Interactive exploration of distributed 3D databases over the Internet

Interactive 3D visualization and Internet-based access to information are already common. Their combination is-or soon will be-the primary vehicle for accessing remote databases in fundamental areas of manufacturing, architecture, petroleum, urban planning, tourism, defense, medicine, electronic commerce, and entertainment. Unfortunately, whether based on precise 3D geometry or involving combinations of shapes and images, the complexity of 3D graphic models of airplanes, cities, or virtual stores significantly exceeds the limits of what can be quickly downloaded over popular connections and what can be rendered on personal workstations during interactive exploration. The author reviews recent progress in the compression and simplification of 3D models and in the progressive transmission of these models for interactive graphic exploration, which may combine traditional 3D graphics with image-based rendering. The author proposes an architecture for a 3D server capable of supporting a large number of independent client-users accessing interactively various subsets of a possibly distributed database of complex 3D models.