Basic HTML version of Foils prepared 15 January 1997

Foil 15 Some (New) Web Technologies in a Nutshell - VRML

From Overview of CPS616 Technologies of the Information Age 1997 Basic Information Track of CPS -- Spring Semester 97. by Geoffrey C. Fox *
(Prepared for SC96)
1 VRML 1.0 widely available and specifies static 3D scenes through which you can navigate. Already provides universal visualization environment and we have examples of use In Geographical Information Systems
  • Note can embed clickable URL's as with ImageMaps which can be used to annotate images to provide interactive educational resources
  • Unfortunately about a factor of 10 slower than it could be as this is serious as 3D graphics is compute intensive!
2 VRML 2.0 is just released with prototype browsers but still aspects of technology are under intense research/debate.
  • This is designed to support full interactivity (televirtuality) with texture mapped video, avatars etc.
  • VRML 2.0 will require huge computing resources whether used as the virtual car-dealership / interactivity gaming or more academic uses such as collaboration between teachers and students in 3D virtual classroom
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