| MetaVR News | Volume XIII, Issue 1 | April 29, 2009 |
| http://www.metavr.com/ |
|
MetaVR creates 3D real-time environments that provide the fidelity of geospecific simulation with game quality graphics and performance. In this issue: 26.A – MetaVR’s New 3D Afghanistan Terrain |
 |
26.A | MetaVR’s New 3D Afghanistan Terrain |
|
To meet the needs of training NATO soldiers for warfare in Afghanistan, MetaVR has built 3D geospecific terrain covering 9,600 square kilometers, featuring a high-resolution virtual village with over 500 buildings in the Afghan province of Kabul. This virtual terrain is available in both MetaVR’s round-earth and flat-earth formats for visualizing in the company’s Virtual Reality Scene Generator™ (VRSG™). The terrain will also be delivered with correlated SAF databases in CTDB and OTF formats. As a significant percentage of Afghanistan’s population lives in mountainous terrain, training warfighters in a simulated environment that accurately represents mountainous regions with small population centers is critical. Unlike the simplified, flattened terrain used to simulate urban environments in most image generators and video games, MetaVR’s Afghan village is set within mountains and complex terrain of varying elevation, enabling realistic training scenarios for operations in mountain villages. The virtual terrain for this area was built from geospecific high-resolution elevation and imagery source data and augmented with finer level terrain details that add to the realism near ground level. This virtual terrain, built with MetaVR Terrain Tools for ESRI ArcGIS, includes 1,120 square kilometers of 60 cm Digital Globe commercial satellite source imagery and 90 meter elevation posts and features a highly detailed 2 x 2 km inset terrain patch of a geospecific Afghan village. This terrain is built entirely from commercial, non-export controlled source data. This Afghanistan virtual terrain provides the opportunity for users to conduct challenging exercises within its tunnel and cave network, as is demonstrated in the example insurgent stronghold. Accurately simulating typical below-ground entrances is another important part of preparing soldiers for Afghanistan and other mountainous regions. The modeled village is based on the small village of Khairabad in the southern part of the Kabul province. Khairabad, situated at an altitude of 1,843 meters, is located approximately 10-15 kilometers south of the Kabul city center, next to Qalai Naeem in the Char Asiab district. This virtual village and its surrounding mountainous terrain give users the ability to conduct ground combat simulations, such as sniper and forward air controller (JTAC) exercises, with a high degree of realism. For example, the high-resolution terrain and models appear accurately, without visual artifacts, while being rendered as simulated magnified scope views and laser designator optics. Real-time recordings of a JTAC exercise scenario and other warfighter training scenarios, based on the Afghanistan virtual terrain, can be viewed on our web site. MetaVR’s Afghanistan 3D terrain, built in collaboration with Simthetiq, is available free of charge in MetaVR’s terrain formats and SAF formats to all US Government and NATO agency and contractor customers (for official use only) on active maintenance. The terrain requires both VRSG version 5.5 or higher and active software maintenance in order to run. Please contact sales@metavr.com to purchase or renew VRSG software maintenance.
|
 |
26.B | Patent Issued for Metadesic Terrain Architecture |
|
The US Patent and Trademark Office has issued MetaVR, Inc. a patent (US Patent 7,425,952) for the invention of its Metadesic virtual terrain architecture, which represents the earth’s surface in a geocentric coordinate system that accurately represents the curvature of the earth and handles ordinate axis convergence at the poles. MetaVR’s Metadesic architecture is used with the MetaVR VRSG image generator and provides the following key benefits that address shortcomings of classic projection-based database architecture:
|
|
http://www.metavr.com/technology/metadesic.html
http://www.metavr.com/products/terraintools/terraintools.html
|
 |
26.C | New MetaVR VRSG Version 5.5 |
|
The release of version 5.5 of MetaVR VRSG software contains the following new features, enhancements, and 3D content:
Version 5.5 of VRSG is available for download to customers on active maintenance. Please contact sales@metavr.com to purchase or renew VRSG software maintenance.
|
|
http://www.metavr.com/products/vrsg/vrsgnew5.html http://www.metavr.com/products/vrsg/vrsgoverview.html http://www.metavr.com/vrsgrecord.html http://www.metavr.com/products/vrsg/IRserver.html
|
 |
26.D | Additions to 3D Vehicle Libraries |
|
Among the 135 new military models delivered with VRSG version 5.5 is a set of 29 technical vehicle models (modified armed commercial vehicles). These new technical models represent vehicles that are in use in Iraq and Afghanistan. The paint schemes of the technicals are derived from publically available photos on the Internet of actual vehicles from countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Liberia, and Somalia. Many of these models are used in the scenarios that are delivered with MetaVR’s Afghanistan database. MetaVR’s 3D content library of military entities also includes a full set of models of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) production vehicles, including a new high-resolution Buffalo model with an articulated arm and optional cage armor, a photo-specific model of the M1A2 TUSK, and photorealistic F-15 and F-16 models. The 3D content libraries that are delivered with VRSG contain run-time models with 512 x 512 textures. However, the latest additions to the military vehicle model library are also available from MetaVR with full-resolution textures of 1024 x 1024 or 2048 x 2048. Models with 512 x 512 textures keep the installation of the 3D content libraries small, are easily transferred on the Internet, keep VRSG’s rendering performance at 60 MHz, and require only a small amount of media storage. These models satisfy the needs of most of MetaVR’s VRSG users. The models with full-resolution textures are much larger in file size, thus they require greater bandwidth to transfer on the Internet and to store on media. However, such models are valuable to use in cases where the eyepoint in a simulation is very close to the entity, such as 10 meters or less. Viewing a large number of models with full-resolution textures simultaneously may affect rendering performance. Upon request, MetaVR will send to customers with active maintenance, all available full-resolution models. To receive information regarding additional models as they become available, please send an email to subscription-service@metavr.com indicating "Subscribe to Models" on the subject line.
|
|
http://www.metavr.com/products/3Dcontent/metavrTechnicalVehicles.html http://www.metavr.com/products/3Dcontent/metavrMRAPvehicles.html http://www.metavr.com/products/vrsg/VRSG3Dcontent-mil-land1.html
|
|
This electronic newsletter may be redistributed without restriction in any format as long as the contents are unaltered. Previous issues of MetaVR News can be found at http://www.metavr.com/aboutus/newsarchive.html. Please view our privacy policy at http://www.metavr.com/privacypolicy.html. This newsletter is in full compliance with the enrolled (final) text of bill S.877, which became law on January 1, 2004, and which allows the sender to transmit unsolicited commercial electronic mail so long as the message contains an opt-out mechanism, a functioning return email address, and the legitimate physical address of the mailer. |