The idea of displaying a three-dimensional image on a two-dimensional screen is almost as old as the moving picture itself. As early as 1890, a patent was taken out on two pictures taken from different angles, which when viewed through filters, allowed the viewer to seen one picture with one eye, and the other picture with the other eye, giving a 3D illusion. Both film audiences and creators already realized back then that the picture perceived as three dimensional was the one that looked more realistic to viewers.
The founders of Omer-based imaging technology start-up Revolver Ltd. would certainly agree with this. The company aims to deliver the 3D animation that currently exists in computer games and in films, to any screen in our lives, from Internet browsers, to cellular handset screens, and even microwave display panels.
Today, when people in the games industry talk about 3D animation, they don't mean images that look as though they’re about to jump out at us from inside a screen, or which appear to be in the same room as we are. The animation referred to here is the type that appears in films such as "Shrek," "Ratatouille", and "Toy Story," in which the characters appears as though they possess volume, like flesh and blood actors, but were captured on camera for a 2D film, unlike Mickey Mouse and his friends from world of 2D animation, which look flat from birth, simply moving pictures, which is what they actually are.
3D animation starts with the building of three-dimensional mathematical models of the images and the world in which they move. From that, the designers then compute the image's projection on a 2D screen. In other words, they calculate how the image would look if it lived in a 3D world, but had been filmed with a 2D video camera.
This process requires a very large computing capacity. First, the designers must build a mathematical representation of the 3D world and then compute its 2D projection. If the image changes, by moving a hand, for example, the 3D world must be recalculated to see if there are any changes, and how these have affected what people see in the 2D world. When it comes to films, there are no limitations on the time and processing capacity needed to produce the right picture. However, in computer games, or any situation that requires interactivity, the 3D activity requires a phenomenal processing capacity. Consequently, games containing quality 3D animation are not suitable for any computer, but only for those that have a special graphic processing unit.
Revolver has developed a platform that is likely to revolutionize this field, by saving processing capacity in 3D imaging, enabling it to viewed on any screen (Internet browsers, televisions, cellular handsets or palmtops, all of which are supported by a minimal calculation capacity), without the need of a designated graphics processor. The company is seeking, initially, to enable integrated 3D animation on flash-based applications. "This is the most accessible and the one that has reached fruition," says company CEO and founder Amir Fischer.
How can be interactive 3D animation be displayed without special processing power? Revolver was very reluctant to divulge its idea, but eventually relented and gave a hint at how it works. The idea is that the process that takes up the resources is completed while the game is still being developed, rather than online when it reaches the user. What does this entail? Prof. Gershon Elber, the person behind the technology, developed a method for the rapid computing of the 2D picture derived from the 3D model at any angle, and its representation on X and Y axes only, even before the game reaches a user. All that is needed, when the user performs an action, is to calculate the final result.
An animator developing a 3D game, works as usual with a special computing-power intensive 3D progam. After he finishes the basic design, he gives the game a command to "Run in Revolver." The user will then play the game as if it results from the revolver program, which adapts it for high speed image processing. "The computer actually displays a two dimensional image, but the user sees a three-dimensional one," says Fischer.
Fischer himself was a gamer in the 70s and 80s. "I was really into it back then," he recalls. He later became business development manager at Bizportal, and then VP business development at EagleShade, where he was exposed to network gaming, and computerized animation, this time from the technology angle. He co-founded Revolver in 2004 with Elber, who previously founded Mosaic4u Ltd., and Geomcore Ltd., companies which also specialize in graphics, and Daniel Anisman, founder of Ucallnet.
Revolver was admitted to the Maayan Ventures Ltd. (TASE:MAYN) incubator in 2005. The company also received investment from former Microsoft Israel general manager Arie Scope, who now serves as chairman.
Since leaving Microsoft, Scope has invested in two companies that were later sold - Secured Dimensions, which was acquired by Microsoft, and Onigma, which was sold to McAfee. "I invest and work with niche companies where I can gauge who will be likely to acquire them, that have added value for me, and which engage in technology, not content," says Scope. "This is not because content companies are bad, but because in that field I have no way of knowing which companies will succeed and which will fail. Revolver meets all the criteria. It is based on a technology designed by a professor from the Technion that is difficult to imitate, and which can be sold to Adobe, Microsoft, cellular companies and others."
Globes: Who are your competitors?
Fischer: "There is an existing algorithm for 2D interaction with 3D imaging, but this solution is not commercial, is limited in its handling of models, and does not offer a comprehensive solution for complicated applications such as games. There is a company called Electric Rain which enables presentations using software without processing capacity, of two dimensional images that have been pre-rendered, meaning that the 3D model has been converted into a 2D representation. For instance, it is known that if the hand moves 45 degrees upward, a sequence of pictures prepared in advance will show certain movements. It enables a certain degree of interaction, but not the total flexibility that our software offers."
What is your business model? Whom will you have to work with in order to run the software on existing platforms such as flash?
"Payment will come from developers of animation and 3D games. The software will consist of a converter situated in the company's server farm, and a development environment. Animators will pay us for every conversion they make through the conversion engine on our site, of 3D animation for two dimensional viewing. The development environment will be distributed free of charge.
"It won't be necessary to ask for permission to integrate the development environment as part of flash, although we may seek to collaborate with Adobe in marketing and distributing the product. It will, however, be necessary to obtain permission to run it on cellular, and we might even make some profit sharing agreements on this."
Is the public really interested in 3D, or is it only heavy gamers that need something like this?
"The public at large will find the wealth of 3D content exceptionally enjoyable, not just through the enhanced experience in games and applications, but also because 3D user interfaces are considered highly intuitive, and more accessible than two dimensional ones."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on September 19, 2007
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