View22 3D planner

http://www.view22.com/

Here are the clients

Check this 3D kitchen planner on Bob Villa.

Gladiator Garage Planner

Gladiator created a flash based planner called BluePrint

Garage Architect - planner software

A small company called Image21/Studio A created a software package to make it easy to build custom garages.

http://www.garagearchitect.com/

Clean up of Wikipedia?

Article from La Presse Affairs.com on a future model for Wikipedia with 2 on-line versions; stable and "live".  Also mentions the danger of false articles and compares the accuracy with Britannica with surprising results.

Great case study on why good ideas can fail!

"We had more money, more users, a five year head start, and some really, really smart people working on bookmarking in 1999. The bottom line is that we simply didn't get it right. Some simple innovations like using tags instead of folders, making public the default, building better discovery features, etc made the difference between being an also-ran and a hot acquisition target."

 

http://www.aripaparo.com/archive/001456.html

IMVU is the world's greatest 3D instant messenger?

IMVU is where you can create your fastasy avatar. How does this compete with MVM?

MVM makes avatars with a different appeal. They are anatomically correct, realistic simulations of humans. This does not mean that your Virtual Model must look like you. It can be whatever you want to be like. The key difference between IMVU and MVM is that with MVM whatever you choose to simulate, the end result is a human, with a body that can fit real garments and even help you with weight loss and fitness.

I like to compare this to ancient history when the greeks developed a vision of their gods in human form. In contrast, older cultures before the Greeks (excluding Persian culture) had a vision of their gods as scary in-human creatures with multiple arms, heads, horns, etc. IMVU appears to fit the early form of avatars with a high level of customisation that pleases early adopters today, albeit with a high degree of fanstasy. There is surely a place for these unrealistic avatars in the future. However, this does not compete at the same level as My Virtual Model in quality nor in usage. The applications of MVM are far more numerous and potentially useful than just a 3D avatar chat. Nonetheless, Virtual Identity is defined as the combination of mutiple forms of your visualisation. So go ahead and create your IMVU, as long as you link it to you Virtual Identity.

http://www.imvu.com/catalog/web_index.php?from=Blog

 

 

Ego Food: Edward Tufte is very neat.

Ego Food: Edward Tufte is very neat.

Online Market Surveys

DryRunner

Online surveys and market research. Build surveys online and get feedback from a pool of Internet users.

Cantoche avatars gain adoption by Mobile Phones

November Newsletter announces adoption by Mobile Phones!

Cantoche is the publisher of the Living Actor(tm) software suite that allows the creation, scripting and integration of 3D virtual animated characters within any multimedia application.

Cantoche is the world leader for the design of Microsoft Agent and Living Actor(tm) characters and offers solutions that revolutionize today's and tomorrow's interfaces.

 

 

Identity 2.0

http://identity20.com/
There is also a great intro by the CEO of sxip
http://www.identity20.com/media/WEB2_2005/

20-20's Kevin Bidner

"FACE TO FACE WITH KEVIN BIDNER" Vice President of Sales for 20-20. Article written by Simon De Groot, August 2004.

Icovia 2D Room Planner used in the residential interior design market

Icovia Space Planner

An example of the Icovia planner is Jordan's. Another example is the Brick.

Icovia has an excellent product with 2 version: "enterprise" version for web sites, and "designer" version for a more sophisticated user who wants more design tools. Their signin/identity system for saving room plans and emailing rooms to friends is setup per client, so their is no mobility like MVM. They also bundle tools to help analyse end users and convert them into potential clients.

Display Lighting Catalog using 3D Java applet

http://www.dslgroup.com/catalog/index.html

If you drill down you'll get to product pages that who 3d models
of the products. It uses a java applet from
http://www.kaon.com/3DCatalog.html

2D Family Room Planner - Sofastyler.com

Example of a bare bones 2D planner. Requires Java installed on your PC.

True Spectra acquired by Scen7 - Aug. 2003

http://www.serverwatch.com/news/print.php/3065241

Scen7 Infinite Imaging Platform v3.2

http://i-newswire.com/pr22468.html

Bill Gates sees the future in 3D!

Pour son 50ème anniversaire, Bill Gates nous offre sa vision du futur.
Et devinez quoi ... Il la part belle à la 3D !

Patrick Whitney - Illinois Institute of Technology

Professor Patrick Whitney is the director of the Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology, and is the Steelcase/Robert C. Pew Professor of Design.

 

Whitney has published and lectured throughout the world about how to make technological innovations more humane, the link between design and business strategy, and methods of designing interactive communications and products.

http://www.id.iit.edu/people/faculty_bios/whitney.html

SkinnyCorp.com creates communities!

Check these 8 ideas for innovative and fun community building:

http://www.skinnycorp.com/ourideas

 

Mode virtuelle - La Presse - Nicolas Ritoux

Les personnages de jeux vidéo devraient-ils faire un petit effort dans leur habillement? Sont-ils à la fine pointe de la mode ou totalement ringards? Sont-ils réalistes, excentriques, créatifs? Actuel a demandé à quatre designers québécois ce qu'ils en pensaient: Ève Gravel, Denis Gagnon, Renata Morales et Vincent-Olivier Arsenault.

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20051115/CPACTUEL/511150554/1015/CPACTUEL

Social Shopping at Yahoo

Yahoo calls its new offering the "Shoposphere"; like the blogosphere, it aims to be a world where users connect and link in multiple ways.

http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article.php/3564441

i-cabine - La cabine ingeractive

Mounia showed me this site in France.  It has an animated Virtual Model.

 

http://www.i-cabine.fr/

http://www.i-cabine.fr/demo.1/pop.htm

http://corporate.i-cabine.fr/

20-20's Virtual Showroom

http://www.2020technologies.com/us-eng/20-20VirtualShowroom/index.aspx

The Desktop Edition of Virtual Showroom is intended to help you enhance your physical showroom by adding a kiosk or computer to show your customers the products, options and finishes not seen on your showroom floor

3D Garment Creator - Fashion Revolution

3D Garment Creator

Automatically promote your 2D silhouettes to full 3D garment models.

http://www.3dfashionrevolution.com/3d-fashion-revolution-3d-garment-creator.html

Fashion Revolution says:

By 2003 90% of our business was in the apparel and textile industry and so we rebranded as Fashion Revolution.

In 2005 we sold our consultancy and web design business and moved exclusively online, establishing 3Dfashionrevolution.com, specialising in developing our 3D fashion tools for fashion illustrators.

We now have almost 2000 users of our solutions worldwide, ranging from corporates right through to small business's, schools and individuals.

The core engine has been developed by Sky Blue Research from their own game engine:

The 3D Garment Creator series of products has been the primary focus of Sky Blue Research, it has been exclusively commissioned by and developed in partnership with Fashion Revolution (previously known as Burneth Ltd.).

http://skyblueresearch.com/3dgarmentcreator.htm

Fashion Revolution tried to get new code via bounty programming this last September. The bid was for Flash, C/C++, Python. No one responded and the bid was closed after a single week on Sept. 8, 2005.

We are looking at rewriting our software that converts 2D garment drawings to 3D
models.

1 - We need a program that will take a model out of Poser and automatically
create the appropriate data files and templates to enable garments to be drawn
and promoted to 3D to be fitted over the Poser model.

 

2 - We need the 2D - 3D garment promotion process.

 

3 - We need to be able to import the finished 3D garment back into Poser.

http://www.projectslist.biz/freelance/Python/a-3d-garment-creator/

Poser is an entry-level 3D package for human form modeling which could really provide a worldwide user base.

http://www.e-frontier.com/go/poser_hpl

GirlSpace.com - Cartoon version of Virtual Model

This site generates some exitement by emailing a cartoom virtual model to friends with a story background.

http://www.girlspace.com/funandgames/virtualmodel.asp

1. enter an age older than 16
2. create an account
3. create your virtual model

 

 

User on a Virtual World Tour

beeooll's blog: This user creates a VM and makes a world tour by inserting the image of their VM into photos and modifying their VM with accessories like cigarettes.

 

You need to scroll right down to the bottom of the page:

http://www.livejournal.com/users/beeooll/

 

Survey of user created Weight Loss pages!

Recent forum shows how one person can trigger a community to create VMs WITHIN hours. 

4 users of the forum have created their VMs in response to a single user mentioning MVM.

There is even a photo of a user that really looks like their VM!

The user also prints out the image and places it on the fridge.

http://www.healthyweightforum.org/eng/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=8004&PN=1&get=last

 

Lori's page with comparion to photos:

http://www.jobsons.org/lori/index.htm

 

Carmen: This page links to our compositor server, beacuse the user does not know how to host images.

She even created a questionnnaire.

Parts do not work because we changed our MVM site.

http://www.freewebs.com/carmenweightloss/

 

TShannon: This page has prominent virtual models, and photos of the user on a secondary page.

http://www.dreamingthought.com/beforeafter/index.html

Photos: http://www.dreamingthought.com/beforeafter/realme.html

 

Hannah and Coleen. The journey of two girls looking for the perfect...

User with a good description of A. B. C. virtual models of herself.

http://www.hannahbeth.com/blog/archiveswc/2004_09_01_archive.htm

 

Jessica: This page is from another user.

http://jessica.l.scott.tripod.com/weightloss.html

 

Donna's Journey: Yet another page from another user.

http://www.donnasjourney.com/photos.html

http://www.donnasjourney.com/model.html

Virtual Home - Habitat Post & Beam

http://www.postandbeam.com

Whether you have a timber frame plan in mind, an architect's drawings, or just a vision of someplace special, Habitat Post & Beam will help you create a home that is distinctly your own.

the hair styler.com - online virtual hairstyling

http://www.thehairstyler.com/
Upload your photo and view yourself with over 3,000 hairstyles.

MVM reviewed on Signal vs. Noise blog

virtual_model_feature_at_lands_end

This is Signal vs. Noise, a weblog by 37signals about design, customer experience, entertainment, politics, Basecamp, products we like, small business, ourselves, and more. Established 1999 in Chicago.

User recommends MVM for weight application

http://www.frazierhome.net/node/view/247

"This site allows you to create a virtual model for yourself.  Great for creating a model of what you look like now, and then tweaking the parameters to get a visual of what you will look like at your goal weight! "

 

fieldOfView

http://www.fieldofview.nl/

 

About fieldOfView

The fieldOfView products range from virtual tours to to tailormade immersive technologies and experiences.

Active research and development of our in house developed panoramic engine SPi-V provides us with insights and expertise also applicable in simpler projects. With a background in web- and interaction design, our expertise extends beyond that of immersive imaging into the fields of usability and human-computer interaction.

Collection of Virtual Human Sites

Virtual Woman
Your girlfriend just got some competition. In this Virtual Reality Game, build and compete against Virtual Women with full artificial intelligence, choose ethnic type, personality, location, clothing etc. Throw away solitaire forever!
http://virtualwoman.net/

IMpersona
Ever wanted to put a face to people you're instant messaging? Now you can - and hear them speak too! MSN Messenger users can see and hear their buddies as they chat. Animated characters read your incoming messages, and show emotions that are defined by easy-to-add emoticons. Set a persona for yourself that the whole world can see!
http://www.impersona.com

SeeStorm Messenger
SeeStorm Messenger is an expressive and anonymous voice & video instant messenger with talking 3D characters. SeeStorm's mission is to redefine the way people communicate over the Internet by enhancing their online communication abilities and experience. You can make new connections and still maintain your anonymity by using 3D characters instead of showing your real face.
http://ssm.seestorm.com/

> Ananova  pop
Ananova is the world's first virtual newscaster, she is the "human" face of a phenomenal information system. Ananova is the fastest way to check the latest news, including entertainment, sport, UK and world news, weather forecasts and a daily round-up of the national press. She allows you to slice through the news by category, or view a thread on a long-running story.
http://www.ananova.com/

> 1KTV  pop
1KTV (One kilobaud TV) presents animated talking characters in TV show and embedded web page formats at only 1/28th of a dial up Internet connection. The 1KTV Network will host a variety of 1KTV format shows including news, weather, sports, finance and entertainment that are updated daily. Some shows will be serious in the nightly news format and others will have gags and comedy skits.
http://www.1ktv.com

> My Virtual Model  pop
My Virtual Model is an interactive on-line shopping solution with a variety of fashion and lifestyle applications (clothing, shoes, jewelry and beauty products). It enables shoppers to become the star of their own shopping experience, through the comfort and privacy of the Web. By answering specific questions, users can create virtual replica of themselves with exact measurements, skin and hair color, ensuring the perfect fit.
http://www.myvirtualmodel.com/mvmhome/jsp/index.jsp

> Cycosmos  pop
With CycosmosCreate you will create your online identity, grab a personality to match your identity and to attract other users. In the Search you can look for people with the same interests as you, screen their attitude, interests, passions, and flaws. Found someone fascinating? Contact them by email, ecard, or instant messaging. Take your new identity out for a walk.
http://www.cycosmos.co.uk

> T-Babe  pop
T-Babe is the daughter of S-Man and Mia. She was born in the cyberworld and has been brought up in a multicultural environment where friends and family are the upmost. She speaks English, Italian, German, she sings, she dances, she is quite simply unique.
http://www.glasgowrecords.com

> Click & Dress  pop

Click & Dress brings a whole new dimension to online shopping. Click & Dress is your personal virtual dressing room. Now you can model a wide selection clothing items, in various combinations and colors - online.

http://www.hi-pic.co.il

3D Test - Realtime & Interactive 3D

Showcase of existing technolgies:

 http://www.3d-test.com/3dsites/

 

Urbankeios Canadian Design Group

Advertised on

http://digitalhome.sympatico.msn.ca/Home

as a company that creates unique spaces

http://www.urbankeios.com/

Jocelyn Faubert

[Jocelyn Faubert] Université de Montréal, École d'optométrie, Chaire CRSNG-Essilor sur la presbytie et la perception visuelle
Un environnement immersif pour l'étude du comportement humain

Titulaire de la Chaire CRSNG-Essilor sur la presbytie et la perception visuelle, Jocelyn Faubert est professeur titulaire à l'École d'optométrie de l'Université de Montréal. Il est un expert internationalement reconnu des questions de perception visuelle, de la vision chez les personnes âgées et de neuropsychologie. Dr. Faubert dirige une dizaine d'étudiants à la maîtrise et au doctorat, en plus d'une équipe de chercheurs et de stagiaires post-doctoraux à son laboratoire de psychophysique et perception visuelle. Il détient un doctorat en neuropsychologie expérimentale de l'Université Concordia. Il a également complété un post-doctorat à l'Université Harvard. Il est membre de l'Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, de la Vision Sciences Society et de la Society for Neuroscience.

Fakespace Systems Inc.

http://www.fakespacesystems.com/

Our broad, award-winning product line includes the world's first spatially Immersive Room; the world's first re-configurable systems - the FLEX(tm) and reFLEX(tm); the world's favorite family of curved-screen solutions - the CURV(tm); the highly popular PowerWall(tm) series, the office-scale M1 Desk, and ultra-portable ROVR(tm) solutions. As the demand for a more cost effective, yet high performing solution increased, Fakespace developed the Beacon(tm) SX+ Projector - an alternative to 3-chip DLP(tm) and polarized projection - and Conduit(tm) software which enables graphics applications to operate in immersive visualization environments.

An immersive existence simulator

http://www.panoscope360.com/

Where are you?

An immersive existence simulator
and telepresence apparatus for the
Panoscope 360° (single channel
immersive display for real-time 3D)

By Luc Courchesne, 2005

Play video demo (4:15 minutes)

this VM has a TAN LINE!

User Web site:

"I just found the model through HSN I think it looks more like me... this VM has a TAN LINE! I am so using HSN's virtual model from now on!"  http://dolphindreamdesigns.com/vmpage.htm

 

 

Virtuality Conference & Miss Digital World

VIRTUALITY 2005 Virtual Everywhere!
     6th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
     ON DIGITAL CINEMA, VIRTUAL REALITY,
     COMPUTER GRAPHICS, (3D) ANIMATION & VISUAL EFFECTS

http://www.virtualityconference.it/

 

Miss Digital World

http://www.missdigitalworld.com/MDWContest/showpage/16

 

Mueller Kneer Associates

An interesting London based design group. They designed a cool night club
in London called the Cinnamon Club. http://www.muellerkneer.com/

Holosonic Research Labs

The Audio Spotlight is a revolutionary new audio technology that creates
sound in a narrow beam, just like light. Aim the flat, thin speaker disc to
your desired listening area, and provide all of the sound with none of the
noise.

This could be great for multimedia installations in public places.http://www.holosonics.com/

Photographic VR Solutions

QTVR Products
QTVR Rooms

 

Keith Alexander's blog

Interesting blog. Technologist & Digital Project Manager
keith@keithalexander.com

"I fully utilize all mediums to interact with a client's target to deliver a richer, relevant and more compelling user experience. Leveraging a web presence to collect opt-in data and tell a story, sms/mms for location-sensitive promotion delivery, rss for content updates, outdoor for buzz, kiosks to lower human resource costs, broadcast for reach, extranets to shorten approval times, intranets to maximize knowledge sharing… I think and act in a strategic, multi-platform, cross-media, user-centric manner."

Mobile Presence: A Communications Tidal Wave Heading Your Way!

 

Comverse, a unit of Comverse Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: CMVT), is the world's leading provider of software and systems enabling network-based multimedia enhanced communication services. These value-added enhanced services solutions, along with the company's real-time billing solutions, comprise the company's Total Communication portfolio.

 

Link to artice:

 

http://www.tmcnet.com/it/0604/FCommverse.htm

Avatars May Be the Next Big Online Thing!

$200 million market and growing...

Link to News article sent by Fadi Bachaalani - original architect of the first generation of MVM products.

MIT Media Lab - Responsive Environments Group

Link a fascinating group at MIT working on

http://www.media.mit.edu/resenv/motto.html

 

The Responsive Environments Group designs new sensing modalities and enabling technologies for responsive spaces that inspire new forms of interactive experience and expression. Our work is highlighted in diverse application areas, which range from interactive music systems and wearable computers to smart highways and medical instrumentation.

Sensor Web

The Sensor Web is a new class of geographic information system (GIS) developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory consisting of a sensor network for environmental monitoring and control.

 

Reference:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensor_Web

Augmented Reality

opposite of virtual reality

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmented_reality

Here is the video of the digital_desk.mpeg project by Pierre Wellner in 1991 which can be considered as AR's seminal research work.

There.com virtual community

http://www.there.com/index.html

OMG Clothing is user designed!

http://www.omgclothing.com/

User page with instructions on how to use VDR

Example of how end users take ownership and spread the community: 

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art34871.asp

 

Start of Virtual Show Room Project Blog

Start of my personal blog with short entries and links to people, projects, and technologies that are related, in a very broad sense, to Virtual Identity and Virtual Models.