Special Report
SIGGRAPH '96 3D Web Graphics Hit Big
By Sue Wilcox
SIGGRAPH '96, the 23rd International Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques held in New Orleans this past August, could well have been called "3D SIGGRAPH." Visitors came away reeling with the impact of 3D on all aspects of computer graphics. There were over 300 exhibitors, dozens of sessions to attend, panels debating issues, animators showing videos, graphic artists sharing tips, and a great deal more.
Some of the big Web-centric news formally announced at SIGGRAPH included the specification agreement for VRML 2.0 and Microsoft's agreement to use Dimension X's Liquid Reality core as the heart of their VRML browser and world builder. At the VRML SIG meeting, Mark Pesce announced that the VRML 2.0 specification was "done." Improvements could be made and many developers would like to see additions, but Pesce predicts that VRML 3.0 is about eighteen months away. One day later, Apple, ParaGraph, and IBM proposed a binary file format (Apple's 3DMF) and a compression algorithm (IBM's) for VRML geometry files. This is stirring up both approval and heated debate in the VRML community. Although the proposal would mean much faster transmission and parsing of VRML files, it also requires changes to the new specification if it is to be implemented immediately. The aim of the specification is to give tool and content developers some certainty about the VRML code, but this has caused some conflict of ideals.
Black Sun Interactive, ParaGraph, and Sony proposed a new avatar standard for Internet 3D environments, called "Living Worlds."
