Virtue3D Introduces Room Designer

Furniture World Magazine

Virtue3D Introduces Room Designer, Do-It-Yourself Design Tool for SOHO Furniture Market Virtue3D, a leading provider of technologies that enable quick delivery and rendering of 3D images and complex scenes over the Internet, announced the availability of Virtue3D Room Designer. Virtue3D Room Designer is a new Web-based application that enablesSOHO (small office/home office) customers to easily design their commercial and home offices using three-dimensional design tools, then purchase the furnishings directly from the manufacturer. Virtue3D Room Designer goes far beyond a static online catalog or virtual showroom by allowing people to lay out their office in a three-dimensional format using new office furniture and their existing office furnishings. While creating the layout, they can experiment with different finishes, colors and designs, then "walk around" within the space to view the result. Virtue3D Room Designer is targeted to the small office/home office (SOHO) sector, one of the fastest-growing target markets for the office furnishings industry. According to BIS Strategic Decisions, a Boston-based market research firm, approximately 44% of all US households have an income-generating or after-hours home office. "Currently, most SOHO customers buy RTA furniture without the assistance of a professional designer, and have a difficult time visualizing how the furniture might look in their space or in relationship to other pieces they have. Room Designer solves that problem," noted Lori Dustin, president Virtue3D, Inc. Design With Video Game-Like Speed on an Ordinary PC Until the introduction of Room Designer, it has not been possible to do two- or three-dimensional design easily over the Web. Data-rich images and low-speed connections made it impossibly slow to create and move 3D images on the ordinary computer. Virtue3D's compression technology -- which allows images to be created and manipulated up to 33 times faster than other 3D technologies -- makes the experience quick and easy, almost like playing a video game. "Room Designer does more than bring the showroom to the customer's desktop. For the first time, customers have an easy-to-use tool that helps them visualize hundreds of design alternatives to create their own highly-personalized office environment," said Dustin.