Computer Graphics World articles from August 2001

Computer Graphics World archives from August 2001

Visualization and its Discontents.("Image and Meaning: Envisioning and Communicating Science and Technology" conference)(Technology Information)
August 1, 2001... Those of us involved with computer graphics understand the power of visualizations to convey meaning. Because we're among the most visually oriented people on the planet, we can relate to the notion that humans are visual creatures--that more...

letters.(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2001... Sleight-of-Hand Architecture I am writing about the article on pg. 46 of your June 2001 issue entitled "Expressive Architecture." I agree that sometimes nonphotorealistic architectural renderings provide presentations that are more...

Corel Spruces Up Bryce.(Bryce 5 3D landscaping and animation tool)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... Last year, Corel Corp., maker of desktop publishing tools such as WordPerfect and CorelDraw, bought Painter, Bryce, and Kai's Power Tools from MetaCreations Corp. Since that time, users of the 3D landscaping and animation tool Bryce, which...

Toon Boom for Web Animation.(Toon Boom Technologies' Toon Boom Studio animation software)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... Toon Boom Technologies, maker of the popular vector-based film and TV animation program USAnimation, has introduced a new tool designed specifically for professional Web animators. Toon Boom Studio, according to the company, is not a "light"...

Bionatics Grows Virtual Plants.(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... Bionatics, (formerly JMG Graphics), is launching three market-specific plant creation applications that are based on AMAP technology, which has been developed over the last quarter of a century by the French government's agronomy and biology...

Wildcats in the Channel.(3Dlabs Wildcat II 5000 graphics accelerator)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... With its new Wildcat II 5000 graphics accelerator, a single-pipeline version of its top-of-the-line 5110, 3Dlabs aims to bring Wildcat technology to a broader spectrum of professional users. Not only is the 5000 nearly $1000 cheaper than the...

UGS Intros Solid Edge 10.(mid-range mechanical CAD program)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... UGS has introduced Version 10 of Solid Edge, its mid-range mechanical CAD program. The new iteration focuses on improvements to large-assembly design and drafting--areas the company has been targeting for some time. Among these...

Major Update for SPECviewperf.(Standard Performance Evaluation Corp.'s SPECviewperf 7.0)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... At Siggraph 2001 in Los Angeles, the Standard Performance Evaluation Corp.'s Graphics Performance Characterization (SPEC/GPC) group plans to release a Version 7.0 of its SPECviewperf benchmark tests for digital content creation and CAD/CAM...

benchmark.(ten workstation and graphics card combinations that received Lightscape (Light-04) subset of the SPECviewperf 6.1.2 benchmarks)(Buyers Guide)
August 1, 2001... Quadro2 Pro Takes the Lead in Lightscape Tests Here are the 10 workstation and graphics card combinations that most recently received the best scores for the Lightscape (Light-04) subset of the SPECviewperf 6.1.2 benchmarks. The Lightscape...

Painting with Feeling.(research at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)(Technology Information)
August 1, 2001... With a haptic interface and virtual paintbrushes, artists can apply a traditional touch to their digital creations In order to improve the art of digital painting, more attention needs to be focused on the craft of painting, according to...

It's Not What You Say, But How You Say It.(Technology Information)
August 1, 2001... An automated toolkit puts words in the mouths of virtual characters For many people, public speaking is a nightmare. Among those who are crippled by such exposure are animated characters. Speech can bring even the best-looking, most...

Turning Point.(Industry Trend or Event)
August 1, 2001... The turn of the century marked a turning point in the workstation graphics board market. Well-known companies vanished, new ones appeared, and new price-performance points were established. But while CPUs jumped in performance, memory speeds...

REALITY CHECK.(Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within movie using 3D computer graphics)(Technology Information)
August 1, 2001... The first CG cast of human actors stars in Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within Pick a science fiction film, any film. Alien, Star Wars, Men in Black, Fifth Element, you name it. Now, imagine the same film entirely created with 3D computer...

Seeing Sound.(Technology Information)
August 1, 2001... Thanks to advanced simulation and visualization techniques, sound has never looked so good What does sound look like, and who wants to know? Mostly it looks like funky abstract art, and everyone from urban planners to VR developers to...

Raptor Redux.(Industrial Light and Magic's creations)(Technology Information)
August 1, 2001... ILM revitalizes the raptors, T rexes, and other digital dinos in Jurassic Park III When the crew at Industrial Light & Magic (San Rafael, CA) was asked to recreate the dinosaurs from Jurassic Park for the third time, they did what any...

ALL MIME.(Ohio State's Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design work to capture legacy of Marcel Marceau)(Technology Information)
August 1, 2001... A university accrues a digital archive of Marcel Marceau's movements When you think of legendary dancers, a few people may come to mind--Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Mikhail Baryshnikov. The same holds true for musical talent. But when it...

The CAD Collaboration Trials.(Alibre's Alibre Design, CoCreate's OneSpace, ImpactXoft's IX Speed and 3GA's 3G.author)(Software Review)(Evaluation)
August 1, 2001... With so many collaboration tools available, which is best for your product development team? Ask a dozen people to define what CAD collaboration software can do, and you're likely to get a dozen different answers. That's mainly because...

A Digital Odyssey.
August 1, 2001... This year's Siggraph computer animation festival, titled 2001: A Digital Odyssey, offers a thrilling journey through three-dimensional space and imagery created by artists and scientists alike. The use of computer graphics to entertain and...

Art Without Boundaries.
August 1, 2001... Artistic expression knows no boundaries within N-Space, the Siggraph 2001 art gallery, where viewers are encouraged to actively explore the multidimensional aspects of the more than 90 works on display. Visitors can reach out and touch someone,...

A 3D Portal.(Technology Information)
August 1, 2001... A stereoscopic motion ride transports viewers to a world of superheroes Millions of people will descend on the nation's amusement parks this summer in search of thrills and spills, and one new attraction that's not disappointing...

Digital Diva.(the making of a virtual chanteuse)(Technology Information)
August 1, 2001... A scientist's surprising alter ego Ray Kurzweil is a world-renowned scientist, inventor, and techno-evangelist. But one role he has never played--until now--is that of female rock star. Using motion capture and numerous other computer...

Electric Image Universe.(Electric Image's CAD software)(Software Review)(Evaluation)
August 1, 2001... EIAS comes of age ELECTRIC IMAGE IS ONE of the oldest companies in the 3D arena. It was formed in 1987 as an effects studio, but soon got into the software business and released the Electric Image Animation System (EIAS) for the Mac almost...

Merlin 3D.(Digital Immersion's CAD software)(Software Review)(Evaluation)
August 1, 2001... Basic graphics package offers promise DIGITAL IMMERSION'S Merlin 3D is a basic modeling, rendering, and animation package for Windows users that supports a number of advanced features, such as subdivision surfaces and radiosity rendering....

software: DESIGN ENGINEERING: Industrial design.(Alias/Wavefront Studio Tools 9.7)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|UNIX] Studio Tools 9.7 is the latest release of Alias|Wavefront's computer-aided industrial design tool that generates underlying geometry to help ensure the manufacturability of the designs. The price is, unavailable. ...

software: DESIGN ENGINEERING: Model testing.(Immersion's Immersion VirtualHand)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN] VirtualHand is a tool for verifying, testing, and evaluating 3D digital models in real time. It allows direct import of 3D data from multiple sources to construct functional digital prototypes. Users can interact with the prototypes with...

software: LIBRARIES: Film clips.(from Artbeats)(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|MAC] New collections of royalty-free digital stock footage film clips can be downloaded and used for any purpose, including broadcasting. Each category has 20 to 25 clips of feature-quality film sourced from motion pictures and available...

software: MISCELLANEOUS: Scanner software.(3rdTech's DeltaSphere-3000 2.0)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN] DeltaSphere-3000 Version 2 software for the company's 3D scanner, which works with room-size spaces and objects, includes a new user interface and a simplified display for positioning and measurement information. New tools--Rview, Tview,...

software: MISCELLANEOUS: Object-oriented tools.(TGS' Open Inventor 3.0)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|UNIX|LINUX] Open Inventor version 3.0 is an object-oriented toolkit with more than 450 base classes and a programming interface that allows for rapid prototyping and development of 3D graphics applications in C++ and Java. It employs...

software: MISCELLANEOUS: Soundtracks.(Sonic Desktop Software's Sonicfire Pro)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|MAC] Sonicfire Pro allows editors to match video to audio in creating soundtracks. It allows video importing, so multiple scenes can be scored in one session. SonicfirePro also includes the importing and editing of audio files such as MP3s...

MISCELLANEOUS: Mapmaking.(Curious Software Curious World Maps)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|MAC] Curious World Maps allows users to produce maps and graphics for broadcast, Web, and print. Both stills and animations can be created. Licensed vector databases of the whole world and genuine relief data can be combined with imported...

MODELING AND ANIMATION: Versatile rendering.(Steamboat Software Jig 1.5)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|LINUX|IRIX] Jig version 1.5 allows rendering of traditional geometry, as well as photorealistic hair, volumes, and particles. This update adds a raytracing function. New shaders, maps, surfaces, displacements, volume objects, and image...

MODELING AND ANIMATION: Analysis and Animation.(Eyematic)(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|UNIX] Using a Java based program that performs facial motion capture and audio analysis in real time, Eyematic's new animation software, (as yet unnamed) enables 3D avatars and animated characters to "come to life." Eyematic also produces...

software: MODELING AND ANIMATION: Rendering System.(Okino Computer Graphics' Okino NuGraf)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN] The new release of the NuGraf rendering system includes integrated polygon reduction, NURBS and spline curve support, real-time scene previewing, and integrated Web features. New converters include openNURBS, XGL, DirectX import,...

software: MODELING AND ANIMATION: Photoreal modeling and animation.(Digital Immersion Software's Merlin 3D)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN] Merlin 3D provides a photorealistic environment for rendering, animation, and modeling. It allows a user to interactively deform an object using animated modifiers such as stretch, scale, uniform scale, bend, taper, twist, pull, and...

software: MODELING AND ANIMATION: 3D photography.(Raindrop Geomagic's Geomagic Studio 4.0)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN] Geomagic Studio 4.0 software for 3D photography automatically turns physical parts and objects into digital models for use in design, engineering, customized manufacturing, and marketing. It includes the company's new Capture software,...

software: MODELING AND ANIMATION: Real-time character animation.(Nvidia's Quadro DCC graphics software)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN] Quadro DCC graphics software for real-time character animation, game development, and visual effects production has support for programmable vertex shader and pixel shader technology. Graphics tools that support such shaders include 3ds...

software: MODELING AND ANIMATION: Procedural Rendering.(Exluna's Entropy)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|UNIX|IRIX] Exluna's new procedural rendering system, Entropy, brings both raytracing and scanline rendering, multi-threading, and RIB compatibility to professional graphics users. Translators for the most popular modeling, animation, and...

software: MODELING AND ANIMATION: 2D animation.(MediaPEGS' I-Pegs 3.2)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN] PEGS 3.2 2D animation production software is both vector- and pixel-based. It supports output to Web, video, 35mm, HDTV, QuickTime, and image files, and includes scan and line test, compositing and special effects, real-time color...

software: MODELING AND ANIMATION: Model generation.(XYZ Vizion's VZX 100)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|UNIX] VZX 100 is an integrated platform that automates capture, modeling, and 3D model generation. It displays 3D photorealistic images combined with coordinate data of the object. It can export raw point data, textured image models, and...

software: MODELING AND ANIMATION: Scanner tool.(Cyberware's CySlice 3.0)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|IRIX] CySlice Version 3 improves the speed and interactivity of NURBS fitting and includes the new Subdivision Surfaces (SUBD) tool. It allows users to fit SUBD surfaces to dense polymeshes, allowing calculation of color and displacement...

software: MODELING AND ANIMATION: Multimedia authoring.(Kaydara's Filmbox 3.0)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|MAC|LINUX|IRIX] Filmbox Version 3.0 content authoring system integrates 3D, video, and audio in real time. A new menu bar streamlines workflow, and a new Control Sets feature allows simple keyframing of 3D characters. Filmbox can integrate...

software: MODELING AND ANIMATION: Flash rendering.(Toon Boom Technologies' Toonshader)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN] ToonShader allows users of Toon Boom's 2D USAnimation system to render Maya 3D models into the Macromedia Flash format. Users can also create 2D animations, and 3D animations can be output to the Web. The price is unavailable. Toon...

software: MODELING AND ANIMATION: Facial rendering.(Eyetronic's Liquid Faces)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN] Liquid Faces is a plug-in for the ShapeSnatcher 3D scanning system that allows developers to use a face template for character scans rather than having to recreate the facial structure for each individual character. It can also be used to...

software: MODELING AND ANIMATION: Fluid simulator.(Next Limit's RealFIow 1.3)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN] The RealFIow 1.3 fluid simulator works with popular 3D platforms. It has a realistic, physically based continuous-particle system. Particles can be considered part of a global fluid that acts according to the viscosity, pressure, and...

software: MODELING AND ANIMATION: Maya for Macs.(Alias/Wavefront Maya 4.0 for Mac OS X)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|MAC|LINUX|IRIX] Maya 4 adds a version for Mac OS X. It includes modeling, rendering, animation, dynamics, Artisan, Paint Effects, and MEL, an open interface for programming and scripting. It also includes Shockwave 3D Exporter version 1.1....

software: MODELING AND ANIMATION: Virtual environments.(from Arete Entertainment)(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|IRIX] DNT/Game allows users to add real-time natural effects to game environments. The price is unavailable. Digital Nature Tools version 4.5 for Maya includes dynamic ripples and point lights. It has file caching for faster render times...

software: MODELING AND ANIMATION: Parametric modeler.(autodessys' FormZ 3.8 form synthesizer)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|MAC] FormZ Version 3.8 3D form synthesizer makes many types of objects available as smoothly parametric objects, including primitives, resolved objects, helixes, and sweeps, all of which can be parametrically exported for prototyping and...

software: MODELING AND ANIMATION: 2D/3D Cartoons.(Animo 4.1)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|MAC|IRIX] Animo 4.1 is a 2D/3D animation system that can render material with a cartoon look, integrate it into 2D scenes, and then output to Flash. Its Scene III plug-in reads model and scene files from 3ds max and Maya. The price is...

MODELING AND ANIMATION: Image-based rendering.(ArchVision RPC 2.0)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN] RPC 2.0 is a plug-in for various 3D platforms that allows users to place and edit complex image-based objects into their scenes. It uses 2D image data instead of complex polygonal models to represent objects in space. TreeFX game creation...

MULTIMEDIA/VIDEO: Animation.(Junior Land AniMaster)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN] AniMaster supports both raster and vector files for animation in video, TV, film, and Flash. It has an integrated tool for editing 2D and 3D objects in the same environment. The price is $5000. Junior Land Co.; www.animaster.com.tw;...

MULTIMEDIA/VIDEO: Visual effects compositing.(Boris FX 6.0)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|MAC] FX 6.0 creates integrated visual effects, particles, and image processing for non-linear editing. Graffiti 2.0 is a vector-based system for integrated 2D and 3D title animation. Both support third-party plug-ins compatible with After...

MULTIMEDIA/VIDEO: Composite photos.(Realviz Stitcher)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|MAC] Stitcher software automatically combines horizontally and vertically overlapping photos from one location into a single high-resolution panoramic image to provide professional-quality mosaic composites. The price is $800. ImageModeler...

MULTIMEDIA/VIDEO: 3D Compositing.(Adobe Systems After Effects 5.0)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|MAC] After Effects 5.0 motion graphics and visual effects software includes a true 3D compositing environment. Users can animate layers hierarchically; create live relationships between layer properties; draw, expand, and add motion blur...

MULTIMEDIA/VIDEO: Video animation.(Discreet 3ds max 4.0)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|MAC] 3ds max 4 is the latest version of Discreet's flagship modeling and animation software. Combustion is a paint, animation, and 3D compositing package. Gmax uses 3D tools to create characters, textures, objects, and levels of...

MULTIMEDIA/VIDEO: Automatic match moving.(2d3 Boujou)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|UNIX] Boujou 1.0 creates camera calibrations and automates the matching of 2D and 3D. It tracks hundreds of features in each frame and uses statistical analysis to retain only the most accurate tracks. It can track scenes with little or no...

PAINTING: "Deep" textures.(Right Hemisphere Deep UV for Deep Paint 3D)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN] Deep UV for Deep Paint 3D creates nearly distortion-free surface texturing for polygonal, NURBS, and SUBD surface models. UV mapping technology allows placement and control of 3D textures. The software is designed for game development,...

WEB DEVELOPMENT: Web content.(Virtue3D Developers Kit)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN] Developers Kit allows users to deliver 3D content over the Web. Optimizer converts large models into VTU file format, compresses files, allows editing and customization of models, and supports input from a number of formats. Player is a...

WEB DEVELOPMENT: Virtual worlds.(Adobe Systems Atmosphere)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|MAC] Atmosphere allows designers to create 3D worlds that let the user virtually walk the Web and communicate in real time. The created worlds can be hosted anywhere and linked to one another through URLs. JavaScript is used to animate...

WEB DEVELOPMENT: Interactive toolset.(MindAvenue Axel)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN] Axel is an interactive 3D Web authoring toolset that enables designers to model, animate, preview, and publish to the Web, with no publishing fees. Features include performance tuning and the ability to import content from other programs....

WEB DEVELOPMENT: Object orientation.(Visviva Software Authoring Studio 2.0)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|MAC] Authoring Studio 2.0 is an object-oriented design tool for multimedia presentations. It has image painting, vector drawing, and 3D composition, as well as interface design and animation tools, in a uniform point-and-click interface....

software: WEB DEVELOPMENT: Java tool.(3D-Online Dynamic 3D)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|UNIX] Dynamic 3D is a Java applet that adds interactivity to 3D models and scenes. Users employ tools such as 3ds max to name objects in a scene to control the lights, viewpoints, and animation; for instance, animating the opening and...

hardware: INPUT/OUTPUT: Volumetric display.(Actuality Systems Volumetric 3D)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|IRIX] The High-resolution Volumetric 3D display has a 10-inch-diameter image visible from 360 degrees around. It is compatible with a range of standard mechanical CAD and molecular visualization software packages, and has 117 million...

hardware: INPUT/OUTPUT: Tougher prototypes.(Stratasys FDM Titan)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN] FDM Titan is a rapid prototyping system that creates prototypes from polycarbonate material, polyphenylsulfone, and ABS plastic, which offer high-impact strength, strength at high temperatures, flame retardation, sterilization capability,...

hardware: INPUT/OUTPUT: Hand, face, and body.(Meta Motion Gypsy 3W)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN] The Gypsy 3W motion-capture system for full-body, hand, and facial motion includes telescoping shafts that allow expanded range of actor movement and sizes. The system can output live performance animation for integration with virtual...

hardware: INPUT/OUTPUT: Digital holography.(Holoverse HoloDeck Theatres, TruRetinal Displays)(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|MAC|LINUX|UNIX] HoloDeck Theatres display real-time digital holography in 3D without glasses or sensors. TruRetinal Displays provide head-mounted displays with no moving parts. The price is unavailable. Holoverse; www.holoverse.com;...

hardware: INPUT/OUTPUT: Mocap library and services.(Motek Mocap)(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Motek's motion-capture service integrates optical and magnetic capture, a motion platform, and visual cues to provide motion data. Production studios in Manchester, New Hampshire, and Amsterdam, the Netherlands, can capture performers reacting...

hardware: INPUT/OUTPUT: Virtual reality workbench.(Trimension V-Desk 6.0)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... V-Desk 6 is an interactive, integrated L-shaped virtual reality workbench that includes stereo viewing, full tracking, and an audio system. The screen displays high-resolution stereoscopic imaging for manipulating 3D objects and volumetric...

hardware: INPUT/OUTPUT: Hand-held control.(Fakespace Systems CubicMouse)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... CubicMouse is a hand-held input device for interaction with volumetric visualization and control of coordinates in 3D data sets, for work with geological seismic data, medical scans, automotive and manufacturing design, and CAD/CAE models. The...

hardware: INPUT/OUTPUT: 3D TV.(Dynamic Digital Depth DepthMapper, DepthTweener)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|MAC] Content tools allow conversion of 2D content to 3D. DepthMapper automates the process of outlining. DepthTweener automatically interpolates between keyframes. OpticBOOM compression and transmission protocols deliver a 2D image with...

hardware: INPUT/OUTPUT: Color scanning.(Arius3D Foundation data capture system)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... The Foundation data capture system creates color and geometry simultaneously in perfect registration and independent of ambient light. It produces photorealistic 3D content at near-microscopic resolution. The price is unavailable. Arius3D;...

hardware: INPUT/OUTPUT: 3D rendering.(Advanced Rendering Technology RenderDrive RD5000)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|LINUX|IRIX] The RenderDrive RD5000 is a 3D rendering appliance for industrial and architectural design, animation, and visual effects. It delivers physically based raytraced rendering and can be used with many standard applications. The...

hardware: INPUT/OUTPUT: Facial Mocap.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN] The V6 facial motion-capture system is based on the company's V8i architecture and high-resolution Mcam cameras. It includes six million-pixel cameras, a data station, and a software suite that includes Famous 3D's Producer Pro and Face...

hardware: INPUT/OUTPUT: Optical tracking.(Ascension Technology LaserBird)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|UNIX|DOS] LaserBird optical motion tracker uses a miniaturized scanner to reflect laser beams throughout a workspace to sensors attached to a tracked object and performs position and orientation tracking. The price is $16,995. ReActor...

hardware: INPUT/OUTPUT: Body digitizing.(from InSpeck)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... The 3D Full Body digitizer can capture a full body's 3D geometry and color in less than 5 seconds. It has a 2000 by 800 field of view, an 800 depth of view, lateral resolution of 1.8, depth resolution of 1.1, and standoff distance of 1200. It...

hardware: INPUT/OUTPUT: Game faces.(3Q's 3Q Q Clone Generator)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN] The Q Clone Generator allows PC game players to capture their 3D image, customize the clone, and upload it into games such as Quake III Arena and Half-Life Opposing Force. Capture time is as low as 8 ms. The face of the clone can be aged,...

hardware: INPUT/OUTPUT: Color 3D printer.(Z406)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN] The Z406 3D color printer can create physical models from digital data and print up to 160 cubic inches of finished part per hour. It also can print six different parts the size and shape of a soda can in less than two hours. It can print...

hardware: STORAGE: Video disk equipment.(Accom WSD/HD digital disk recorder)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|MAC|IRIX] The WSD/HD digital disk recorder (DDR) can record and play SD/601 digital and HD formats including 24P on a clip-by-clip basis. It is designed for electronic film, graphics/effects, and editing applications. It can do reference...

hardware: SYSTEMS: Athlon boxes.(Boxx Technologies 3DBoxx R1 workstations)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... [WIN|LINUX] 3DBoxx R1 workstations use Athlon processors and are optimized for digital 3D applications. They have up to 10 hot-swap drive bays, five expansion slots, and up to 4GB system memory. The price is $3200. HDBoxx is an uncompressed HD...

insight.
August 1, 2001... HERE'S ONE OCEAN VIEW that can't be seen from any beach. It is a contour map of the potential vorticity, or spin, of a simulated ocean. The red regions spin counter-clockwise and the blue regions spin clockwise. The circular regions of color...