Gadgets, Games and Gizmos: Cool 3D Browser

Posted by Karl Kapp on November 10, 2006

Here is a bit of interesting technology. It is a 3-Dimensional browser. You create a 3D space (called a village) and then you get a person (avatar) to walk through the space looking at “billboards” of all the web sites you have choosen. So you “walk around” looking at your chosen web sites each day instead of having to surf individually to each site and clicking. With this you get an instant visual of the site. You can also have friends join you in your virtual space and then chat with them via a text chat.

Imagine using technology like this for new employee orientation. The new employee is dropped, as an avatar that they choose, into this space and told to explore all the company web sites…for benefits, travel reports, PO requisitions, and other information all in one place all very VISUAL. Great for the visual gamers who are quickly entering the workforce. You could have some “mentors” wondering around the space answering questions, you could even have a group of new employees exploring the company web sites together.

View a demonstration I recorded using Captivate showing the interactivity. (Warning, it takes a little time to download and there is no sound except some annoying typing sounds, but it does give you a rough idea of the technology.)

Or check out the web site for www.3B.net

If you can think of other uses for this technology in terms of training, let me know via a comment on this blog.
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Leave a Comment (5) ↓

stev4n August 12, 2009

3d scanning from Surfdev, a specialist scanning service performed by a reverse engineering company.
Vaccum forming and CAD/CAM, APHWEB provide high specification work, working from drawings and models using modern and traditional methods.

Karl Kapp November 14, 2006

Nathan,

Thanks, the Google 3D modeling is pretty cool.
Karl

Nathan B. November 13, 2006

Just to follow up on the story about a 3D campus, I forgot to mention that Google has a free 3D modeling system. The basic one is free, but they do have one that is more sophisticated for $495.

Karl Kapp November 13, 2006

First, thanks for the post, I really appreciate your feedback.

Second, it is RSS on steroids and I think you are absolutely right about how to use it for colleges. What a great way to visit colleges and to get a sense of what they are like without having to travel far distances only to be disappointed. What a great way for a college to target the gamer generation and show how up-to-date they are.

One site that might be well suited to the creation of virtual buildings would be Second Life since it allows people to build and create objects in a virtual space. With a little bit of knowledge, colleges could create entire campuses in Second Life and then students could visit and learn more.

Check out my post Get a “Second Life” to learn more about the possibilities.

Thanks again for your comment and please feel free to comment at any tme.

Karl

This idea would be phenomenal on a college campus or even for an online college guide. You could go even further and have the campus in 3D while being led by an avatar to locations. Then you go inside these locations to find information and Web sites of the programs and courses offered. This is similar to what you stated, but I think it could be very effective in this format.

I haven’t had a chance to use it yet because I have a Mac. I did read though that the Mac version is coming soon.

This browser is RSS feeds on steroids!

Nathan
First time commenter