MetaVR News Volume III, Issue 1 August 30, 1999 MetaVR can help you uncover the meaning of your virtual worlds(tm). MetaVR provides technology for high-speed 3D visualization and rapid creation of networked virtual worlds on personal computers for simulation/training, location-based entertainment, and Internet-streaming 3D content. In This Issue: 6.A -- New Product: MetaVR Digital Moving Map Display 6.B -- MetaVR Supports Pentagon and Hollywood Collaboration 6.C -- 3Dfx's CTO Gary Tarolli Visits MetaVR 6.D -- MetaVR Awarded STRICOM Product of the Month 6.E -- United Defense Adopts ChannelSurfer For Simulator 6.F -- MetaVR's PC Laptop 3D Visualization 6.G -- Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Simulation 6.H -- Recent and Upcoming Trade Shows **************************** 6.A New Product: MetaVR Digital Moving Map Display MetaVR's newest product, the Digital Moving Map Toolkit, was created in response to a customer's request for a PC-based application that could render rapidly orienting map images for high-speed aircraft pilot situational awareness. The MetaVR Digital Moving Map Toolkit is a C++ based environment for developers to prototype and build situational awareness or plan view displays (PVD) that includes complete DIS networking source code. The Toolkit enables a developer to easily integrate into a custom application 2D map imagery as moving map displays based on NIMA's Arc Digitized Raster Graphics (ADRG). The map image can orient itself in real time relative to the perspective of the entity to which it is attached. Our texture and terrain paging technology allows for large image traversal as it computes terrain inter-visibility using dense elevation grids with high frame rates. Recently, the helicopter simulators at the Ft. Rucker Aviation Testbed were equipped with Multi Purpose Displays (MPD) developed by DSCI that use this new MetaVR technology. The Apache Longbow MPD uses the MetaVR Digital Moving Map Toolkit to provide various digital moving map display pages. These real- time digital moving maps can display chart maps based on NIMA ADRG and moon-shaded and contour terrain maps based on NIMA DTED. The Longbow MPD also contains a simulation of the ITT Industries Suite of Integrated Countermeasures (SIRFC) which displays threat information as 2D overlays onto the digital map. **************************** 6.B MetaVR Supports Pentagon and Hollywood Collaboration As reported in the L.A. Times, the U.S. Army awarded $45 million to the University of Southern California to develop dual use technology critical for the military and entertainment industries. The USC Institute for Creative Technologies will use the funding to expand ongoing development of technology used for enhanced simulation realism such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality. Currently, USC uses MetaVR real-time PC-based 3D-visualization software to observe the behavior of their artificially intelligent helicopter simulations. USC has developed an augmented version of the Simulation Training Instrumentation Command's (STRICOM) modular semi-automated forces (ModSAF) in which advanced artificial intelligence has been developed to enhance the realism of helicopter simulated behaviors. Speaking to MetaVR, senior USC researcher Richard Whitney stated, "Your stealth [visualization software], has been a great diagnostic tool for our simulations. We can clearly observe behavior that was just not accessible before.... [with] the price/performance advantages of the DirectX API versus OpenGL." The 3D terrain database used for the helicopter simulation is the 36-geocell South West Asia virtual world developed by the Synthetic Theatre of War (STOW) program. The terrain-paging technology of MetaVRs Virtual Reality Scene Generator (VRSG) enables the 36-geocell terrain database with 125-meter elevation posts to load in less than four seconds and maintain a 60-Hz frame rate out to six kilometers with a single level of detail. **************************** 6.C 3Dfx's CTO Gary Tarolli Visits MetaVR Gary Tarolli, Chief Technology Officer of 3Dfx Interactive and primary architect of the Voodoo graphics technology, recently came by for a visit with MetaVR staff to discuss 3D graphics feature requirements in the simulation community. The visit was due in part to the growing convergence of feature requirements of commercial 3D graphics hardware providers for the PC game industry and the visual simulation community. MetaVR was privileged to share ideas with this co-founder of one of the premier PC 3D hardware graphics companies in the world. Intense competition in the hardware graphics markets is forcing the competing 3D graphics card companies to search for increasingly sophisticated features that both enhance game realism and provide a competitive advantage through feature and performance differentiation. 3D graphics cards available from your local PC store now equal what was once considered the realm of high-end image generators. MetaVR's large installed base of multi-channel visual systems in the PC-based visual simulation community provides us with an awareness of features required by demanding users in the community. During Gary's visit, we discussed the features in 3D graphic cards that are required for PC-based simulation companies to effectively compete with traditional high-end providers and hence are good candidates for product differentiators in the PC-graphics game market. Recently, 3Dfx announced its new T-buffer technology that will ship in the first quarter of 2000. Among other advanced features, the T-Buffer technology will provide for full-scene four sub-pixel anti-aliasing at high frame rates with gigapixel per second fill rates. In interviews, 3Dfx stated that the modular, scalable components would sell for less than US $300 each at commercial retail stores, such as Best Buy. Full-scene anti-aliasing is one of the last major visual features that sets image generators that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars apart from PC graphics. MetaVR will feature this technology on its own visual systems shipping early next year. At a minimal increment to the purchase price, MetaVR will include in its currently available systems a pre-planned, product-improvement upgrade to the new 3Dfx technology. Disclaimer: MetaVR derived all information published here from publicly available resources. No proprietary information has been disclosed. MetaVR makes no public claim to any special relationship with 3Dfx. *********************** 6.D MetaVR Technology Wins STRICOM Product Of The Month The MetaVR helicopter simulator upgrades at the core DIS facility in Ft. Rucker Alabama were recently awarded the STRICOM Product of the Month. This is the first anniversary of the upgrade of this site from the legacy image generators to the MetaVR multi channel ChannelSurfer systems. The site recently upgraded the aging TV monitors for the pilot visuals with 5 x 4- ft. backlit projection screens designed by Lockheed Martin. The image generators 3Dfx Voodoo2 graphics cards have been upgraded to the new nVidia TnT2 Ultra graphics cards and are candidates for further upgrades next year to the next generation 3Dfx graphics cards with full scene anti-alaising. **************************** 6.E United Defense Adopts ChannelSurfer For Crusader Simulator United Defense recently became part of a growing number of companies to adopt the MetaVR multi-channel PC-based ChannelSurfer visual system. A series of seven-channel software configurations were purchased by United Defense to provide out- the-window and night vision device views for the Crusader field artillery ground vehicle simulator. The United Defense development team rehosted the visual system from an SGI Onyx to the rack-mount ChannelSurfer using the MetaVR viewpoint protocol. The Crusader simulation host transmits the viewpoint protocol that coordinates multiple scene orientation while the MetaVR ChannelSync technology provides hardware-based view synchronization among visual displays. The MetaVR technology made possible a short integration cycle for the rehost effort "... and the viewpoint protocol is a pleasure to work with," said Tim Tisler, Senior Simulation Engineer for United Defense. Several MetaVR products provide additional capabilities for the Crusader simulator: Simulator vehicle situational awareness is provided by the Digital Moving Map toolkit, after action review is provided by an Efficiency VRSG, and Quick Immersion builds geographically specific imagery and elevation-based terrain. Fourteen terrain databases that are correlated with ModSAF CTDBs were provided free of charge for the simulators as part of a cooperative arrangement between MetaVR and the U.S. Army Topographic Engineering Center. **************************** 6.F MetaVR's PC Laptop 3D Visualization Recent advances in PC graphics made it possible for us to offer the MetaVR product line on PC laptop computers beginning in February of this year. Our customers have found unique ways to benefit from high-performance 3D visualization with our Laptop VRSG delivered on Dell Inspiron 7000 series laptop PCs: InterSense has equipped their sales force with Dell Inspirons running a special demonstration version of our software that supports their inertial tracker and head-mounted display products. InterSense sales staff demonstrates full 3D-immersion with their Intertrax and IS-300 trackers and the Sony Glasstron head-mounted display. The MetaVR software provides the high frame rates that are necessary for effective inertial tracker- based immersive environments. General Reality demonstrated the MetaVR Warthog Prevails software at this year's SIGGRAPH conference. The MetaVR demo cycles through various vantage points on moving vehicles and buildings at a virtual airport. The MetaVR software was demonstrated throughout the show with the Sony Glasstron and Intertrax tracker on a Dell laptop. The VRSG software tracked the users' head motion as they viewed the virtual world from multiple viewpoints while attached to different types of vehicles and locations. Army Experiment Six (AE6) is the latest of a continuing series of experiments sponsored by the Chief of Staff of the Army to showcase what the Army is doing to meet the challenges of the 21st Century battlefield. The Laptop VRSG is used as a portable mission-planning and rehearsal tool for course-of-action analysis war gaming. **************************** 6.G Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Simulation A primary feature required for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) 3D visual simulation is the ability to depict the video display from the aircraft as realistically as possible. MetaVR technology provides for high fidelity UAV simulation by first creating terrain by draping five-meter satellite imagery over digital terrain elevation data with 100-meter posts with our Quick Immersion application. Then, the terrain database is visualized with our VRSG 3D application using terrain and texture paging to visualize expansive virtual worlds at 60-Hz frame rates. A typical 6-geocell terrain database with 5-meter NIMA CIB imagery and DTED level 1 can be built in less than eight hours and run on our PC-based VRSG at 60-Hz with a 50-km viewing horizon. This makes VRSG an ideal high performance and low cost solution to support the burgeoning UAV markets simulation needs. The National Simulation Center (NSC) at Ft. Leavenworth, KS uses MetaVR technology to increase realism during brigade and staff training. The MetaVR VRSG provides simulated real-time UAV sensor payload video for enhanced intelligence during digital battle staff training. In September, the VRSG UAV capability will be employed during the Firestrike exercise at the Battle Simulation Center at Ft. Hood, TX. Firestrike is an exercise, which involves both virtual and instrumented live vehicles. The US Army Intelligence and Information Warfare Directorate (I2WD) at Ft. Monmouth, use MetaVR technology to provide simulated UAV sensor payload video in a variety of experiments designed to test the next generation C4I systems. Using the VRSG's UAV attachment mode, they are able to generate UAV telemetry to stimulate the JSTARS Common Ground Station, while at the same time generating real-time payload video for a DIS or HLA UAV. By using a DIS/HLA UAV, the need for a person-in-the- loop UAV driver is negated, allowing them to concentrate their efforts on the evaluation of the C4I systems. MetaVR VRSG interoperability with the Multiple Unified Simulation Environment (MUSE) was recently demonstrated at the Redstone Arsenal Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Joint Technology Center Systems Integration Facility (JTC/SIL) in Alabama. VRSG is a MUSE compatible image generator (IG) that provides plug- and-play replacement of legacy SGI-based visual systems. This enables an upgrade of the image generation component while retaining the accredited MUSE tactical control station (TCS) and airframe model. When attached to an airframe in UAV View mode, VRSG generates the MUSE protocol datagrams that enable the position, orientation, and field-of-view to be displayed on the Common Ground Station (CGS). In addition, the MetaVR IG provides a built-in NTSC or S-video output signal which provides the real-time video feed to the CGS without the need for expensive scan converters. The MetaVR visualization technology was demonstrated at the 26th Annual Symposium and Exhibition for the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) in Baltimore, MD, USA. MetaVR is a bronze corporate member of the AUVSI. *********************** 6.H Recent and Upcoming Trade Shows November 29 - December 2, 1999, Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC'99), Booth #569, Orlando, FL, USA. August 10 - 12, 1999, 26th International Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, General Reality's Booth #1052, Los Angeles, CA, USA. July 12 - 16, 1999, AUVSI '99, The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) 26th Annual Symposium and Exhibition, Booth #632, Baltimore, MD, USA. May 9 - 12, 1999, AAAA Annual Convention, Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center, ITT Booth, Louisville, KY, USA. *********************** Previous issues of MetaVR News can be found at . This electronic newsletter may be redistributed without restriction in any format as long as the contents are unaltered. Copyright 1999, MetaVR, Inc. Please let us know if you do not want to receive future mailings by sending email to mailto:no_news@metavr.com. Requests for subscription to MetaVR News can be sent to mailto:news_request@metavr.com.