Arius3D and Geomagic Announce Collaboration for Rapid Photorealistic 3D Content Creation

Companies work together to develop total solution

TORONTO, July 25, 2000 -- Arius3D Inc. and Geomagic today announced a collaborative effort to simplify the process of 3D content acquisition, processing and application development for end users in marketing, manufacturing and engineering. For the first time, companies will be provided with a total integrated solution to obtaining highly detailed 3D content formatted for many purposes, including Web, design, entertainment and a variety of other 3D applications. The two companies working in parallel will speed the acquisition and processing of 3D color point clouds using Foundation, Arius3D's patented color imaging technology, and Studio 3.0, Geomagic's Digital Duplication solution that enables 3D photography.

The first phase of this collaboration is reflected in Geomagic Studio 3.0, currently available in Beta form. Geomagic Studio 3.0 allows users to quickly build polygonal or NURBS models with textures from color point clouds, resulting in highly detailed, realistic 3D models. Future development will incorporate the ability to segment data according to color and create greater functionality with textures.

"We are very pleased to be working so closely with Geomagic," said Walter Noot, chief operating officer at Arius3D. "Their tools adopt our color point cloud images extremely well already and the future of this format has a great deal of potential as part of the Geomagic Studio product line. The industry will be redefined with this total systems approach."

Arius3D's patented technology, Foundation, is a unique laser scanning technology that captures perfect and repeatable color and an extremely high level of detail. This collaboration allows Arius3D to concentrate on and strengthen its development of markets for imaging content, imaging systems licensing and imaging services.

"The Foundation technology from Arius3D is a true breakthrough in 3D data capture," said Jon Fjeld, president and chief executive officer of Geomagic. "This technology, combined with Geomagic Studio, will demonstrate the viability of truly automated content development. Both companies are committed to making this vision a reality by delivering practical applications."

About Arius3D
Founded in 1998, Arius3D is set to play a key role in the shaping and evolution of the world's visualization industries. Arius3D uses patented technology, which allows users to create true-to-life 3D digital content. Arius3D offers 3D imaging services and 3D model and image licensing from their image library. The founders of Arius3D include principals of some of the world's most renowned imaging companies including IMAX, SCIEX and Viewpoint Digital. Arius3D's goal is to develop future technologies that will define, defend and grow the reference standard for three-dimensional color images. For more information on Arius3D, visit their website at www.arius3D.com.

About Geomagic
Geomagic is a software company dedicated to removing the barriers between the physical and digital worlds. Starting with the landmark computational geometry of co-founder Herbert Edelsbrunner, the company has developed a powerful enabling technology for Digital Duplication solutions that power 3D photography. The company was founded in 1996 and is based in Research Triangle Park, NC.

Product and company names herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

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