2005
GPAC is a multimedia framework based on the MPEG-4 Systems standard that is a small and flexible alternative to the MPEG-4 Systems reference software. The current GPAC release (0.2.4) already covers a very large part of the MPEG-4 standard, some initial SVG support and enhanced support for 3GPP and X3D.
May 11, 2005
RawKee is an open source plugin for Maya Complete and Maya Unlimited that not only allows users to export the X3D file format, but also allows them to setup X3D scripting and routing from with Maya through the RawKee X3D interaction editor. The new v0.3.7 support Maya 6.5
May 05, 2005
Blender is the leading open source software for 3D modeling, animation, rendering, post-production, interactive creation and playback. It is available for most platforms. The VRML/X3D exporter is a Python plug-in that turns Blender in a real authoring application for Web 3D content. Full documentation is available covering support for lighting, meshes, materials and nodes.
May 03, 2005
SpaceTime3D is sponsoring an X3D modeling contest to produce high-fidelity models of actual diamonds. Contestants will use the basic 3D geometry of a round brilliant diamond and inspect a reasonable facsimile, then model the diamond in full detail and render it using X3D in a 3D browser of their choice. First Prize for the most realistic and easy to manipulate diamond: $3000 gift certificate. Second Prize for the best representation of a diamond ring on a person using H-Anim: $1500 give certificate. Deadline for submission is July 20, 2005.
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