The Intel Corporation has established the CAD (Computer Aided Design) 3D Working Group to define, develop and deploy a common format to represent 3D images on the Web. The working group is part of the Web3D Consortium, a forum for the creation of open standards for Web 3D specifications, and includes members from various segments of the 3D graphics industry, including CAD software vendors, CAD users and digital content creators. Creating 3D standards for the Web is expected to reduce the time and cost associated with developing and publishing 3D content for the Web, while providing CAD tool users a more effective means to collaborate and share data for design, marketing and manufacturing applications. "We believe that removing the barriers to proliferation of 3D data is a critical next step in offering a richer experience for people on the Internet," said Patrick Gelsinger, Intel vice president and chief technology officer. "The absence of a flexible, standard 3D format represents one of those key barriers. By working with industry leaders and graphics experts, we plan to create a format that will do for 3D on the Web what the JPEG format did for digital photography on the desktop." The consortium members believe that the multiple formats for viewing 3D on the Web make it difficult for companies to use 3D content, and that creating Web 3D content is too costly for businesses to justify using it on their Websites. This lack of content has slowed the pace of innovation and adoption of 3D on the Web. The majority of 3D data today is created in CAD applications, which is why the working group is initially concentrating its efforts on providing greater and more effective access to that data. In addition to Intel, the CAD 3D Working Group members are 3Dlabs Inc., Actify Inc., Adobe Systems Inc., ATI Technologies Inc., The Boeing Company, Dassault Systemes, i3Dimensions Inc., Lattice Technology Inc., Microsoft Corporation, mental images GmbH & Co. KG, Naval Postgraduate School, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Parallel Graphics Limited (ParallelGraphics), SGDL Systems Inc. and Tech Soft America/OpenHSF. The working group expects to complete its initial standards development effort in about 18 months. For more information on the Web3D Consortium, visit http://www.web3d.org/.
