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Interactive 3D Worlds We started creating 3D worlds in 1996. With 2400 baud modems things were slow and the worlds were generally low polygon with no textures. In 1998 we won the Island Telecom Innovation Award which led to 1864, a large historic project which celebrates the birth of Canada as a nation through the 1864 conference held in Charlottetown. The idea of creating something that no longer exists from historical photos and allowing users to explore it in 3D had a lot of appeal then and still does today. In 1864 people can gain a unique perspective on the Round Market and the Plaugh Courthouse in a 3D environment. Both of these buildings and many on Great George Street are no longer in existence today. It is amazing how far vrml has progressed in a short time. With the advent of timelines and the script node virtually anything is possible. Recently we developed a large site for CASA - the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association. One of the components was an interactive 3D world on farm safety which uses some of the newer features of vrml 2 and vrml 97 and features a tractor ride. We have also launched a highly interactive entertainment world called Dead World which highlights many features found in 3D games and is meant to stimulate the imagination. We also like to integrate other formats into the 3D environment such as image, video, sound, flash, vr and animation to further enhance the end user's experience. As to the future we think the sky is the limit. Watch this space for worlds created in x3D and Adobe Atmosphere. A Word About Plug-ins All 3D worlds require a plug-in. The two most popular plug-ins are Cortona and Blaxxun. They are quick to download and easy to set up. You can view these worlds with most vrml compliant plug-ins, however our work is optimized for Cortona because it recognizes transparent gifs which is useful for realistic trees and plants. If you wish to chat in 1864 - Queen's Square you will need Blaxxun which is chat compliant. Using blaxxun in other worlds will work fine except that transparent gifs such as window curtain textures will appear black. More information and specific links to our work 3D Farm Safety Audit - Tour a virtual farm and see how your farm measures up in safe work practices or just enjoy the scenery. You can ride on a tractor, click on items to find more information on safety procedures related to that item, hear the animals as you approach them, just walk around, or view different areas of the farm using or preselected viewpoints. (requires Cortona Plug-in which can be downloaded here.) Dead World - game simulation, many features. The object is to take the blimp ride which will soon be linked to another vrml world. Talk to people and they will help you surmount various problems and obstacles. Features include boat ride, blimp ride, music, food, beer, elevators, mazes, movable blocks, animation, flash, video, music, sound effects and more. .(requires Cortona Plug-in which can be downloaded here.) 1864.com (all worlds no chat) - The site is fully interactive and contains video, 3D, pictures, sound, and lots of information. Almost every object is linked to something. Tour Province House, visit Queen's Square and Lower Great George Street as they were in 1864 with some exceptions. Building a street from that era requires a bit of detective work through public archives and other sources to find photos which can be used to build models of buildings. In some cases there were none available however we know that from the 1863 lakes map that a structure existed. These buildings are marked with question marks and we would appreciate any information relevant to these structures so we can update them. We were able to find photos and descriptions of most buildings. The information for Province House was provided by Parks Canada and follows their informative tour. We highly recommend the real tour, however if you can't be in Charlottetown this is the next best thing. The site is also laced with real video clips of the Confederation Players performing historical reenactments in period costume.(requires Cortona Plug-in which can be downloaded here.) 1864 Live Chat - Visit Queens Square in 1864 using avatars and live chat. An avatar is representation of a person in the virtual environment. This is what others see when you are present in Queens Square. (requires blaxxun Plug-in which can be downloaded here.) Panoramic VR - We also create panoramic VR which is extremely useful for real estate, cottage rentals, galleries or anywhere a 360° view will show your product or idea more clearly than a photo. This type of vr is really a set of images stitched onto a 360° grid. We also stitch images onto objects which is useful for sculpture presentation. We use quicktime vr as this is the most common plugin. Most people already have quicktime, but if you need it you can download it here. Vacation
Rental VR Tour - This sample shows a cottage available for vacation
rentals on PEI. It is an excellent way to give potential renters a
better idea of what to expect when they arrive. |