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I am thoroughly impressed with some of the things that I have seen recently coming out of the 3D flash world. PaperVision3D has come a long, Away3d is looking great, and today was the first time that I have ever seen the Alternativa Platform. I'm speechless by some of the work that I have seen.
My question is this: Where does 3D fit in the RIA space? Don't take this the wrong way, I'm not being negative. The work that people have done is amazing. My question is more along the lines of the application of the technology. 3D is great for games, marketing materials, entertainment sites, sales-stuff, etc..., but what about business applications?
I think we will start to see a lot more complex 3D simulations, 3D modeling, and 3D data visualizations popping up on the web. However, I don't think they are going to be mainstream. The truth is that 3D, no matter how awesome it looks, is just not that easy to use in business or productivity applications, because It does not work for the lowest common denominator.
In the cases where it does make sense, look out! 3D visualizations can be used for complex data analysis, modeling, simulations, etc... Here are a few that have caught my attention:
Matchmine (courtesy of Ben Stucki):
Factory Model (Alternativa Platform):
It's going to be interesting to watch what people come up with. If you are working on something cool, I want to hear about it! I invite your comments!
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Andrew Trice
Principal Architect
Cynergy Systems
http://www.cynergysystems.com
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It's also great for transitions and changing state in an app. We're beginning to see this on other platforms such a Vista, Linux etc, iPhone, iPod etc, helping users understand interfaces changes and context.
I'm sure we'll see a lot of over-done 3D in the near future, but there are some places where it really makes sense. One of the best applications I've seen of 3d is on objects your manipulating online in the same way you do in the real world. The best example of this is globes. Nike has a good one done in PaperVision, we did a pretty cool one for Discovery Channel's EarthLive and let's not forget the 3D globe on the wii - probably just as fun as any of the games!
Currently I think the AS 3D engine used in GIS would be a great idea!Because our client demand 3D and GIS coexist together in a real project!