Adobe, Boeing And Intel Join Top 3D Graphics Companies To Develop Universal Standard For Using 3D Graphics In Applications

Companies to Work With Ecma International to Fast Track an ISO Standard

INTEL DEVELOPER FORUM, BARCELONA, Spain, April 20, 2004 -Adobe, Boeing, Intel Corporation and more than 30 other companies announced the formation of the 3D Industry Forum. The goal of the group is to remove technical barriers and promote the adoption of a common standard so interactive 3D content can be as widely used online and in business as digital audio, video and photos.

This cross-industry group of developers and corporate users of 3D graphics technology will work with Ecma International, an international standards body, on a Universal 3D Format proposal as an ISO standard.

The power of interactive 3D graphics to communicate ideas, to educate and entertain is widely understood. But even as bandwidth and computing performance has increased across corporations, a lack of standards for experiencing and sharing 3D content online and among standard applications has limited its use outside of the engineering and design communities.

A universal standard for repurposing 3D content, such as product designs, would enable companies and educators to make interactive simulations a common training tool. Electronic owners' manuals could provide interactive guides for maintaining and repairing cars, boats, planes and other equipment. Customers of online catalogs could try products based on the 3D computer models used to produce them.

"Each time a new media standard has been enabled in computing and communications, it has lead to an explosion of new uses and new markets," said Pat Gelsinger, Intel senior vice president and chief technology officer. "This collaboration between different industries marks a significant step toward turning 3D graphics into the next ubiquitous media, the same way the JPG-file format brought pictures to our PCs, the Internet and even cell phones."

"Boeing is investigating interactive 3D technologies to provide its employees and customers with enriched media that revolutionizes how complex product data is communicated," said George Uffenorde, 3D Technology Manager, Boeing. "We are working to develop very efficient information delivery processes to produce more cost effective training and improved visualization methods. We are participating in the 3D Industry Forum because it provides the necessary framework to collaborate with other thought leaders in developing and standardizing the infrastructure to enable broad-based use of 3D."

The 3D Industry Forum
The 3D Industry Forum (www.3dif.org) began when Intel researchers gathered a group of leading 3D graphics hardware and software developers together to discuss the implications of a establishing a common standard for sharing 3D content over the web. Additional discussions with corporate users of 3D graphics revealed a common desire to repurpose the 3D assets they developed for product design across the corporation in training, documentation, marketing, sales, as well as over the Web. Today, there are more than 30 members of the Forum. The goals of the 3D Industry Forum are:

The first version of the Universal 3D open format will be released later this year with a sample player and runtime libraries to support adoption and implementation. Key features will include streaming and compression, animation and the capability for end users to begin interacting with the content before the entire file is downloaded to its destination.

Ecma International
The 3D Industry Forum has chosen to work with Ecma International because of its proven track record for developing ISO standards. Since its inception in 1961, Ecma International has developed standards for information and communication technology and consumer electronics. Ecma is a not-for-profit industry association of technology developers, vendors and users. Industry and other experts work together in Ecma to complete standards. And then Ecma submits the approved work for approval as ISO, ISO/IEC and ETSI standards. More information can be found at: http://www.ecma-international.org.

About IDF
The Intel Developer Forum is the technology industry's premier event for hardware and software developers. Held worldwide throughout the year, IDF brings together key industry players to discuss cutting-edge technology and products for PCs, servers, communications equipment, and handheld clients. For more information on IDF and Intel technology, visit http://developer.intel.com.

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