VRML2.0 tutorial

Mitra: Chief Network Technology Officer, ParaGraph International

Tony Parisi: Chief Technology Officer, Intervista

Contents

• Introduction
• What is VRML2.0
• Authoring
• Scripts and Behaviors
• Miscellaneous

Introduction

• What is VRML
• VRML status: Products and Standardisation

Overview of VRML2.0 -

• VRML and VRMN
• WWW and Immersive
• Status: Crashable

VRML2.0 Browsers - who has what

• Intervista: WorldView: http://www.intervista.com
• Sony: CyberPassage: http://vs.sony.co.jp/VS-E/vstop.html
• SGI: http://vrml.sgi.com

Differences VRML2.0 and VRML1.0

• Cleans up VRML 1.0
• Adds Features
• Adds Behavior to VRML 1.0
• Adds Extensability

Cleans up VRML 1.0

• Removes state from scene graph
• Changes geometry
• Fixes Text
• URNs and URLs

Basic structure

• Files, Nodes, Fields

#VRML V2.0 utf8

Anode {

aSFfield 1 2 3

aMFField [ 1 2 3, 4 5 6 ]

}

Scene Graph...

• WorldInfo
• Grouping
  • Shapes
  • Lights
  • Sound
  • Sensors
• Bindable effects
• Script
• Interpolators

WorldInfo {

title "My world"

info ["Author=Mitra <mitra@mitra.biz", "Copyright=public domain"]

}

Grouping

• Group
• Transform
• Billboard
• Collision
• Switch
• LOD
• Anchor

Shapes

• Shape
  • geometry (IndexedFaceSet, Box, etc)
    • geometric properties (Color, Coordinate, Normal, TextureCoordinate)
  • Appearance
    • Material
    • texture (Image, Movie, Pixel)
    • TextureTransform

Geometry

• Existing: Box, Cone, Cylinder, Sphere, IndexedFaceSet; IndexedLineSet; PointSet
• ElevationGrid
• Extrusion
• Text ..

Material

• diffuseColor (reflects based on angle surface to light)
• ambientIntensity (reflection of ambient light - ai * dc)
• specularColor (added when angle light->surface ~ light->viewer)
• shininess (how sharp highlights are)
• emissive (glowing - or precomputed)
• transparency

Textures

• ImageTexture
• MovieTexture
• PixelTexture
• TextureTransform

Sound

• Nodes: Sound; AudioClip
• Uses: Directional; 3D; Ambient

Light

• No major changes from VRML1.0
• Directional, Spot, Point

Effects

• Bindability
• Background
• Fog
• NavigationInfo
• Viewpoint

Text

• UTF8
• Direction and style
• Nodes: FontStyle; Text

Sensors

• Touch
• Drag: (Cylinder; Plane; Sphere)
• Proximity
• Time
• Collision
• Visibility

Interpolators

• Change values over time
• Color, Coordinate, Normal, Orientation, Position, Scalar

Extensibility and Prototypes

• theory and practive TP 15 m

How to Author

• Geometry
• Animations / MacroMedia
• Prototypes
• Avatar Animation
• Behaviors

Authoring products

• ParaGraph: http://www.paragraph.com
• Autodesk: http://www.autodesk.com
• Silicon Graphics: http://webspace.sgi.com
• Virtus: http://www.virtus.com

Geometry -

• Demonstration of Internet 3D Space Builder 15 mins

MacroMedia

• Tony to demo his model and converter 15min

Animation -

• M to demo our animator 10m

Scripts and behaviors

• General Event Model
• Optimization
• JavaScript
• Java
• D

Scripts - General Event Model

• Routes
• Fields and Events
• URL
• multiple languages

Script node

• Script {
• eventIn SFBool selected
• eventOut SFColor mycolor 1 0 0
• field onColor 1 0 0
• field offColor 0 1 0
• url [ "urn:paragraph.com:class/indicator",
• "http://www.paragraph.com/class/indicator.class" ]
• }

Scripts - Optimization

• Script { directOutputs TRUE mustEvaluate TRUE }

Scripts - JavaScript

• Examples and demo - 20 min
• Tony

Scripts - Java

• Explanation of Bindings
• processEvents
• eventIn.getValue
• eventOut.setValue
• MF events

Scripts - D

• Demonstrate Life

Next Steps for VRML

• Java add-ins
• Libraries
• Tidying
• Interfaces to Languages
• API's
• Networking, Multiuser and Avatars
• Implementation
• Binary format and Compression

Q&A

Sounds - 10min

Textures and transformations

• - pinch Cindy's tutorial stuff with credit of course 15 min

Other sources of information

• VAG: http://vag.vrml.org
• SDSC: ???

URLS

Mitra: http://www.mitra.biz mitra@mitra.biz

ParaGraph International: http://www.paragraph.com

Tony Parisi http://www.intervista.com tparisi@intervista.com

VRML2.0: http://vag.vrml.org