by Gary Welz
OliVR
In past columns I've written about Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) and the three-dimensional spaces that can be created using it. The biggest problem with VRML is that all the spaces created with it are based on computer modeling as opposed to photographs. Consequently, there is no abilty to realistically represent real-world places or objects.Apple's Quicktime VR overcomes this by allowing creators to combine a sequence of photos into a realistic 3-D representation--a kind of Quicktime movie that could be downloaded off the Net and navigated with a mouse. OLiVR takes this a step further by enabling the creation of 3-D scenes and objects that can streamed to the user over the Internet, even as they're being viewed.
OLiVR Corporation, the new company that introduced OLiVR (for "On-Line Interactive Virtual Reality"), recently announced that 12 leading Internet industry vendors and Web developers are supporting the development and commercial application of the OLiVR media type and products.
Although similar to QTVR, OLiVR is a new media type. It is also a suite of production, viewing, and server tools that enable developers to create and serve streaming 3-D movies to anyone on the Net with one of their free viewers--now also available as Netscape plug-ins. While OLiVR movies download progressively, they can be viewed and manipulated by the user immediately--even when only a fraction of the movie has loaded.
OLiVR can convert QTVR files into the OLiVR format enabling the progressive streaming of them over the Net.
The primary user envisioned for OLiVR is online advertising and commerce. OLiVR can be used to create complete, interactive, 3-D, VR environments for such things as online shopping malls, where consumers can zoom in, rotate, and pick up various products; clothing stores, where visitors can change clothes, colors, and fashion models at a click of a mouse; automobile showrooms featuring cars with test drive capabilities; real estate Web sites with online virtual tours of properties; online flower shops; or anything else that can be photographed.
OLiVR is a complete client/server solution offering comprehensive scalable front-end and back-end functionality.
It utilizes a patented fractal technology, called Fractal Wavelet compressions, that provides progressively streamed interactivity while simultaneously enhancing image quality. This compression technology allows OLiVR movies to be streamed effectively over even a 14.4 K baud connection.
The OLiVR server also provides the back-end technology to track and analyze user behavior so that a Web car dealer can tell just how many people looked under the hood or put down a convertible top.
Among the dozen leading companies and Web developers issuing statements in support of OLiVR were Apple Computer, Inc.; Art Technology Group, Inc.; Canter Technology; CKS|Partners; eVox, Inc.; HotWired; ModemMedia; NetNoir; Netscape Communications Corp.; Organic Online; Studio Verso; Zapa Digital Arts; and ZDNet.
ZDNet, the Web publication founded by computer publisher Ziff-Davis, feels OLiVR can lead to the creation of entirely new kinds of editorial content. A popular Afrocentric culture publication, NetNoir sees OLiVR as "an invaluable tool because it allows us to integrate greater interactivity into our content and advertiser areas."
The Web production shop Organic Online, Inc. says "OLiVR has provided a key link in making photorealistic QuickTimeVR effective for low-bandwidth users, opening up new avenues of functionality for us and our clients." The Internet advertising service ModemMedia says, "We see OLiVR raising the bar for return on bandwidth--the value of a consumer experience divided by the bandwidth required to deliver it."
The current OLiVR beta viewer is a free plug-in for Netscape Navigator 2.0 and above and Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0, running on either Windows 95 or Windows NT. Mac versions of the viewer will be available in the fourth quarter of 96. The OLiVR Production Toolkit is currently available in a beta version, and it will also ship in late 1996 for Windows 95, Windows NT, and Mac. The Toolkit will be priced at $495. The OLiVR server will be available at the end of 1996 for Windows NT, all UNIX platforms, or Macintosh systems. Server license pricing will start at $2,500.
OLiVR Corporation is a privately held company based in Lexington, MA, and maintains a development center in Jerusalem, Israel. The three co-founders, Jacob Guedalia, Richard Levandov and Yoni Haskes, had principal roles in leading technology companies in the areas of low bit-rate audio and video transmission.
