Mayim Visual Solutions has announced the release of Walkabout, its free web-browser plug-in that enables users to walk through virtual environments and manipulate 3D objects. Mayim also announced the release of its Walkabout Developers Kit (WDK), an integrated professional authoring tool for creating rich three-dimensional environments and objects for the Web.
Walkabout is a visualization tool, capable of rendering three-dimensional objects, environments, objects within their environments, etc. Its streaming media solution can incorporate audio and video (Quicktime, Flash, etc.), as well as photo-realistic textures and materials. Also, its "Smart Streaming" technology means that data is downloaded only as needed, eliminating the "world wide wait" for scenes to load. Walkabout can also enable a high degree of interactivity, allowing users to manipulate objects and characters in a scene, or have them respond to the user's actions. Walkabout also includes a new Personalization Engine, which can use external databases, CGI scripts, or other software applications to personalize online content.
The Walkabout Developer Kit (WDK) is integrated for use with two major 3D content applications (Alias Wavefront's Maya and Discreet's 3D Studio Max) enabling Web designers to export, compile, and view their scenes with one easy click. The upcoming edition of Maya 4.0, scheduled for release in summer 2001, will include the Walkabout Developers Kit as one of its bundled features.
The final version of both products will be available on June 11, 2001.
