Bear with me folks: if you know anything about 3D modeling, then you know how complicated that process can be, especially when it involves unorthodox shapes that aren’t easily understood by the spatial mind. You then probably know how hard it is to get a 3D printer to produce these kind of shapes. 3D printers are basically a quick way to fabricate objects; you just provide it with a 3D model, and it gets to work, usually creating a real object based on the specs by packing power into the desired shape. It’s a quick way to produce an...
It's my pleasure to announce the launch of Google SketchUp 7. If you've been putting off getting familiar with Google Earth's 3D modeling "other half", now's the time to do something about it. After all, nothing makes a nicer holiday gift for your spouse than a 3D model of your dwelling or dream dwelling. Well, almost nothing.So what's new in SketchUp 7? Lots of stuff, but here are some of the highlights I think you'll find most interesting (take a look at the SketchUp website for a complete rundown).Some of the improvements we made to SketchUp 7 are especially useful for beginners. For example:Edges now...
For a lot of students, the history of ancient Rome is not exactly a gripping subject. Google, together with the University of Virginia's Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities (IATH) is trying to change this. Starting today, Google Earth will feature a new layer, 'Ancient Rome 3D,' which is based on the IATH's 'Rome Reborn' model and which displays a 3D model of the city as it existed in 320 AD. Sponsor Overall, the Rome Reborn project recreated detailed models of over 6,700 buildings and monuments in the city, including some, like the Coliseum, which also feature highly detailed...
The aptly named ThatsMyFace will take two photos of you head - one frontal and one profile, and a couple of hours late will have a full 3D model of your head. They’ll show you all kinds of fun stuff, like what you’ll look like at 60 or if you were a different race. They’ll also give you an “attractiveness rating” (I see Facebook App potential here). But by far the coolest part of the service is the sculpture area. They’ll create up to a life size head sculpture for you with a 3D printer, for the exceptionally reasonable price...
Jupiter's two small moons are named Phobos and Deimos, named for the Greek god fear, Phobos, and a Greek Mythological figure representing dread, respectively. Now, European scientists are hoping to track back to Phobos’ origin, the larger of the pair. Thanks to a series of visits by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Mars Express spacecraft, scientists have deduced that Phobos is really nothing more than a ‘rubble pile.’And though this is in and of itself an important discovery, where that rubble came from is another matter entirely. As such, various scientists are attempting to calculate the density of Phobos,...
Despite the fact that males have long accounted for the majority of online gamers, there is a surprising shortage of casual online games directed at men aged 25-45. Beyond fantasy football and online poker there is little variety, with nearly every game failing to take advantage of advanced graphics or any interactivity beyond clicking “all-in”. World Golf Tour is looking to fill this gap. The site has launched a free, full-featured Flash game that offers 3D graphics, an advanced physics engine, and user-customizable characters - it’s not as good as EA’s Tiger Woods series, but it’s going to be...
Microsoft's Craig Mundie has dismissed the potential of "synthetic virtual worlds" like Second Life, saying that the potential for immersive environments will be likely realized through 3D tools that capture and model the real world. Mundie, who oversees research and long-term strategy for Microsoft, devoted a significant portion of his "Rethinking Computing" presentation at MIT's Emerging Technology conference to what he called the "Spatial Web," a blend of 3D, video, and location-aware technologies. At the center of several of his demos was Photosynth, a Microsoft software tool that can create 3D models using 2D photographs taken with an ordinary...
Technically, 3 Dimensions refers to objects that are constructed on three plans (X, Y and Z). The process of creating 3D graphics can be divided into three basic phases: 3D modeling, 3D animation and 3D rendering. Three dimensional (3D) computer graphics are widely used and they are almost too common to see anywhere, let it be movies, products designs, advertisements, etc. Although they are commonly seen, that doesn’t mean they are easily created. In order to interactively control a 3D object, it must be created in a 3D authoring tool which usually cost a lot to a non-professional user. A...
I was the lucky code monkey who got to go to OSCON this year, and I saw some pretty cool things there. The singlemost awesome-matic of which was the replicating rapid-prototyper, or RepRap, machine. You probably understood right away that this is a machine that makes parts for copies of itself. It'll also make nice things like sandals and shot glasses, but only to gain our favor before it hatches its plan to use humans for raw material. At this point you're unlikely to be digested by ravenous wild RepRaps, because they only eat several types of plastic, including one...
3D printing has been around for a while, and has traditionally been used to create small prototypes of larger products (or parts of products). The folks at ShapeWays are bringing 3D printing to you, and you don’t even need to know how to use 3D modeling software. From the ShapeWays website you can use the Creator tool to design and personalize a few stock items, like the LightPoem above, which turns your words into a candle holder: you select the font, and whether the text should wrap or spiral, and their software does the rest. You can try the...
Not going to the Olympics, but still want to look around the Bird's Nest? Satellite-imagery supplier DigitalGlobe and GIS modeling and simulation company AEgis Technologies have teamed up with NBC to create a realistic 3D model of Beijing. The result is a 3D city that you can zoom-around in and a portal with an unfortunate URL: http://www.DigitalGlobe-AEgisTG.com. What I found most interesting about this project was how they built the city. It was a combination of satellite imagery, modeling and an on-the-ground photographer. Using elevation data they created a wireframe of Beijing (first image below). They then overlaid DigitalGlobe's...
Google and Dwell have teamed up to launch "Design Your Dwelling," a contest that challengers would-be architects (you know, like Brad Pitt) to render their ideal domiciles using Google SketchUp. From Dwell's blog: "Each entry must take into account climate, public access, and size constraints, among other issues ... Designs will be judged on basic principles such as sustainability, cost-efficiency, and interior and exterior design. The grand prize winner will be flown to San Francisco for an awards lunch at the Dwell headquarters, an in-person tour of the design site, and an AIA / Dwell architecture home tour. In addition,...
By testing dozens of erection-causing chemicals with sophisticated computer simulations, researchers at the Federal University of Lavras in Brazil have identified eight substances that might outperform Cialis, Viagra, and Levitra. In a report to Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, which became available on July 13, Matheus Freitas and his team of chemists described their in silico search for molecules that can inhibit an enzyme called phosphodiesterase five. By hindering that protein, drugs can increase blood flow to the genitals. Freitas began by scouring the scientific literature for chemicals that might do the trick. His team found forty-eight candidates and compared...
