By putting on a virtual reality mask, holding a stylus in one hand and a tracking device in the other, an artist can draw 3D objects in the air with unprecedented precision. This new system is called “Drawing on Air,” and researchers have designed the interface to be intuitive and provide the necessary control for artists to illustrate complicated artistic, scientific, and medical subjects.Artists ‘draw on air’ to create 3D illustrations
via World CAD Access
I came across this fascinating computer-aided idea-to-manifestation project via Sonic Residues
Entirely new applications of software technologies were used in order to design and program the bells. These included computer modelling of vibrating objects, of the transmission of sound through the surrounding space and of the human perception of sound in order to create complex and highly accurate profiles for casting the bells using electronically operated lathe machines.
I updated my last post because I just found out that node isn’t the real Node Magazine – the latter being a fictional entity in Gibson’s upcoming Spook Country. Not surprisingly there is a real nodemagazine.com but it speculates that Assignment Zero is the “real” Node Magazine! I’ve also come across a UK Spook Country site with good 411 and the original blog entries(Part 1 , Part 2 , and Part 3) which have some additional 411 and pics not in the “featured” interview.
Many different uses of the term node exist but in the context of computer science, nodes can be considered to be elements of a mesh. It’s interesting to note that in 2003 when Pattern Recognition was released, Second Life was just being launched, and the phrase Web 2.0 was coined. Second Life has led to an expanded awareness and use of 3d mesh in everyday computing while Web 2.0 greatly increased the use of programming building blocks known as nodes. Almost everything you see on this or any other web page is made up of nodes but before Web 2.0 you got one small set of nodes for each web page. Now that sites are turning into the kinds of dynamic applications I’d been advocating since the mid-90′s(see also AJAX and the New Web), new nodes are constantly being created as you click. The set of nodes you download from page like Google Mail changes throughout the course of the day.
Spook Country may be one of the most unique book launches ever and a great kick-off to Pattern Recognition, the movie due next year. In the Amazon interview Gibson says
I don’t know if I’ll be able to make up an imaginary future in the same way. In the ’80s and ’90s–as strange as it may seem to say this–we had such luxury of stability. Things weren’t changing quite so quickly in the ’80s and ’90s. And when things are changing too quickly, as one of the characters in Pattern Recognition says, you don’t have any place to stand from which to imagine a very elaborate future.
No matter what your profession, you can probably relate to Gibson’s dilemma. Fortunately, there are ways out. If one is standing at the center of the meshverse, the future can be rhythmeered. More to come.
First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win.
Mahatma Ghandi
The Guardian has an excellent article that is very relevant to the Mesh Belief posts:
We take our young children to science museums, then as they get older we stop. In spite of threats like global warming and avian flu, most adults have very little understanding of how the world works. So, 50 years on from CP Snow’s famous ‘Two Cultures’ essay, is the old divide between arts and sciences deeper than ever?
via reBang who fingers two key quotes
Ordinary people have to keep up. In the world we live in, the new economy, you have to become scientifically literate or you will fall quickly from view.
…
We no longer make and mend, so we no longer know how anything works.
I would note too that this isn’t just about money – science plays key roles in health, global warming and art too. We don’t have to have an age of ignorance but to stop this trend we need to focus more on people(yet another reason to use the term meshverse) and lots of good simulations and visualizations aimed at making complex phenomena more comprehensible to non-experts. The emphasis is because this cuts both ways – the scientifically literate need to be literate in the arts as well. A number of posts here in the MJ deal with education and there are many examples in Croquet.
One Simulation points out the convergence of the mathematics underlying simulations in disciplines as different as physics and finance. This math has also been meshed up with art and computer science/AI via the Black Schoals project. The BBC has a nice review and additional info including images can be found at the Stock Market Planetarium.
I’d seen reBang’s post on Dassault’s “3D Flicker” gambit
and like Csven I was less than overwhelmed initially. Plus, proprietary-to-the-core software without open specifications always throws up a red flag for me – the internet abhors gatekeepers. HOWEVER 3DVIA provides a compelling business case that will have a powerful and near-term impact. For starters, existing product parts are available at 3D Content Central right now:
3D ContentCentral® provides access to free CAD drawings and 3D models representing millions of supplier-certified part numbers in all leading 2D and 3D CAD model formats, including AutoCAD® models, Autodesk Inventor™ models, Pro/ENGINEER® models, Solid Edge™ models, CATIA® models, SolidWorks® 3D CAD models, Unigraphics® models and other CAD systems. Model downloads are free to registered 3D ContentCentral® users and you can download as many CAD models as you want. In addition to providing access to supplier-certified parts models, 3D ContentCentral® puts you in touch with the efforts of a community of more than 280,000 registered users, who contribute 3D CAD models to the site’s user library.
Engineers and suppliers who have the tools and skills to leverage this can find each other through Supplier Source. When combined with the previously mentioned 3DSwym which puts end-use customers in the loop, the key participants in the ecosystem can collaborate. Not surprisingly, they’ve already got Microsoft into a partnership and Google will have to react – their 3D Warehouse and Sketch-Up offerings simply cannot compete with this. If Dassault opens things up a bit, both Croquet and Second Life can mesh very nicely with their core. Regardless, I’m predicting that before the year’s end, several major brands, movies, TV shows, and/or musical acts will be drawing large numbers of people into the meshverse for business. I expect IBM to be involved in many because they see the business case, understand who’s in charge and are actively engaged internally and externally in virtual worlds.
IBM – long considered a technology king maker. Their investments? Well, they lent their name to this particular conference. And anyone who attended the Rational Conference last week can describe in detail the massive presence Second Life had there – it was everywhere. As part of their efforts on the day, they cranked out a nice video (which, interestingly, featured a track from Jessy Moss – an artist not too many folks have heard stateside), several panelists and presenters, and an excellent demo of some climate science related virtual world technologies.
Make no mistake, however: the technical limitations on both the server and client sides are daunting. As Kapor noted, the ready availability of fast PC’s with fast connections in the Participation Age gives virtual worlds the critical mass they need for the early adopters. Crossing the chasm, however, will take time.
Last Friday didn’t convince me that virtual worlds have done so, but it did make me more optimistic that they may – possibly in the not too distant future.
Redmonk: Virtual worlds … not converted but coming around
3DVIA is going to grow like Second Life did last year – perhaps even more. In order to leverage their newfound momentum, they will find like Second Life, Adobe and others that open source is their friend.
