Dear Reader, Was 2006 the “Year of the Internet”? Some say so. At the SIGGRAPH graphics conference in Boston, USA, large software producers such as Google (Google Earth) and Microsoft (Vista) showcased their new products for the first time. Obviously they have discovered viable 3D business models within the consumer marketplace, which would not have been realized without the Internet. Nevertheless, the Internet is rarely mentioned directly these days in marketing for pruducts that rely on its ubiquity for distribution – we all take it for granted – "business as usual". We now speak of "Web 2.0" but what we're really referring to is the emergence of even more sophisticated Web-based applications and the convergence of phone, computing, film and interactive 3D, with the Web as catalyst. Jerry Yang, founder of the Yahoo! Internet company, expects a larger growth for applications than for search engines. For example, applications like "Google Earth" have become household names throughout the industrialized world. The 3D World Atlas we developed for Bertelsmann could soon be the talk of the town. But, as previously mentioned, few people now give any consideration to the Internet backbone that supports such applications – and this is a very good lesson. The world wide web simply works, becomes increasingly efficient and pervasive and remains the foundation technology of our time. With the recent multi-billion dollar acquisition of YouTube, Google gave us a further proof that great Internet applications foster community and that such communities (once a certain critical mass is attained) are highly prized, valuable commodities. In related local news, the acquisition of the German Internet application portal Xing this month also clearly illustrates the importance of Internet user communities. So from my point of view, 2006 definitely was the "Year of the Internet". To all readers my best wishes for an even more exciting New Year 2007. Yours |
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News |
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 Rapid rise of VRML/X3D search results within Google.
The 3D ISO standard VRML obviously enjoys growing interest amongst developers, designers and end-users. According to Google statistics from 2004 to 2005 the number of searches for "VRML" on the Internet quadrupled – up to four million, indicating growing interest and a huge potential customer base. From 2005 to 2006 the number rose again, doubling to over 10 million searches. Additionally, the number of searches for X3D (the ISO standard successor to VRML) has already tripled and is way ahead of competing, proprietary Web 3D technologies. |
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 Technology magazine iX with 3D comparative review.
In its November issue iX magazine (a German publication for IT professionals) features a comparative review of high-end 3D animation packages for creating cinematic quality visuals. The comparison shows that the prices for such software packages are no longer a telling indicator of the depth and breadth of features, production efficiency and ultimately the quality of output. To illustrate this point, the freely available 3D authoring tool "Blender" compared favorably to other expensive tools featured in the review. www.heise.de/kiosk/archiv/ix (German only) |
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Virtual worlds from laser beams.
The heart of the new Fraunhofer research center located in the "Port of Science" in Magdeburg is the “Round Technikum” building. On a full 360 degree cylindrical projection screen, virtual models of complex machines and constructions are represented by six laser projectors from Jenoptik, Jena. Bitmanagement’s software was selected to power the high-end 3D visualizations in this world-class facility. The installation of the white, curved aluminium screen spans an area of approximately 330m² and the three-dimensional presentation shows remarkable color brilliance, sharpness and brightness. idw-online.de (German only) |
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 HDTV for 3D cinema.
Philips presented at IFA 2006 a 3D flat-screen TV set which displays 3D movies without the use of special glasses. This new product presentation coincided with Philips' announced HDTV consumer market releases in 2008. Likewise, IBM presented their 3D TV technology in November 2005. However, the "first to market" crown goes to the German entertainment electronics manufacturer Grundig, which transmitted and displayed live 3D TV for the first time without special glasses in September 2005, based on Newsight and 3D image processing technology. The industry and consumers now await quality 3D cinematic content produced by Hollywood and international film agencies. www.satundkabel.de (German only) |
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 Tridelity presents high-performance stereo displays.
With its new stereo displays, the young company Tridelity (St. Georgen) garnered much attention at two Munich trade shows – "InterGeo" and "Systems" – in 2006. Show visitors were especially impressed by the 47" multiview monitor on display, due to its impressive stereoscopic rendition quality. The visualization software powering the screen was developed by Bitmanagement and displays interactive scenes in the VRML/X3D format. The Tridelity stereo technology does not require special eyeglasses and, in contrast to other offerings, viewers can move freely in front of the screen without any loss of the stereoscopic effect. |
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"3D Geo Information" project for the University of Potsdam recognized.
Amongst the three winners of the InnoProfile competition run by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF), was the "3D Geo Information" project developed by the University of Potsdam. In this project the federal state of Brandenburg demonstrated its highly specialized research and development expertise in the field of geo information systems. With captured geospatial data such as terrain, vegetation and underground services, digital 3D models of real and virtual landscapes can be developed. www.uni-potsdam.de (German only) |
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Applications |
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Bitmanagement delivers 3D World Atlas project for Bertelsmann.
At November's end, after punctual completion and in time for Christmas, Bitmanagement Software GmbH handed over the final application to Bertelsmann GmbH (Gütersloh), one of the world’s leading publishing houses. Challenges which were mastered in the course of the project include the integration and geo-referencing of vast quantities of encyclopedic data into a real-time 3D atlas with high-resolution satellite imagery and elevation data read from DVD. This integrated 3D atlas / encyclopedia is the flagship product within Bertelsmann's portfolio and is destined for the consumer market. The project was recently showcased on the Web 3D Consortium website. |
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 "Will it fit or not?" Online shopping with AR.
Whether a new piece of furniture fits in the living room or not is a question can now be answered simply by using augmented reality (AR) technology. Metaio GmbH, pioneers in the field of AR, have released their latest solution in a free demo form on their website. This solution makes it possible to present virtual 3D data directly in the living space of the customer. For example, a 3D model of a couch can be interactively placed within an actual photograph of the customer's living room. This new application of Metaio's is based on the 3D software of Bitmanagement and is integrated into an online shopping system. |
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 Planning via "Collaborative Table".
Using this 3D multi-user hardware and software, several technicians can collaborate around a shared virtual world. With such a table they can, for instance, plan whole factories or parts of it, check the effects of changes in machines and plant layouts and much more, all in the one collaborative space. v-fab GmbH, Stuttgart, configures and markets the interaction table with up to four 3D cameras, viewing technology and multi-wall projectors. The collaborative table can be operated interactively via space mouse, joystick and optical tracking and is powered by the visualization software BS Contact VRML/X3D. |
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Announcements |
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 VRML / X3D training materials upgraded.
In order to simplify the adoption of VRML/X3D technologies, Bitmanagement offers extended information, training and tutorials for VRML/X3D programming to 3D designers in agencies and film studios. These documents in support of content creators will be available in the first quarter of 2007 as a free download. |
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New Releases |
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 BS Contact Geo ready for download.
BS Contact Geo is now available on Bitmanagement’s website for immediate download. The new geo capabilities have been used in real-world applications by select customers working in the geo field and the software can now be tested by all without functional restrictions. New features like the BS Tile format, the “geo examine” and “geo fly” navigation modes as well as the GeoSphere node extension make geospatial application development and data visualization simpler. A demonstration with NASA data shows the employment of the new geo capabilities. |
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 BS Exporter for Blender.
The BS Exporter for Blender has been revised for the new Blender version 2.42 and is available for free download. Many features such as shadow representations, multi-texturing and environment mapping are supported. The BS Exporter for Blender is a "state of the art", reliable tool for any designer working with the free Blender 3D modelling and animation package. |
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 BS Reducer.
BS Reducer, which is now ready for test download, reduces the volume of 3D data in ISO standard files for optimal real-time performance and Internet delivery. This is done in three ways; 1) by optimizing the file structure, 2) data conversion, and 3) polygon reduction (lossy re-triangulation). BS Reducer serves to unify and optimize data from disparate CAD and 3D authoring tool sources, into a single coherent VRML application. |
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 BS SDK with new extensions.
Bitmanagement now offers a library of 150 "protos" in their Software Development Kit (SDK) in order to streamline development of content and applications. Buyers of the BS SDK package can now enjoy the benefits of these protos in addition to updates of the "BS Exporter for 3ds max" and “BS Exporter for Blender”. The protos are essentially extra nodes (with full source code) accompanied by documentation and examples, which are designed to facilitate rapid content and application development. |
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Technical News |
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Blender conference highlights X3D exporter.
During the recent Blender conference in Amsterdam, Eckhard Jaeger, art director of area42 (a Berlin based 3D agency), demonstrated the the workflow integration and usage of the Blender 3D authoring tool with the “BS Exporter for Blender” from Bitmanagement Software GmbH. He pointed out how easily one can produce captivating real time 3D effects. The “BS Exporter for Blender” supports shadows, radiosity, dynamic particle effects, multi-texturing, normal and environment mapping, movie textures, animation and interactive scripting. Exported content can be visualized in high quality, real-time 3D with the ISO standards based software BS Contact VRML/X3D from Bitmanagment. The area42 contribution video of the event is available at the following link. |
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 X3D standard conformance.
The Web3D consortium has developed a conformance test suite for the ISO standard X3D – the evolution of the VRML. This test is available to producers of X3D browsers within the Web 3D consortium membership. The conformance test was developed to maximize the interoperability between different X3D browser implementations. Bitmanagement has conducted internal testing against the X3D Interchange profile conformance suite and has deemed that their latest BS Contact VRML/X3D release meets the requirements for this profile. Bitmanagement has shared these internal results with the Web 3D Consortium and now awaits official verification and certification. |
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 3D objects move by gestures alone.
The artificiality and clumsiness of VR devices such as data gloves, head trackers and shutter glasses often detracts from the users sense of full immersion. Dr. Siegmund Pastoor, Dr. René de la Barré and David Przewozny of the Fraunhofer Institute for Communication Technology, Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI) aimed to correct this deficiency. They have developed special displays, on which 3D objects can be both viewed and moved with the "naked eye" using simple gestures. For their significant contribution to interactive 3D visualization and human-computer interaction (HCI), the Berlin researchers have been awarded the "Joseph of Fraunhofer Award" for 2006. |
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 BS Contact VRML/X3D – release notes.
The BS Contact VRML/X3D offering is increasingly becoming a high-level "construction kit", which empowers developers to create sophisticated and robust applications rapidly. The 7.0 release supports application developers via integrated physics and film-quality visualization as well as 6 degrees-of-freedom input device support (e.g. space mouse). In the release notes, Bitmanagement outlines these and many other features and improvements of BS Contact VRML/X3D. Further, indepth technical documentation is supplied in the comprehensive BS SDK. Additional, freely available training materials will be available in the first quarter of 2007 and a "proto library" of code components has already been released. |
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Fairs / Exhibitions |
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 "Stereo 3D is the market of the future".
This was the motto of the "S3D-Today+ Conference" organized by DNS Consult, Rudelzhausen. S3D-Today+ showcased the state-of-the-art in stereo 3D techniques during the well-attended international conference and exhibition in Munich. "Stereo 3D or briefly S3D has the potential to generate products which will inspire people… ", says Lutz Möhr of DNS Consult. Visitors had ample opportunity to experience and investigate the various applications of stereoscopic S3D, as well as sample the technical solutions of today and the near future. |
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