Blog: Kresten Thomsen

‘What you don’t see is all the 3D that looks like real photographs.’

When the word ‘3D’ appears in the headlines it is, almost    invariably, supported by crappy images that look like crappy imitations of real life. We have all seen these lame ducks, either in the news or in computer games.

But what if you could take photographic images without the use of a photographer – or even a product? What if you could use 3D technology to produce high-end pictures of homes, furniture or materials without having to produce each product or material? Imagine eliminating the use of prototypes because you can see the end product in real life as you design it (it would certainly reduce the greenhouse effect), and then use the same technology to test user-friendliness, determine inventory and stock, and minimize losses with products that your focus group doesn’t approve of anyway.

The idea of taking a proposed product, testing it against the market, redesigning according to calculated focus group demands, and producing marketing material without an actual production run makes incredible sense – not only from a green tech point of view, but also in terms of hard cash. To reduce the cost of photography by 50 per cent is, in itself, highly relevant; but also to adjust your inventory according to demand is almost invaluable for anyone in the manufacturing business.

And then when you saw the word ‘3D’ again, you would still see all those crappy images. But what you don’t see is all the 3D that looks like real photographs – because you just don’t notice them. That’s when 3D technology becomes relevant from a user’s perspective, a designer’s perspective, and from the finance director’s perspective.

3D photorealism isn’t about making things look like real life; 3D photorealism is about making 3D a part of everyday life without anyone noticing. That’s when you’re really talking photorealism – when it isn’t a ‘Second Life’, but already part of your real life…

Messaging that incorporates 3D as a means to demonstrate a complex problem or share views of properties and infrastructure projects is about to become standard internet practice, says industry insider Harry Vitelli

One of the features of United Lane’s pioneering Go CreateTM technology, 3D internet emailing has already been successfully developed for use with high-end civil engineering systems, according to Harry Vitelli, VP of platform product management for Bentley Systems MicroStation and ProjectWise 3D products. (is this still Harry’s position?)

‘We have been producing 3D systems for the infrastructure marketplace for a number of years, and we have found that it was relatively easy to send that information in a PDF format,’ he says.

Bentley’s software is used in large-scale building projects, such as bridges, roads, sports stadiums and power-plants, projects that range in cost from thousands to millions of dollars.

Given the complexity of the models the company was building, Bentley devised a system that, by dragging a mouse over a particular part of a 3D model, could pull out the 3D co-ordinates and store them so that they could be sent out as a snapshot or fragment of the parent model.

By working with Adobe, Bentley has perfected this method of working so that its customers can now send out 3D PDFs to contractors and other parties involved in a large project.

Says Vitelli: ‘We work on visualization during conception, design, construction and operation. We are there for the entire life cycle of a building to make sure that an asset is sustainable and cost-effective. 3D PDFs are instrumental in that, because you can send out a picture that shows the problem you are having and you can then discuss it.’

The company has found that this increased capacity for problem sharing has slashed production costs, and has led to improved efficiencies by allowing enhanced teleconferencing. ‘One of the great advantages of 3D is that it allows far better visualization. It’s the difference between a video and a photograph; it’s the reason why 3D is revolutionizing the civil engineering arena. There are now far more projects being carried out in 3D than in 2D and that trend is going to continue.’

And the growing demand for 3D is not restricted to the construction industry. Vitelli says Bentley is now seeing an increased demand for 3D by the public so that projects can be demonstrated and progress tracked.

‘When we do a bridge retrofit we are finding that we are being asked to make models available to the public so that they can get an idea of how a project will be done.’

For more information on Go CreateTM technology, please visit www.Open3dHouse.com