X3D Specification wins ISO/IEC approval to advance as Draft International
Standard; First commercial X3D browsers shipping; X3D Binary Request for
Proposals to be released; Extensible Modeling & Simulation Framework (XMSF)
Working Group formed; Web3D 2004 Symposium announced for March 2004
SIGGRAPH, SAN DIEGO, July 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The Web3D Consortium today
announced that its Extensible 3D (X3D) standard has made strong progress both
in standardization milestones and industry momentum. At a recent
International Standards Organization (ISO) meeting in Korea, X3D received all
necessary approvals for advancement to final-form Draft International
Standard. The X3D specification documents have been successfully reviewed,
implemented and evaluated by Consortium membership and the Web3D community.
Separately, the Web3D Consortium continues executing a strong strategic
partnership with the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), ensuring the broadest
possible X3D interoperability with the growing family of Extensible Markup
Language (XML) specifications. Attendees at the SIGGRAPH trade show in San
Diego California, July 29-31 have the opportunity to meet with Web3D
Consortium representatives and receive a free copy of the latest X3D SDK on
the Web3D Consortium booth #3533. As part of its ongoing outreach program the
Consortium is also sponsoring the Web3D 2004 Symposium in Monterey California,
March 2004.
"The W3C and Web3D Consortium share the same ideals of increasing the
utility and richness of the web through encouraging royalty-free standards for
all core Web specifications," said Neil Trevett, senior vice president of
market development at 3Dlabs and President of the Web3D Consortium. "Our
deepening strategic partnership with the W3C lets the two organizations better
work to ensure that 2D and 3D web standards are seamlessly integrated -- a
significant step toward weaving 3D graphics into the very fabric of the Web
itself."
Within the Web3D Consortium, the X3D Working Group is now is now preparing
to accept Binary Encoding technology proposals for review, and expects to
create a format definition that combines progressive geometric compression
with XML serialization, encryption and authentication, all in a streamable
format by the end of calendar year 2003. Additionally, the Consortium has
formed the Extensible Modeling and Simulation Framework (XMSF) Working Group
to enable large-scale X3D deployment for simulation using Web Services. An
ongoing series of XMSF workshops and test-bed exhibitions are demonstrating
that all manner of modeling and simulation can be performed across the Web,
focused on business, government and military application environments.
"X3D reaching final ISO Draft International Standard confirms it is an
effective basis for 3D graphics on the Web. Many companies, organizations and
government agencies need to build models on the firm foundation of an
international standard," said Don Brutzman, research professor at the U.S.
Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) and X3D Working Group co-chair. "NPS and Sun
are also finding significant interest in the XMSF initiative, applying Web
Services with X3D to major unfilled needs of business and government. We are
delighted to see the Consortium establish a forum for continued progress with
formation of the XMSF working group."
X3D Commercial Momentum
X3D is gaining significant commercial momentum with the first commercial-
grade X3D browsers being announced at SIGGRAPH from a number of companies.
Consortium member company Yumetech Inc. announced an update release of the
Xj3D open-source X3D browser and application library. X3D co-chair Tony
Parisi's company, MediaMachines, has released its Flux X3D browser. Other
product announcements include Communications Research Centre (CRC) Canada's
X3D-update Release 1.0 of FreeWrl, and BitManagement's release of an X3D-
updated Contact browser. NPS has also updated the X3D-Edit authoring tool
which includes XML-based tooltips in Chinese, English, French, German and
Spanish. Over 1500 X3D example scenes exercise all parts of the new
specification, with many collected in the X3D Conformance Suite. All of this
influential work is available as part of the "Summer 2003 X3D Software
Development Kit" (SDK), a 2-CD set sponsored by CRC Canada available at
SIGGRAPH and online at http://sdk.web3D.org.
"Yumetech is utilizing the X3D standard as the foundation for our
business. We have driven both the development of the standard and open source
implementations to encourage widespread industry utilization," said Alan
Hudson, CEO of Yumetech. "We are finding very strong interest from our
customer base in X3D browser solutions that combine cutting-edge 3D technology
with the stability of an international standard."
In a recent related release Virtock Technologies announced the release of
Vizx3D v.1.0 Beta, a new real-time 3D visualization tool and web3D authoring
platform to create X3D content. The new application combines the advanced
capabilities of the new X3D format with the simplicity of interface and usage
that Virtock Technologies' Spazz3D was well known for.
"X3D embodies best practices in commercial real time graphics within the
framework of the XML family of technologies," said Tony Parisi, president of
Media Machines and X3D Working Group co-chair. "X3D's solid technical
foundation, shepherded by ISO and the Web3D consortium to ensure
interoperability, forms the core of a next-generation Web and broadcast
infrastructure that will transform the way people learn, work, play and
communicate. Media Machines is committed to providing best-in-class support of
this emerging standard to our customers and partners building applications in
the sciences, engineering and education."
About X3D
Submission during SIGGRAPH of the final-form X3D Abstract Specification
documents establishes X3D as a Draft International Standard, approved through
joint efforts of Web3D Consortium and ISO/IEC. X3D is a major upgrade from
the Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) 97 standard, retaining backwards
compatibility with a huge base of available 3D content, but utilizing an open
profile/components-based architecture enabling custom-crafted scalable
implementations. X3D incorporates numerous advanced 3D techniques including
advanced rendering and multi-texturing, Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline (NURBS)
Surfaces, GeoSpatial referencing, Humanoid Animation (H-Anim), and IEEE
Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) networking.
Web3D 2004 Symposium
The Web3D Consortium is sponsoring the ninth in a series of Web3D
symposia, in cooperation with ACM SIGGRAPH and Eurographics. Hosted by NPS in
Monterey California next March, Web3D 2004 will again be a key event for
industry, academia and the 3D graphics community with interest in all types of
Web-based 3D graphics. Program co-chairs are Dr. Richard Puk of
Intelligraphics Inc. and Dr. Luca Chittaro of University of Udine, Italy. The
Web3D 2004 Call for Papers and ongoing details will be available online at
http://www.web3d.org/s2004. Past Web3D symposium proceedings are available at
http://www.web3d.org/fs_symposia.htm.
The Web3D Consortium is the industry's only non-profit organization
developing and promoting open standards to enable 3D Web and broadcast
applications. The Consortium is comprised of over 35 leading corporations and
educational institutions including 3Dlabs, Sun Microsystems, US Naval
Postgraduate School and U.S. Army PEO-STRI as Charter Members. There are also
over 75 individual Professional Members contributing their expertise to
Consortium activities. Web3D Consortium members provide technical and
marketing expertise for the continued evolution of open 3D standards while
gaining early access to ongoing technology and commercial opportunities. More
information on the Consortium and Consortium membership is available at
http://www.web3d.org.
X3D is a certification mark of the Web3D Consortium. All other product
names, trademarks, and/or company names are used solely for identification and
belong to their respective owners.
SOURCE Web3D Consortium
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Related links:
http://www.web3d.org
CONTACT:
Neil Trevett, Web3D President,
+1-408-546-6830 or neil.trevett@3dlabs.com
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