We are proud to present an alternative way to track the progress of the BT Global Challenge fleet. If your browser is capable of displaying VRML, you can now view the yacht tracks rendered on a 3D landscape. Since the landscape is VRML, you can fly around and view the yachts from any angle. Sample images are available to show the typical results which can be obtained using VRML.
The VRML scene is generated automatically every time new results are published.
You can view the current position, updated every time new results are published.
or choose from these interesting views of the race so far...
Note that this is an experimental system designed to explore possible future uses of VRML. It is not designed to replace the existing results service.
The use of lower resolution mapping data has kept the file sizes relatively small.
Technical Notes
To view these files your browser must support VRML. You may need to install a plugin to achieve this. Plugins can be downloaded from a number of sources on the web. For example, The VRML Repository has links to sites from where plugins may be downloaded.Viewing VRML is a processor intensive task. To view these VRML files, we recommend a minimum spec of a Pentium PC (or equivalent) with 16M of memory. We also recommend using a monitor set to 16bit/High Colour mode or better.
File sizes are around 90K to 100K.
These VRML landscapes show the position and direction of the yachts. They also show the yacht tracks. Each yacht and track is coloured using the same colour code as in the main result charts. If you place the mouse pointer over a yacht or track in the VRML landscape, the name of that yacht will be displayed.
Note that when yachts are racing close together the VRML yachts and tracks may overlap.Clicking on a yacht or track will navigate you to the sponsor page for that yacht. Clicking on the port icons will navigate you to the information page for that port.
The 3D landscapes used in these VRML scenes were generated using a VRML Topographic Map Generator at http://www.evl.uic.edu/pape/vrml/etopo/.
 bt.com |
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