Press Releases
3D labs, RTViz-Mitsubishi Electric
announce collaboration to integrate voxel and polygonal rendering
products
San Mateo, CA--July
25, 2000:
3Dlabs and RTViz - Mitsubishi
Electric Announce Collaboration to Integrate Voxel and Polygonal Rendering
Products: Technical and Marketing Cooperation to Enable New Classes
of 3D Visualization Applications
3Dlabs(r), Inc. (NASDAQ: TDDD) and Real
Time Visualization (RTViz), a division of Mitsubishi Electric, announce
a technical and marketing collaboration to tightly integrate the products
of both companies. This collaboration allows a new class of advanced
visualization applications that require the seamless blending of polygonal
graphics and voxel-based volumetric rendering.
Voxels (volume elements) represent the internal
structure of objects acquired from real world sample data such as
CT, MRI, Ultrasound, sonic, radar and other discrete acquisition methods.
Polygons define surface characteristics and are represented as geometrical
mesh triangles. Users have long desired the ability to render and
visualize both primitives together in real time. For example, doctors
need to visualize the scalpel (polygons) inside the brain (voxels)
and geologists need to visualize well-head data (polygons) inside
the earth's fault subsurface strata (voxels) as they search for oil.
The first fruits of this collaboration are
optimized drivers from 3Dlabs for its Oxygen family of professional
graphics accelerators. These allow the real-time integrated display
of OpenGL graphics and volumes rendered on RTViz VolumePro® accelerators.
The drivers are expected to ship from 3Dlabs in the third quarter
of 2000. Both companies are actively investigating longer-term board
and silicon-level inter-operability of their product lines.
"The merging of polygonal and voxel techniques
establishes the next significant advance in 3D graphics technology,
enabling a wide range of advanced vertical applications on the PC,"
said Jamie Jacobs, general manager of Real Time Visualization. "Its
leadership in professional graphics and responsiveness to the requirements
of integrated 3D graphics, makes 3Dlabs the natural partner for us.
This new initiative will leverage the technical advantages of both
companies."
"RTViz is the undisputed leader in hardware
accelerated volume rendering with the innovative VolumePro® architecture,
and we are delighted to work closely with this highly-regarded team,"
said Neil Trevett, vice president of marketing, 3Dlabs. "We will be
working hard to support the needs of RTViz and to enable end-users,
integrators, and OEMs to leverage the power of interactive, real-time,
seamlessly integrated voxel and polygonal rendering."
About Real Time Visualization
Real Time Visualization (RTViz), a division
of Mitsubishi Electric and headquartered in Concord, MA, has pioneered
the commercialization of real-time 3D volume rendering PC hardware.
Its first product, VolumePro®, has been shipping to users since
May 1999 and won numerous industry awards for product innovation for
3D graphics hardware development. RTViz sells to OEMs and systems
integrators from industries that cover a broad range of vertical markets,
including medical, geophysical, scientific, industrial, simulation,
research and others. For more information, please visit www.rtviz.com.
About 3Dlabs
Founded in 1994, 3Dlabs is a leading supplier
of integrated hardware and software graphics accelerator solutions
for workstations and design professionals. 3Dlabs develops silicon,
boards and software drivers to create products that effectively meet
the performance and quality needs of users who rely on graphics for
their productivity. 3Dlabs sells its award-winning Oxygen and Wildcat
products to leading system OEMs including Compaq, Dell, Fujitsu, Fujitsu-Siemens,
Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intergraph Computer Systems, Hitachi,
NEC and Sun Microsystems, through an international distributor and
reseller network and directly to end-users at 3Dlabs' online store.
The performance-leading Wildcat and high volume Oxygen accelerator
families target complementary segments of the Computer Aided Design
(CAD), Digital Content Creation (DCC), geophysical, medical and visual
simulation markets, resulting in the broadest range of professional
graphics products in the industry today. 3Dlabs has operations in
Alabama, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Texas, Washington, Germany,
Japan and the United Kingdom. For more information, please visit www.3dlabs.com.
Various matters set forth in this press
release, such as statements relating to the collaboration between
3Dlabs and RTViz and the engineering and commercial benefits expected
from the relationship are forward-looking statements. These statements
are subject to risks and uncertainties, including without limitation,
3Dlabs ability to manufacture, produce and deliver its silicon products
in a timely, cost-effective and commercially-viable manner; the ability
of 3Dlabs to obtain and keep design wins for these products; the ability
of 3Dlabs silicon to adequately meet the price/performance requirements
of its customers; the impact and pricing of competitive products;
the introduction of alternative technological advances and other risks
detailed from time-to-time in 3Dlabs' SEC reports.
3Dlabs, Oxygen, Permedia and PowerThreads
are registered trademarks or trademarks of 3Dlabs Ltd., 3Dlabs Inc.
Ltd., or 3Dlabs Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.
VolumePro® is a trademark of Real Time Visualization Inc. OpenGL
is a trademark of SGI Inc. All other product names, trademarks, and/or
company names are used solely for identification and belong to their
respective owners.
About TeraRecon, Inc.
TeraRecon, Inc. is a technology-driven provider of advanced 3D imaging
systems for medical and other visualization applications, with solutions
based on its unique and patented image processing technologies. The
company has developed a leading portfolio of products that advance
the performance, quality, functionality, and integration of image
processing and 3D visualization systems. Founded in 1997, TeraRecon
has developed a unique family of powerful processors that are used
in its real-time diagnostic workstations, enterprise-wide 3D imaging
servers using thin-client PCs, color Doppler ultrasound systems, mini
gamma cameras, high performance reconstruction engines, and real-time
volume rendering hardware engines. TeraRecon is a fast growing, privately
held company with headquarters in San Mateo, CA, and branch offices
in Concord, MA; Tokyo, Japan; Osaka, Japan; and Trondheim, Norway.
Contact:
TeraRecon, Inc.
Robert Taylor, Ph.D.
COO & Executive VP
650.372.1100
taylor@terarecon.com
www.terarecon.com
|
|
