CyberExtruder - Generate a 3D Image of Yourself From a 2D Photograph

3Dwalkthroughs.com came across a press release from CyberExtruder announcing that they have just received patents from both the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

The patents, entitled “Apparatus and Method for generating a three-dimensional representation from a two-dimensional image,” protect the company’s process for automatically creating a 3D model of a person’s head from just a single 2D image.

The technology covered by the patents is used in the biometric security and animation and entertainment industries. In biometric security applications CyberExtruder’s system enhances facial recognition matching scores (particularly in surveillance applications) and mitigates the effects of facial expressions, a key degrader of facial recognition systems. A pilot program administered by the US Army with an eye towards developing a better lie detector demonstrated that the company’s system can also be used in automating expression recognition.

In addition to providing this system to the biometric and entertainment industries, the company is also leverage innovations in rapid prototyping technology to create hard goods, like cameos, personalized action figures and even individualized candy molds, which will be marketed directly to consumers via the internet.

Source: Pr-canada.net

CyberExtruders automated system renders the unique 3D shape of any individual from just a single photograph. Their technology is currently being used to create photorealistic 3D avatars to be used in 3D virtual worlds such as Second Life and There.com.

Image Source: CyberExtruder Website

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.

Blog For Google Warehouse (May 2008)

At the beginning of every month 3Dwalkthroughs.com selects our favorite 3D model from Greg Rose's blog which highlights new 3D building models as they are added to Google's 3D Warehouse.

Our monthly selection is based on impressive: architecture, level of detail, level of realism etc. For the month of May 2008 we have chosen the Leumi Tower. This model was not only selected because we like the overall look and feel of the building, the model also made us aware of Metroscape3D.

The Leumi tower is an 18 floors building located in downtown Tel Aviv. It belongs to Bank Leumi, one of Israel's largest banks. The building itself was designed by Buki Tzuker Architects and the 3D model was designed by Metroscape.

Metroscape is a 3D modeling company, which bases its models on the platform of Google Earth. As Google Earth just recently announced their upgraded platform which will promote more realistic 3D models, we believe Metroscape is positioned to become a very popular name in the industry.

Going Mobile - 3D Walkthroughs, 3D Floor Plans and 3D Renderings in Your Pocket

There was an interesting article in Sunday's NY Times describing the competition that is brewing amongst mobile device providers, specifically the Apple Iphone and Research in Motion's Blackberry.

The article discusses some of the pros and cons and both devices but one thing was made clear, we are nearing the day when mobile devices will be as powerful as laptops and home computers.

3Dwalkthroughs.com has mentioned in previous posts that the iPhone is being used by realtors and developers to show 3D Walkthroughs, 3D Floor Plans, and 3D Renderings of a property while they are on the road. With that being said, it is as important for 3D marketing collateral to be optimized for mobile devices as they are for regular websites. We've actually heard of new applications that will allow a 3D walkthrough and mobile website to be launched just by driving by a property.

We are certainly excited about the advances being made in the mobile device industry. Sunday's NY Times article reiterates the urgency that exists for 3D animation studios to learn all they can about how to optimize their products.

Wii Fit - 3D Virtual Exercise Game is a Huge Success in the UK

Ninetendo's Wii Fit 3D virtual exercise game is flying off the shelves in the UK.
UK magazine Web User reports that retail chain Woolworths sold an average of 90 copies of Nintendo's Wii exercise game every minute when it launched Friday.

Calling Wii Fit "a revolution in computer gaming," the chain's games buyer Gerry Berkley told Web User: "For a game not targeted at gamers to sell in numbers like this is unheard of and is genuinely changing the market."

Source: Wired.com

Wii Fit is expected to launch in the United States on May 19th. The launch of Wii Fit in the United States is expected to be driven by one of the most aggresive marketing campaigns in Ninetendo's history.

3Dwalkthroughs.com believes it is about time that a 3D virtual platform will be used to encourage people to get off the couch as opposed to sinking further into it. If Wii Fit sales are as successful in the United States as they are in the UK it opens up a whole new avenue for the gaming industry. Personal trainers beware...or at least start thinking virtually.

Big Money Invested in 3D Virtual Worlds

3Dwalkthroughs.com came across a very encouraging article on Red Herrings website which describes the huge influx of money that is being invested in 3D virtual worlds.

According to the article, more than $184 million dollars was invested in 3D virtual world platforms in the first quarter. The study by Virtual Worlds Management, an Austin, Texas-based trade show and research company tallied $184.2 million invested worldwide, with more than one-third of the cash infusions going to youth-oriented virtual worlds.

As a testament to our post from yesterday, the biggest market utilizing 3D virtual world technologies are youth oriented. Companies like Disney and Viacom’s Nickelodeon unit have been diving into virtual worlds as stand-alone properties and as adjuncts to existing franchises.

Source: redherring.com

The article also points out that many of the popular 3D platforms are tied to real life merchandise. We are anxious to see the evolution of 3D platforms over the next few years. It will be interesting to see the application that breaks through the barrier which seems to be preventing the older demographic from embracing 3D virtual technology as a mainstream business application.

3D Virtual Store To Be Created By Apple?

3Dwalkthroughs.com has read multiple reports speculating that Apple might be building a 3D Virtual Store to sell it's wares. The big hulabaloo is a result of a just-published patent that details a 3D virtual store with aisles for "electronics," "books," "movies," and "music," along with avatars for shoppers and clerks, and dynamic lighting depending on the time of day ("sunny" during daylights hours, with stars and the moon appearing at night).

Source: tech.yahoo.com

The patent was filed back in 2006 but is getting a lot of press as it was just made public coupled with the fact we are talking about Apple.

With PlayStation home launching later this year we expect there to a big push forward in terms of the look and feel that can be achieved in 3D virtual worlds. We also expect there to be a big emphasis on the sales capabilities that can be achieved in 3D environments.

We are not sure how soon or how accurate Apple's plans are regarding a 3D store, however, if any company will do it right, Apple is the one. We can only imagine the plan exists for a 3D mall that can be visited directly from an iPhone.

Next Generation 3D Browser-Based Games

Riverside California based Aptus Games is creating a web-based destination to engage gamers through motion-sensing controllers and next generation 3D browser-based games.

Aptus Games' multi-sensory game experience is scheduled to go live in the third quarter of 2008. Their web destination is going to eliminate the typical constraints associated with PC and Mac gaming — time-consuming installations, clunky keyboard and mouse interfaces, ever-changing system requirements, system crashes — and provide an easy-to-use Web-based platform.

Source: Aptus Games Website

3Dwalkthroughs.com is looking forward to testing out their platform once it opens up for Beta testing. We believe the ability to interact with a 3D browser using motion sensing controllers will open the door to a bunch of new applications geared towards online fitness...an area we have focusing a lot of attention on lately. (more to come on this soon)

Here are some of the features of Aptus Games' upcoming environment:

- Motion-sensing Innovative Controllers — our line of motion controllers provide unsurpassed interaction with 3D browser-based games (games will also support mouse and keyboard)

- Amazing Graphics — We’ve developed leading-edge Web 2.0 technology to deliver the most advanced, next generation Web-based games

- Play Anywhere, Anytime, Any Place — Play your games on any PC or Mac — sign in with any Web browser and access all your games instantly

- Streaming Games - All of our games will stream directly to a your browser, eliminating the painful process of pesky installations and updates

- Online Community and Forums — Socialize with other gamers in your community and across the world

- More Games, More Genres — Our web-based games will span the gamut: action, strategy, puzzle, reality, racing, sports, and many more to come

- Minimal System Requirements — All it takes is a browser and a broadband connection to the Internet

3D Virtual Animal Testing Technology Being Developed in Taiwan

How can anyone look at the above picture and not feel good about the innovative 3D technology being developed in Taiwain that will reduce the need for live Guinea Pigs used in labratory testing?

3Dwalkthroughs.com just came across a story in the China Post about a 3D Virtual Guinea Pig system that is being developed to project the interaction between a drug and the animal without using a live Guinea Pig. The projection is based on given settings and the guinea pigs' sectional images, physical information, and biological characteristics entered in the database.

The 3D virtual guinea pig system was developed by NARL's National Laboratory Animal Center (NLAC), which used true color image algorithms to reconstruct guinea pigs in a digitized environment. NLAR researchers said they have finished establishing the imagery data and will have the system ready for practical applications after some final adjustments are made.

Source: The China Post

If this technology is successful we would love to see it introduced to other labratories that are using live animals for their testing...perhaps a cute picture will help during the pitch meeting.

There is Still A Lot of New Construction in NYC- Who's Buying?

Over the past few days the weather in New York City has been picture perfect and my wife and I have logged what feel like hundreds of miles on our Nike's. We both noticed that in spite of the current real estate crunch there are many new construction projects underway.

Granted, many of these contruction projects could have started months ago and we just were not aware of them as we did not visit those parts of the city during the winter. Regardless it is amazing to see the sheer number of new condominiums being built, especially when all you hear about on the news is the slowdown in new home purchases.

In addition to the amount of new construction projects that are underway, it is also interesting to see the continued increases in rent that NYC apartments are fetching. During our walk, we usually make random stops at real estate offices with placards of available real estate lining the windows. We came across a few tiny studio apartments that were asking more than $3,000 per month...crazy.

In conclusion, our walks were very encouraging as it appears 3Dwalkthroughs.com and the rest of our industry will continue to be busy at least for the next few years. As long as there are available properties developers will always need 3D Renderings, 3D Floor Plans and 3D Walkthroughs to showcase them to the public.

TiltViewer - Very Cool 3D Picture Viewing Application

3Dwalkthroughs.com just came across a very cool application developed by cutting edge company Airtight Interactive. Their application called TiltViewer offers a very novel and immersive way of viewing images in a 3D environment.

The application is a free, customizable 3D Flash image viewing application and has some potentially valuable personal as well as commercial applications. We are going to play around with the TiltViewer and see how we can use the technology to help showcase our portfolio.

We recommend checking out the Airtight Interactive website as it has a bunch of really wild demos of their work. Click here>> for a direct link to their portfolio page.

We will certainly be adding Airtight Interactive to our favorite list and checking their site very often. It will be interesting to see what 3D tricks they come up with next.