Download
for Windows95 & WindowsNT:
For
Netscape Navigator 3.0.1/4.0 and Internet Explorer 3.0
Download
for Windows 3.1:
For
Netscape Navigator 3.0.1/4.0
Download
for IRIX:
For
Netscape Navigator 3.0.1S
Help
Note:JPL cannot provide
VRML Browser support |
Download a VRML 2.0 Browser
to experience Mars in 3D!
Need a VRML Browser to see the Mars landscape in 3D? Simply click on
one of the links on the left and you're ready to go!
Macintosh Users: Currently there
is no VRML 2.0 browser available for the Macintosh. This is expected to
change soon.
A VRML Primer
Courtesy of vrml.sgi.com
VRML, (pronounced vur'mel and short for Virtual Reality Modeling Language)
is an industry standard that enables the development of networked, interactive
3D content and applications that can be deployed universally regardless
of operating system, microprocessor brand or rendering technology. VRML
2.0 is based on the Silicon Graphics Moving Worlds proposal, and was ratified
by the VRML community standards body in August 1996. Today, VRML 2.0 is
broadly supported by Web developers, small companies and big companies alike,
including Netscape, Microsoft, Sony, Apple and IBM.
We are hard wired for 3D!
We naturally organize information spatially. Think of receiving a phone
call at your desk. During the call you write down the person's phone number
on a Post-It note and stick it off to your left. A week later you go to
call that person back and you think "where did I put that phone number."
In your mind, you picture the Post-It and look over to see that it is exactly
where you left it. That is the spatial map that we all have in our heads
to keep track of this database called the world. VRML is the key that will
unlock the power of this natural ability to organize the current chaos of
the Web.
Put some order on the current 2D chaos
The current metaphor for the Web is starting to break. Most people have
a bookmark list that runs off the bottom of the page. Even if we were clever
enough to categorize the list, now it runs off the side of our screens...
Also, take a peek at your monitor, most of us have multiple application
windows open and are constantly trying to shuffle around to get to what
you want. These problems are inherent to organizing information on a 2D
surface. There are only so many pixels to go around. With 3D if you need
more space you simply move forward, or you turn your head. In 3D you get
infinite screen real estate for a finite number of pixels on the monitor.
Cool deal, eh?
Want to know more?
To learn more about VRML there are plenty of resources on the World Wide
Web. One such resource is vrml.sgi.com.
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