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Vision International And Fakespace Turn Science Fiction Into Science Fact Cutting-Edge Software and Immersive Display Technology Used To Project Multidimensional Virtual Model of Earth Built-Up From Satellite Data SIGGRAPH ’97, Los Angeles – August 5, 1997 – An advanced technology demonstration at SIGGRAPH 97 this week (Booth #1657) is showing how the virtual reality and interactive "holograms" seen in science fiction films can be brought to earth today. Engineers at Autometric Incorporated’s Vision International Group and Fakespace, Inc. have collaborated to produce an interactive tabletop projection of a richly detailed, multidimensional virtual reality Planet Earth. "If you substituted the imagery, planetary model, and satellites of our whole earth and starfield with a Rebel Moon, Death Star and starfighters, you’d think you were experiencing a scene from the Star Wars films," said Gary Armistead, Director of Special Projects for Vision International. "But the actual space-to-ground virtual views of Earth we generate in real time are far more exciting, and practical, than the carefully crafted special effects of science fiction films. The system software continuously calculates true lines-of-sight between space, air, land and sea objects, moves those objects on the courses and at the speeds they would actually move, and generates the view of the earth and sky as it would appear to you if you were actually onboard one of those objects. The software enables anyone to gain a unique vision of the world we live in using actual earth imagery, terrain, weather and the manmade systems that provide our transportation, communications, tracking, and defense. No special effects here!" The Whole Earth model created by Vision International is being displayed on an Immersive WorkBench, manufactured by Fakespace, Inc. Viewers wearing lightweight, sunglass-like eyewear can explore the full-color planetary model; zooming and panning across geographic and spatial features. They can move through all three physical dimensions, and monitor events across time. The data used to create the Whole Earth model includes 30-meter detail images, in true or enhanced color, collected by the NASA LANDSAT satellite; 20-meter color and 10-meter black-and-white imagery collected by the French SPOT satellite; and one-meter detailed imagery collected from aircraft. All of the imagery is integrated into a single virtual model display by Vision International’s EDGE software, running on a Silicon Graphics Inc., ONYX-2 and projected on the Fakespace Immersive WorkBench. "Many of Fakespace’s customers in scientific research and engineering talk about what we call the ‘Eureka’ effect, the ability to see new relationships and make discoveries as a result of 3-D visualization of their data," said David Eggleston, vice president of marketing at Fakespace, Inc. "Vision International’s incredible modeling work illustrates what this effect can mean, on a truly global scale." The Vision International whole earth software enables viewers to use pull-down menus and a drag and drop control interface to see and interact with information in a whole earth context. For example, a viewer can see the location of every volcano on earth, and observe the release of gases into the atmosphere by the recent eruption of a volcano near Mexico City. The imagery, weather and outflow of volcanic gases are shown in full, four-dimensional virtual space and time, using the actual data output from sensors and modeling systems serving the scientific and civil communities. For more information about Autometric Incorporated, its Vision International Group, and the EDGE Whole Earth and other products of the EDGE family: Gary Armistead, 703-867-4405. For more information about Fakespace, Inc., and its display products for 3-D immersive simulation applications: David Eggleston, 650-526-3975, or http://www.fakespace.com. Note: Fakespace is a registered trademark and Immersive WorkBench is a trademark of Fakespace, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ### About Mechdyne Corporation Mechdyne Corporation is the world’s largest company dedicated to consulting and development of immersive, networked and collaborative visualization systems. The company addresses complex projects where an in-depth understanding of user requirements leads to the development of products and customized solutions involving elements of visual, software and support systems. Mechdyne’s product divisions provide advanced display technology, audio/visual systems design, and implementation services, as well as immersive and interactive software development and support. Headquartered in Marshalltown, Iowa, Mechdyne’s customers include leading government laboratories, military research programs, energy companies and a variety of ‘edutainment,’ manufacturing, and other users of visualization technology. More information is available at www.mechdyne.com. Mechdyne Press Contact Jeff Brum Matt Schmidt |
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