Computer Technology
Real-time Simulation
Virtual worlds of stunning realism is the pledge from products created
by real-time 3D software manufacturer Coryphaeus Software, Inc. of Los
Gatos, California.
Coryphaeus Software was founded in 1989 by former NASA electronics engineer,
Steve Lakowske. His 10-years in the space arena included work on a vertical
motion simulator at Ames Research Center, and other tasks associated with
human and machine interaction. One of his assignments at Ames was design,
fabrication, and testing of audio, communications, and aural cue systems
in a multimillion dollar aviation human factors research facility.
As president of the privately-owned Coryphaeus, Lakowske turned his
prior experiences into a successful software firm producing high-end, real-time
simulation products for virtual reality applications. Annual sales are
now over $6 million.
| Designed by a former NASA engineer, Coryphaeus
software tools provide the ability to create real-time visual simulations
in 3D to train jet aircraft pilots. |
"My ten years at NASA allowed me to learn much of what I'm still
applying today in this business," says Lakowske. "The technology
we were developing in the various projects is something that was rarely
done in the commercial sector, so there was a considerable amount of technology
transfer, at least in terms of the ideas and principles. And I hope that
sort of tech transfer continues," he adds.
Designer's Workbench™ was the flagship product of Coryphaeus, a
modeling and simulation tool for the development of both static and dynamic
3D databases. Other products soon followed, such as Activation™, EasyT™
and EasyScene™.
Activation was specifically designed for game developers to play and
test next-generation 3D games before they commit it to a target platform.
With Activation, game publishers can shorten development time and prove
the "play ability" of the title, thereby maximizing their chances
of introducing a smash hit.
| Software tools developed by Coryphaeus
yield real-time 3D visual simulations ideal for plotting the twists and
turns of a highway for planning purposes. |
EasyT lets users create massive, realistic representations of Earth
terrains that can be viewed and traversed in real time. Importing satellite
data into EasyT is easily done, to accurately represent elevation data,
as well as carry images of Earth. This software allows users to zoom in
on models, perusing data at a high level of detail.
EasyScene software controls the actions among interactive objects within
a virtual world. This tool creates and plays back behaviors between the
virtual objects and the virtual environment.
All Coryphaeus products are designed to promote high productivity for
both engineering and non-programming users. The result is easy-to-use tools
to establish real-time 3D simulations for interactive instrumentation,
out-the -window scenes, virtual reality and game authoring.
Customer applications include real-time flight and driving simulation
and training systems, terrain modeling and test range simulations, pilot's
view re-creations from flight data recorders, and real-time walkthroughs
of facilities.
| Activation, a real-time graphics software
by Coryphaeus, allows a user to incorporate models, animation sequences,
and character animation into a game being prototyped. |
Coryphaeus products are used on Silicon Graphics workstations and supercomputers
to simulate real-world performance in synthetic environments. The company
is also working to develop its software to operate on other platforms.
A representative sampling of commercial customers for the company's
software tools includes aerospace, aviation, architectural and engineering
firms, game developers, and the entertainment industry. Boeing, Hughes
Training, Lockheed Martin, ITT Automotive, as well as NASA and branches
of the U.S. armed forces, are among the list of clients.
™ Designer's workbench, Activation, EasyT and EasyScene are trademarks
of Coryphaeus Software, Inc.
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