B.Sc. Digital Media3D Technologies for the Web

3D Technologies

Agenda

Motivations for providing 3D web content 3D Technologies Development Tools and Processes Deployment Issues Examples

Motivations for 3D Content

Virtual Tours ( Environments, Architectural walk-thru ) Product design presentation and interaction Scientific applications - molecular structures,

navigation of ‘spaces’ Abstract representations of real-world concepts, e.g

navigating file structures or data warehouses via real-time 3D metaphors.

Online gaming

Technologies

3DML (3D Mark-Up Language) Shockwave 3D ( Based on Adobe Director) Stage 3D (Adobe for 3D Flash Content)

‘Starling’ for 3D Flash content e.g. ‘Angry Birds’ ‘Sparrow’ open source game engine for iOS

Unity 3D (beta version of Web GL deployment capability) VRML( Virtual Reality Modeling Language) (legacy) Web GL using ‘three.js’ – lightweight JavaScript 3D engine Wire Fusion proprietary Java-based 3D engine X3D replacement for VRML

Features

Most technologies feature core bespoke libraries that integrate with other API’s e.g. JavaScript

Allow the import of common 3D model formats e.g. 3ds. .fbx

Optimize content for web deployment by ‘polling’ the hardware capabilities available on the current device

iOS devices have more specific hardware and software capabilities as compared with Android devices

B.Sc. Digital Media3D Technologies for the Web

B.Sc. Digital Media3D Technologies for the Web

VRML -Create Model

VRML - Example ScriptVRML V2.0 utf8# Produced by 3D Studio MAX VRML97 exporter, Version 2.05, Revision 1.3# Date: Thu Oct 28 15:11:58 2004

DEF Sphere01 Transform { translation -32.45 0 -41.79 children [ Shape { appearance Appearance { material Material { diffuseColor 0.8392 0.898 0.651 } } geometry Sphere { radius 27.82 } } ]}

VRML Supports event sounds and placing of spatial

sounds within world Supports video texturing of objects VRML 1.0 emerged in mid 1990s VRML 2.0 (1997) supports the embedding of

animation of objects from 3D modeling environments when exporting to vrml giving so-called ‘moving worlds’

Now replaced by X3D

Shockwave 3D

• Collaboration from Macromedia (Adobe) and Intel

• Available with Director since version 8.5

• Lingo scripting language extended to include functions which can create and manipulate a 3D world and objects contained within.

Shockwave 3D

• Models created in applications such as 3D Studio MAX and exported out to .W3D format.

• Free plug-in for a number of 3D development software packages such as MAX and Maya

• Fairly heavy client required (4MB)

• Lots of good content out on the web

Deployment Issues For real-time 3D the most important factor for the user

experience is the Frame Rate The frame rate is how many times per second each

frame representing the view of the 3D environment is rendered (drawn)

Typically, 30 frames per second (fps) is the minimum level

Client-side software required to view & navigate worlds Bandwidth! - broadband take-up and capacity will

determine the future potential for 3D on the Web.

Summary

• There are several technologies that can deliver 3D web content

• Some technologies required client software i.e. a plug-in to be present in the browser for the content to be viewable

• The most important impact on the user experience is the frame rate

• Web GL is an open source technology that uses a lightweight JavaScript library, three.js and is well-supported by the developer community

• Web GL requires no additional plug-in but the browser must be Web GL compliant

• Unity 3D is currently developing a Web GL deployment option to allow projects to export to the Web GL format.