Simmersion Holdings has been recognised by the Sydney Morning Herald as creating hype at the recent virtual worlds conference.
"For some start-up technology companies, success seems like something that will never happen. But for two Australian software developers, the search for success has led to new realities of their own.
Virtual worlds burst onto the scene a few years ago, popularised by US company Linden Lab and its Second Life world. But while reports have suggested that many of the companies that established a presence in Second Life have quietly packed up shop, virtual reality software is becoming big business, as developers create their own virtual reality tools for business or leisure purposes.
Australian companies Simmersion Holdings and VastPark both received enthusiastic receptions when they exhibited at the Virtual Worlds Conference in New York City in April this year.
Simmersion producer Ben Hamey says the company's Mycosm software lets developers create their own highly-realistic virtual worlds using easyto-use tools.
"We came into it with a pretty strong emphasis on user experience, and bringing it back to a consumer level," he says. "The virtual world space has been pretty stagnant, and it was ripe for other parties to come in who can see the problems with it, and Simmersion has done that."
Hamey says the company has also tried to bring graphics quality up to the photo-realistic environments of computer games.
While Mycosm has so far only been demonstrated behind closed doors, in September, Simmersion will be returning to the Virtual Worlds Conference, this time in Los Angeles, with a public demonstration. The company will then begin beta testing, and is aiming specifically to recruit 3D artists in the hope of convincing them to create content for Mycosm's virtual worlds.
Hamey says Simmersion has already received strong interest from education and health professionals. The company has even been approached by a global cosmetics company about creating a virtual products testing centre for consumers to try its products online before making a purchase." (SMH 25/08/2008)
For full details of the article visit www.smh.com.au