The application, which is currently installed in shops in the industry, provides a value added service as it does not only offer the ability to visualize 3D environments, but also to design them and giving an estimate within a short period of time.

The production of “ceramic tiles” is one of the main industries in the Valencian Community, with Castellón as one of its focal points of growth. ARTEC has developed a new system (Tau system) for the 3D representation of ceramic scenes. The application, which is currently installed in shops in the industry, provides a value added service as it does not only offer the ability to visualize 3D environments, but also to design them and giving an estimate within a short period of time.

Tau System II is a new generation system resulting from the agreement between the Institute on Robotics and Tau Cerámica. This agreement dates back to 1994 and is based on the use of Microsoft Technologies to create a double tool that allows:

• Display the firm’s catalog over real high-definition static models. Modeling of thirty-nine scenarios divided into bathrooms, kitchens and living rooms, featuring real precalculated light effects through radiosity techniques, allowing real-time visualization and the visualization of the collections that can be adapted in each case. In turn, a sub-module for immersive visualization has been designed to display them on Elumens hemispherical screens.
• Design and calculation of budgets of any customized environment. Therefore, based on the collections chosen in the high-quality submodule, or in the whole catalog, and depending on the specifications of the design, the environment can be covered as the customer wishes. Customers will not only visualize their ceramic design, but will also be able to add furniture items (there are over 175 pieces available) or other items such as carpet tiles, covered walls or painted areas. All items are textured and it is possible to place light elements on the scene, increasing realism. Once designed, customers can visualize the scene from any angle and get a complete budget breakdown of it, with the possibility of applying discounts, margins of error and even a manual for the construction worker who will be in charge of the works.

The system is designed to display full tile collections in a computer-generated virtual environment. The system is designed to provide interior decorators and customers a realistic idea about the products and to help them take a final decision. For customers, it is an important element in decision-making and a powerful tool to calculate pieces and budgets for retailers, since the application performs calculations which would take the retailer several hours to perform.

Software for displaying ceramic elements presents important problems such as its complexity, the treatment of space, global customer presentations, expansion options, etc. Tau System II solves these problems by simultaneously providing:

• Realistic virtual environments to visualize different tile collections. Users can move within a virtual environment with a high degree of immersion and a good quality of the tiled displayed, including immersive and stereoscopic vision with the right equipment, if desired. The system is embedded in a user-friendly interface for easy interaction, since it is aimed at an untrained audience.
• Immediate replacement of wall and floor tiles selectable from an easy to build database. With the help of this tool, users can make decisions more easily than by consulting a catalog, choosing their tiles with a high degree of fidelity.
• Building scenes is very easy, unlike the complexity associated with cumbersome CAD packages.

It was first developed in 1995 as a result of the first R&D project carried out jointly by the University of Valencia and Tau Cerámica, leader in the ceramics industry in Spain, with support from the Institute for Small and Medium Industry of the Generalitat Valenciana (IMPIVA).

Tau Cerámica is an international company with a broad distribution network, mainly composed of small and medium-sized distributors. Major logistical problems arise when Tau Cerámica must provide the pieces of the new collections to all its vendors. The new market trends require a large offer of different collections.

Catalogs are at risk of becoming too big to achieve their main purpose, that is, to provide a good view of the deals to interior designers and customers. The idea that new technologies can play a key role in the relationships between factory products, vendors and customers encouraged Tau Cerámica to begin this technological adventure, the results of which have been evaluated in recent years.

Tau System II, characteristics and requirements

Hardware:

• CPU: Compatible computer. Minimum Pentium II 350Mhz
• Pentium III recommended
• RAM: minimum 64Mb, 128Mb is recommended.
• Video card: Compatible with Open GL (16Mb), nVidia Gforce series is recommended.
• CD-ROM
• Additional hardware
• Video card with stereo connector and active stereoscopic glasses.
• Elumens hemispherical projection display for immersive visualization

Operating system

• Windows 2000 (any version), Windows NT 4.0 (Service Pack 3.0 or higher).

Tau System II, evolution and future work

Interactive selling systems like Tau System II open a new concept about the design and sale of ceramic tiles. Some of the benefits are:

• A new concept in interior decoration. The ability to view in real time 3D models of kitchens, living rooms and bathrooms, in stereoscopic vision with different tiles, helps decorators choose the right environment.
• Vendors will be able to show their tile collections realistically, without the need for tedious real catalogs, introducing new possibilities in their business such as the virtual store.

We are also working in these three lines:

• Total reconfiguration of the application through the Internet, so that the application can obtain from the central server the new models launched by a firm. Every change introduced into the program will be downloaded (new tile laying patterns, furniture…).
• Inclusion of a radiosity or ray-tracing submodule in the budget system to increase, even more, its visual impact.
• The current application will be migrated to a VRML-Java environment. All the system will work on the network.

In addition, the evolution of hardware and software will result in cheaper PC platforms and graphics cards, so a better cost-efficiency ratio is expected.

The Software Engineering technology used for the implementation of the Tau System is based on the modularity of the tools in charge of modeling environments, texture mapping and visualization. This makes it easy to include new collections or databases without modifying the software, allowing immediate updates of the pieces to be displayed, as well as the replacement of virtual environments (bathrooms, living rooms, kitchens, etc.).

TAULELL, S.A.