Web3D Consortium Announces CAD Distillation Format.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 2, 2004

Working Draft Completed of X3D-Based Open File Format to Unlock

the Full Economic Potential of 3D CAD Data; Submission for

ISO Ratification Expected in 2004

The Web3D Consortium today announced it has completed the first working draft of the CAD Distillation Format (CDF) specification -- an open, royalty-free file format to distill the essential elements of complex CAD and architectural data for use throughout an enterprise. CDF enables CAD Data to be used in documentation, training, sales and marketing departments to increase productivity, cut costs and generate new revenue streams -- without exposing sensitive design information. The CDF specification is based on X3D(R), the open standard for communication of real-time 3D data, which is now in the final stages of ratification by the International Standards Organization (ISO) and has been adopted by MPEG. A second working draft of the CDF specification will be available this summer as part of Amendment 1 (AMD-1) to X3D -- which will enable CDF with high-fidelity, hardware-accelerated programmable shaders and a compressed binary format to support rapid delivery and content protection. Following Web3D Consortium member approval X3D AMD-1, with CDF, will be submitted to ISO for standardization later this year.

"Billions of dollars are invested in CAD data, but that data is trapped within proprietary formats and specialized CAD systems which prevent it from enabling an entire organization. CDF unlocks this huge untapped resource while protecting proprietary design information and complementing existing design-oriented CAD formats," said Neil Trevett, president of the Web3D Consortium and senior vice president of 3Dlabs. "Web3D's open membership and proven ISO liaison creates an ideal forum for building this important standard. CDF is leveraging the evolving power of X3D to deliver a state-of-the-art solution that is highly synergistic with established initiatives at the W3C, ISO and MPEG."

The CDF specification is being created by the CAD Working Group of the Web3D Consortium. Working Group members are generating a set of software tools and documentation to enable the CDF file format to be rapidly and easily adopted. This CDF Software Development Kit will include a precise definition of the data transfer process for applications importing and exporting CDF data, together with fully functional open source code examples and a best-practices guide.

CDF enables selected portions of CAD designs to be integrated into common desktop applications, enabling non-CAD experts to easily repurpose design data. For example, the CAD data from a large engineering project, such as a new aircraft, can be transferred via CDF into PowerPoint for interactive presentations. The CDF data can also be used by the marketing department to add visual realism and cinematic effects with Programmable Shaders, or to create high quality print pieces for pre-sales brochures. Operations could, in turn, take the marketing data for creation of a safety video. In addition, customers are able to interact with an online walkthrough of the aircraft over the web, all before the actual aircraft is released.

"The CAD Distillation Format will create a significant opportunity for any organization that uses CAD data to be more efficient and productive," said Paul Keller, program manager at NASA Ames. "Leveraging X3D is key to CDF's success -- by providing a cutting-edge foundation that is highly synergistic with Web3D's larger vision of enabling 3D to be communicated across diverse platforms, applications and networks."

Led by Dr. Julian Gomez of NASA RIACCS, the Web3D Consortium CAD Working Group includes end customers, CAD product vendors, X3D product vendors and technology experts in CAD data formats, XML, data compression and streaming. Members include 3Dlabs, Actify, Autodesk, Dassault Systems, HP, LatticeXVL, Media Machines, Naval Postgraduate School, NASA, ParallelGraphics, PTC, Right Hemisphere, SGDL, SolidWorks, Sun Microsystems, TGS, Techsoft, UGS and Yumetech.

"Many government and defense-industry programs have huge inventories of high-resolution CAD models," said Don Brutzman, X3D group co-chair and researcher at NPS. "The CAD Distillation Format leverages X3D technology and enables design data to be used in a new generation of training, maintenance and tactical applications that seamlessly interoperate over distributed networks."

About X3D

X3D forms the extensible technology foundation for the Consortium's market-focused standardization activities. X3D is a powerful open file format standard for 3D visual effects, behavioral modeling and interaction. X3D's XML-encoded scene graph enables 3D to be incorporated into web services architectures and distributed environments and facilitates moving 3D data between applications. X3D's language-neutral Scene Authoring Interface (SAI) enables real time 3D content and controls to be easily integrated into a broad range of web and non-web applications. Standalone X3D browsers are shipping today from leading 3D browser companies including CRC, Media Machines, and Yumetech.

About the Web3D Consortium

The Web3D Consortium is a member-funded industry consortium committed to the creation and deployment of open, royalty-free standards that enable the communication of real-time 3D across applications, networks, and XML web services. The Consortium works closely with the ISO, MPEG and W3C standardization bodies to maximize market opportunities for its membership. All Consortium members are empowered to participate and vote in Consortium working groups and are able to accelerate the delivery of their cutting-edge 3D platforms and applications through access to specification drafts and conformance tests before public deployment. More information on the Consortium and Consortium membership is available at www.web3d.org.