WEB3D: International Conference on Web3D Technology

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WebScylla: A 3D Web Application to Visualise the Colonisation of an Artificial Reef
(The Eurographics Association, 2009) Francis, Benjamin T.; Stone, Robert J.; Dieter W. Fellner and Alexei Sourin and Johannes Behr and Krzysztof Walczak
Scylla is Europe's first artificial reef and was created by the scuttling of a former Royal Navy frigate off the UK coast in Cornwall. As well as being a popular attraction for divers, the colonisation of the reef is of great interest to marine biologists. A recent research programme undertaken by the University of Birmingham in conjunction with the National Marine Aquarium (NMA) has delivered an interactive 3D model of the Scylla. The aim of this program is to promote a greater educational and scientific understanding of the fragility of marine ecosystems. In its current form, the Virtual Scylla exists as a "kiosk"based exhibit, resulting in only limited handson access by visitors to the NMA. eXtensible 3D (X3D) is a royaltyfree standard which makes it possible to deliver interactive 3D content over the World Wide Web. X3D has previously been used for scientific visualisation in many academic fields. The WebScylla project aims to create an X3D version of the Virtual Scylla which can be delivered over the Web for use as an extensible scientific and educational tool. A web application framework following the ModelViewController (MVC) design pattern is used to rapidly develop a 3D web application to visualise colonisation data relating the Scylla reef which is stored in a relational database. AJAX techniques are used to create a highly interactive and responsive user interface to this application using a hybrid of XHTML and X3D components. It is concluded that MVC frameworks can be a powerful tool for the rapid development of 3D web applications and are particularly suited to datacentric applications. Problems encountered and lessons learned include issues in developing effective user interfaces for visualisation tools using interactive computer graphics and a discussion of some limitations of existing X3D implementations.
Interactive stories on the net: a model and an architecture for X3D worlds
(The Eurographics Association, 2009) Carnielli, Efrem; Pittarello, Fabio; Dieter W. Fellner and Alexei Sourin and Johannes Behr and Krzysztof Walczak
This work discusses a model and an architecture for interactive stories to be displayed on the net, designed for being independent from the specific story represented and suitable to different literary genres. They are the result of a formal approach, based on the research performed in the domain of narratology. The analysis of narrative theories, and in particular of the approach proposed by Cesare Segre, has led to identification of the story model. Such model, extended towards non-linearity, has been used as the basis for implementing an architecture for managing the evolution of the story and representing the final result as an interactive X3D world for the net. The discussion of a case study, related to the autobiographic novel "The Sergeant in the Snow" by the famous Italian writer Mario Rigoni Stern, completes the work.
X3DOM - A DOM-based HTML5/ X3D Integration Model
(The Eurographics Association, 2009) Behr, Johannes; Eschler, Peter; Jung, Yvonne; Zöllner, Michael; Dieter W. Fellner and Alexei Sourin and Johannes Behr and Krzysztof Walczak
We present a model that allows to directly integrate X3D nodes into HTML5 DOM content. This model tries to fulfill the promise of the HTML5 specification, which references X3D for declarative 3D scenes but does not define a specific integration mode. The goal of this model is to ease the integration of X3D in modern web applications by directly mapping and synchronizing live DOM elements to a X3D scene model. This is a very similar approach to the current SVG integration model for 2D graphics. Furthermore, we propose a framework that includes a new X3D Profile for the DOM integration. This profile should make implementation simple, but in addition we show that the current X3D runtime model still scales well. A detailed discussion includes DOM integration issues like events, namespaces and scripting. We finally propose an implementation framework that should work with multiple browser frontends (e.g. Firefox andWebKit) and different X3D runtime backends. We hope to connect the technologies and the X3D/ W3C communities with this proposal and outline a model, how an integration without plugins could work. Moreover, we hope to inspire further work, which could lead to a native X3D implementation in browsers similar to the SVG implementations today.
Detecting Inconsistencies in the Design of Virtual Environments over the Web using Domain Specific Rules
(The Eurographics Association, 2009) Mansouri, Haithem; Kleinermann, Frederic; Troyer, Olga De; Dieter W. Fellner and Alexei Sourin and Johannes Behr and Krzysztof Walczak
the web for various purposes such as education, collaborative working or social networking. Unfortunately, the development process of such environments remains a demanding task, often accessible only to VE experts despite the availability of a number of Virtual Reality (VR) authoring tools. On the other hand, VE experts are seldom domain experts. This implies that their knowledge on specific domains can most of the time be limited. This could lead to design errors or, as in most cases, longer development times and efforts as the development process become an iterative one involving many revisions. One way of accelerating this process is by making it possible to capture a specific knowledge of a domain and later use this knowledge to automatically check that the design of the VE meets the requirements of the domain. This way, we ensure the conformity of the VE to the requirements of the domain for which it is being developed and by extension also to the customer's requirements. As a result, development times and efforts can significantly be shortened, while reducing the likelihood of error making. This paper describes an extension to an existing approach called VRWISE that focuses on reducing development times and efforts of VEs using domain oriented terminology and ontologies.
Web Based Presentation of Semantically Tagged 3D Content for Public Sculptures and Monuments in the UK
(The Eurographics Association, 2009) Rodriguez-Echavarria, Karina; Morris, David; Arnold, David; Dieter W. Fellner and Alexei Sourin and Johannes Behr and Krzysztof Walczak
The documentation and presentation of 3D digital content is a critical but non-trivial task for the Cultural Heritage sector. Curators are often faced with the task of cataloguing every piece of heritage and maintaining the resulting information in such a way which is suitable for scholarly research and public dissemination. Hence, the integration of 3D content poses additional challenges. This paper introduces research conducted to integrate semantically tagged 3D content to the catalogue acquired within the Public Monuments and Sculpture Association's National Recording Project (NRP) in the UK. This research involves the combination of graphical APIs and semantic technologies in order to integrate 3D content with semantic tags in a web browser. Although the initial results are still experimental; it is expected that they will support scholarly research and public dissemination by presenting a variety of integrated documentation on the project website: http://www.publicsculpturesofsussex.co.uk
Beyond Viewpoint: X3D Camera Nodes for Digital Cinematography
(The Eurographics Association, 2009) Weekley, Jeffrey D.; Brutzman, Don; Dieter W. Fellner and Alexei Sourin and Johannes Behr and Krzysztof Walczak
This paper describes four candidate X3D extension nodes: Camera, Shot, Movement and OfflineRendering. An X3D lexicon for camera movements is defined so that individuals directing virtual cameras in X3D can directly apply terms that film directors and cinematographers understand. This approach greatly simplifies the technical tasks involved in creating precise camera animations and setting up still images for digital photography. Further, candidate methods are examined for implementing Depth of Field for focus control. Moving beyond the typical clumsiness of Viewpoint control can enable authors to create compelling still and moving images from X3D scenes.
2LIP: Filling The Gap Between The Current And The Three-Dimensional Web
(The Eurographics Association, 2009) Jankowski, Jacek; Decker, Stefan; Dieter W. Fellner and Alexei Sourin and Johannes Behr and Krzysztof Walczak
Paradigm (2LIP), for designing simple yet interactive 3D web applications, an attempt to marry advantages of 3D experience with the advantages of the narrative structure of hypertext. The hypertext information, together with graphics, and multimedia, is presented semi-transparently on the foreground layer. It overlays the 3D representation of the information displayed in the background of the interface. Hyperlinks are used for navigation in the 3D scenes (in both layers). We introduce a reference implementation of 2LIP: Copernicus - The Virtual 3D Encyclopedia, which can become a model for building 3D Wikipedia. Based on the evaluation of Copernicus we show that designing web interfaces according to 2LIP provides users with a better experience during browsing the Web, has a positive effect on the visual and associative memory, improves spatial cognition of presented information, and increases overall user's satisfaction without harming the interaction.
X3D Earth Terrain-Tile Production Chain for Georeferenced Simulation
(The Eurographics Association, 2009) Yoo, Byounghyun; Brutzman, Don; Dieter W. Fellner and Alexei Sourin and Johannes Behr and Krzysztof Walczak
Broad needs for digital models of real environments such as 3D terrain or cyber cities are increasing. Many applications related to modeling and simulation require virtual environments constructed from real-world geospatial information in order to guarantee relevance and accuracy in the simulation. The most fundamental data for building virtual environments, terrain elevation and orthogonal imagery, is typically acquired using optical sensors mounted on satellites or airplanes. Providing interoperable and reusable digital models in 3D is important for promoting practical applications of high-resolution airborne imagery. This paper presents research results regarding virtual-environment representations of geospatial information, especially for 3D shape and appearance of virtual terrain. It describes a framework for constructing real-time 3D models of large terrain based on high-resolution satellite imagery. This approach is also suitable for underwater bathymetry. The Extensible 3D Graphics (X3D) Geospatial Component standard is applied to produce X3D Earth models with global scope. Efficient rendering, network retrieval and data caching/removal must all be optimized simultaneously, across servers, networks and clients, in order to accomplish these goals properly. Details of this standard-based approach for providing an infrastructure for real-time 3D simulation merging high-resolution geometry and imagery are also presented. This work facilitates open interchange and interoperability across diverse simulation systems and is independently usable by governments, industry, scientists and the general public.
Function-based haptic collaboration in X3D
(The Eurographics Association, 2009) Wei, Lei; Sourin, Alexei; Stocker, Herbert; Dieter W. Fellner and Alexei Sourin and Johannes Behr and Krzysztof Walczak
We seek to further expand X3D by augmenting it with functionbased definitions of geometry, appearance and tangible physical properties. Besides using alone, the introduced nodes can augment and enrich the standard X3D shapes by function-defined geometry, appearance and tangible physical properties. These new virtual objects can be explored haptically with various desktop forcefeedback devices. We also propose a general visual and haptic collaborative framework for using it with X3D. We implement it as new pilot versions of BS Collaborate server and BS Contact VRML/X3D viewer. In our collaborative framework, two pipelines - visual and haptic-complement each other to provide a simple and efficient solution to problems requiring collaboration in shared virtual spaces on the web.
A Processing Pipeline for X3D Earth-based Spatial Data View Services
(The Eurographics Association, 2009) Reitz, Thorsten; Krämer, Michel; Thum, Simon; Dieter W. Fellner and Alexei Sourin and Johannes Behr and Krzysztof Walczak
Over the last years, a high demand for scenario-specific visualizations of 3D urban models has evolved. At the same time, established service specifications do not yet provide the means to define 3D map products and to deliver them in suitable formats, since they are focused on traditional 2D map products. In this paper, we present an approach for the definition of a 3D urban model view service. This approach consists of a three-step process, in which original geodata is integrated, filtered and then transformed into various scene graph formats such as X3D. We were able to maintain a high degree of compatibility with existing services and specifications such as Styled Layer Descriptors and the Web Map Service interface. The paper concludes with the experiences gathered from implementing and using this approach and provides an outlook as to how the lessons learned can be used in application and standardization.
Chemical Education using Feelable Molecules
(The Eurographics Association, 2009) Davies, R. Andrew; Maskery, James S.; John, Nigel W.; Dieter W. Fellner and Alexei Sourin and Johannes Behr and Krzysztof Walczak
Two different approaches for the preparation of novel cost-effective molecular haptic applications (Figure 1) are described. The former utilises Perl scripting within a commercial molecular modelling package to generate static / animated H3D scene graphs for haptic CPK space-filling atomic perception. Within the second approach, key chemical concepts such as reactivity, aciditity and periodicity can be investigated using prototype H3D user interfaces.
Extending X3D for Distributed Multimedia Processing and Control
(The Eurographics Association, 2009) Repplinger, Michael; Löffler, Alexander; Schug, Benjamin; Slusallek, Philipp; Dieter W. Fellner and Alexei Sourin and Johannes Behr and Krzysztof Walczak
Web-based applications of interactive 3D computer graphics are showing a tendency to get more interconnected and visually complex. Virtual communities like Second Life demand realism not only in terms of realistic rendering, but also in terms of integrated multimedia content. For these Web-based applications, X3D is the ISO-standard way to specify and manipulate scene descriptions. In terms of multimedia integration, however, X3D offers to specify content only in the form of URLs pointing to files. Modern middleware for distributed multimedia, on the other hand, allows applications to harness the full range of multimedia processing as well as transparent use and full control of both local and remote components. Integrating a full multimedia processing pipeline into X3D would enable Web authors to use, for example, streaming media, post-processing on media streams, or routing between scene elements (e.g., sensors) and elements of multimedia processing (e.g., TV cards). A full integration of multimedia in X3D is yet missing. In this paper, we propose X3D extensions for a seamless mapping of a distributed multimedia flow graph onto an X3D scene graph, making all the features of a distributed multimedia middleware accessible and usable within an X3D scene. We present our proposed specification and implementation of multimedia nodes for X3D. Using examples and implemented X3D application scenarios, we show the simplicity and feasibility of our approach.
Integration of Haptics with Web3D using the SAI
(The Eurographics Association, 2009) Kurmos, Liam; John, Nigel W.; Roberts, Jonathan C.; Dieter W. Fellner and Alexei Sourin and Johannes Behr and Krzysztof Walczak
Haptics force-feedback technology is fast becoming a consumer product and no longer only found in research laboratories. The emergence of the budget Falcon device (Novint Technologies, Inc., USA) represents a key step in the dissemination of haptics technology as it offers this functionality to home users, in particular to games players. Haptics has the potential to revolutionise the Human Computer Interface if novel and creative software solutions can be found to utilise it. Currently developing for haptics requires low level programming knowledge, which is often a barrier to uptake. This paper looks at how haptics support can be integrated into an X3D authored virtual world using an open source haptics library via the Scene Authoring Interface (SAI). We supply a partial implementation of a Java wrapping to the HAPI open-source haptics library and provide a demonstration of its use within the Xj3D browser through SAI. This work is intended to contribute to a possible future haptics extension of the ISO X3D standard.
3D Modeling in a Web Browser to Formulate Content-Based 3D Queries
(The Eurographics Association, 2009) Berndt, René; Havemann, Sven; Fellner, Dieter W.; Dieter W. Fellner and Alexei Sourin and Johannes Behr and Krzysztof Walczak
We present a framework for formulating domain-dependent 3D search queries suitable for content-based 3D search over the web. Users are typically not willing to spend much time to create a 3D query object. They expect to quickly see a result set in which they can navigate by further differentiating the query object. Our system innovates by using a streamlined parametric 3D modeling engine on both client and server side. Parametric tools have greater expressiveness, they allow shape manipulation through a few highlevel parameters, as well as incremental assembly of query objects. Short command strings are sent from client to server to keep the query objects on both sides in sync. This reduces turnaround times and allows asynchronous updates of live result sets.
Proposed Enhancements to the X3D Geospatial Component
(The Eurographics Association, 2009) McCann, Michael; Puk, Richard; Hudson, Alan; Melton, Rex; Brutzman, Don; Dieter W. Fellner and Alexei Sourin and Johannes Behr and Krzysztof Walczak
The Geospatial Component of the X3D Standard suffers from some deficiencies that prevent its wider adoption. This paper addresses two of these deficiencies. The first problem is that in order to reduce spatial jitter content must be built with regionally defined GeoOrigin nodes. This approach is fine for localized regional geospatial data visualization requirements, but fails for accurately viewing data in a global context or for combining content with different GeoOrigins. The second problem is the limited options for providing terrain data to the browser for rendering. The GeoLOD node is not the optimal solution for allowing the X3D browser to render terrain data in a high performing manner. This paper presents solutions to these problems for consideration by the Web3D community.
Enterprise-level architecture for interactive web-based 3D visualization of geo-referenced repositories
(The Eurographics Association, 2009) Simoes, Bruno; Conti, Giuseppe; Piffer, Stefano; Amicis, Raffaele de; Dieter W. Fellner and Alexei Sourin and Johannes Behr and Krzysztof Walczak
Interoperability, interactivity and 3D visualization are three of the most important challenges related to Geographical Information Systems. In the last few years, research on interoperability has evolved from simple exchange of spatial data files, through the establishment of standardized spatial data repositories, to the first initiatives allowing management of semantic aspects of data. Interoperability has been mainly hampered by the need to agree on standards, and to develop appropriate tools and methods. The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) has proposed a number of standards with the intention of promoting interoperability through the use of open services such asWeb Mapping Service (WMS),Web Processing Service (WPS),Web Feature Service (WFS) andWeb Coverage Service (WCS). However, there are a number of open issues regarding interactivity, 3D data visualization, fault tolerance, scalability, server-independent implementation, delayed-time transactions, to name but a few, that clearly reflect the need for further study and discussion. This paper presents a service-oriented architecture in the context of interoperable Web 3D GIS applications, designed to support features such as manipulation, processing and visual analysis of geographical information.
RTSG: Ray Tracing for X3D via a Flexible Rendering Framework
(The Eurographics Association, 2009) Rubinstein, Dmitri; Georgiev, Iliyan; Schug, Benjamin; Slusallek, Philipp; Dieter W. Fellner and Alexei Sourin and Johannes Behr and Krzysztof Walczak
VRML and X3D are the most widely adopted standards for interactive 3D content interchange. However, they are both designed around the common restricted functionality available in hardware graphics processors. Thus, most existing scene graph implementations are tightly integrated with rasterization APIs, which have difficulties simulating advanced global lighting effects. Conversely, complex photo-realistic effects are naturally supported by ray tracing based rendering algorithms [Glassner 1989]. Due to recent research advances and the constantly increasing computing power of commodity PCs, ray tracing is emerging as an interesting alternative for interactive applications. In this paper we present RTSG (Real-Time Scene Graph), a flexible scene management and rendering system. RTSG is X3D-compliant and has been designed to efficiently support both ray tracing and rasterization using a backend-independent rendering infrastructure. We describe two ray tracing and one rasterization backends and demonstrate that they achieve real-time rendering performance.
Digital Oil and Gas Pipeline Visualization using X3D
(The Eurographics Association, 2009) Zhen-pei, Li; Ping, Li; Ming, Wu; Dieter W. Fellner and Alexei Sourin and Johannes Behr and Krzysztof Walczak
With the development of oil and gas pipeline construction, management technology and information technology, it is highly desirable to create a visual oil and gas pipeline management system to improve pipeline management efficiency. Meanwhile, with the increasing network tendency of digital oil and gas pipeline, it is urgent to publish pipeline data to the internet to enhance pipeline information sharing. In this study, we use Extensible 3D (X3D), which is a software standard for defining interactive web- and broadcast-based 3D content integrated with multimedia, to build a web-based, interactive and 3D dynamic virtual oil and gas pipeline system. The implementation process and method of 3D terrain modeling, pipeline modeling, pipeline affiliated facilities modeling, and pipeline parameters real-time displaying through integrating X3D with Java and OPC are also introduced. The digital oil and gas pipeline visualization system provides an effective way for pipeline staffs and managers to visually fetch pipeline information through web. The system also provides some useful functions such as over standard early-warning, linkage alarm for pipeline routine administering and maintaining. Our application results also indicate that X3D is a practical solution for web3D and virtual reality applications.
Virtual Rome: a FOSS approach to WEB3D
(The Eurographics Association, 2009) Calori, Luigi; Camporesi, Carlo; Pescarin, Sofia; Dieter W. Fellner and Alexei Sourin and Johannes Behr and Krzysztof Walczak
The goal of VirtualRome project (www.virtualrome.it) is to provide a web-based infrastructure for distribution, collection, annotation and sharing over the web of 3D interactive content such as actual and reconstructed landscape. For this project we have developed a framework for the integration of 3D realtime application within web browsers; the full functionality is currently available only for Windows Firefox, limited versions are available for Firefox Linux and Explorer. We present a completely FOSS approach to the web deployment of a 3d database consisting of landscape data at different time and different resolution. Components of a deployment platform will be analyzed and We will outline our approach comparing with other available systems.
An asymmetric 2D Pointer / 3D Ray for 3D Interaction within Collaborative Virtual Environments
(The Eurographics Association, 2009) Duval, Thierry; Fleury, Cedric; Dieter W. Fellner and Alexei Sourin and Johannes Behr and Krzysztof Walczak
In this paper we present a new metaphor for interaction within Collaborative Virtual Environments (CVE). This metaphor is dedicated to non-immersive or semi-immersive 3D interactions, for which users cannot afford to buy expensive devices neither for 3D visualization of their virtual environment nor for interaction. With these low-cost restrictions, we think that it is more effective to use basic 2D metaphors rather than to try to adapt 3D virtual metaphors which would be more difficult to use because of the poor immersion level offered by such systems. The problem that will arise within a CVE is that it is difficult to make a user aware of the 2D metaphors used by another user, because they are not associated with a 3D virtual object of the shared universe. So our idea is to provide to a user a 3D virtual ray (using ray-casting for object selection) that would act like a 2D pointer on the screen, allowing the user to only control the 2D position of the closest ray end, and calculating the orientation of the ray so that its projection on the screen would always be a point. This way, since the user is controlling a 3D virtual ray, the other users can be made aware of his activity. To test the efficiency of this 2D Pointer / 3D Ray, we have made some experiments making users compare different devices to realize some simple selection and manipulation tasks. The results show that this kind of 2D solution is efficient and allows 3D interaction within Virtual Environments by people who cannot afford expensive immersive hardware. This new metaphor allows more users to collaborate within CVE.

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