WorldViz Launches Vizard 6

August 8, 2018

WorldViz

WorldViz Launches Vizard 6

The upgraded VR development platform includes support for new peripherals and Windows MR headsets, an easier 3D art workflow, and new avatar support

Santa Barbara, CA -- August 8th -- This morning, WorldViz announced that it has released Vizard 6, a new version of its Python-based VR development platform. WorldViz has focused its development in three main areas: new third-party VR headset and peripheral support, an easier art workflow with support for the 3D model format GLTF, and broader avatar support through Adobe’s Fuse CC. Interested users can get started today for free at www.worldviz.com/vizard, or contact WorldViz to get a demo of Vizard 6 at SIGGRAPH 2018 in Vancouver.

With its unique adaptability and extensibility, Vizard is a robust development environment for scientific grade VR, and has long been the chosen engine within the R&D community, whether in university or business settings. It allows researchers and innovators to build precise and complex simulations that connect to VR headsets, CAVEs and Powerwalls, head/hand trackers and motion capture systems, and speciality devices such as eye trackers, haptic feedback devices, and biophysiological sensors such as EEGs, EKGs and GSRs. And with an embedded Python interface, the user experience is friendly, straightforward, and open, which means users don't have to be a computer programmer to get started. The release of Vizard 6 builds on this foundation with features that cater directly to its core audience of researchers and innovators.

 

“Vizard continues to show that there is a growing need for VR development tools that target professional audiences with specific research and business needs -- needs for which game engines aren’t always the best option,” said Andrew Beall, CEO of WorldViz. “For example, Vizard lets users take advantage of open source Python libraries that are widely used by the research community, and supports a range of hardware peripherals and tracking tools that aren’t needed in the games and entertainment world. With Vizard 6, we have focused our attention on hardware and graphics, which were the two most requested areas of our audience.”

In the area of hardware, Vizard 6 now has support for all Windows Mixed Reality headsets and a number of new peripherals, including the Manus VR Gloves, and Tobii eye-tracking hardware. These new devices have been added to HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and the 150 + peripherals, trackers, biofeedback monitors, and display types (including headsets and CAVES) that Vizard currently supports with its unique, proprietary and fully integrated VizConnect software tool.

On the graphics side, Vizard embraced the new 3D model format glTF, which improves graphics rendering and provides new and simplified workflows out of Revit, Solidworks, Maya, Blender, SketchUp, Substance Painter, Modo, and more, as well as access to over 150,000 models in Sketchfab’s library.

A GLTF model using PBR rendering from Sketchfab (credit to 3D modeler Leonardo Carrion, whose work can be found here.)

In the past, Vizard users were given a predefined set of avatars from which to choose. While those avatars are still supported, WorldViz has now included support for avatars created in Adobe Fuse CC. Fuse offers users an easy way to customize avatars that can then be imported into Vizard with all of the associated data (such as skeletons, etc) attached.

Additional features in Vizard 6 include the following:

  • Added support for building collaborative, multi-user VR settings.
  • New VizConnect presets provide one-click access to a variety of new hardware setups, such as the WorldViz Vizbox, Windows Mixed Reality headsets, Oculus Touch and ViveTracker full body tracking.
  • Real-time data streaming of full-body tracked data using Vive Trackers.
  • Improved model and lighting workflows with Vizard’s integrated 3D model editor
  • Backwards compatibility to all Vizard versions

For more information, please visit www.worldviz.com or contact WorldViz today.

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About WorldViz

Based in Santa Barbara, CA, WorldViz is an industry-leading provider of virtual reality (VR) solutions for the enterprise and public sectors. Its patented VR products and solutions are deployed across 1500+ Fortune 500 companies, academic institutions and government agencies. Backed by Intel Capital, WorldViz’s core products include Vizible, a communication solution for sales professionals, Vizard, the premier development platform for professional VR application design, and VizMove, the world’s only enterprise-class VR software and hardware solution. WorldViz also offers a high-precision “warehouse-scale” motion tracking system called PPT, and professional consulting and content creation services. WorldViz products and services help businesses solve real-world challenges in areas such as sales, product design, education, training, marketing, consumer research and many others. For more information, visit www.worldviz.com.

© 2018. WorldViz Inc. All rights reserved. “WorldViz” and "Vizard" are registered trademarks of WorldViz, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owner(s).

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