Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/815991
4 cgw m a r c h . a p r i l 2 0 1 7 S P O T L I G H T WORKSTATION MARKET CONTINUES TO INCREASE The workstation market is thriving. In Q2, Jon Peddie Research (JPR) reported results as inspiring. In Q3, it raved about results even better than the prior quarter, record-setting in fact. In Q4, JPR took that positive commentary up another notch: If a mature market like this one can be said to have a "blowout" quarter, then this would be it. With total shipments of around 1.23 million units, the worldwide market for workstations grew at 20.1% year-over-year (with revenue close behind at 18.6%). The quarter not only set another record in units, but the 20.1% growth is at a level the industry hasn't seen since 2010, according to information in "Jon Peddie Research's Workstation Report Series." And it's worth noting that 2010's growth numbers were not very representative of real conditions, since they were measured relative to levels of 2009, when virtually all markets worldwide had bottomed in the depths of the Great Reces- sion. If we ignore 2010's recovery, the fourth quarter's year-over-year growth beat all previous quarters all the way back to early 2006. VICON DEBUTS SHOGUN Vicon recently revealed Vicon Shōgun, a new soware platform for entertainment users and the successor to Vicon's Blade soware. Shōgun delivers timesavings at each point in the motion-capture workflow with new features, such as calibration in Live mode, to ensure users have final quality skeletal data by day's end. Shōgun represents a step change in real-time performance capture, ensuring that solving stays true even when multiple actors undertake complex interactions that would usually disrupt real-time visualization. Vicon support for all the major real-time game engines enables film and game directors to visualize exactly how the final scene will look. Labeled solved data is recorded direct to disk, saving hours in postproduction. Shōgun will be available in Q2. LENOVO UNVEILS THINKSTATION P320 Lenovo Workstations is launching its VR-ready/VR-certified ThinkStation P320, enabling users to add virtual reality more easily into their workflow. The refreshed workstation, which will ship at the end of April, will be available in both full-size tower and small form factor, and comes equipped with Intel's newest high- performance Xeon processors and the fastest Core i7 processors. Both form factors will also support the latest Nvidia Quadro graphics cards. Artec 3D Ships AI-Based Leo Artec 3D has un- veiled the Artec Leo, a first-of-its-kind smart device and one of the fastest handheld 3D scanners – capturing data at up to 80 fps. Building on last year's release of Autopilot – an AI-based feature within the Artec Studio 11 soware that auto- matically processes raw 3D data into high-quality 3D models – the 3D scanner can autonomously select and process data onboard, without connecting to a tablet or computer. On Artec Leo's multi- touch, half HD screen, a user can watch while an object is digitized into a full-color 3D model in real time. The scanner's design allows for easy wireless operation and access to hard-to-reach locations. Users can bring the scanner closer to particular areas of inter- est in order to pick up intricate details with a 3D point accuracy of 0.1 mm. The current list price of Artec Leo is $25,800. Workstation vendor market shares for Q4 '16 REALLUSION CHARACTER CREATOR 2.0 LAUNCHES Reallusion has released Character Creator 2.0 with enhanced visual quality for 3D characters with industry-standard PBR shaders, enabling users to import PBR textures made with 3D paint tools. Users can convert their existing library of non-PBR content utilizing traditional shaders to the new PBR shaders. Character Creator 2.0 also features image-based lighting options, enabling users to customize their IBL environments for a more accurate preview inside a 3D tool or game engine environment. With the new Substance Material Generator, artists can create unlimited looks for clothing and objects with multi-layered materials, like leather, wood, metals, stone, and more. Embedded texture libraries can be added for a new level of realism, taking advantage of the new physically-based rendering system while procedurally generating custom variables like paint peel and wrinkles.