3Dlabs and RTViz -- Mitsubishi Electric Announce Collaboration to Integrate Voxel and Polygonal Rendering Products.

Business Editors and High-Tech Writers

SIGGRAPH 2000

Cypress, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 25, 2000

Technical and Marketing Cooperation to Enable New Classes of 3D

Visualization Applications

3Dlabs(R) Inc. (Nasdaq:TDDD) and Real Time Visualization (RTViz), a division of Mitsubishi Electric , Tuesday announced a technical and marketing collaboration to tightly integrate the products of both companies.

This collaboration allows a new class of advanced visualization applications that require the seamless blending of polygonal graphics and voxel-based volumetric rendering.

Voxels (volume elements) represent the internal structure of objects acquired from real world sample data such as CT, MRI, Ultrasound, sonic, radar and other discrete acquisition methods. Polygons define surface characteristics and are represented as geometrical mesh triangles. Users have long desired the ability to render and visualize both primitives together in real time.

For example, doctors need to visualize the scalpel (polygons) inside the brain (voxels) and geologists need to visualize well-head data (polygons) inside the earth's fault subsurface strata (voxels) as they search for oil.

The first fruits of this collaboration are optimized drivers from 3Dlabs for its Oxygen(R) family of professional graphics accelerators. These allow the real-time integrated display of OpenGL(R) graphics and volumes rendered on RTViz VolumePro(TM) accelerators. The drivers are expected to ship from 3Dlabs in the third quarter of 2000.

Both companies are actively investigating longer-term board and silicon-level interoperability of their product lines.

"The merging of polygonal and voxel techniques establishes the next significant advance in 3D graphics technology, enabling a wide range of advanced vertical applications on the PC," said Jamie Jacobs, general manager of Real Time Visualization.

"Its leadership in professional graphics and responsiveness to the requirements of integrated 3D graphics, makes 3Dlabs the natural partner for us. This new initiative will leverage the technical advantages of both companies."

"RTViz is the undisputed leader in hardware accelerated volume rendering with the innovative VolumePro architecture, and we are delighted to work closely with this highly regarded team," said Neil Trevett, vice president of marketing, 3Dlabs.

"We will be working hard to support the needs of RTViz and to enable end-users, integrators, and OEMs to leverage the power of interactive, real-time, seamlessly integrated voxel and polygonal rendering."

About Real Time Visualization

Real Time Visualization (RTViz), a division of Mitsubishi Electric with headquarters in Concord, Mass., has pioneered the commercialization of real time 3D volume rendering PC hardware. Its first product, VolumePro(TM), has been shipping to users since May 1999 and won numerous industry awards for product innovation for 3D graphics hardware development.

RTViz sells to OEMs and systems integrators from industries that cover a broad range of vertical markets, including medical, geophysical, scientific, industrial, simulation, research and others. For more information, visit www.rtviz.com.

About 3Dlabs

Founded in 1994, 3Dlabs is a leading supplier of integrated hardware and software graphics accelerator solutions for workstations and design professionals. 3Dlabs develops silicon, boards and software drivers to create products that effectively meet the performance and quality needs of users who rely on graphics for their productivity.

3Dlabs sells its award-winning Oxygen and Wildcat products to leading system OEMs including Compaq, Dell, Fujitsu, Fujitsu-Siemens, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intergraph Computer Systems, Hitachi, NEC and Sun Microsystems, through an international distributor and reseller network and directly to end-users at 3Dlabs' online store.

The performance-leading Wildcat and high volume Oxygen accelerator families target complementary segments of the Computer Aided Design (CAD), Digital Content Creation (DCC), geophysical, medical and visual simulation markets, resulting in the broadest range of professional graphics products in the industry today.

3Dlabs has operations in Alabama, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Texas, Washington, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.3dlabs.com.

Forward-Looking Statement 

Various matters set forth in this news release, such as statements relating to the collaboration between 3Dlabs and RTViz and the engineering and commercial benefits expected from the relationship are forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, 3Dlabs' ability to manufacture, produce and deliver its silicon products in a timely, cost-effective and commercially viable manner; the ability of 3Dlabs to obtain and keep design wins for these products; the ability of 3Dlabs silicon to adequately meet the price/performance requirements of its customers; the impact and pricing of competitive products; the introduction of alternative technological advances and other risks detailed from time to time in 3Dlabs' SEC reports.

Note to Editors: 3Dlabs, Oxygen, Permedia and PowerThreads are registered trademarks or trademarks of 3Dlabs Ltd., 3Dlabs Inc. Ltd., or 3Dlabs Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. VolumePro is a trademark of Real Time Visualization Inc. OpenGL is a trademark of SGI Inc. All other product names, trademarks, and/or company names are used solely for identification and belong to their respective owners.