OZ Virtual explained

OZ Virtual was a 3D world viewer created by OZ Interactive that enabled real-time collaboration communications in shared spaces on the Internet with a strong focus on creative content production.^{[1] [2]}

The viewer supported the Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML 2.0) a standard for creating and experiencing virtual reality worlds on the Internet. It came with an avatar editor that allowed the user to select from a set of pre-defined avatars with body movements and modify their appearance. Users could communicate using voice chat using low bandwidth codecs supplied by Voxware.^{[3] [4]}

One of the features of this VRML browser was that anyone browsing a given URL could see and interact with any other users visiting the same URL at the same time,^{[5] [6]} thus making it an instantaneous shared virtual space.

Timeline

1. The first version of the software was released in beta on July 24, 1996, with support for VRML 1.0, avatars, and social interaction.^[7]
2. A subsequent release on December 11, 1996 added support for VRML 2.0 including support for VRML 2 scripting using Java.^[8]
3. OZ Virtual 2.0, released March 12, 1997, enabled editing of avatars, and embedding of various components of OZ Virtual onto web pages using ActiveX technology^{[9] [10]}
4. The OZ Virtual technology was spun off from OZ Interactive into a separate company named SmartVR on November 24, 1999. The SmartVR team and tech stack then emerged into CCP to be the foundation for EVE Online. In 2018, there is still source code in EVE Online that originates from OZ Virtual. ^[11]

Partnerships

• OZ Virtual was used to broadcast, in 3D using motion capture, a live concert co-hosted by Intel and OZ Interactive.^[12]
• OZ Virtual 2.0 was used to create a 3D product showcase for Ericsson.
• OZ Virtual 2.0 was also used to create a 3D world composed of Cartoon Network characters for Time Warner.^{[13] [14]}
• Atlantic Records used OZ Virtual to create a 3D site for its artists.^{[15] [16]}
• The Van Gogh Museum offered 3D renderings of some of Van Gogh's pictures which were created in OZ Virtual and made available on the museum's website.^[17]

External links

• OZ Virtual Journey to the Dark Star is a comprehensive review of the OZ Virtual VRML browser
• Forbes: The land of OZ provides a brief history of OZ Interactive, makers of OZ Virtual
• OZ Virtual: Promotional Video is an archived version of an early promotional video for OZ Virtual
• Collection of press releases for OZ Virtual

Notes and References

1. Web site: Full Dive Virtual Reality. 26 February 2018.
2. http://www.digitalspace.com/avatars/book/fullbook/choz/choz1.htm OZ Virtual Journey to the Dark Star
3. Web site: VRMLSite News March 1997 . 2009-12-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100710054519/http://www.vrmlsite.com/mar97/a.cgi/worldinfo.html . 2010-07-10 . dead .
4. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-19088631.html BusinessWire: Avatar Speech Technology Putting the Soul in the PC Machine; OZ Interactive Signs License Agreement with Voxware To Bring Real Speech Entertainment to 3D Avatars in Cyberspace.
5. Web site: Critique of OZ Virtual . 2009-12-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110717194057/http://www.vernonreed.com/Avatar_course/Critiques/OZ/Oz1.html . 2011-07-17 . dead .
6. http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=258909&dl=GUIDE&coll=GUIDE&CFID=70254575&CFTOKEN=72521173 Putting a human face on cyberspace (panel): designing avatars and the virtual worlds they live in
7. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-18517723.html BusinessWire: OZ announces beta release of OZ Virtual, multi-user VRML software; participants work and play socially as their own persona inside virtually any 3D world on the Internet.
8. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-18934914.html BusinessWire: OZ Interactive Announces Support for VRML 2.0.
9. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-19208244.html BusinessWire: OZ Interactive Announces OZ Virtual 2.0, Newest Version of Leading 3D Multi-User Entertainment Browser for the Internet; OZ Virtual 2.0 Allows Users To Create Avatars With Body Movements, Voice Chat, Lip Sync And Facial Expressions For Best Web Entertainment Yet.
10. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-19208243.html BusinessWire: OZ Interactive Announces Multi-User Communications Server For Building Entertainment Communities On The Web.
11. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-57788346.html PR Newswire: OZ.COM(TM) Spins off Visual Technology Group into New Company, SmartVR(TM)
12. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_1996_Dec_10/ai_18934932/ Business Wire: Oz Interactive and Intel Bring Real-World Party to 3D Internet; Party to take place simultaneously in New York's hottest nightclub and in a multi-user VRML model of it on the Internet
13. https://www.forbes.com/1998/11/19/side1.html Forbes: The land of OZ
14. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-18934910.html BusinessWire: OZ Interactive to bring popular cartoon characters to life on the Web with new cartoon engine.
15. https://books.google.com/books?id=1Q4EAAAAMBAJ&dq=oz+virtual&pg=PA68 Billboard: Atlantic to Bow 3D Web Site
16. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-19205755.html BusinessWire: Oz Interactive Launches OZONE 3D Multi-User Entertainment Community on the Web; Atlantic Records Set to Build Virtual Concert Arena in OZONE
17. http://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/vgm/index.jsp?page=7979&lang=en The Van Gogh Museum goes virtual at www.vangoghmuseum.nl