Actuality Systems Wins Patent Approval for Key Technology to Render Straight Lines and Photorealistic Solids in 3D Space.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

BURLINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 13, 2002

Actuality Systems, Inc., the leader in spatial 3D visualization technology, announced today that it has received four notices of allowance on several key patents involving its spatial visualization technology. Three of the notices are from the U.S. Patent Office and a fourth is from the Republic of Taiwan.

The notices state that the U.S. Patent Office will allow Actuality's patent claims for "rasterization of lines in a cylindrical voxel grid," "volumetric 3D display architecture," and "volumetric stroboscopic display." The Taiwanese patent covers a "volumetric 3D display system." The patents are related to the company's basic research in rendering and projecting spatial 3D images and its development work for its Perspecta(R) 3D visualization system.

"This is great news for Actuality," said Gregg Favalora, the company's founder and chief technical officer. "The rasterization and the 3D display architecture are especially important because they help us establish a strong technology foundation in two key aspects of the 3D industry. We have been allowed patents for rendering straight lines in any spatial 3D display, and for a spatial display capable of rendering opaque surfaces. These broad patent allowances underscore the benefits of being a first-mover in spatial 3D."

The patent allowance for "rasterization of lines in a cylindrical voxel grid" establishes an efficient graphic algorithm for how to draw straight lines in multi-dimensional space such as Actuality's Perspecta 3D display. The "volumetric 3D display architecture" patent covers the invention of a spinning-screen 3D display with a unique projection screen that can steer light in different directions, creating photorealistic imagery that appears solid. According to Favalora, "This may be the first instance in which a swept-screen display can create viewer-position-dependent effects such as hidden back surfaces. It will enhance our ability to render a broad spectrum of medical images."

Actuality Systems' core product is the Perspecta 3D System, which consists of a unique 360-degree spatial display and the associated Perspecta software. Perspecta enables users to render high-resolution spatial images that can be viewed from any angle as the user moves around the display. The display itself illuminates a record 100 million volume pixels, or "voxels," within a transparent Lexan(TM) dome.

Typical applications for the Perspecta system include: nuclear medical imaging, such as using PET scans to locate tumors; medical intervention, such as planning radiation therapy; mammography and biopsy, such as having 3D feedback on the precise location of a biopsy needle; drug discovery; air-traffic control; game development; security specialists seeking a faster and more reliable way to visualize the contents of freight or passenger luggage, and numerous others.

About Actuality Systems

Actuality Systems, Inc. develops, produces, sells, and licenses the Perspecta(R) 3D System, a combination of hardware and software that permits 360-degree visualization, simulation, and collaboration. The system enables users to create high-resolution spatial 3D images that can be viewed from any angle around the 360-degree transparent dome -- without the use of special goggles. Founded in 1997 in Cambridge, the firm has received venture funding and now operates from offices in Burlington, Mass., north of Boston. The Perspecta 3D System is designed for use in a range of applications including medical imaging, aerospace and defense, and oil and gas exploration.