PFI: 3DHub: A Geometric Kernel and Infrastructure for Community-based Rapid Application Development and Deployment

Purdue University, West Lafayette IN

Investigators

Abstract

This Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) project--a Type II (A:B) partnership within Purdue University, between the PFI graduated grantee (0227828) and participants from another NSF partnership supported program, Network for Computational Nanotechnology (NCN) (0228390/0634750)--seeks to change the way the knowledge supply chain for 3D algorithms, infrastructure development for 3D applications, and corresponding business models work. New and emerging technologies for creating digital data representation of objects such as 3D laser scanners, 3D cameras, computer-aided design systems, and cryo-microscopy have resulted in the creation of large amounts of "unstructured 2D and 3D geometric data." This project will enable knowledge that is embedded in the data to be extracted and made usable. This project will develop basic algorithms needed as well as the computing infrastructure to support it. Because the 3DHub(TM)has the ability to influence the creation, distribution, and maintenance of the applications through shared resources, it can transform businesses fundamentally. Technology, once a tool for business strategy, now has become a driver of business strategy. A 3D Geometric Kernel supported by an easy to use Grid Infrastructure will provide a competitive advantage for companies to conceive, create, as well as develop and distribute, products and services in new ways. This will transform the way geometry-dependent business models will be conceptualized and how they operate in many sectors including surgery, proteomics, manufacturing, and education. Additional research in geometry dependent fields will also progress much faster through the affected business communities. In this project, a technology push designed to increase access and use by industry in ways that might open up new markets and opportunities might also in turn feedback into discovery research. Partners at the inception of the project are an Academic Institution: Purdue University (lead institution), including participation of members in Mechanical Engineering and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Private Sector Organizations: Peyton Manning Children's Hospital, Redding Industries, VCom3D, and Imaginestics; Federal Government Laboratory: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).