ORLANDO, FLA. - April 1, 2002 - Actuality Systems, Inc., a developer of advanced 3-D display technology, will present the results of the development of its spherical 3-D display technology at the AeroSense 2002 Conference being held this week at the Gaylord Palms Convention Center in Orlando. The Conference is sponsored by SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering.

The breakthrough technology, believed to provide the highest resolution volumetric imagery ever developed, will be discussed by company founder and chief technology officer Gregg Favalora. The presentation is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 4.

The unique monitor, code-named Helios, is shaped like a 20-inch-diameter globe and can show high-resolution color images that appear to hover in space, allowing multiple users to move completely around the 360-degree display and view images from any angle.

"This newest generation of 100-million voxel displays is radically changing the way we can visualize spacial relationships," Favalora said. "It's proving to be particularly attractive for collaborative mission simulation and for presenting 3-D wire frame renderings that can be viewed by a team of people, such as for battlefield visualization, air-traffic control, or virtual prototyping."

Unlike some 3-D displays that require special stereoscopic goggles to simulate multi-dimensional imagery, or flat-screen monitors that translate 3-D data into flat 2-D images, the Actuality Systems technology is volumetric, meaning that instead of simulating the effect of 3-D, it actually illuminates voxels throughout the full range of 3-D locations inside the spherical display. In addition, a custom embedded graphics architecture takes computational load off the user's workstation, enabling fully animated 3-D imagery that can be controlled and maneuvered from the keyboard.

The display has a resolution of approximately 100 million volume pixels or "voxels." Instead of flat square pixels, voxels also have depth. Resolution is defined in terms of a stack of flat slices arranged around a centerline like thin wedges of an apple around its core.

Actuality Systems uses proprietary graphics-rendering algorithms to generate the extremely fast, high-performance scene drawing that is crucial for smooth animation. In addition, by using a high-speed, high-resolution internal projector, the display is able to create bitmapped 3-D imagery that gives users access to 100% of the available volume.

The company is currently in the beta testing phase of development for its new monitors, and is planning to have the first commercial units ready for shipment by the end of 2002.

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About Actuality Systems

A spin-off of the prestigious MIT $50k Entrepreneurship Competition, Actuality Systems has incorporated innovations in optical, electrical, and software engineering into its technology. The firm is developing next-generation volumetric display technology with a goal of manufacturing the world's most advanced line of 3-D volumetric displays. Founded in 1997 in Cambridge, Mass., the firm has received venture funding and now operates from offices in Reading, Mass., north of Boston. The company's chief technology officer, Gregg Favalora, has been named one of the top young technologists by MIT Technology Review. Company chairman, Rob Ryan, was a founder and former CEO of Ascend Communications, Inc.

Contact:
Ellen Walravens, aMate Communications, 781-281-1547, Ellen@amatecommunications.com