VRML Becomes ISO/IEC International Standard

VRML97 specification ratifies VRML 2.0 functionality as an official ISO
standard; ISO standardization guarantees stability for VRML specification
and encourages the adoption of VRML in other ISO/IEC standards

San Ramon, CA – January 26, 1998 – The VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling
Language) Consortium today announced that VRML has been approved as an
International Standard by the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
The VRML97 specification, also known as ISO/IEC 14772, was published by
ISO/IEC in December 1997 as a result of a close collaboration with the VRML
Consortium. VRML 97 defines the complete functionality of the VRML
Consortium’s VRML 2.0 specification as International Standard ISO/IEC
14772-1.

As an ISO/IEC standard, VRML has gained international endorsement and
provides a guarantee of specification stability, which will promote content
compatibility to drive the growth of 3D on the Internet. Adoption as an
ISO/IEC standard also enables VRML to be referenced as the 3D component in
other ISO/IEC standards – further widening the potential use of VRML-based
technology.

The VRML97 International Standard was developed by the Joint Technical
Committee 1 (JTC 1) of ISO and IEC in partnership with the VRML Consortium.
The formal processing of VRML97 to become an International Standard began
in June 1996 with the Consortium’s VRML 2.0 draft specification, when
representatives from the VRML Architecture Group (VAG) and JTC 1 met in
Kyoto, Japan and signed a cooperative agreement. VRML set an ISO/IEC record
as the first specification to be standardized within 18 months and the
first International Standard to be published in HTML.

Quotes
“Specifications that are adopted by ISO and IEC as International Standards
have demonstrated the highest degree of consensus, stability and quality,”
said George S. Carson, chairman of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 24, Computer Graphics
and Image Processing. “The adoption of VRML97 as an International Standard
represents an important step both for the VRML Community, and future ISO
standardization efforts that can reference the 3D technology of VRML97.”

“The VRML Consortium has done an outstanding job of driving broad
acceptance of VRML 2.0 as an industry standard,” said Ralph Rogers,
principal analyst for Multimedia at Dataquest. “The publication of VRML97
by ISO and IEC completes the process of making VRML the standard for
interactive 3D on the World Wide Web.”

“Congratulations are due to the members of the VRML Consortium and ISO/IEC
who have made this achievement possible,” said Neil Trevett, president of
the VRML Consortium. “The Consortium’s involvement in the publication of
VRML97 as an International Standard illustrates the critical role it is
playing in enabling 3D to become a widespread platform on the Internet.”

“The combination of the VRML community’s expertise and passion with
ISO/IEC’s formal processes and deep experience produced an International
Standard that we can all be proud of,” said Rikk Carey, co-author of the
VRML standard and president of Wasabi Software. “VRML97 is a shining
example of how open, consensus-oriented processes can create high-quality
technology standards in a reasonable amount of time.”

“As an Internet content developer, we see VRML97 further encouraging the
refinement of VRML as a robust and widespread media type for 3D on the
web,” said Lisa Goldman, president & CEO of Construct. “This is a major
milestone for VRML and the VRML community.”

VRML Consortium Information
The VRML Consortium, Inc. is a rapidly-growing nonprofit organization with
a mandate to establish and promote VRML as an open, ubiquitous standard for
3D graphics on the Internet. Comprised of over 60 leading technology
companies, the VRML Consortium members provide technical and marketing
expertise for the continued evolution of the VRML standard. Supporting an
open enrollment credo, the Consortium provides its members with early
access to new VRML technological and business developments through
participation in technical working groups and promotional and marketing
activities. Membership information on joining the VRML Consortium is
available at (http://www.vrml.org).

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