CityWall - Very Cool 3D Interface

3Dwalkthroughs.com came across an interesting project in Helsinki, Finland which boasts a very cool 3D interface.

The project is called CityWall is a large multi-touch 3D display installed in a central location in Helsinki which presents images, videos, descriptions and discussions on how nature in Helsinki benefits and disturbs dwellers.

The exhibition aims to evoke discussion e.g. on what nuisances people should just adapt themselves to, what nuisances they should fight or control, how different nuisances can be prevented and how benefits of nature can be improved.

Image and Content Source: City Wall Website

CityWall is not just an offline line effort. Photos that are tagged with helsinki, citywall or cwhki are automatically downloaded from photo-sharing site Flickr. These photos are then become part of the experience offered by CityWall.

It is worth while to check out the CityWall website to learn more about this innovative project.

3D Technology Can Help Promote Exercise To Our Youth

Below is a recent press release from Fitspott. The press release touches on the use of 3D technology and other interactive exergaming products to target the youth obesity epidemic.

3Dwalkthroughs.com and the rest of the fitspott team have been speaking with some of the biggest companies offering this type of technology to see how we can use the fitspott platform to maximize their exposure.

How do we promote health and fitness to a demographic that is more interested in being on the computer than investing in their health? With the surplus of available health and fitness information, how can the obesity levels of our youth have doubled in the last decade?

Today’s most popular social networking sites have effectively captured the attention of our younger generation, making social networking one of the most effective communication tools in the last 10 years. The time has come to leverage this power to promote health and fitness to our youth.

Fitspott, a social networking platform for health and fitness, will launch the beta version of its site in Mid-September. One of the primary goals of Fitspott, is to organize the very large and convoluted health and fitness industry into easy to navigate sub-communities of members with similar interests, goals, skills, desires and needs. One of the targets markets Fitspott will service in this effort is the youth market.

“We see a tremendous opportunity to promote the many available fun and interactive health and fitness options to our younger generation through a platform they can relate to. Providing our youth with an ability to join an online community of members with similar interests and goals can help to motivate our youth and provide them with the knowledge that they are not alone with their issues” says David Gise, Co-Founder of Fitspott.

The Fitspott team is made up of a group of highly motivated and diverse entrepreneurs, athletes and creative minds. “We have scoured the internet, educating ourselves on the pros and cons of existing social networks, and have committed to using this knowledge to create the most powerful, yet easy to use platform for all of our members” says Erin Hurry, Co-Founder of Fitspott.

Fitspott will reach out to schools, coaches and the other influencing bodies to help promote the Fitspott platform and its benefits. Perhaps one of the biggest causes of the increasing obesity rate of our youth, the time spent in front of the computer, can actually have the biggest impact on curbing this trend.

3D Assets and Tough Economic Times

3Dwalkthroughs.com has been asked quite often recently if we are noticing a slide in our business due to the tough real estate climate. The truth of the matter is that almost all industries are affected in one way or another.

I do not think anyone could have predicted just how dire the situation would have become over the last few weeks. While we are still getting new inquiries, the quantity has diminished somewhat, as has the types of projects coming in.

We have had recent discussions with many of our real estate/developer friends and clients and the general consensus is that there is still more negative news to come.

Our company is still optimistic that marketing directors continue to look for innovative tools such as 3D Floor Plans, 3D Walkthroughs and 3D Renderings to help make their properties stand out from the competition. The question remains though if they do more than just browse.

iHealthSpot - 3D Animations for Orthopedics and Physical Therapy Websites

3Dwalkthroughs.com picked up a press release of a Florida based company, iHealthSpot, that just announced the launch of its library of interactive patient education videos complete with 3D animations for orthopedics and physical therapy. This new interactive content will enhance the robust written and illustrated library that is available to all of the company’s medical practice website clients.

The current interactive video library includes 35 conditions and treatments for orthopedics and physical therapy. The videos are 3-4 minutes in length and include detailed visual information on causes, symptoms, surgical and non-surgical treatments and rehabilitation for each condition in easy to understand language. The company anticipates 50-60 total videos in the orthopedics and physical therapy specialty with dental and cosmetic surgery videos coming next and eventually will have a library covering all medical specialties. The content has been developed entirely in-house using the most detailed 3D model of the human anatomy available today.

iHealthSpot creates websites specifically geared to medical practices and the inclusion of impressive 3D animations on their certainly brings an additional value to their clients. If a patient can go onto their doctors website and get a better understanding of their injury or illness it could help to relieve alot of the anxiety that is associated with these types of events.
Source: Prweb.com press release

3D in the Courtroom Part 2 (Medical Animation)

In yesterday’s post, 3Dwalkthroughs.com discussed how 3D animation is helping lawyers to visually demonstrate their cases. Whether this means re-creating someone falling off a balcony or getting hit by a car, attorneys are using 3D animation to make or defend their cases in the courtoom.

Another huge application for 3D animation is the medical industry. 3D animations can help to attorneys demonstrate whether or not there was any malpractice by a physician. Obviously every last detail of a medical 3D animation needs to correct as the opposing attorney will seek to discredit the 3D animation at every turn.

Another less confrontational use of medical animation is by pharmaceutical companies. Drug companies often use 3D animations to help demonstrate how a specific drug works on the body. This can be used to train reps of the company as well as for sales of marketing of the drug to the public.

The reason I posted about this type of animation for two days in a row is that it is quite fascinating and different than the architectural 3D animation we typically write about.

3D Animation in The Court Room

3Dwalkthroughs.com came across an interesting article in Fortune Small Business Magazine about a few animation studios that are creating 3D animations to help clients win or defend lawsuits.

With the prices of 3D animation decreasing over the last few years, 3D animation is being used by more and more attorneys to help with their cases. According to the article, 25% of firms with 50-99 attorneys used 3D animation in 2007.

Due to the sensitive nature of the materials, the 3D animation used by attorney’s are scrutinized very carefully. So much in fact,there have been instances where 3D animations have actually cost attorney’s their case.

There seems to be a fine line between successfully using subtle visual clues to influence a jury and being too manipulative. Interestingly enough many 3D animations are actually so well produced that they result in a settlement before ever reaching the courtroom.

I do not envision that 3Dwalkthroughs.com will shift it’s gears to focus on this market any time soon but it does seem very interesting.

ExitReality - Turning Social Networks into 3D Virtual Worlds with the click of a button

3Dwalkthroughs.com came across an interesting application that it plans on investigating further. The application is called ExitReality and allows every web page or social network to be viewed in 3D. People viewing the same web page or social networking page in ExitReality’s application in 3D can meet, chat and connect as 3D avatars with 3D instant messenger.

Apparently the application was originally be used exclusively for social networking sites but it is expanding its target to all types of websites. One of the features of ExitReality is the user’s ability to decorate or customise their own web space with 3D objects.

Simple yet powerful drag-and-drop technology allows users to add 3D objects they find across the web and add them to their 3D web space. There is no need to copy and paste embedded html code. Users simply drag and drop the objects into their web space and save.

Source: ExitReality Website

I am very interested to see how many people consistently utilize this type of technology to spruce up their social networking experience. It sounds like an interesting concept and I believe a lot of people will try it, but whether or not they continue to use it that might be another thing. Perhaps Fitspott will serve as a good testing ground to find the answer to this question.

Fitspott Friday Update (July 25, 2008)

3Dwalkthroughs.com and the rest of the Fitspott team are gearing up to hit the marketing circuit next week. Our graphic design team is putting the finishing touches on our initial marketing materials and we are ready to start telling the world many of the details of what we have planned.

Up until now we have been quite vague about the details but the time has come to spill the beans…well some of them anyway. We are still encouraging people to sign up for the beta launch and the numbers continue to climb.

We are not naive enough to believe that everything is going to be perfect when we first launch. We look forward to the feedback, good and bad, that will be derived from our intial beta group.

Next week we are also planning to launch a few press releases to various media outlets. We understand that it is hard for people to get terribly excited about Fitspott without being able to see what it is all about. As we start to release some of these details, we are confident the excitement will grow quite rapidly.

Shapeways - Cost Effective 3D Printing

3Dwalkthroughs.com has posted about 3D printing in the past but a company called Shapeways is ready to take it to the masses.

For the first time budding artists, architects, product designers and dabbling consumers alike can easily order their 3D designs as physical objects in an inspiring and affordable way. Whether it’s creating a new utensil, the ultimate toy or a wacky piece of art, with Shapeways users can Do-It-Yourself (DIY) online. Using 3D printing (Rapid Manufacturing), Shapeways can produce almost any design users choose to upload.

Source: MarketWatch.com

Shapeways allows users to upload and modify designs. The system will even check if the design is capable of printing. Turnaround time for a printed object is about 10 days at an average price of between $50-$150. Another interesting component of Shapeways is that they are not just offering a cool service, they are building a community for 3D artists and developers to share ideas and design concepts.

Here is a link to the beta sign up of Shapeways.

Here is a link to the YouTube Video which demonstrates the whole process

3DInternet.com - Hyper-Reality

If you want to check out a company creating really innovative products in the 3D arena you should visit the website of 3DInternet.com. The company has been around for a while but they recently launched a new website which has some very impressive demos and a preview of their new hyper-reality technology.

The level of realism they have achieved with their 3D products are quite groundbreaking. Their 3D malls, 3D job fairs and 3D collaboration products are much closer to real life than any other competitive products we have seen. 3Dwalkthroughs.com was also impressed with their architectural 3D products.

About 3DInternet.com
3DInternet provides a broad range of services that range from 3D Interactive Training Simulators, 3D application simulations, Design & Marketing, Virtual Tours and Online Shopping. Current projects being developed using our hyper-reality technologies include 3D shopping, 3D job fairs and recruitment, 3D collaboration services and online conventions and meetings. Leading the way globally, we are focused on providing professional services to all sectors of the economy.

Image and Content Source: 3DInternet.com website