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3Dsolve Reveals New Details on Advanced Data Visualization Tool for US Army

CARY, N.C. (November 8, 2006) – 3Dsolve Inc., The Simulation Learning Company, today disclosed new information on Operational Views in 3D (OV3D), an innovative 3D visual simulation tool that enables the US Army to create scenarios describing communications networks in a modern battlespace environment.

Extracting from relational database descriptions, OV3D can display the hierarchical relationships, dependencies, and activities among platforms, equipment, and personnel while deployed in a battlefield. OV3D provides an instant and easy to grasp visualization of database reports that are otherwise difficult to understand for interactive editing and presentation to decision makers.

In an OV3D project scenario, a technician can import existing architecture or operational data or use a PC mouse to quickly position people and equipment on a terrain to generate a geospatial view that illustrates the subtle implications of changes to a battlespace configuration. This enables users to visualize, analyze, and present complex data in a way everyone can understand.

“In essence, we have created an interactive 3D demonstration for mission planning and analysis,” said 3Dsolve Chief Executive Officer Richard Boyd. “This capability provides instant exposure of gaps and deficiencies in any network-centric battle plan.”

OV3D was created in collaboration with Lockheed Martin, and is based on the open source Croquet development platform. Ideal for large-scale, collaborative, simulation-based training environments, Croquet is a new open source software platform designed from the ground up for the development and deployment of applications enabling extremely rich visual collaboration between users.

The visual language of OV3D consists of nodes and connectors. A node is any type of element present on the battlefield including personnel, equipment, platforms, vehicles, and facilities. Nodes are arranged in a hierarchy, and connectors represent the communication or other relationships between those nodes.

A user can rapidly construct scenarios by adding nodes to a 3D scene. A person or vehicle gains communication capabilities simply by adding to the inventory a piece of equipment as a subordinate node in the hierarchical tree.

By presenting the data in a geospatial representation, all nodes and platforms with their interdependencies are clearly understood. If a parent node is moved, its equipment moves with it and the status of all radio communication links are updated in real time. As the distance between two nodes exceeds the range of the communication equipment, an arched link breaks, thereby demonstrating the loss of transmission between the two nodes. As a new platform is brought in, e.g. an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the direct communication link is still broken, but the indirect links between the UAV and two nodes are established, re-enabling communication between the first two nodes.

Using a mouse and the 3D navigation controls, a user can freely grab and drag terrain, rotate the scene, and zoom in and out. This provides the ability to quickly transition from a top-down map view to an isometric 3D perspective view. Using these innovative, easy-to-use controls, it is possible to quickly navigate and view data at any angle.

A user can also drill down into the supporting database records of a particular node or communication link to easily view the activities that are available due to that link.

About 3Dsolve
3Dsolve, The Simulation Learning Company, creates collaborative simulation learning solutions for government, military, and corporate applications, a market estimated to reach $37 billion by 2011. 3Dsolve’s simulation learning products use realistic, interactive 3D graphics, based upon industry standards, enabling users to learn by doing. In each of the last three years, 3Dsolve has been named as one of Military Training Technology magazine’s Top 100, the “companies that have made a significant impact in the military training industry,” with special awards for innovation and rising status in 2005. 3Dsolve’s headquarters are in Cary, North Carolina, near world-renowned Research Triangle Park.

View the OV3D demonstration video »

Download an OV3D screenshot by clicking on the image below

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