Article by Ken Rigby
Design of 3D Virtual Environments and the Digital Future.
By Ken Rigby for Tele3DWorld and MellaniuM Design. http://mellanium.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8wD2nZdGQQ
Advances in 3D computer graphics have allowed application developers to integrate real-time 3D environments, with animated and interactive 3D graphics in their designs without being burdened by low level details. State of the art 3D graphics cards now support many of the 3D render pipelines in hardware. 3D graphics libraries allow programmers to efficiently develop their applications by providing higher-level data structures. Exchange formats such as VRML, 3DS, X3D, and/or MPEG4 enable distributed applications and a world-wide access to 3D content, thus increasing the number of potential users and 3D applications in a wide range of areas or domains (e.g. E-Commerce, entertainment, architecture, engineering, medicine, social networks, conferencing, education/training, GIS, leisure, Museums, Places of interest, virtual prototyping, etc.). These formats support a declarative/graphical approach suitable for authoring tools, methods, and non-programmers, whereas 3D APIs and scripts will allow more complex and powerful solutions and capabilities (such as AI) but require programming skills. As a result of the new graphics cards becoming more powerful (speed and capability), not only do you get more pixels, but you get more materials and objects in the same space. The complexity of scenes and environments will increase exponentially without ever increasing CPU overhead thus enabling more AI and Physics to be implemented.
While technical advances have laid the foundation for wide spread access and use of interactive 3D environments, there is still a significant lack of design/content experience and know how of the software tools that allow for a seamless integration of interactive 3D components into the current 3D engines and multimedia applications. More often, the development of 3D content requires an ad-hoc realization that is implemented from scratch resulting in unacceptable life-cycle development costs.
To address these problems the proposed workshops will be concerned with the structured design of interactive 3D environments and animated content using 3D models, virtual, and augmented reality techniques. An important aim is the applicability of suitable design approaches in a wide range of application areas and hardware/software configurations ranging from mobile devices over standard PCs to the graphics intensive computers. Moreover, the design support shall include content expert users (i.e. designers) and not only technical experts (i.e. 3D programmers). Therefore, a collection of reusable, flexible 3D components, agents, or Virtual Reality building blocks as well as the authoring tools to configure and compose them will be valuable in rapidly constructing virtual Real World 3D environments, models, and interactive 3D applications.
Workshop Topics:
As a unifying theme of the workshops, we will address the problems of efficient design, acceptability, implementation, and evaluation support of the 3D distributed, interactive virtual environments, models, and augmented reality.
Developers of 3D environments face questions like:
What conceptual 3D engine model is best suited to the applications.How do the 3D environments and models address the highly interactive and dynamic content and context in the 3D virtual worlds and how do they compare to traditional metaphors in multimedia design? Compare performance, capabilities, and usability of existing 3D engines for use as a 3D media provider.
Is there a clearly defined design process that aids development of 3D Virtual Real World content applications that meet the end users needs and that can be efficiently developed? The key problem is to bridge the large gap between communicative intent and technical implementation details and to provide a method that can (at best) be followed step by step even by inexperienced users or will it be better for third parties to undertake this task as with web pages.
What software tools support is necessary and currently available that allows direct mapping from conceptual ideas to 3D VRW environments and interactive animated objects?. This includes base technologies like high level graphics libraries, scripting languages, and easy-to-use visual tools. Content scripting with emphasis on 3D to 3D communication.
What about software engineering problems like reusability, extensibility, composability, maintainability, or third party development of 3D VRW environments? The key problem in designing (interactive) Virtual Real World Environment content is cost efficiency due to short development life-cycles. Thus, interdisciplinary teams need to reuse existing solutions by adapting and combining components and elements to new applications. Efficient reuse is the key in efficiently designing expressive virtual 3D worlds. Standardised concepts regarding object description, metaphors, declarative exchange formats and component-based development of 3D applications are necessary. Creation and maintenance of a standard 3D model and texture data-base is essential.
How can I guarantee that my application will be accepted by end users?Though usability in 3D, virtual, and augmented reality worlds is very important only a few approaches consider this aspect. Virtual Worlds will be judged by comparative subjective techniques (the best for the price will win). New techniques for validation and testing may have to be developed that will allow qualitative and quantitative evaluation of 3D Virtual Real Worlds and applications.
What innovative solutions exist that validate the usefulness of interactive 3D Virtual Real Worlds. Special application areas have specific requirements and therefore need customized solutions. The workshop will provide participants with an opportunity to experience, present, and discuss design, implementation, and evaluation techniques for interactive 3D virtual environments.
Topics of interest include (but are not limited to):
1. Design concepts for interactive content using 3D models, virtual, and augmented reality techniques;
2. 3D engine availability, capabilities, and performance (now and in the future);
3. VR and virtual 3D environments content development in special application areas like medicine, training & education, architecture, manufacturing, entertainment, e-commerce, engineering, social networking, group learning;
4. Frameworks, design processes, design techniques, and tool kits;
5. Base technologies for 3D content creation that provide high level access, flexible exchange, reuse, and extendibility (e.g. components, high-level layers, scripting);
6. Existing 3D-component technologies and their relation to declarative 3D formats;
7. Evaluation requirements, techniques, and tools;
8. New application areas, techniques and devices that require special design considerations (e.g., E-Commerce, mobile devices, haptic devices, head mounted displays, augmented reality);
9. Impact of the digital fusion of the many domains; on politics, education, work, leisure, etc.
Workshop participants will be expected to have visited http://www.mellanium.com be conversant with the referenced articles and have viewed the referenced videos. A live demonstration is also provided on SKYPE:joe133952
We aim to create a brainstorming session for each of the application areas to find problems and solutions to implementing 3D digital technology now and in the future.
Thinking caps on.
MellaniuM Design and Tele3DWorld will support the workshop by providing example 3D environments and implementation expertise. http://mellanium.com
Copyright (c) Ken Rigby for MellaniuM Design and Tele3DWorld.
All Rights Reserved.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8wD2nZdGQQ
About the Author
Ken researches the 3D paradigm to aid education and communication.
http://mellanium.co.uk