Tekes offers Virtual Expo 3D environment open for everyone

Virtual Expo is a virtual world created within Tila – Spaces and Places programme coordinated by Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation. By getting to know the Virtual Expo, exploring its exhibitions, having meetings with avatars and participating in seminars one gets a personal experience of the possibilities that 3D graphics and sound have in improving communication and the immersive experience. The world can be created into an open online exhibition where companies can update their material in real time.

In general virtual worlds have been flat so the challenge of creating a sphere was taken up. As a shape it is technically challenging, especially creating a natural movement within it. Virtual Expo has succeeded in this. The space is built up as a large sphere, inside of which the user moves with an avatar by either flying or walking. Virtual Expo is not only a 3D modeling of reality but a vast space offering immersive experiences. It challenges and changes the entire concept of space. There are waterfalls, autumn leaves, ice cubes – the seasons change as the user moves on the surface and comes across exhibition material and other users’ avatars.

Virtual Expo uses open source virtual world technology

Virtual Expo is built on the open source virtual world platform realXtend. The main difference to many other currently popular virtual worlds is that in realXtend everyone can build their own virtual world and control it. Most commercial virtual worlds are based on the principle of selling space or they are otherwise more closed. This has limited their business applications and usability for many applications.

Also essential in Virtual Expo is the global avatar created in realXtend. The avatar can be easily moved between different worlds. Until now one has had to create an avatar and a user account for every virtual world separately and standardizing has been missing completely.

Virtual Expo is created by the game studio LudoCraft which is also one of the main developers of realXtend.

Instructions for creating a user account and getting to know Virtual Expo:
http://world.virtualexpo.fi

Download new realXtend viewer. Connect to world.virtualexpo.fi

Images and video:
http://www.ludocraft.com/
http://www.realxtend.org/

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Ville Wittenberg
PR and Communications
LudoCraft Ltd.
+358404835179
ville.wittenberg {at} ludocraft(.)com
http://www.ludocraft.com