Sophisticated technologies tend to be the preserve of experts. Today, Dassault Systèmes wants to break with this tradition and establish 3D technology as a universal language with applications to every walk of life.

The ease-of-use and online accessibility of 3D allow the user to experience building the future according to personal expectations. 3D technology as a media breaks down barriers between today and tomorrow.

Their updated site includes a new video and a fascinating new theory on how the Great Pyramid of Giza was constructed. This theory proposes that the construction worked from the inside out using an internal spiral ramp and a system of counterweights. They used 3D technology to analyze the approach and created detailed simulations they claim confirm the theory. A very brief, preliminary look tells me this is a theory worth exploring. One thing they don’t address is the mind-set of the people who would have designed this approach and what information processing methodology they would have used to analyze and confirm the approach. This has long been a favorite topic of mine since engineering school days so I’ll be taking an in-depth look and posting some more after exploring their 3D models.

Update: 

The load times for this presentation is excruciatingly slow, but once loaded the navigation is pretty smooth. However since it’s broken up into segments you pay the loading penalty each time you go back and forth which makes it hard to take an in-depth look. Even so, the waits are worth it.

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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.