An Integrated Approach
Another challenging trend of the times is the demand to push high-res digital assets ever further forward, to platforms such as PDAs and cell phones (which lack significant compute, render or storage capabilities for detailed 3D images), while at the same time keeping a tight lid on the security of these assets. The perfect solution for this might be the new RealityServer system from mental images (www.mental.com), which offers a multi-user, scalable server-based collaboration system for access to 3D content. Animators will be intimately familiar with mental -- its high-resolution mental ray rendering system is so good that it's actually built in each and every one of the "big three" 3D animation packages -- 3ds max, maya and Softimage/XSI, as well as many CAD packages such as AutoCAD (from Autodesk) and CATIA (from Dassault/IBM).

Because of mental images's close collaboration with these and other software design firms (and because it can build upon its existing rendering software), the RealityServer can offer native data compatibility with a wide range of CAD and digital content files. Because this is a predominantly server-based system (and since the user platforms are limited-power "thin clients," the server can retain total control over the basic file), the digital assets can remain secure. This could allow collaboration between different manufacturers, for instance, who might want to see how their systems would function together, but would be hesitant to share CAD files with competitors. The efficient central handling of digital assets (at levels ranging from CAD to low-res gaming) and transmission to wired or wireless displays (without special plug-ins) means that very large numbers of users can simultaneously work or play collaboratively and remotely within the same database, an ideal situation for either large companies running an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) program that ties in all the levels of the company (manufacturing, marketing, procurement, training, maintenance, etc.) or for MMOGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Games).

Example from mental images' RealityServer. Photo courtesy of metal images.

Not surprisingly, ERPs and MMOGs are two markets that the RealityServer is targeted for. With its ability to run many different types of graphics assets at different levels of resolution, the system should also be useful for scientific computing (for complex visualizations – Stanford is a mental images customer), digital content creation (for feature films and interactive entertainment projects -- DreamWorks and EA are customers), and computer aided design (for automotive, aerospace, industrial engineering and architectural applications -- Honda, Mercedes, BMW, Airbus and Boeing are customers). Future applications include telemedicine and JIT (Just In Time training) for electronic or automotive maintenance, where graphic data and diagnostics are downloaded to head-mounted displays.

The Future
At present, there appear to be many communities of animation and graphics practitioners that are not aware of each other. They're working in different focused disciplines -- military simulation, architecture, product design, films and television, gaming, education, research, medicine, law, forensics and so on, each with special skills that could be useful to the others -- but, like ships passing in the night, they co-exist unknowingly. Projects that cross community lines often get re-invented over and over again. It looks like the success of such broad-reach companies as Autodesk/Discreet and the advent of powerful toolsets such as mental ray and alienbrain are shrinking our world and bringing our communities much closer together. That should be a good thing, because we have much to share, and much to contribute.

Christopher Harz is a program and business development executive for new media enterprises around the world, and covers topics such as the Next Gen Internet, vfx, online gaming and wireless media. As VP of marketing and production at Hollyworlds, he produced 3D games for films such as Spawn, The 5th Element, Titanic and Lost in Space, and for TV shows such as Xena, Warrior Princess. As svp of marketing and program development at Perceptronics, Harz helped build the first massive-scale online game worlds, including the $240 million 3D animation virtual world, SIMNET. He also worked on combat robots and war gaming at the Rand Corp., the American military think tank.