Techno Babble

Microsofts Local Live now offers 3D views.

Here’s a snapshot I recently captured around Bostons Financial district.

Virtual Earth is provided as part of its online mapping service and has been designed to work in a web browser. Currently photorealistic images are provided for 15 cities in the US including Boston and Los Angeles. (You can also see the Tower of London and the Millenium Wheel in London).

Seen as a competitor for Google Earth – Google says it has distributed more than 100 million free copies of Google Earth since June 2005 – Microsofts version is also offering on-line advertisers the opportunity to display adverts on “billboards” around the 3D landscape (as seen in the above image)

Yet another online 3D-Search-by-doodling application this one from imaginestics.

3D-Seek, introduced its service at the recent DEMOfall ’06. (Read more about DEMO – the launchpad for emerging technology )

Using http://3D-Seek.com , users can
simply doodle (draw freehand sketch) a shape of the desired part/product on
the doodle pad or upload a 2D drawing/3D model of a part/product as search
input to locate a supplier who produces that part or has the capability to
manufacture it.

Here’s a snap from their website,

Try it in action live HERE.

3D PrintScreen from Dassault is a version of the familiar 2D print screen functionality but applied to 3D models.

It could be described as a TSR (terminate and stay ready) application which remains active, running in the background, until invoked using the F10 “hot” key (this is the default hot-key which can be changed if required) to capture 3D model geometry from another running application.

Models are saved as 3D XML from any application based on OpenGL.

Tested it out with an application used for generating meshed models. Here is the application running:

source application

and here is the resultant 3D XML file displayed in the 3D XML viewer

captured model

3D Printscreen is available for FREE from

http://www.3ds.com/products/3dvia/3d-xml/3dvia-printscreen/

where you can also download the XML Player to view your captured models.

CB Model Pro was built around the idea that surfaces should be manipulated directly. The result is a very intuitive and highly productive tool for 3D content creation that seamlessly fits into the production pipeline. CB Model Pro was developed by the creators of Cosmic Blobs, the award-winning entry-level 3D graphics software.

Find out more from the WEBSITE

Recently announced Photosynth, from Microsoft Live Labs, takes a collection of photos of a place or object, analyzes them for similarities, and displays them in a reconstructed 3-Dimensional space.

The first prototype to come out of Microsoft Live Labs, Photosynth is based on a research paper entitled “Photo Tourism: Exploring Photo Collections in 3D”.

It doesn’t appear to be something which attempts to re-construct a 3D model from photographs in the way that some packages do, such as PhotoModeler, rather it seems to present a new mechanism for displaying and browsing photographs.

There is a keen interest in the ability to construct a 3D Model from a single image.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon have developed a program that allows a computer to automatically generate 3-D reconstructions of scenes based on a single image.

Visit the Automatic Photo Pop-up page at

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/%7Edhoiem/projects/popup/index.html.

Read the Press Release for more information.

http://www.cmu.edu/PR/releases06/060613_3d.html

UGS have recently announced their acquisition of technology from the German software consultancy firm software design & managment AG

http://www.ugs.com/about_us/press/press.shtml?id=4764

The product re-named Geolus Search (from its original geolus SHAPE) is a “shape search” application which allows users to quickly locate 3D models from large databases on the basis of geometric similarity.

This technology earned sd&m the “Innovator of the Year, 2004″ award from CADCAM magazine.

It claims to have the “unique” ability to build a searchable parts database across multi-CAD systems (further investigation shows that it supports JT, VRML and STL formats).

UGS have launched Solid Edge Version 19 – focused on Innovation and Collaboration for the entire value chain.

The main features as quoted by UGS are:

With Version 19, Solid Edge customers will realize the following features and their associated benefits:

Full motion simulation – Version 19 offers capabilities to quickly and easily define relationships between different motion drivers, such as gears, pulleys, hydraulic cylinders, and motors. Users can provide suppliers and customers with accurate motion studies that demonstrate the visual appearance of a product as well as how it functions in real time.

Animated and dynamic documentation – Enhanced tools for capturing, modifying and animating how parts are assembled and disassembled enable users to generate high-quality videos for clearer manufacturing instructions, technical manuals and training materials.

JT file sharing – Solid Edge takes advantage of the JT standard file format for sharing parts and assemblies, enabling anyone in the supply chain to exchange intelligent 3D data regardless of the CAD system used to create the file.

Product Manufacturing Information (PMI) – Version 19 delivers the functionality needed to produce 3D-annotated designs in compliance with world standards such as ASME Y14.41. Solid Edge models now serve as single digital representations capturing all product information – reducing or eliminating the need for drawings in design reviews or manufacturing.

New suite of manufacturing solutions – Tightly integrated with UGS’ new NX CAM Express software (announced today in a separate press release), Solid Edge now offers a full range of scalable manufacturing solutions that coordinate product design, tool design and NC programming so that these processes occur in parallel – significantly reducing production time.

Improved Sheet Metal design – New features, such as corner stiffeners, cross breaks and hems, combined with continued enhancements to industry-leading workflows, enable users to extend their competitive advantage from product design through manufacturing.

Enhanced workflow for AutoCAD data – Users moving from 2D AutoCAD to Solid Edge enjoy a smoother workflow and familiar look and feel to their drawings – shortening the learning curve, while ensuring consistency and data integrity.

New 64-bit version – Solid Edge users create assemblies in excess of 100,000 parts, and the new 64-bit edition, introduced with Version 19, expedites the creation of massive assemblies and their associated drawings.