From...

December 3, 1999
Web posted at: 8:20 a.m. EST (1320 GMT)

by David Essex

(IDG) -- Muse Technologies and Panoram Technologies say their wraparound 3D data visualization system, demonstrated this week at a military and industrial training conference in Orlando, is the least expensive, most realistic way yet to view complex data models and simulations.

And they say it's only a matter of time before such ultra-realistic 3D imagery--dubbed "perceptual computing"--makes its way to games and mainstream business applications.

One key component of the system is Panoram's $27,000 PV290 display. It consists of three-color flat-panel LCDs at 30-degree angles to each other, creating a single viewing area 43.5 inches wide by 11.5 inches high. The PV290 is one-tenth the cost of its predecessors and has an unprecedented 3840-by-1024-pixel resolution, says company President Theo Mayer. Panoram introduced the PV290 last June and demonstrated the final version this week. The display will ship in January.

MORE COMPUTING INTELLIGENCE

IDG.net home page

Top ten 3D files

3D Santa Screen Saver

Give 2D images a 3D look

E-BusinessWorld

Reviews & in-depth info at IDG.net

IDG.net's personal news page

Year 2000 World

Questions about computers? Let IDG.net's editors help you

Subscribe to IDG.net's free daily newsletter for computer geniuses (& newbies)

Search IDG.net in 12 languages

News Radio

Fusion audio primers

Computerworld Minute

The Muse Development System contains programming tools for converting data to sounds and images that allow viewers to get a more intuitive, instantaneous feel for the information conveyed.

Muse takes advantage of our natural ability to simultaneously recognize patterns, trends, and anomalies, says Steve Sukman, Muse's vice president of communications. Muse taps all three phenomena to instantly convey more information than can be perceived from a traditional spreadsheet or database.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber used Muse to aid in tire design. During a virtual run around a simulated racetrack, the system converts 15 types of data to various kinds of visual, tactile, and aural feedback, such as the sounds of accelerating engines and squealing tires. Muse is now pitching to the Department of Transportation a radically redesigned air-traffic control system with an immersive 3D view. "You have the ability to take a joystick or mouse and put yourself next to the airplane," Sukman says.

Heading for PCs

Both Muse and the PV290 require the extra CPU and graphics hardware of professional Windows NT or Unix workstations, but that technology is fast coming down in price and may make it onto PCs in a few years, according to Mayer and Sukman.

When it does, game developers could use Muse to create flight simulators and other games that are much more realistic than today's. Personal finance software, for example, could represent cash flow as a riverlike stream of color, while spending categories would appear as peaks and valleys that produce higher- and lower-pitched sounds.

Perceptual computing benefits consumers now by allowing companies to play with product ideas more quickly, Mayer says. "It's creating an opportunity for more variations to be tried. That's why cars are getting cooler looking."