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2001-2002 Success Stories

Keeping it Real - NRC-IIT's 3-D Modeling Technology

This past July in San Antonio, Texas, an audience of near 50,000 people was amazed and intrigued by a five-minute film. All of the brightest lights from the world of computer graphics, animation and special effects were in attendance. The movie was called "Portals"; a brief example of world leading 3-D modeling technology developed at NRC's Institute for Information Technology (NRC-IIT). The occasion was SIGGRAPH 2002; the most prestigious conference devoted to computer graphics and interactive technology on earth.

Portals is a 5 minutes journey to a virtual world where every object, art work, and architecture is built from reality.

SIGGRAPH 2002 received over 1000 submissions from those hoping to show their stuff at the conference. Only 66 were accepted by the selection jury and many of these were from big movie studios explaining some of the technology behind recent special effect blockbusters such as Star Wars Episode II and Spiderman. Portals offered something every bit as eye opening as Hollywood's best.

Portals looks just like a conventional video of actual objects, artwork and architecture at first. Viewers then find themselves travelling through monuments, flying into Renaissance paintings and watching while priceless objects are manipulated in ways one would never attempt. Monuments from all over the world seem to have been relocated to a single city. It all looks perfectly real. "It looks real because it is actually built from reality," explains Dr. Sabry El-Hakim of NRC-IIT's Visual Information Technology (VIT) group.

The images seen in Portals are entirely computer generated, but the raw data comes from digital pictures and laser scans of actual objects. NRC-IIT's VIT group has been working on the software to convert this data into 3-D models for 15 years and they maintain a comfortable lead on all competitors.

The VIT group's dominance in the world of 3-D modeling is reflected by the licensing revenue that they receive. Royalties from the software that converts laser scans into models amount to several hundred thousand dollars annually, and this is but one of their many licensing agreements.

NRC-IIT's 3-D modeling technology and expertise are certainly in demand. In August 2001, one of NASA's Space Shuttles carried a 3D laser camera based on some of the VIT group's patents and technology. Built by Neptec Design Group, one of VIT's licensees, the camera successfully demonstrated its capability in creating models of the International Space Station. This will facilitate design efforts back here on earth because the models will show the Station as actually built rather than as planned. Any quirks in the manufacturing process will be reflected as will any damage or wear that it has sustained since leaving our planet.

One area of focus for the VIT group is in the field of cultural heritage. Creating exact 3D models of priceless objects enables new possibilities for research and tourism without the limitations of time and space. It also serves as a permanent record of the object as a sort of insurance against damage, loss or destruction. NRC-IIT is involved with several well-funded projects around the world to document priceless collections and architecture.

Word about NRC-IIT's 3-D modeling capabilities is really starting to spread. SIGGRAPH 2002 has circulated a DVD featuring the highlights of the conference, including Portals. Movie special effects giant PIXAR even requested a private screening of the film after seeing it at SIGGRAPH. It is a safe bet that you will be seeing the VIT group's technology at work in the near future; be it on an interactive screen in a museum, the silver screen, or on the screen of your own computer.

Contact

Dr. Sabry El-Hakim
Research Officer
Visual Information Technology
NRC Institute for Information Technology
1200 Montreal Road
Building M-50, Room 358
Ottawa, ON K1A 0R6
Telephone: +1 (613) 991-6381
Fax: +1 (613) 952-0215
E-mail: Sabry El-Hakim