Extended version of "XYZ The Web in 3D" for Inform Magazine

The following is the extended version of the article published in Inform magazine's 2009 Number 3 edition entitled "XYZ : The Web in 3D":
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XYZ the Web in 3D
APRIL 2009

Draft04A


Since the dawn of the first public web browser, web developers have attempted to bring the 3rd dimension to the web browsing experience. Popular science fiction has imagined virtual spaces occurring over networks that could be accessed from a computer terminal such as William Gibson's "cyberspace matrix" from his 1984 novel, The Neuromancer, or the "metaverse" from Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash in 1992. With ubiquitous accessibility of the World Wide Web in the early to mid '90s, the medium by which "virtual" space exploration and interaction could occur seemed a reality. In 1994 the first true standard for Web3D surfaced as the Virtual Reality Modeling Language, more widely known as VRML. VRML provided an easy to learn and simple to implement text based programming script that could render on the World Wide Web, 3D models such as those created in 3D graphics programs and make them come alive in a Web browser via a plugin. VRML converted the standard Web browser into a picture plane of infinite depth. Online virtual environments became knows as "worlds" that composed a real networked "metaverse." The VRML specification allowed for a rich set of descriptive features that allowed the building of objects and spaces with geometric primitives and organic objects, free non-linear navigation of virtual space, image based texturing with static images and/or video, basic lighting, animation, hypertext linking and hooks into other scripting and programming languages. These features would set the pace for other Web3D technologies popping up during the late 90s.



One such technology was the 3D chat environment. The precursor of today's Web2.0 social networks, chat spaces allowed easy text communications via a web browser. Web companies such as Active Worlds combined chat technology with Web3D to provide virtual spaces where several people could log into one virtual world at once to interact, chat and build spaces simultaneously. Participants in these worlds assumed the role of an avatar, or human-like 3D model that could navigate virtual space and visually communicate with a limited range of gestures. Users could congregate in social spaces for free or purchase virtual "land" upon which they could build their own structures with basic 3D modeling tools. The commercial world invested heavily in these technologies at first anticipating a new medium for interaction on the World Wide Web in which they could insert advertisements and attract potential customers. Attempts were made at long distance learning and collaboration and yearly international conferences even took place in these spaces.



If the late 90s were the Golden Age of what could be considered the first phase of Web3D, its apogee would have taken place in 1998 when the tools for creating and deploying Web3D were about to be placed into open source for the world to freely take part, and VRML had reached its pinnacle of support with the foundation of the Web3D consortium. But this year would also mark the rapid demise and debunking of the Web3D hype and in 1999 technology news source CNET reported that Web3D had failed to live up to its promise of bringing to life the metaverse or cyberspace matrix of sci-fi fantasy. The basic underlying dilemma was the lack of real, usable bandwidth due to the weakness of the dial-up modem that was the means of connecting to the internet in just about every household with a computer. Navigation and animation within 3D worlds was way too slow to enjoy and navigation itself was too awkward and new for the general user base which was still trying to get used to 2D navigation of the Web. Web3D graphics were also cartoonish and low resolution especially when compared to gaming technologies emerging at the time. Without the promise of a return on their commerical investments, the corporate world pulled out, taking with them the funding necessary to sustain the technological progression of Web3D tools and plugins.



Despite corporate divestment, Web3D still remained in the interests of educators and the open source communities. By the mid '00s we had better, faster ubiquitous bandwidth and affordable and powerful computers and graphics processors. Major companies began to develop new uses for deploying Web3D, such as Google Earth for visualizing geographic data here on Earth, and Microsoft's Worldwide Telescope for visualizing astronomical data outside of our world. But the most significant re-awakening of Web3D has come with the emergence of Web2.0 technologies and the development of true social networking applications. Once again interest has been generated in 3D chat spaces, but Second Life has taken it a step farther this time. Second Life is a Web3D application that provides the means for participation in a networked 3D environment where participants can communicate via text, audio and even video, and can attain a greater customization of their avatars in appearance, gestures and functions than previous social chat interfaces. Even though Second Life is free to join, they have also introduced a monetary system whereby participants can purchase virtual objects, land and services. Some participants have set up shops for their own profit providing services such as modeling virtual products, clothing accessories and avatar enhancements. Second Life provides more robust tools for 3D modeling within the application that can be supplemented by a robust scripting environment for creating greater interactivity with 3D objects.



Educators from diverse fields of study seem to be the most avid and innovative user group of Second Life. The New Media Consortium, an organization devoted to the exploration of new media and technologies in education, has adopted initiatives to promote academic involvement in Second Life and are host to the Second Life education Campus. The NMC has helped to create a considerable presence of major academic institutions in Second Life, each represented by their own virtual space, or "island", where virtual classrooms, seminars and learning experiences are are made accessible on computer networks. A recent AIA article reported on one architecture educator's use of Second Life at Ball State University's School of Architecture and Planning. Students were able to construct and explore their designs as well as engage in new ways of approaching design with fewer constraints in a virtual world where there is no gravity, no energy usage and an endless supply of diverse materials. Though the results weren't the most practical solution, students were given the opportunity to explore and play with architectural concepts in a unique environment. Since interaction on Second Life takes place online, there is greater ease at distance learning and bringing in classroom guests and lecturers without travel restrictions.

Second Life isn't the only collaborative Web3D solution out there. The Open Simulator project is a free, open source Web3D server that allows full control over the deployment and utilization of a multi-user virtual environment that can also run on the Second Life client. The Active Worlds client is the mother of all the current social network virtual spaces. It's been around since 1995 and continues to be active today. Vivaty is a 3D virtual world that is integrated with major Web2.0 applications since it can natively run within a Facebook webpage, play videos from Youtube and display photo images from Flickr within a virtual space. It utilizes X3D, the XMLized spec that extends and expands the VRML legacy, as the language for building 3D worlds.



But in the professional world, one of the biggest dilemmas keeping Second Life from truly becoming an architect's tool, is the inability to import or export 3D geometry. Currently anything that's built in Second Life stays in Second Life, and anything that's built in another 3D modeler stays out of Second Life. There are signs that this may change and there have been some awkward hacks to at least get geometry out of basic modelers like Sketchup into Second Life. The best chance for getting models from more robust modeling programs like AutoCAD, Microstation, Revit or Rhino would be for Second Life to at least allow imports of exchange formats like DXF or the FBX Collada format. It does appear that perhaps Second Life may be considering such an option in the future. The VRML file format is another potential exchange format option for Second Life. There are still free exporters for VRML available in most major 3D modeling applications today.

Visibuild is another solution that could prove to be the optimal choice for architects to take advantage of multi-user 3D environments while preserving file formats. Featured in The ARCH, a blog devoted to architecture and design in virtual spaces, Visibuild is a 3D virtual environment primarily targeted for the AEC community as a collborative design tool that allows full import of 3D models from major modeling tools lke Revit, ArchiCAD, Maya and other industry tools. 



The metaverse and cyberspace concepts from science fiction presented virtual worlds of rich life-like graphics rendered so well that they almost felt real, as we have seen illustrated in movies like Tron, Johnny Mnemonic or The Matrix. The near-term future of Web3D will perhaps offer higher resolution, but it will be a long while before your web browser will be able to project the embodiment of reality like the holy grail of all virtual worlds - Star Trek's Holodeck.

Even though we are comfortably in a second phase of Web3D development, the overall graphics still feel like the first phase of Web3D, with rough-textured, cartoon-like models. But in development today are gaming quality, higher resolution 3D technologies that could provide a more graphically enhanced 3D Web experience. Already, networked 3D games like EVE Online are providing movie quality interactive graphics for the gaming community. New developments in cloud computing technologies may bring that same quality resolution 3D to interactive Web3D. Graphics developer Otoy is reported to be providing the 3D engine for a new high resolution 3D chat space called Liveplace.com. In Otoy's solution, all of the 3D will be rendered via cloud computing on an external server and served out to any networked device as high resolution graphics despite the native graphics capability of your desktop or mobile computer. The basic questions remain though as to the nature of the 3D information that will get rendered in these environments. What will these graphic applications allow to be imported or exported?

 Even though recent news suggests the downfall of commercial interests in Second Life, the academic community is busy proving the worth and strength of Web3D to perhaps sustain its life longer than the first phase of its existence. The commercial world has misunderstood the potential of Web3D as a new proving ground for advertisements and product enticements. The people who participate in these environments seem to be more interested in new ways of social interaction and communication whether trivial or pedagogical. Professionals may be able to take advantage of these technologies only if these technologies become flexible enough to work with the formats of modeling tools used in professional practice.



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REFs for XYZ the Web in 3D

The references to my article entitled "XYZ, the Web in 3D", for Inform magazine's 2009 issue #3 can be found in these Delicious links:
http://delicious.com/web3d4u







The following are solely the comments of Will Rourk and not of Inform magazine


There are a lot of things that got cut from the article that are interesting to Web 3D development today. I think a lot of the academic explorations into Second Life, though not so apparently useful right now, are a really great direction to be heading so that when ubiquitous 3D technology has become friendly enough and easy enough to implement, some of the core issues of pedagogy will have a solid base from which to germinate. I'm hopeful that sites like http://slarchitecture.ning.com/ will actually garner more discussion and traffic that may help provide a basis for useful implementation of Web3D technologies. The architectural community will provide the experimenters and conceptual developers of a spatial presence delivered via networks whether it is the Web or whatever comes next. It's what we do as a group of people devoted to directing our thoughts and attitudes toward spatial immersion.

Being an historian, I also wish that I could have expounded further on the history of Web 3D. I was there in 1996 when we built crude spatial simulations for Netscape and Internet Explorer with VRML, the Virtual Reality Modeling Language. A lot of time, money and enthusiastic energy was poured into this technology to make into a really great, easy to use and implement script for rendering places, spaces and objects on your ordinary web browser. But I was also there in Paderborn in 1999 when the powers that fund and sustain technology dropped interest and pulled the plug that kept VRML technologies afloat. There on the cusp of such promise and innovation came the Dark Ages of Web 3D. And we have not fully revived such promise today despite the strong academic interests in Second Life and multi-user Web 3D. VRML and it's successor X3D were purely democratic technologies that enabled free expression and creation of a non-static, mulit-dimensional, interactive network experience at which Second Life really only hints for the user base that it has garnered. If they'd only look back to the era 10 years ago when we could create what we wanted, anywhere we wanted, with tools familiar to 3D artists, rich with interactivity and self expression, maybe they'd see what they're missing and demand what's rightfully (ours). I think that day may come, and maybe even soon, within the next 5-10 years, but only when the world is ready for a real change, a real shift in perception of the democracy of communications and network accessibility.

Just found out that Google has a Web 3D project of their own called 03D.  Looks promising - we'll see:

http://code.google.com/apis/o3d/

Inform - References for Web24u

Here are the resources I used to write the article "Web2 4u" for Inform magazine, Spring 2009:
http://delicious.com/web24us
A lot of the industry-use case study examples of Web2.0 were not included in the edited version of the article. Links to those resources can be found in the above Delicious links. Of particular interest is the link to Cisco's TechWiseTV video blog feature on Web2.0 for professional use.
Another interesting link is to the SMUG Wordpress blogs on professional use of Facebook. Otherwise there are tons of other great links in there to which I still continue to add relevant Web references. Soon to come, the un-edited version of my article for Inform magazine (http://www.virginiaarchitecture.org/inform_index.jsp)

Widely Accessible : Mobile Computing via Broadband Networks - unedited

Here is the full, unedited text of my first article for Inform magazine printed in January 2009.
Brought to you by:

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Widely Accessible : Mobile Computing via Broadband Networks
By Will Rourk
20081116

Access to information is everywhere. Floating in the ether all around are pipelines to online resources that you might use everyday in your profession. How you tap into this information pipeline can impact how architects and design professionals keep up-to-date in the field. Online resources such as project databases, parts and materials catalogs, best practices manuals, email and online calendaring systems are easy to integrate into the normal office life with the help of hardwired ethernet and wireless network connections. But your office often extends into the field where your designs are being realized. Access to your online resources in the field could greatly influence the progress of construction and the implementation of your designs. This article will take a look at broadband network technologies as an alternative to the limitations one might face with standard network connections in the office.

There are various possibilities for mobile computing within the architectural and design professions. Mobility begins when your ethernet cable is disconnected but your access to the internet remains in tact. The most common method of mobile connectivity is through a Wi-Fi connection (or Wireless Fidelity). That’s when your laptop or handheld computing device connects to the internet via an internal or external Wi-Fi antenna without the need for cables or wires. The technology behind Wi-Fi allows your computing device, i.e. laptop, to connect to a Wireless Local Area Network, or WLAN, by way of a wireless router that is connected to your internet service. The location and sphere of connectivity of these network points are more commonly known as hotspots. Hotspot connection ranges can only extend anywhere from 100-300 ft from a wireless router. For the most part that’s ok if your connecting to the internet from your home, office or your favorite café. But unless you’re field work includes renovation or adding onto an existing building near a Wi-Fi router, Wi-Fi signals will probably be weak to non-existent. So how can you stay connected wirelessly when no Wi-Fi connections are not showing up on your laptop? One might consider broadband networks.

Broadband networking is the technology behind the way your cellphone or smartphone is able to send and receive data, like for example, checking email or browsing the internet. Also known as WWAN, or Wireless Wide Area Networks, the range of connectivity is pretty much the range at which your cellphone is able to send and receive calls. This is a much wider sphere of connectivity than standard Wi-Fi. This is great for your smartphone but how does that help you connect your laptop or mobile computing device?

There are different ways in which these devices can take advantage of broadband networks. For one thing most computers these days have the ability to connect to your cellphone via a process called Bluetooth pairing. This is a method by which you can use your cellphone as a kind of broadband modem. Bluetooth is simply a technology that allows your computer to talk wirelessly to other devices, like a cellphone for example. In your laptop’s Bluetooth settings (Windows – Control Panel, Macintosh – System Preferences) you can enable your computer to dial your cellphone to pair with it and connect to its network data services. In other words your laptop can talk to your cellphone and connect to it so that it can take advantage of your phone’s ability to send and receive information. Your phone essentially becomes a modem like the one you use at home or your office to connect to your DSL or internet cable service. The problem with this, though, is that some service providers may allow this and others may block it. Some phone companies don’t really like the idea of piggy backing onto your cellphone’s data services to get free internet for your laptop. Check with your cell phone service provider to see if they do allow this. Otherwise service providers offer other strategies by which you can directly receive broadband network access.

In addition to offering cellphone service, most cellphone companies today also offer broadband networking service that is handled by a special connection card. These cards usually go into your laptop or computing device’s USB port or PCMCIA card slot. A network card acts as an external antenna by which your computing device can access broadband networks. Just about all of the major carriers provide data service plans for subscribers with trademark titles such as Sprint/Nextel’s Mobile Broadband Connection Plan, AT&T’s LaptopConnect Card plans, Alltel’s Extended Wireless Internet and Internet Anywhere plans and nTelos’ Mobile Broadband plans.

As an alternate many laptops currently come equipped with broadband networking devices already installed so that you don't need a separate card. Most computer manufacturers have made partnerships with network service providers to offer specialized data services. The Lenovo ThinkPad series laptops have the option of installed WWAN and a rebate offer for network service with Verizon’s Wireless BroadbandAccess. Both HP and Panasonic are taking advantage of the Gobi™ global mobile internet service which allows laptops to globally connect to network service providers using a variety of high speed broadband technologies available today. Since broadband connections react similarly to cell phone voice connections, broadband service can be limited to regional and national areas. Gobi™ service provides a way to ensure connections wherever services are available in the world outside of the usual cell phone service regions. This is the main purpose of mobile technology – to stay connected no matter where you go.

The trend in consumer demands these days have been influencing the streamlined design of laptops and other mobile computing devices. Most of these laptops are now being defined specifically as “ultraportables” because they are smaller, thinner and lighter weight than traditional laptops, such as Apple’s Macbook Air, Lenovo’s IdeaPad and Fujitsu’s LifeBook. For professional mobility one may consider an alternative to laptop computing and look towards a genre of computing devices that further reduces the bulk down to the size of a device that can fit in your pocket or at least in your pocketbook sized bag. The UMPC, or Ultra-Mobile PC, is not that new these days but is becoming sophisticated enough to provide the computing power of a laptop in a handheld device. These devices can run standard versions of Windows XP or Vista or variants of Linux yet fit in the palm of your hand. And just like ultraportable laptops, many of these devices are also coming equipped with WWAN capabilities. The Samsung Q1-CMXP for example is in a partnership with AT&T to provide broadband networking access via HSDPA, a form of broadband connection that is quickly becoming a faster mode of data transfer than the standard EV-DO connection used by most cellphones. The OQO 02 is another UMPC that has partnered with Sprint and Verizon to provide broadband access. The form factor of the 02 is a lot less bulky than the Q1 providing even greater mobility. But the factor to consider might be the networking capability of a mobile device. The Q1 has adopted faster HSDPA broadband connectivity while the 02 uses the more ubiquitous but slower EV-DO connection. So when buying a mobile device the connection technology is just as important as the form factor.

So why even use Wi-Fi if WWAN provides greater coverage? The main reason is cost. While Wi-Fi isn’t free to provide, access to Wi-Fi connections at any non-password protected hotspot, such as the one at your favorite café, can be made freely with your laptop or mobile device’s built in WiFi antenna. But anytime you connect to a broadband network you are being charged by your internet service provider or cellphone company, and depending on whether you have unlimited data connections in your service plan or not, you are paying for every connection. There’s also connection speed to consider. Wi-Fi speeds are usually faster than even the emerging 3g (3rd generation) broadband networks. And then there’s the fabled promise of WiMax to consider in the (near?) future. WiMax is like Wi-Fi on steroids, providing a much wider area of high speed wireless network coverage. For a few years now WiMax has been the promised solution to free wireless networking for all. Cities like Philadelphia have looked into the possibility of hardwiring their neighborhoods with WiMax transmitters for free network access. Only a couple of months ago Sprint tested its own proprietary WiMax technology called XOHM on the streets of Baltimore and DC. But even WiMax has it’s geographic limitations in providing wireless access much like WiFi does. With the phone companies banking on the success of broadband networking plans it's uncertain what will become of WiMax and the prospects of free internet for all. Like many technologies these days the current state of network accessibility is transitional. Through this transition, though, more choices are becoming available for professionals to stay connected outside of the hardwired office.

Staying mobile nowadays is synonymous with staying connected thanks to the ever-growing ubiquity of wide area networks. And for now, access to project information is insured for field work and site investigations, although at a cost. Not only are project assets available from the field but so to is access to dynamic, real-time information from Web 2.0 technologies like live chat, forums, blogs, media sharing and collaborative applications. The breadth of our understanding of information utilization grows with our ability to access it.

For more information and links to some of the technologies discussed here visit my blog at http://rezn8r.blogspot.com/. Thanks to Shaeffer Somers AIA and Patricia Jessee, AIA, of Heyward, Boyd Architects, both from Charlottesville, for their professional input on this particular article - WR.