X3DV

Draft

Definition

The X3D ISO standard defines a runtime system and delivery mechanism for real time 3D content and applications running on a network. It supports several file format encodings and programming languages, providing unsurpassed interoperability for 3D data and significant flexibility in manipulating, communicating and displaying scenes interactively. X3D incorporates the latest advances in graphics hardware, compression and data security to provide the best performance and visual impact in an extensible architecture that supports ongoing evolution. X3D's XML-encoded scene graph enables 3D to be incorporated into web services architectures and distributed environments, facilitating the movement of 3D data between applications.

See also: AJAX3D, VRML

How to build X3D scenes

X3D scenes can contain two sorts of "contents". Objects and behaviors.

Building objects

Basically, there are three kinds of options:

• Build 3D scenes with a tool that exports to X3D
• Use a special-purpose X3D editor
• Use an XML editor

Here is a longer list of options (John F. Richardson / VRML mailing list):

1. An open source modeling and animation system like Blender
2. A commercial modeling and animation system like Maya or Lightwave3D or Softimage
3. Your own proprietary modeling and animation system
4. Free for personal use commercial VRML/X3D authoring tool [Vivaty]
5. Commercial VRML/X3D authoring system [ authoring systems from Vivaty / Octaga / Bitmanagement / Parallel Graphics / … ]. Cost varies.
6. Open source VRML/X3D authoring system [like X3D-edit]. See the Web3D website for lists of systems.
7. A text editor, preferably an schema-aware XML editor
8. A text editor without any XML support

Software

X3D Clients

Major clients (tested by Daniel K. Schneider)

• Flux from MediaMachines. Free player X3D player for Windows (IE/Firefox). Also avaible from the same folks, the good free for private use Flux Studio authoring tool.
  • Flux Web3D Engine on SourceForge

• Octaga Player. Full free X3D player for Window and Linux.

• BS Contact VRML X3D VRML/X3D. Commercial software, but 60 days of trial. A free version that includes a crawling banner is available

Other clients

• Free WRL an open-source (GPL) X3D and VRML browser for Unix/Linux/OS X. Perl/C based. Not completely feature complete, but getting there.

• Xj3D - Java based X3D Toolkit and X3D Browser. Cross-platform, but not as fast as others.

Specialized clients

• Alpharis, a collective knowledge organization tool that uses X3D

• ManyOne is Digital Universe. Features a modified Mozilla with a flux plugin for 3D contents.

3D plugin selector

• List of 3D plugin selectors at MediaMachines.com,

Servers

X3D files

• Any web-server can serve X3D contents for stand-alone usage. You only have to make sure to configure the following mime-types:

 .x3dv  model/x3d+vrml
 .x3d   model/x3d+xml
 .x3db  model/x3d+binary

Multi user (3D interactive environments)

It seems to Daniel K. Schneider that VRML/X3D-based multi-user servers will never become popular enough to attract open source developers or companies. The ongoing pattern since the mid-1990's seems to be announcements, prototypes and then death of both the product and the companies ...

• VR4All. This is a free 3D chat environment based on BS Contact.
• Blaxxun. One of the first VRML-based systems. The company at some went broke, but seems to be alive again (12:48, 1 April 2007 (MEST)).
  • Blaxxun technologies (info about servers)
  • community.blaxxun.com
  • Cybertown one of the blaxxun-based worlds.
• Flux World (announcement March 2007). Simple Wide Area Multi-User Protocol, or SWMP (pronounced "swamp"). This seems to be a dead product, though Mediamachines now renamed Vivaty does now offer an online 3D chat service with a similar developer model as Second Life. You can design your own scenes which then run on their server. We just wonder if they can compete with bigger fish, like lively (from Google). On the other hand, they got a deal with Facebook. Vivaty is fully integrated and will prompt for a download of the player (Windows only, not Linux support announced).

Authoring tools

Check the web3d.org website. It has a good list of tools for X3D Development.

Combined Modeling / behaviors and scripting tools with a GUI

• Vivati Studio (Used to be Flux studio, befor summer 2008). FREE for personal use! Authoring means model, animate, and script. Imports from other applications such as Sketchup, 3ds, Maya, Blender, and Unreal.
  • You Say You Want A Revolution? Well... by Len Bullard, March 2007. (Flux Studio tutorial).

• SwirlX3D, 129 CAN$. This is a successor of popular Spazz3D

Structure editors

• X3D-Edit X3D-Edit is a graphics file editor for Extensible 3D (X3D) that enables simple error-free editing, authoring and validation of X3D or VRML scene-graph files. Context-sensitive tooltips provide concise summaries of each VRML node and attribute. These tooltips simplify authoring and improve understanding for novice and expert users alike.
• To handcode X3D you also can use any XML editor that supports DTD or XSD, e.g. Xemacs.

Conversion software

• crossroads (Win only)

Links

General / Indexes

• web3D Consortium Home Page
  • X3D resources from web3D (Applications, Players and Plugins for X3D / VRML Viewing) X3D Page from DR
• VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) and X3D (Cover page)

Specification

• X3D and Related Specifications Page at web3d.org
• X3D Wiki at web3D. A nice alternative to the specification ! Hopefully this will evolve [1/2006]

Tutorials

• Extensible 3D: XML Meets VRML xml.com tutorial by Len Bullard, Aug 2003
• The public X3D wiki contains tutorials for X3D Nodes and concepts.

Examples

• On-A-Slant Virtual Village. Interactive X3d. A Social Science Education Project.

References

• Chittaro, L. and R. Rano (editors) (2007). Web3D Technologies in Learning, Education and Training, Computers & Education Volume 49, Issue 1, Pages 1-130 (August 2007). Table of Contents. The introductory article is availabe as preprint from [HCI Lab].

• Davis, Wiki A. (2007), The frontier of education: Web 3D, The Cool Cat Teacher, Blog Entry. HTML

• Weber, Jay C. and Tony Parisi (2007.). An open protocol for wide-area multi-user X3D, Proceedings of the twelfth international conference on 3D web technology, ACM Press, http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1229390.1229413 (Access restricted).

• Osvaldo Gervasi, Donald P. Brutzman (Eds.): Proceeding of the Twelfth International Conference on 3D Web Technology, Web3D 2007, Perugia, Italy, April 15-18, 2007. ACM 2007, ISBN 978-1-59593-652-3 TOC.