Press Release

Critical Mass Labs Builds a Bridge to Sense8

May 15, 2001 – Montréal, Québec — Critical Mass Labs announces the integration of Vortex, its leading real-time physics simulation software, with the Sense8 WorldToolKit API. This feature gives engineers a revolutionary way to add physical behavior to their simulations, providing rigid multibody dynamics and collision detection.

Vortex is a set of libraries that support rigid multi-body systems with contact and friction. It provides collision detection of arbitrary models, automatic contact generation, and several joint types including ball and socket, hinge, prismatic, etc., as well as motor models and joint limits for most joint types. The new software module will enable application developers to seamlessly add physically correct behavior to scenes and environments created using the WorldToolKit scene generator.

Paul MacKenzie, VP of Product Development at Simlog Inc. and seasoned WorldToolKit user says:“At Simlog, we've been using WorldToolKit for our training simulator products because of its versatility, portability and affordable price. We are now integrating Vortex into our new product development efforts to give us that invaluable extra realism required for advanced rigid-body simulation. The compatibility of these two products means that we spend hardly any time integrating them, and can focus on other aspects of our software development projects.”

Claude Lacoursière, CTO of Critical Mass Labs, says, “One of the most frustrating limitations in creating realistic physics simulation is the connection with existing graphics scenes. The combination of realistic graphics with physics simulation can only succeed if it is easy to plug the physics into the graphics at the level of the scene graph. This is what Sense 8 allows us to do.”

Currently available as a separate module, support for WorldToolKit files will be integrated as a standard feature in the upcoming release of Vortex. Visit the Critical Mass Labs website at http://www.cm-labs.com for detailed product information, online documentation, and an evaluation version of the software, or contact the Critical Mass Labs Sales Team at sales@cm-labs.com.

About Critical Mass Labs

Critical Mass Labs is a solutions provider specializing in 3D interactive simulations and visualization. Providing middleware enabling physically based modeling and consulting services, Critical Mass specializes in virtual-reality, robotics, and engineering design. Critical Mass Labs’ proprietary software, Vortex delivers fast and stable physics simulation, including rigid-body dynamics and collision detection. Additional expertise includes physically modeled particles systems, authoring, and human character animation. Critical Mass Labs helps companies create carefully targeted simulations that meet software and budgetary requirements. For more information, please visit www.cm-labs.com.

Press contact:

Heather Black
T: 514.287.1166 x245
E: heather.black@cm-labs.com