CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
11 August 2008
Product News
Autodesk Announces Stitcher Unlimited 2009 and ImageModeler 2009 Software Products
Autodesk, Inc. announced Autodesk Stitcher Unlimited 2009 and Autodesk ImageModeler 2009 software products. These are the first versions of the former REALVIZ products to be released as part of the Autodesk product portfolio. Both products are being showcased at SIGGRAPH 2008 in Los Angeles, California, August 12-14 at Autodesk booth #501.
"ImageModeler and Stitcher make 3D technology more accessible," said Marc Petit, Autodesk Media & Entertainment's senior vice president. "They enable the creation of 3D models from simple 2D images, and dynamic virtual environments from conventional photographs. These products are used on many types of projects -- from architecture and photography to film and game development."
Stitcher Unlimited 2009 helps create wide-angle and panoramic images in a few easy steps. With an intuitive user interface and an automatic photo- merging engine, the software is ideal for generating virtual tours for the Web, matte paintings for movies, environment maps for 3D rendering and panoramic prints for artistic display.
ImageModeler 2009 offers a new approach to 3D modeling: generating 3D models from 2D digital images. The software's three-step workflow of calibration, modeling and texturing lets users achieve photorealistic results with real-world accuracy.
Testimonials from Beta Testers
"Autodesk ImageModeler 2009 crosses a new frontier in the field of architectural image-based modeling. It offers the possibility of integrating photos and panoramas, for a complete interior and exterior structural survey," said Livio De Luca, research engineer at CNRS, MAP-Gamsau, Marseilles, and professor of Digital Surveying Techniques at the University of Architecture of Venice.
"Since the beginning, Stitcher has consistently been the fastest and most user-friendly panoramic image editor," said Michael Eleftheriades, a UK-based media developer. "It remains the software of choice for our panoramic projects. Autodesk Stitcher 2009, with its graphics-accelerated previews and renders, as well as the new automated features, will make it even more indispensable to our panoramic workflows." Eleftheriades fuses his passions for architecture, virtual reality and computer graphics in the creation of large-scale panoramic imagery for virtual tours, computer games and exhibitions.
New Feature Highlights in Stitcher Unlimited 2009
-- Fully Automatic Engine: Create partial or full spherical panoramas in just a few clicks. Stitching, alignment and color correction can be automated.
-- Double Shot: Stitch images taken with a two-shot fisheye lens; an effective way to create fully spherical virtual tours with only two pictures.
-- High Dynamic Range (HDR) Support: Create exceptionally high-quality environment maps and panoramas through the embedded HDR workflow, with support for EXR and HDR input and output.
-- Full interoperability with Adobe Photoshop and support for many industry-standard image, Web and video file formats.
-- Hotspot Support: Create QuickTime VR hotspots for Web content with links that can be integrated within a panorama, and reference another panorama.
-- Tripod Cap: Users can cover up the tripod in their image with an image of their own.
-- Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) Acceleration: Optimized to take advantage of graphics card GPUs for preview rendering in the main Viewport. The GPU is now also used to accelerate final renders.
-- Selectable Rendering Area: Using the crop tool, artists can precisely select an area to be rendered, even in full-screen mode.
-- Redesigned User Interface and Workflow: Includes new icons and a new palette to manage thumbnails more efficiently.
New Feature Highlights in ImageModeler 2009
-- New Calibration Engine: Generates a 3D model or scene using calibration points based on one or more panoramas or photos.
-- 3D Measurement: The ruler toolset calculates real-world distances and angles between points, eliminating the need for complex laser measurements onsite. This is of particular benefit to architects.
-- High-Performance Photo Texturing: High-quality texture extraction; texture mapping is a one-click, automatic process and photorealism is built- in.
-- User-friendly Interface: The UI color can be customized and source images can be viewed as thumbnails.
-- Improved Interoperability with other Autodesk software products: Autodesk Maya, Autodesk 3ds Max, Autodesk 3ds Max Design, Autodesk MotionBuilder and the AutoCAD family of products.
-- Full interoperability with Adobe Photoshop and support for many industry-standard image, Web and video file formats.
For a complete list of what's new in Stitcher Unlimited 2009 & ImageModeler 2009, visit http://www.autodesk.com/stitcher and http://www.autodesk.com/imagemodeler.
Pricing and Availability
Autodesk anticipates that Stitcher Unlimited 2009 for Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh will be available in English, French, German and Japanese in October 2008. The Autodesk suggested retail price for Stitcher Unlimited 2009 software is $350 USD*. ImageModeler 2009 for Microsoft Windows is expected to be available in English in October 2008. The Autodesk suggested retail price for ImageModeler 2009 software is $995 USD*.
* International pricing may vary.
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