Reading, Mass. - October 15, 2001 - Actuality Systems, Inc., a developer of advanced 3-D display technology, has announced that the first beta customer for its spherical 3D display is Structural GenomiX, Inc., (SGX) in San Diego, Calif. SGX is a leader in experimental and computational structural biology, transforming genomic information into structural templates for drug discovery. 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. The breakthrough technology is believed to provide the highest resolution volumetric imagery ever developed.

"This type of volumetric 3D display will have a significant impact on a number of different fields," said Gregg Favalora, Actuality Systems founder and CTO. "But the range of possible uses for drug design and biotechnology is so varied that it makes this the perfect industry to begin our beta testing with real-life applications."

The sheer number of newly mapped genes in the human genome has dramatically increased the pool of potential drug targets. The challenge for scientists working to develop new drugs is that they need detailed information on how the protein in question interacts with the compounds that are under study. Once a protein structure is determined, scientists can use an approach called "structure-based drug design" to design their compound libraries with the protein target in mind.

SGX has established an industrialized platform for transforming genomic information into structural templates for drug discovery and design. The SGX platform integrates advanced research methods and tools in multiple technologies -- from high-throughput protein expression and crystallization, to synchrotron radiation, structural informatics and chemistry.

"The 3D display offers a whole new paradigm for us," said Doug Livingston, Vice President of chemistry and new technologies for SGX. "Many of our scientists spend a good part of their day working on a flat screen with goggles that only simulate 3-D. Using the Actuality Systems display allows for a much more natural process. It facilitates collaborations among our work teams, and when used as a presentation tool, it could significantly help our partners and clients better understand the data. This display could have considerable positive impacts on the way we work."

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

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 projector, the display is able to create bitmapped 3-D imagery that gives users access to 100 percent of the available volume instead of just a small portion of the display as with traditional vector systems.

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.

The company expects to name other beta customers in the next few months and is planning to have the first commercial units ready for shipment by the end of 2002.

ABOUT ACTUALITY SYSTEMS, INC.

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 most advanced line of 3-D displays in the world. Founded in 1997 in Cambridge, Mass., the firm has received venture funding and now operates from offices in Reading, Mass., north of Boston. Gregg Favalora, chief technology officer, 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. More information about Actuality Systems and their volumetric 3-D display technology is available at www.actuality-systems.com

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