EVENTS come and go, but virtualisation in the form of online 3D worlds or models ensures a lasting legacy.

Mr Lim Yeow Chong, Creative Director, Crystal Computer Graphics, talks about how the Shanghai World Expo virtual world was built using the company’s proprietary suite of 3D architectural virtualisation technologies called NCity.

Why create a virtual world of the Shanghai World Expo?
The virtual world mirrors the real Shanghai World Expo right down to every detail. And there are no spatial limitations. So, if people can’t attend the expo or if the venue is too crowded, they can just visit it virtually. Six months later, when the expo has ended, they can still view it online.

What kind of experience can the virtual world offer?
There are two versions of the Shanghai World Expo virtual world. One is the mirror world replicating the expo, where online visitors can take a tour of every country’s pavilion. The Singapore Pavilion, for example, introduces Singapore, its culture and its food diversity. There is also a virtual garden on the top floor, where visitors can watch orchids “grow” and get information on them.

What challenges did you face?
Building the models using NCity was not difficult. The challenge was in sourcing for information in order to build accurate models that would also look good. Our deadline to finish building the mirror world was in March this year, and even in March, many countries have yet to finish building their physical pavilions. It was difficult to visualise the pavilions using just floor plans. So we had to do the best we can and spend a lot of time at the worksites talking to the architects and designers to understand the pavilions.

How did the company get started on virtualisation projects?
We actually started out as an architectural firm but began building virtual models of buildings to offer to clients as an additional service. We could put all our work online using cloud computing, which was just taking off. Taking a step further four years ago, we applied for a grant from the Interactive Digital Media R&D Programme Office hosted by the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) to help us defray the research cost for NCity. When we were breaking into the international market, MDA also helped link us to other governments. It also connected us with commercial partners and potential clients.

One of our first projects resulting from the research was the virtualisation of Singapore’s landscapes such as Marina Bay. We then worked with a number of real-estate developers in China and even did a visualisation of China’s first manned space walk. When the expo came around, we thought it was a good idea to make a mirror world of the whole expo, and our new technology got the organiser interested.

What other virtual landscapes has the company built?
We built the virtual arenas of the Beijing Olympics and are now working those of the upcoming London Olympics. The Beijing Olympics organisers used the virtual arenas for the training of volunteers. In Jordan, we are now involved in a project using NCity for the master planning of cities. We are also working with property developers and urban planning ministries in China, Singapore and India.

What is the future trend of virtualisation?
Many virtual worlds have come and gone. They have been touted as social platforms but they have not worked. The main thrust of virtualisation should be serious games, to make the content more learning based.

Tell us about your upcoming projects.
We are currently researching new technologies to be used for education. One potential new project is a virtual world using NCity to teach Mandarin to children, where they have to use the right Chinese characters in order to buy virtual items or to kill monsters. This way, parents can quantify how much their children have learnt.