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Presence Examples From e-inSITE 3D Platform Creates Virtual Worlds For Web-Based Applications By Mark Long 3/1/2002 e-inSITE Earlier this week at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, Intel CEO Craig Barrett promoted the ability of advanced PC platforms to create virtual locations, props and models from digital still images of the real world that can be combined to quickly and inexpensively create way-cool 3D video clips for Web-based applications. Barrett's IDF demo clip was created using an air-cooled Pentium 4 processor tech demo system running at 3 GHz in tandem with a new image-based, content creation platform from Realviz, which converts real-world images captured by a digital still camera into virtual world environment in which the application user has total control over time and space. The virtual movie that was created for Barrett's presentation was displayed to IDF attendees using 3D Shockwave technology for Web-based applications. The new way-cool software promises to revolutionize the creation of Web content, 3D games, and even motion pictures such as the forthcoming Matrix 2, which reportedly will be using the new Realviz 3D modeling environment. On the Web alone, the software environment offers the potential of revolutionizing the real-estate industry, which will be able to use the software to create virtual tours of hot properties for sale. Museums will also undoubtedly give Realviz a close look as a potential platform for creating virtual museum exhibit tours on line. Prior to the opening of IDF, a Realviz representative went to the Embarcadero district of San Francisco to take a series of photos with his digital still camera, which were imported into the Realviz Stitcher software application where they were blended together into a seamless environment that served as the demonstration's virtual location. In addition, a series of digital images were taken of a public Caltrain and then brought into the Realviz ImageModeler, which was used to create a 3D model of the train that retained all the detail and richness of the surfaces of the real train. A third application from the company called Scene Weaver was used to import both the virtual location from Stitcher as well as the Caltrain that was created in the 3D image modeler. In addition, Scene Weaver allowed the Realviz graphics artist to define and set up how he wanted the 3D train model and the virtual location to interact with each other. Realviz technology was used to create this panoramic digital image of the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. In addition, the Realviz artist took a series of digital still pictures of Craig Barrett and then used the images to create a 3D model of the Intel CEO that was placed on a skateboard. In the demo clip, the 3D virtual Barret skated around the virtual location and onto the top of the Caltrain. "My part of that was, in fact, two minutes of getting photographed with little things in my face so they could match it up somehow," said Craig Barrett. "But it only took about two minutes of my time and then creating the content with the software. But that is the sort of excitement that the PC can bring to the end user in the future. That's the sort of thing we collectively need to make happen." Realviz Interactive Studio Released earlier this month, the Realviz Interactive Studio has been designed to provide a complete platform for building interactive 3D applications. Featuring a complete set of tools for creating interactive 3D content in Macromedia Director & Shockwave Player or VRML, the Realviz Interactive Studio platform builds up 360 degree panoramas that can be transformed into calibrated 3D environments. In addition, QuickTime VR interactive results can be delivered quickly through the use of a library of pre-defined behaviors in Macromedia Shockwave. Using photographs as a revolutionary approach to 3D content creation, Realviz Interactive Studio combines the power of the company's Stitcher and ImageModeler applications, with the company's latest software release, SceneWeaver, which can be used to model and create compelling interactive 3D content from digital still photographs. "The combined applications in Realviz Interactive Studio give everyday multimedia developers and artists the power to create immersive ultra realistic 3D environments and 3D content, which was previously only available to professional 3D modelers and animators." said Realviz vice president Douglas Wyrick in a prepared statement. "Using our unique image-based approach, Realviz Interactive Studio offers a new level of accessibility to 3D for these users, giving them a powerful array of interactive content tools. " Designed specifically for effects professionals, designers and Internet content creators, ImageModeler 3 is an image-based modeling application that has been designed to simplify the time-consuming task of building 3D models. By selecting a number of points on a series of still photographs of an object or environment, ImageModeler extracts 3D data and textures to construct life-like 3D models. Complex models can reportedly be created efficiently and cost- effectively with a low polygon count, which is well-suited for web compatible 3D content. In addition, ImageModeler features high-end production and editing tools that are specifically designed for professional production needs. The company's Stitcher software application is used to create high resolution spherical, cubic, and cylindrical maps for backdrops, reflection maps and global illumination maps. In addition, the program features the ability to construct high-quality panoramas for the web, film, print, and 3D by means of panorama construction and production workflow capabilities. SceneWeaver has been designed to permit the creation of true 3D environments from stills or panoramic photos, imports 3D objects, positions them and creates object hierarchies for delivery to Macromedia Director/Shockwave and interactive web formats. "SceneWeaver and ImageModeler are a breakthrough combination that combine photo-realism with low polygon modeling in a new way. This unique package provides great looking output with playback that scales well across a wide range of hardware," said Roger Jones, Founder of Throbbing Media. "Now Shockwave developers can quickly model photo realistic objects and incorporate them into VR scenes, without the need for complicated and expensive modeling packages." With Realviz Interactive Studio, developers can also automatically extract and place textures on 3D models, unwrap textures and edit them in PhotoShop or another image editing package, create polygonal masks for complex scene construction and depth enhancement. The files are stored in an interchangeable RZML format for seamless data exchange between applications. Realviz Interactive Studio, which combines the ImageModeler 3, Stitcher 3 and SceneWeaver 1 software applications, is available right now for the Windows NT/2000 platform at an initial price point of $1,666. 3D Packages For Architects and Film-makers Realviz also offers two additional bundles that are targeted at the professional architect and graphics artist communities. Realviz AEC Studio provides a complete solution for building photo-real presentations of proposed architectural and engineering projects. The new platform, which combines the company's ImageModeler, Stitcher and MatchMover software applications, has been designed to give architects and engineers the ability to generate high-quality, photo- real graphics and visualization tools for building high-resolution panoramas from stitched or tiled images. According to the company, the platform's more notable workflow improvements include the ability to amplify the field of view of a camera very easily using standard photographic equipment, texturing 3D models from ordinary photographs and rectifying textures from non-perpendicular shots, surveying and measuring scene data from within photographs. The user begins with standard photographs of an object, building or scene, which are tiled together in Stitcher to create 360º panoramas for high- resolution backdrops, virtual tours and global reflection maps. Either standard photographs or highly detailed stitched images can be imported into the ImageModeler for the purpose of extracting the 3D data and textures that are required for the generation of photo-real 3D models. These 3D models can then be seamlessly integrated into filmed footage using the platforms MatchMover 3D camera-tracking tools. Available right now for the Windows platform, AEC Studio is priced at $2,221. Realviz SFX Studio is a production bundle that has been formulated to deliver photo-real effects capabilities to professional digital artists. The platform includes the ImageModeler 3, Stitcher 3.1, MatchMover 2 Professional and ReTimer 2 software applications. Realviz SFX Studio features an integrated approach to effects creation using images, animations and panoramas for film, broadcast print and 3D projects. The tools gives visual effects professionals the power to deliver photo-real 3D results by applying real- world images into the 3D realm. With SFX Studio, cameras can be automatically tracked for highly accurate match moving, high-resolution panoramas can be created for backdrops and global illumination maps, and photo-real models can be generated from ordinary photographs. In addition, the platform's ReTimer software application can be used to speed up, slow down or create variable speed clips from standard speed filmed sequences. Realviz SFX Studio is available for Windows NT/2000 at a price of $11,110.
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