A new procedure for transmitting 3D contents to mobile devices has been launched. Metaport has been engineered by V-Gate, a new division of Scientific Computers in Germany.
According to V-Gate, current applications use complex streaming procedures which hitherto significantly limit real-time interactivity. These 'classic' procedures require great bandwidth for transmitting video and communication data over the mobile network.
The system developed and registered for patent by V-Gate is claimed to use a unique approach: The Metaport server is positioned between an online platform and the user. A soft client is installed on the mobile device. The Metaport server computes objects and textures of a three-dimensional world into a format which only required a fraction of the usual bandwidth. The client stays connected to Metaport and renders the scene by means of its own 3D accelerator and the textures and objects provided by the server. In case of bandwidth bottlenecks or interrupted connections, it falls back to the scene stored on the mobile device. This allows for a fluent rendering of the environment and unlimited interaction with the 3D world connected, enabling applications such as Second Life or 3D games on mobile devices using 2G or 3G mobile networks. V-Gate is calling its invention "Virtual Reality to go".
Metaport is planned for use by mobile providers, game portal operators, system integrators of 3D business applications as well as device manufacturers who wish to ship their devices with a featured 'game client'. Besides Metaport, V-Gate is said to be already working on other solutions for mobile internet, geodata and positioning and networking of virtual worlds.
"With Metaport, we have developed a solution which makes the bandwidth problem obsolete for mobile games", says Markus Schindler, V-Gate CEO. "The gaming market is still growing. Innovative transmission technologies are a basic requirement for great user-friendliness and easy handling. One quickly loses the joy of mobile gaming when struggling with bandwidth and transmission issues. Metaport is an interesting door opener for advancing the mobile game sector."