Germanium Team Blog

Upcoming Multi-touch Input

2011-11-17T18:06:00.001+08:00

We've been hard at work and thoroughly enjoying bringing you GermaniumWeb's next big feature: multi-touch support. Here's a sneak peek to whet your appetite:

Note that the feature is still under development, and will likely have some differences when it's released.

Ian Loh

GermaniumWeb Call-for-Collaboration 2011

2011-09-23T15:12:00.029+08:00

Calling 3D Building App Developers and 3D Building Creators !

If you have developed your 3D in-building application using our GermaniumWeb API or have created 3D in-building models using our Germanium Building Composer/KML Building Importer, we will like to invite you to participate in our GermaniumWeb Call-for-Collaboration 2011.

About GermaniumWeb Call-for-Collaboration 2011
We are interested to collaborate with you as follows:

1. Apps Gallery Feature - Feature your GermaniumWeb application URL in our Apps Gallery,

2. GermaniumWeb API Agent trial - Provide you with our GermaniumWeb API Agent license to enable you to offer standalone, offline GermaniumWeb apps to your clients,

3. Conveno Platform Application - Work with you to adapt your apps to our Conveno 3D Visitor Guide platform (www.conveno.com) and co-offer your apps to our existing Conveno building clients ( e.g. www.conveno.com/places )

4. Conveno Editor Trial - Work with you to adapt your 3D in-building model for a trial demo using our Conveno Editor, so that you can offer 3D visitor guide solutions to your clients.

Deadline
Our Call-for-Collaboration is launched officially from 23 Sep 2011 until 23 Oct 2011.

Submission Method
The submission will be by email. Please email us at outreach @ germanium3d.com, with the following:
a. your name
b. designation, organization and organization website (if you are submitting on behalf of your organization)
c. your GermaniumWeb App URL or 3D Building URL (if any)
d. how you will like to collaborate with us, based on approaches (1)-(4) above.

Thank you for your interest and we look forward to hear from you soon!

GermaniumWeb Outreach Team

Textured Billboard utility released

2011-07-26T16:07:00.000+08:00

Now that polygon placemarks can be filled with a texture image, they can be used to simulate TV screens and other textured surfaces. Furthermore, the textures can be dynamically changed through a simple API call.

However, positioning the PolygonGeometry in the right place can be rather tedious. That's why we're providing a billboard utility to do most of the legwork for you. Simply provide it with the 3D coordinates of the two bottom corners, the height (or a point along the top), and the image to be used, and it will automatically generate a placemark like the one in the picture to the right.

For more advanced uses, the utility can also create curved surfaces. Check it out.

Ian Loh

Developer Network updated with API 1.5 features

2011-07-20T12:39:00.000+08:00

We hope you've been having fun with API 1.5 with its hot new features such as model placemarks, textured polygon placemarks and HTMLBoxes.

It's now even easier than ever to pick up these new features with the updates to the Developer Network:

Model Placemark guide and interactive sample (see Model Placemarks on the left sidebar).
Polygon placemark fill image and scene lighting guide.
HTMLBox guide and interactive sample (see HTMLBox on the left sidebar).

Have fun reading these guides and playing with the samples. As always, don't hesitate to ask questions on the forum.

Ian Loh

Minor update to API 1.5

2011-07-20T12:35:00.000+08:00

Several weeks ago, Google released Chrome 12, which changed how the browser handles strings passed from JavaScript to plugins. This change unfortunately broke GermaniumWeb applications - they would successfully initialize but fail to load buildings.

We are pleased to announce that your applications are now automatically fixed through an API update which rolled out earlier today. This fix does not require a new plugin.

OcclusionMode: "Fade"

OcclusionMode: "None"

Along with the fix, we've also added a minor feature to icon placemarks which allows you to make them "always on top", i.e. they will be visible even when they're behind a wall. This feature also does not require a new plugin.

Ian Loh

API 1.5 and GermaniumWeb 1.33 released

2011-04-25T15:15:00.000+08:00

API 1.5 has arrived with a bunch of new features, including the often requested model placemarks! Read on for the highlights of this release.

Model placemarks. These allow you to use any 3D model as the geometry of your placemark. For example, you can programmatically change the furniture in your buildings:

Furniture as model placemarks

Textured polygon placemarks. You can now apply an image to the polygon's surface. This can be used to simulate a TV screen for example.

To further improve this illusion, you can also make the polygon use the image's pure colors. This makes the TV screen look self-illuminated.

HTMLBoxes. These are boxes you can position over GermaniumWeb and fill with HTML content. They are useful for associating 2D content with the 3D view, for example showing a 2D map or a YouTube video of the building. Placemark callouts automatically avoid HTMLBoxes too, so you don't have to worry about them overlapping.

Note that this feature is still experimental, so we do not recommend it for production systems. Do play with it and let us know what you think!

All the above features are powered by the newly released plugin 1.33.

Get it here.

Plugin 1.33 also brings these improvements to existing web applications:

Support for all your favorite browsers. As announced earlier, changes in Google Chrome 10 caused GermaniumWeb to stop working. This has now been fixed (Yay!). We've also added support for Internet Explorer 9 and Mozilla Firefox 4.

Configurable mouse sensitivity and walk speed. You can now adjust these to your liking through the Settings panel (Right click > Settings > User Interface). Note that the walk speed will only be used in applications which use the first-person navigation mode.

Old: Label clutter, hidden icons

New: Readable labels, visible icons

Clearer labels and icons. The new plugin makes overlapping labels and icons clearer. Compare the old view above with the new view below - the foreground labels are now readable, and the unoccluded icons fully visible.

You can read the full list of changes here:

For API users
For plugin users

Have fun with the new API and plugin!

Ian Loh

GermaniumWeb temporarily broken on Google Chrome 10

2011-03-15T18:10:00.001+08:00

Google has made a change in the newly-released Chrome version 10, which resulted in GermaniumWeb no longer working on this browser.

Ouch.

Be assured that the Germanium team is working hard to fix this and the next version of GermaniumWeb (coming soon!) will once again work on Google Chrome.

Ian Loh

Update: This issue has now been fixed.

Retirement of API 1.1

2011-03-11T12:00:00.000+08:00

To all GermaniumWeb API users

As announced previously, API 1.1 is now retired. Apps targeting API 1.1 will now be automatically redirected to API 1.2, and will very likely continue working as before.

Ian Loh

Pending retirement of API 1.1

2011-01-28T18:04:00.001+08:00

To all GermaniumWeb API users

As API 1.1 is no longer actively used, it will be retired in 30 days, on 28 Feb 2011. After that date, applications targeting API 1.1 will be redirected to API 1.2 instead, and will very likely continue working as before.

Ian Loh

SoC Multitouch Directory - The Making Of

2011-01-10T16:06:00.000+08:00

You may have noticed that GermaniumWeb does not natively support multitouch yet. Today, Kent and Torin Nguyen, the two School of Computing students who brought you the SoC Multitouch Directory share with us how they managed to enable multitouch in their web application.

TUIO (Tangible User Interface Objects) was used as the core of the touch processing, as it is "a common protocol and API for tangible multitouch surfaces" (tuio.org). Essentially, TUIO is a set of XML-based messages broadcast through UDP socket connections, which gives a clean separation between the touchscreen hardware and the user interface application.

This allowed them to develop their application once and be able to integrate with a wide variety of touchscreens. For screens which support Windows 7 Touch like the 3M M2256PW, PQ Labs and NextWindow touchscreens, bridges like Touch2Tuio and WM_TOUCH to TUIO were used to convert Windows Touch messages to TUIO messages. These were then sent to the Firefox web browser, where the npTuioClient plugin received them, converted them to JavaScript callbacks and allowed their web application to convert them to GermaniumWeb Eye calls.

For touchscreens which support TUIO directly like some PQ Labs touchscreens and DIY screens based on the Community Core Vision (CCV) or Touchlib libraries, the bridge was unnecessary and the touchscreen directly sent TUIO messages to the npTuioClient plugin.

I hope you found this information useful. Thanks to Kent and Torin for sharing it with us!

Ian Loh

GermaniumWeb used in multitouch building directory

2010-11-16T17:52:00.001+08:00

There's nothing quite like being able to explore a new location in fully interactive 3D, and with multitouch to boot. Two School of Computing students from the National University of Singapore have made that possible for their school's campus by using GermaniumWeb to build an interactive multitouch directory. Check out their work below:

If you're in the vicinity, you can try it out at the entrance to the COM1 building.

Congratulations to Kent and Torin Nguyen for implementing such a spectacular service, and all the best for your grades!

Ian Loh

GermaniumWeb 1.32 released

2010-10-15T16:56:00.001+08:00

GermaniumWeb 1.32 has been released!

Get it here.

The highlights of this release are:

Performance. NVIDIA users will experience much smoother rendering, up to three times faster in high geometry scenes. All users will also experience generally smoother rendering and texture loading.

Image quality. What better way to enjoy the above performance enhancements than to use the added speed to increase image quality?

You can now turn on anti-aliasing, which will reduce unsightly jagged edges. This feature is available on NVIDIA and ATI/AMD video cards.

No anti-aliasing

4X anti-aliasing

You can also increase the number of anisotropic filtering samples, which will make textures viewed at sharp angles clearer. This feature is available on all video cards.

No anisotropic filtering

16X anisotropic filtering

Both settings are accessed through the Settings panel
(Right click > Settings > Display):

Refresh the webpage after you've made changes.

Support for complex text. GermaniumWeb can now display placemark labels which use complex features such as ligatures and diacritics. Note that you will need appropriate fonts installed, such as Arial Unicode MS, commonly installed with the Microsoft Office suite, or the free Code2000. Note also that GermaniumWeb does not support bi-directional text yet.

Beta support for Google Chrome. Some of you may have noticed that older versions of GermaniumWeb and the API were already working on Google Chrome. With this release, we're adding official support, as well as fixing some minor bugs. Support is still beta at this stage, so please report any issues you encounter.

Enjoy!

Ian Loh

CXA2010 winners announced

2010-08-03T13:30:00.002+08:00

The results are out! Congratulations to Team The Dynamics from Nanyang Polytechnic for clinching the top prize with their Green Remote Estate Network (GREN) app. Their app allows the user to monitor and control electrical appliances remotely. GermaniumWeb was used to visualize the premises, which was simulated using the NUS School of Computing model. A CCTV feed was also integrated and displayed within GermaniumWeb, which allowed the user to see if the appliances were actually turned off.

In second place was Team Anjels with their Green Police application which features an impressive array of automated home appliances, which include lights and curtains. These appliances can be operated through an iPad, an Android phone, a web interface, and your good old physical switches. GermaniumWeb was used to show the current state of the appliances, for example darkening the room when the light was off.

Congratulations as well to Team berYL from Singapore Management University (SMU) in third place with their car drivers' tool, as well as to all finalists. Building a working app in 24 hours was no mean feat!

Further details at The Business Times and Scoopasia.

Ian Loh

Retirement of plugins older than 1.31

2010-07-28T17:19:00.000+08:00

To all GermaniumWeb users

As announced earlier, plugins older than 1.31 have now been retired. If you are still using a retired version, you will be prompted to update it the next time you visit a GermaniumWeb-powered website.

Or you can just download the latest version (1.31) right now.

Ian Loh

CXA2010 API key and building updates

2010-07-23T10:35:00.000+08:00

First up, for all CXA2010 participants, you can use this special API key which will work for any domain:

<script src="http://api.germanium3d.com/?v=1.4&key=cxa2010"></script>

This key will work for the duration of the competition and the judging.

Secondly, the Republic Polytechnic Centre model is now up. All participants may use it for the competition, courtesy of Republic Polytechnic.

The NUS School of Computing model has also been updated. While it looks exactly the same, it has been significantly optimized. This version directly replaces the old one, with an unchanged URL.

Good luck to all CXA2010 participants today!

Ian Loh

Video for CXA2010 Training

2010-07-07T10:40:00.001+08:00

You can now view the video of the code::XtremeApps:: 2010 training session. The session has been broken into 10 clips, listed here:

Also see the previously posted slides.

Ian Loh

Pending retirement of plugins older than 1.31

2010-06-21T11:42:00.000+08:00

To all GermaniumWeb users

As the overwhelming majority of you are using the latest plugin 1.31, we will be retiring all older versions in 30 days, on 21 July 2010. Thanks to all of you for using the latest and greatest version!

For the few of you who are still using older versions, grab the latest version here. If you are still using a retired version on 21 July 2010, you will be prompted to update it the next time you visit a GermaniumWeb-powered website.

Ian Loh

Slides for CXA2010 Training

2010-06-14T15:09:00.006+08:00

You can now view the slides for the code::XtremeApps:: 2010 training session here:

Shortcut to the Code Samples app:

[Update]: Video now available.

Ian Loh

Getting to the CXA2010 training venue

2010-05-27T12:59:00.002+08:00

If you have signed up for our training session for code::XtremeApps:: 2010 on 12 June and were wondering how to get to the venue at Republic Polytechnic, worry not! GermaniumWeb is here to show you the way:

Click the image to launch the app.

Note that the JBoss training on 5 June is also at the same venue.

Ian Loh

Building Composer 1.3 released

2010-04-30T16:04:00.000+08:00

We have released a new version of Building Composer. This is a minor release, mainly to improve support for buildings with internationalized names (e.g. Chinese).

Get it here.

Or read the full release notes here.

Ian Loh

New Office Building sample

2010-04-30T12:30:00.000+08:00

The Office Building sample dataset has undergone intensive renovation and now looks better, has more furniture, has more varied interiors, and still renders almost as fast as the old version.

See the Sample Buildings page for instructions on how to use it, as well as a list of changes.

If you are using the old version (1.0), be assured that it will still be hosted at the old URL:
http://www.germanium3d.com/static/sample/generic_building/1.0/generic_building.xlcl.

If you wish to upgrade, simply replace 1.0 with 2.0. Note that we have moved furniture around, but did not hack down any walls :).

Ian Loh

Developer Network updated with API 1.4 features

2010-04-30T12:25:00.000+08:00

We've updated the Developer Network to cover the recently released API 1.4 features.

Two new articles have been added to the Developer Guide:

Navigation Modes - Explains the difference between the Orbit, FirstPerson and Disabled modes, and how they can be customized.
Options - Explains how you can customize the existing GermaniumWeb features like the grid, the background, and auto-rotation.

All older articles have also been updated.

Similarly, there are new Interactive Samples covering the new features. Check them out!

Ian Loh

New Modeling Guide

2010-04-30T12:24:00.002+08:00

Lately we've been seeing growing interest in modeling buildings for GermaniumWeb, particularly from Google SketchUp users. However, some of these building models were very complex which resulted in a poor user experience for website visitors who had slower machines.

We decided to shine some light on how you can optimize your buildings while still keeping them looking good, so we now present the Modeling for Real-Time 3D guide. All the techniques listed here were used to model the Office Building and Jukebox Shopping Mall sample buildings.

We've also added a COLLADA Guide which will give you a clearer picture of the modeling workflow, and how to get your 3D models from your modeling package to our Building Composer tool. You can also check the list of known COLLADA exporter bugs and workarounds on our user forum.

As always, do give us your feedback.

Ian Loh

GermaniumWeb training sessions for code::XtremeApps::2010

2010-04-28T10:30:00.003+08:00

We will be holding GermaniumWeb training sessions for code::XtremeApps::2010 on these following dates. Do sign up for the training sessions early. Registration is free & on a first-come-first served basis. The training venue will be at Republic Polytechnic, Between E2 and E4, Agora Level 1.

Session 1: Sign up for Saturday 12 June 2010, 10am to 1pm, OR
Session 2: Sign up for Saturday 12 June 2010, 2pm to 5pm.

To prepare yourself for the training, please refer to our preparation guide at http://www.germanium3d.com/cxa2010.

code::XtremeApps::2010 launch briefing slides & video

2010-04-21T22:47:00.010+08:00

If you have missed or wish to revisit our GermaniumWeb talk on the code::XtremeApps::2010, you can find our slides & recorded video here:

Video for GermaniumWeb talk

*our 3D Jukebox demo starts at the 00:39min mark.

Our GermaniumWeb slides

View more presentations from G Element.