CyberWalk -Omni-Directional Treadmill to Navigate 3D Virtual Environments

3Dwalkthroughs.com just became aware of a really innovative technology that is being developed to help navigate within 3D virtual environments. The technology called, CyberWalk is being developed by a team based at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany. CyberWalk is an omnidirectional treadmill designed to serve as a VR-capable movement platform.

The actual unit is a stiff, gapless, 20 x 20-foot floor and movement and feedback system that enables quick, fluid changes of direction. To provide the user with an integrated fully immersive Virtual World the CyberCarpet will be combined with visual and auditory input, supplied via a Head Mounted Display (HMD).

Source: Cyberwalk Website

As the technology evolves, the Cyberwalk platform will surely get much smaller and be capable of being outfitted to service many different industries and applications. The possibilities of this technology are endless once it is perfected.

It will certainly be a lot more fun to do a 3D Walkthrough of a property by literally walking through the 3D environment…and much better exercise than doing it with a mouse. Look out Wii Fit.

Source: Wired.com

Adobe Flash 10 Beta Release - Improved 3D Renderings Effects

3Dwalkthroughs.com is excited about the beta release of Adobe’s latest version of Flash. The public release of Flash 10 is expected to be released very soon.

One of the biggest features of the new upgrade, and reason we are so interested, is the support Flash 10 is going to offer for 3D rendering effects. The upgrade to it’s 3D capabilities is expected to make very immersive, cinematic web viewing experiences possible.

For the end user, Adobe Flash Player 10 is supposedly going to make more use of hardware graphics acceleration, meaning that Flash applications will be quicker and smoother than previous versions.

Source: PCworld.com

From the few articles we read, we gather there are still quite a few bugs to be fixed. With that being said, our developers and designers are going to start digging our heels in and seeing what this upgrade has to offer and how we can incorporate it into our current list of 3D products and services…stay tuned.

Is Apple Getting into 3D Video Games?

3Dwalkthroughs.com came across an interesting article on the seekingalpha.com website which suggests that Apple may be launching a 3D video game system in the near future.

We heard rumblings about this news ourselves right after Apple officially filed a patent for a 3D gaming controller that will work with the Apple TV.

There is a definite explosion in 3D video games that encourage actual physical participation in the game. Imagine a physical gaming experience that was more than just a game; what if your time spent playing games was actually teaching you a new skill?

Educational gaming has been tried before, but Apple might be the ones to bring it mainstream. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the integration of current Apple software into some new games. Imagine combining the physical instruments of Guitar Hero with the real life mixing and recording capabilities of Apple’s Garageband. Such a game could actually teach its user to play the guitar, or any other instrument.

Source: seekingalpha.com

Sounds like the team members of our new project, Fitspott.com should keep their ears to the ground to see what apple has planned for the “excergaming” market.

Ocean One Condominiums - 3D Renderings Used

3Dwalkthroughs.com and Launchsight Solutions teamed up to build the website and 3D marketing materials for Ocean One Condominiums located in Rockaway, Beach New York. The projects affordable units and magnificent views make this development worth checking out.

About Ocean One Condominiums
Setting a new standard in excellence and design, Ocean One Condominium’s award winning developers offer the most spectacular property ever to be built in the Rockaways, New York! This eleven story sleek design building will have only forty sun drenched condominium units with just four units on each floor. All units with a view of the majestic Atlantic Ocean!!

Development Team
The award winning developers of Ocean One Condominium have been creating new and exciting housing in the Rockaways for the past ten years. Their commitment to excellence in design and comfort is unmatched throughout the Rockaway communities. With the development of the eleven story Ocean One Condominium the development team believes that they have found the perfect formula for developing the pinnacle of outstanding living. See for yourself Ocean One is in a class by itself…

The 3D renderings and photos we created for the site will give a good example of what this unique development property has to offer. We have not shown the 3D renderings to anyone yet that has not commented that they would like to be sitting on that roof deck enjoying a bottle of wine…or 5.

Fitspott.com - Sign Up for The Private Beta Launch

3Dwalkthroughs.com is excited to announce our involvement in a project that is very near and dear to our heart. The new project called Fitspott.com, is a comprehensive Social Network totally geared to the health and fitness industry.
We decided to get involved for four main reasons:

1) The short and long term ideas planned for this project are AMAZING!!!
2) The group of people involved with the project includes some of the most motivated and successful, internet business veterans and athletes I have ever met.
3) Our interest in the field of health of fitness.
4) Our ability to impart 3D products, interactive services and our diverse business network into what we believe is going to be a very explosive network.

Over the next few months we will be posting about the progress of the project and giving away previews about what can be expected.

We highly suggest that you sign up for the private beta launch as soon as possible as space is limited. Click HERE>> to sign up for the Beta Launch.

GearCrave.com - Cool Site of the Month

3Dwalkthroughs.com was doing some research on 3D navigational devices when we came across a website worth mentioning. The website is called GearCrave.com

According to their website, GearCrave is the Ultimate Buyer’s Guide for Men who love stuff. They combine finding cool products with articles about how to use them, the best gadgets, cars, clothes, designer items and more.

Source: GearCrave.com website

As a gadget hound myself, I plan on checking out the GearCrave site quite often. After spending just a few minutes on the site I noticed several articles that were right up our alley. We highly recommend checking out their site and even subscribing to their RSS feed.

They had a very good review on Logitech’s 3D Connexion mouse which can be found here>>

We are firm believers that improved 3D navigational devices will exponentially enhance the experience that can be achieved in almost all 3D applications.

Get Your 3D Glasses - 3D Images Available on Flickr

When you get a chance, get a pair of 3D glasses and log on to the popular photo sharing site Flickr. There is a bunch of really cool 3D images that your will only fully experience when you pop on your glasses.

3Dwalkthroughs.com was busy doing some research on medgadget.com and came across a mention of a few of master wax-worker Clemente Susini’s (1757-1814) anatomical waxes in 3D that were posted on Flickr. The images are compliments of Stanford Medicine’s newly released series of anaglyphs. Robert Chase, MD, along with a team of many others, have produced 3D stereo photos of Susini waxes held at the Museo delle Cere Anatomiche Luigi Cattaneo and made 6 of them available for public perusal on their Flickr page.

Image and Data Source: medgadget.com

If you are into the whole 3D thing, and do not get a headache while viewing 3D images with your glasses on, it is worth spending some time reviewing the many 3D images on Flickr. We believe is just a matter of time before we can lose the glasses altogether.

Business Week - 3D Virtual Worlds and Real Business Applications

3Dwalkthroughs.com came across an indepth article in Business Week which discusses the increasing number of companies that are using 3D virtual worlds to undergo “real” business applications and encourage global interaction.

According to the article companies like IBM are using 3D virtual worlds for meetings, collaboration, training and employee recruiting. Whether Second Life is the 3D platform of choice, or it is one of the many other existing 3D worlds, the technology can be a very effective way for people to interact and forge bonds from remote locations.

As unproven as these new digitized worlds may be, IBM is adopting virtual world technologies with gusto. The company has begun a mentoring program that encourages people who are retired or are about to retire to share knowledge with newer employees. Many in the program are using virtual worlds to meet, mentor, and make presentations. Globally, IBM is finding that virtual worlds are starting to help bridge culture and distance. IBM’s Hamilton says virtual worlds actually make employees want to start working relationships with one another, adding, “Geography doesn’t seem to be the barrier it once was.”

Source: Business Week

It is our belief that as 3D virtual world platforms continue to focus their feature sets to specific industries, their perceived value and level of adoption will increase dramatically.

DAZ 3D - New 3D Modeling Software Can Export To Second Life

3Dwalkthroughs.com came across an article on Macworld.com about a 3D modeling application developer whose upgraded product will allow 3D models to be exported to Second Life.

The company, DAZ 3D has announced the release of Hexagon 2.5, a new version of its 3D polygonal and subdivision modeling software for Mac OS X and Windows.

Hexagon features tools for modeling 3D objects, refining them, mapping UV, texturing and previewing. It features freehand brush modeling with displacement brushes that can smooth, pinch, inflate geometry and add details. 3D paint tools let you apply textures using brushes, too.

New to the 2.5 release is the ability to export primitive objects to TGA format, which can be read by Linden Labs’ virtual world software Second Life. The developers say that this lets Second Life users create more complex and organic shapes than they can in Second Life itself.

Source: Macworld.com

We believe the ability to import 3D models into virtual worlds from external sources will accelerate the improvement of the overall look and feel that can be achieved in 3D virtual worlds. We are excited to see some of the 3D models created by the new version of Hexagon actually integrated into Second Life.

Google Ocean - 3D Map of the Ocean

Google already has the sky and earth covered with their 3D maps, but what about the Ocean? Apparently a group of Oceanography experts had a meeting at the Google Headquarters in Mountain View, California to discuss plans to create a 3D map of the Ocean.

The tool–for now called Google Ocean, the sources say, though that name could change–is expected to be similar to other 3D online mapping applications. People will be able to see the underwater topography, called bathymetry; search for particular spots or attractions; and navigate through the digital environment by zooming and panning. (The tool, however, is not to be confused with the “Google Ocean” project by France-based Magic Instinct Software that uses Google Earth as a visualization tool for marine data.)

Google Ocean will feature a basic layer that shows the depth of the sea floor and will serve as a spatial framework for additional data, sources said, adding that Google plans to try to fill in some areas of the map with high-resolution images for more detail.

Additional data will be displayed as overlying layers that depict phenomena like weather patterns, currents, temperatures, shipwrecks, coral reefs, and algae blooms, much like the National Park Service and NASA provide additional data for Google Earth and Google Sky.

Source: news.com

One of the goals of Google Ocean is to promote advanced research on the vast ocean floor. 3Dwalkthroughs.com believes Google Ocean will eventually be a valuable navigational tool for divers around the world.