IRVINE, Calif., December 27, 2010 – EON Reality, the world’s leading interactive 3D software provider, announced that Buddhist leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, recently visited Miami University and wore 3D glasses to experience a virtual reality version of a mandala that was created in EON. The mandala created for the Dalai Lama’s virtual 3D experience is a visual object, usually square in design with four gates containing a circle with a center point. The mandala is a Buddhist religious tradition used for focusing attention as a spiritual teaching tool and as an aid to meditation. EON Reality is collaborating with MiamiUniversity, located in Oxford, Ohio, to develop an Innovation and ResearchCenter using EON’s technology solutions to create immersive visualization environments and interactive 3D digital content.
The Dalai Lama wearing 3D glasses to view and interact with a virtual mandala.
The purpose of this October 21, 2010 visit of the Dalai Lama to MiamiUniversity was for him to receive an honorary doctoral degree of Doctor of Law and to speak on the campus to about 10,000 people. The Dalai Lama also reviewed Miami’s efforts to preserve ancient Tibetan culture which is being done in collaboration with the Institute of Buddhist Dialects in Dharamsala, India, where the Dalai Lama lives in exile. Through this collaboration Miami students have been digitalizing Tibetan language and documents. Other students within the Armstrong Interactive Media Studies program used EON’s software to create the virtual mandala. To experience an interactive three-dimensional trip through the virtual mandala, the Dalai Lama wore 3D glasses which allowed him to view and move virtually around and within the mandala using EON Reality’s Icatcher, an immersive, stereoscopic turnkey display solution. The virtual mandala was a mid-term project for students learning to develop real-time interactive simulations using EON’s software.
When handed the keyboard, the Dalai Lama said, «Teach me, teach me,» and then laughed when he
drove the virtual camera into a Buddha statue.
Eric Hodgson, Miami University’s Director of the Smale Interactive Visualization Center, stated, «Despite having little-to-no background in VR [virtual reality] development, the Miami students who worked on the Virtual Mandala did a fantastic job learning EON Studio in a short amount of time and pooling their expertise to put together a compelling experience for the Dalai Lama. It was very well received by His Holiness, as well as the audience and university administration.» Subsequently, in describing the presentations created by students for the Dalai Lama event to others, David Hodge, MiamiUniversity’s President, stated, «The work is very, very exciting, and its impact is incalculable. I really run out of superlatives to use in describing my reaction to your work. Stunning, simply stunning.»
About EON Reality
EON Reality, Inc. is the world’s leading provider of interactive 3D visual content management and virtual reality software. EON Reality provides state-of-the-art authoring software and 3D display technology solutions for immersive and stereoscopic viewing, from portable tablet PCs and glass free stereo display systems to curved-screen and immersive rooms consisting of multi-channel projection walls, etc. The technology foundation for developing interactive digital content includes importing the most common 3D animation formats into EON’s authoring software and creating modules and applications that can be viewed on various display systems. EON’s technology solutions enable all organizations to more effectively visually communicate, collaborate and accelerate knowledge transfer.
Industry leaders, including Atlas Copco, Bechtel, Boeing, Bombardier, Hon, Intel, Lexus, Lufthansa -Teknik, Lowell Manufacturing, Peterbilt, Samsung, Siemens Medical, Suzuki, Tobyhanna Army Depot, Toyota and Whirlpool use EON solutions to enhance the interactive user experience to effectively increase sales, better communicate product functionality and decrease the cost of service, training and technical support. Some educational institutions who have adopted EON’s SBL interactive technology solutions include: the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, the Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing and Technology (located on the campus of the Florence-Darlington Technical College), Old Dominion University, Marquette University, Milwaukee Area Technical College, Discovery World Museum, Oklahoma City Community College, Concord University, North Dakota State University, Texas State Technical College – Waco, El Paso Community College, University of Alabama, Hazard Community and Technical College, University of Hawaii, Lansing Community College, University of Kentucky, Maysville Community and Technical College, Miami University, Red Rocks Community College. For further information, contact Marly Bergerud at [email protected] or visit www.eonreality.com.
