mental images Unveils RealityServer 2.3 Software with 3D Web Services Support

mental images® has introduced RealityServer 2.3® -- server-based, highly-scalable 3D Web application services software -- which makes it easier for developers to add Web services to existing solutions, based on Service Oriented Architectures (SOA).

RealityServer 2.3 software includes a new Web-services framework that enables developers to work with their programming language of choice, using pre-existing development tools and workflows, to build 3D Web services and applications. The framework comes with a comprehensive documentation system, reusable client libraries and example applications for both Microsoft Silverlight and Adobe Flash, which are specifically designed to aid new projects using RealityServer.

“We've built the core of our online 3D service around RealityServer,” said Alain Chesnais, chief technology officer of SceneCaster, a web service that enables users to design and share 3D rooms. “Working closely with the mental images team, we were able to quickly take advantage of several of the new features in RealityServer 2.3. We're thrilled to be using it in our ‘My 3D Scenes’ application on Facebook and Friendster.”

Rolf Herken, chief executive officer and CTO, of mental images, said: “A primary goal of RealityServer 2.3 is to strengthen a company’s existing product development and configuration tools by bridging them with web services. This allows for remote access and collaboration among teams. RealityServer provides the platform to create the virtual collaborative environments required to keep developers ahead of the game.”

Additional RealityServer 2.3 software enhancements include:

* MetaSL 1.0, the universal shader language that is used in mental ray® rendering software,
mental mill® Standard Edition, Autodesk 3d Max 2010, and other offerings
* New Ambient Occlusion and Image Based Lighting techniques for increased realism at faster
speeds (including CUDA™ architecture-based acceleration)
* Faster Progressive Rendering with improved quality
* Newly added support for various 3D file formats, including COLLADA, DWF, OBJ
* Support for automated model simplification and merging
* Improved flexibility for clustering configurations and networking
* Significantly expanded rendering output options
* Automatic Exposure control for High Dynamic Range Renderings
* Rendering textures dynamically within 3D environment

RealityServer software supports the use of multiple NVIDIA® Quadro® graphics cards per server for scalability, highest visual quality and performance of different 3D Web service solutions. These include design review, product configuration and marketing visualization for the aerospace, automotive, architecture, and manufacturing industries as well as social networking and 3D navigation sites.