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SOFTWARE
Animation
Strike a Pose
Smith Micro Software has released Poser 9 and Poser Pro 2012, marking the first time the company has issued simultaneous releases of the animation tool. Both software applications now offer vertex weight-map rigging support and subsurface scattering capabilities, along with a simple-to-use user interface that has evolved from past releases, yet maintains a familiarity that existing users will appreciate.
The releases also include more than 3gb of ready-to-use content, including figures (humans, skeletons, etc.) and architectural elements. Full scenes also have been put together, including office and crime lab settings, helping to save users time in building their own environments. Poser 9 is a 32-bit application that’s priced at $249 and offers full-level rendering control. Poser Pro 2010 is a 64-bit application and includes updated PoserFusion plug-ins and Collada support for professionals who may want to export animations into programs such as Maya, Softimage, Cinema 4D, and LightWave. The 64-bit application also includes the FireFly Render Engine and a vertex weight-map editing tool suite.
Smith Micro Software; www.smithmicro.com/poser
Middleware
Sim Solution
AI.implant, Presagis’ multi-platform artificial intelligence (AI) authoring and runtime software solution, has been upgraded to Version 5.7. AI.Implant is designed for simulation and analysis projects requiring realistic and dynamic urban environments, including unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and helicopter training, air traffic control applications, and driving simulation. The updated release improves attributes associated with traffic and human interactions, and enables users to build complex and realistic scenarios faster. As a COTS middleware product, AI.implant seamlessly integrates into existing pipelines and simulation engines.
The new release improves realism of road traffic and pedestrian interactions. Vehicles can now pass other vehicles using slower or oncoming lanes. Traffic lights can be customized to suit the simulation, or they can also run in automatic mode. The TrafficSolver manages the advancement through the traffic light cycle as the simulation runs. And a vehicle that is not in the correct lane when approaching an intersection will reset its path.
Presagis; www.presagis.com
Lighting
KeyShot Tool Kit
Lightmap has launched the HDR Light Studio Live plug-in for Luxion KeyShot renderer, which brings a professional real-time HDRI lighting tool kit directly into KeyShot real-time visualization software. The plug-in allows users to improve the quality of the renders with custom lighting designs for each shot, all via a simple-to-use interface. Existing HDR environments can be augmented to improve the quality of their renders, with more control over lighting and reflections. Lighting adjustments take place in real time in the KeyShot viewport. HDR Light Studio Live for KeyShot is included with the HDR Light Studio 2.0 Pro edition.
Lightmap; www.hdrlightstudio.com
HARDWARE
GPU
Follow the Link
AMD unveiled the FirePro SDI-Link, which helps bring real-time, GPU-accelerated performance to pipelines requiring Serial Digital Interface (SDI) input and output. The FirePro SDI-Link is receiving support from manufacturers, such as AJA, Bluefish444, Blackmagic Design, Deltacast, DVS, and Matrox, as it allows for the design of fully featured SDI- and GPU-based solutions with ultra-low latency between select AMD pro graphics cards and third-party SDI input/output products.
AMD also showed the FirePro V7900 SDI, a new graphics card that is the first to support AMD FirePro SDI-Link. The V7900 SDI will be certified as compatible with all five manufacturers providing PCIe cards offering advanced SDI video signal I/O capabilities. The V7900 SDI is designed specifically for broadcast graphics pipelines. The unit is the first to leverage AMD’s DirectGMA technology to help ensure system-level, low-latency synchronized data transfer between the AMD FirePro professional graphics and third-party devices over the PCIe bus. AMD began delivering the FirePro V7900 SDI in October for $2499.
AMD; www.amd.com