[Foundation-l] New project: WikiMake - library of free 3D models?

[Richard Symonds]

I'm coming in to the discussion a bit late, but why do we need a new 
wiki for this? Surely it falls under the remit of Commons. I hate to see 
a proliferation of wikis, it dilutes the community rather too much!

Am I missing something?

Richard Symonds
WMUK

On 11/02/2012 10:42, Ray Saintonge wrote:
> On 02/09/12 10:39 AM, Chris Lee wrote:
>> The largest problem I see with this is offering a 3D modelling software
>> that is free and (somewhat) easy to use. I know some exist, but they are
>> not nearly as friendly as Solidworks or Pro e. secondly, we would 
>> need to
>> offer a free viewer, so that they could be accessed from Wikipedia 
>> articles
>> or other projects. These are huge development barriers, as we barely 
>> have
>> resources for comparatively much less demanding softwares.
>>
>> Creating a 3D model of a screw is one thing that could be beneficial for
>> someone creating some type of assembly for school or work, but to 
>> create a
>> 3D model of a sculpture; how could we verify its proportions?
>>
>> I like the concept, but it is very far from the plain text, html,  js 
>> that
>> runs virtually everything we work on in Wikimedia.
>
> I remember such an idea crossing my mind at Wikimania Taipei in the 
> wake of Raoul Weiler's talk, and visiting the National Museum there 
> where a bowl in a glass case had some inscriptions all around that 
> were impossible to see in full because one couldn't see the back. It's 
> all well beyond my personal technical abilities, but it struck me as 
> something that could be very useful for representing museum 
> artifacts.  (I tried to go to a presentation about something similar 
> for the mining industry, but after driving more than an hour to get 
> there they had to cancel because a car had run into a power pole and 
> knocked out the electricity in the whole neighborhood for the whole 
> afternoon.)  I didn't follow up after that.
>
> I don't think that maintaining  proportions is a problem.  These 
> things already exist in architectural programs, medical imaging and 
> building scenic environments for video games. A simple object can be 
> completely photographed by four cameras in a tetrahedral pattern 
> around it. For the viewer 3D-printing would be less important that 
> being able turn and otherwise manipulate the object on screen.
>
> Ray
>
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Richard Symonds
Office&  Development Manager
Wikimedia UK
+44 (0) 207 065 0991
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