Octopz Announces Fully Interactive Support For 3D Content
April 22, 2008
Toronto, Ontario – Octopz is pleased to announce that the newest version of its award-winning online collaboration software leads the industry again—with the ability to upload, manipulate and markup 3D models. This makes it simple for anyone working in a 3D application, such as Autodesk’s Maya and 3ds Max, and Softimage’s XSI, to upload their content into an Octopz Meeting Room.Until now, conferencing and collaboration technologies have not natively supported 3D models and this has compelled designers to rely on still-frames and screen grabs to visualize their ideas when communicating outside their specialized work groups. Some designers have attempted to provide a richer experience by screen-sharing their application or creating video clips and sharing these. However, the limited data rate supported by screen-sharing based collaboration applications has resulted in a less than satisfactory user experience. Because Octopz is not reliant on screen-sharing technology, utilizing video has been an effective option when reviewing 3D content. Now, Octopz has raised the bar even further and allows 3D designers to collaborate on fully interactive 3D models for an optimal online experience.
Furthermore, the 3D technical environment (specialized hardware, software and training) has significantly limited collaboration on 3D content. With Octopz, 3D models can be imported, shared, manipulated and marked up just as easily as any other document.
“With innovative programs such as Game Design, Design Management, and the Institute Without Boundaries, our college is committed to educating our students on the latest technologies required for a career in design,” said Luigi Ferrara, director of the George Brown College School of Design. “Online collaboration is becoming an increasingly important part of the design process. Equipping our students with state-of-the-art applications like Octopz both encourages creative innovation and prepares students to integrate seamlessly with the design community when they graduate.”
Combining Papervision3D, an Open Source 3D engine for Flash designed around the COLLADA format, with the proprietary Octopz code base has made it possible for designers to upload, manipulate and markup fully textured 3D objects. In the coming months, additional capabilities will be added, including advanced lighting and shading control, character animation, texture swapping, scene editing, and support for Google SketchUp models.
In addition to 3D, the latest version of Octopz also integrates other important new features to ensure that it keeps pace with today’s rapidly evolving business and technology environment, such as integration with web services, including Flickr and Yahoo! Maps; co-creation with a built-in Text Editor, giving collaborators an ability to create or edit text documents – including Microsoft Word files – in real-time; and a new Day Pass pricing option, a convenient alternative to monthly subscriptions for users whose online collaboration needs are intermittent.
“Now any creative professional who works in 3D – architects, product designers, and artists in entertainment and media – can collaborate on their work, with colleagues, partners and clients, throughout the development process,” said Ron McKenzie, CEO of Octopz. “This is the next step in our commitment to providing design professionals with a solution that supports and frees the creative imagination.”
Offered on a SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) basis, Octopz was developed specifically to meet the needs of creative professionals and enables up to five people to synchronously view and markup an unprecedented range of documents including digital media, and to communicate via built-in text, voice and video chat. Octopz uses intuitive navigation and tool icons, requires nothing more than a flash-enabled web browser, and uses integrated SSL encryption to ensure security. In addition, Octopz can be integrated (via Flash, API’s and web services) with existing applications.
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About Octopz Inc.
Octopz Inc. (www.octopz.com) develops advanced online collaboration technologies built specifically for today’s creative professionals. With fully integrated support for text messaging, VoIP and webcams, Octopz allows colleagues and partners anywhere in the world to work together securely in real-time, or individually at their own convenience, using multiple document types. Team members can then save and archive their work for subsequent retrieval, review and feedback. The result is accelerated decision making and speed-to-market – a significant competitive edge.
For more information on Octopz contact:
Ann Christie
Vice President, Marketing
Octopz Inc.
416.673.8187
email here
