007's virtual vehicles. (film).

Deadly chase scenes and supercharged vehicles are two main attractions in every James Bond film. In Die Another Day, the recent release in the super-spy series, the movie lived up to its usual standards in these areas, as fans were treated to the latest technological advancements on wheels from the genius gadget--maker Q, including an ice dragster that Bond uses during a daring escape ("Icescape," January 2003, pg. 26).

Creating the unusual vehicle also required some technological wizardry from scanning company Eyetronics, which used its ShapeWare system to digitally capture the geometry of a dragster and helicopter used in the film and turn them into 3D models. The CG versions were then incorporated into scenes in which using the actual vehicles would have been impossible because of safety issues.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

To create the digital versions of these Bond vehicles, Eyetronics technicians visited Pinewood Studios in London, home of the James Bond movies, where they used the company's ShapeCam handheld scanner to digitize scale models of the vehicles from all angles. They later processed and assembled the scan ...