Airbus Industrie
Virtools
Senlis, France
The virtual interior of a future generation of Airbus aircraft was created by Virtools for Airbus Industrie, Europe’s largest aircraft manufacturer. After walking through the departure hall of a virtual airport, the participant can board and visit the concept plane (a double-deck 500-seat aircraft), including the entrance, the crew area, and two seating areas. Interior design models created by Airbus Design Studio and Advanced Computer Art in Munich were “virtualized” by Virtools using WorldToolKit and Genesis from Virtual Presence (UK). This tool helps Airbus designers evaluate alternative interior layouts and decorations without physical mock-ups, and, as a sales and marketing tool, facilitates relations with prospective clients.
Platform(s): Silicon Graphics Onyx (8 processors, 3 Reality Engine pipes)
Peripheral Device(s): Fakespace BOOM 3c
Data Source(s): AutoCAD and 3D Studio, Cubicomp PictureMaker, Volumn 4D, Genesis WorldBuilder, Corel Draw
http://www.aaronjamesrogers.com/misc/hotmix16/vendors/
UPDATE:
Just found a reference to Sense8 at the Paris Airshow 1995 on Glenn Johnson‘s LinkedIn with this picture. Honestly not sure if it is real or a WTK screenshot:
More from LinkedIn thank to Glenn Johnson:
“1995 Silicon Graphics Reality Engine 2 & 50,000 polys. The stand was busy for President Mitterand’s arrival. A new wheelchair user shared ‘I don’t need to be pushed anymore!’ that opened my eyes to virtual reality.”
Glenn Johnson – LinkedIn post
The Players
- Glenn Johnson
- Arthur Howes – VP/Airbus Sales & Marketing
- Ziggi Bender
- Anke Achenbach
- Bertrand Duplat – Virtools
Tom,
The FC Bar is real – it was something I found online. I had worked on the design whilst at Airbus and never realised it actually got built, as I felt to do lecturing/ VR at Salford Uni.
Additional comments from Glenn:
“Yes, I kind of managed the whole thing at Airbus for the Paris Airshow and created many of the mesh models together with Ziggi Bender and Anke Achenbach located in Munich/ Hamburg and the WTK part was handled by Bertrand Duplat of Virtools S.A. (Paris). There was also considerable help I believe from the UK company Virtual Presence, in leasing the SGI gear and obtaining the Fakespace Boom. It was shown to President Mitterand, and several airline/ aerospace dignitaries of the time. The late Arthur Howes MBE, VP of Airbus Sales & Marketing was totally instrumental in getting the system on the Airbus Paris stand. We used a lot of high resolution maps ‘pre baked’ onto lower res mesh, with shadows, light bloom, etc. All .tga files that filled the SGI video RAM perfectly. 3D Studio also enabled a trick of ‘smoothing groups’ at mesh level. All meshes were sub 50,000 polygons and a frame rate at about 14-18 fps. The video lag in the Fakespace and high quality tracking made it pretty acceptable in reality though. Using the curtains as portals was Bertand’s cleverest trick. :)”
…and…
“The full system should be 1. the departure lounge area (at night), with the A3XX (A380) outside to the left. The jetway to Door 1. Then scene 2 – into the Galley/ crew rest area – turn right up the stairs Then 3. upper deck – go around BC/ PEY. Next down stairs into 4. lower deck BC. Last 5. end in the lavatory (no kidding). That lav was a lovely mesh from Ziggi Bender, (we mirrored the whole 3D in the ‘mirror’ for realism as well). With no reflection though you became a VR vampire :). As you approached each closed door or curtain the next Sense8 environment would boot up on the SGI Reality Engine. This simple trick really helped as it felt you were pushing through the barrier. The eye point was set on standing, and going up and down the stairs unassisted is what really got the wheel chair person’s attention. Lastly, we managed to get the shadows on the stairs pretty well adjusted (with self illuminated lighting as well). So much so, that a young engineer from Aerospatiale flung off the Fakespace as she thought she was falling – in looking out and down over the stairs!”