Virtue, an Israeli developer of computer graphics technologies, recently announced two products Thunder and Lightning for high-performance three dimensional computer graphics over Internet. The technology used in the products speeds up the generation of screen images and eliminates unnecessary transmissions of hidden dynamic objects, reducing the network bottleneck problem.
Thunder, Lightning and a third product, Virtuoso, are expected to be available in beta version in the first quarter of 1998.
The company says Thunder and Lightning’s graphics are of the sort previously available only on high-end workstations. Virtue’s new technology enables PC users to interact in dynamic 3D virtual worlds that are essentially unlimited in size and complexity.
The same technologies developed by Virtue for Thunder and Lightning are available to third party producers of graphics products as a set of application-programming interfaces called Virtuoso which can be integrated into products ranging from computer-aided design (CAD) to computer games.
Virtue, founded in 1997 by Oded Sudarsky, Craig Gotsman and Jeffrey Fayman, is conducting negotiations to license its technology to French modeling and simulation company Glassbox, currently developing the "Virtual Paris" Web site.