DiMora Motorcar Takes Advantage of New Interactive 3D PDF Capabilities

Before the world’s first hand-built, $2 million, 16-cylinder production vehicle has ever been built, customers and window shoppers alike will be able to view the car in its true form in an interactive 3D PDF on the DiMora Motorcar Web site. Using Right Hemisphere(R) and Adobe(R) software, DiMora Motorcar was able to showcase the Natalia SLS 2 sport luxury sedan in a photorealistic and interactive 3D rendering to attendees of the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) automotive show in Las Vegas this week. Though the Natalia won’t be manufactured until 2008, anyone may now preview the Natalia by simply downloading the free
Adobe(R) Reader(R) software and visiting http://www.dimoramotorcar.com/nat_design_3Dviews.html. Manufacturers like DiMora Motorcar can use interactive 3D product communications like this to more effectively market and sell new models prior to production.

“In the past, we’ve only had still images of our cars on our Web site,” said Alfred J. DiMora, founder and CEO of DiMora Motorcar. “To get a good feel for a car’s overall aesthetic, you had to see a physical prototype or production vehicle. These great tools from Right Hemisphere and Adobe have allowed us to get way ahead of this process by transforming our engineering design data into 3D graphics files that we can post on our Web site and let anyone view using the free Adobe Reader software. We are very pleased to offer car enthusiasts around the world the chance to experience this very special, limited edition vehicle, especially this early in the car’s production.”

“It used to be ‘build it and see if they’ll come,'” said Lars Olson, director of technical marketing at Right Hemisphere. “Now you can effectively use our software to build awareness and — maybe more importantly — gauge enthusiasm and purchasing interest in a car before you manufacture it.”

How the Interactive 3D PDF was Created

To create the Natalia interactive 3D PDF, Right Hemisphere worked with DiMora Motorcar using a combination of Right Hemisphere’s PDF Publishing Module(TM) 2.0 (currently in beta), Deep Exploration(TM) CAD Edition 4.1, and PDF Template Designer 2.0, as well as Adobe(R)
Illustrator(R) and Adobe(R) Acrobat(R) 3D software. Right Hemisphere’s Deep Exploration CAD Edition 4.1 software converted the original 30MB Unigraphics NX2 engineering file into a lightweight 3D product graphic in the Right Hemisphere format. Once converted, the Right Hemisphere polygon reduction tool was used to reduce the model to about half its original size while retaining high visual fidelity.
Next, materials were applied to the 3D model to make it as photorealistic as possible. Model views were then created so that the camera within the PDF could animate to predefined views guiding the end user in the interactive 3D experience.

The base PDF template — before any interactive 3D controls were added — was designed in Adobe Illustrator CS which supports the exporting of PDF layers. The PDF was opened in Acrobat 3D 7.07, and the various 3D controls were added to specific layers within the PDF.
These controls enable the Web site visitor to navigate easily through the PDF and change the view of the vehicle from model views to exterior colors to engine specifications and more. These 3D controls were added to the PDF using Right Hemisphere’s PDF Template Designer 2.0 which is a plug-in to Adobe Acrobat Professional or Adobe Acrobat 3D and also works as a companion to Right Hemisphere’s own client and enterprise software.

Once the final interactive 3D PDF template was created in Acrobat 3D, the PDF was then saved to disk and ready for the 3D publishing process. The final Natalia 3D model was saved as an .RH file to disk and automatically published to the final interactive 3D PDF template without the need for specialized JavaScript(R) programming using Right Hemisphere’s PDF Publishing Module 2.0. The resulting PDF is what DiMora Motorcar Web site visitors now see in Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.07+ or Adobe Acrobat 7.07.

“Most automotive Web sites have 2D pictures and car configurators.
Some use 3D,” Olson continued. “But our software is hardware accelerated and enables manufacturers to build an interactive 3D configurator on steroids without requiring a team of programmers.
Our software also automates the publishing process and delivers the content in the ubiquitous PDF platform. This is all very significant because in the past, you couldn’t build a piece of interactive 3D content without programming help. You couldn’t deliver it in a PDF.
And anything with 500,000 polygons, like the DiMora Natalia PDF, would bring your computer to its knees without 3D hardware acceleration. All of the pieces are in place now to create powerful interactive 3D documents that help market and sell cars, or any manufactured product for that matter.”

Based in Palm Springs, California, DiMora Motorcar crafts automobiles guided by three goals:

— Exceed expectations for safety, performance, technology, ecology, beauty,
comfort, and luxury.
— Reveal the design, build, and test of vehicles via the Internet so the
world can learn from and can interact with DMC.
— Reclaim America’s automotive design and engineering leadership.

DiMora Motorcar can be found on the web at www.dimoramotorcar.com.

Right Hemisphere is the leading provider of Product Graphics Management (PGM) software, a new category of enterprise software. PGM enables manufacturers to globally source, sell, and service products more effectively by delivering the right 2D and 3D product graphics, in the right format across their extended enterprises, all from accurate, up-to-date engineering data readily available in current CAD and PDM systems. Only Right Hemisphere lets you capitalize on your existing investments in 3D CAD and multimedia communications, while replacing today’s manual product communications processes. With Right Hemisphere you can turn your product communications such as RFQs, catalogs, manuals, courseware, collateral, IETMs, and more, into competitive advantage. Over 500 innovative manufacturers, including five of the top six automotive OEMs and nine of the top 10 U.S.
aerospace and defense contractors rely on Right Hemisphere to dramatically accelerate time to market, increase product and services revenues, and lower product communications costs.