An innovative 3D game developed by Ontario college students for the iPhone was recently unveiled at the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona.

Students working with the Visualization Design Institute (VDI) core research team at Oakville's Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning designed and developed a glasses-free 3D mini game for the Apple iPhone, as part of an applied research collaboration project with the private sector.

Ontario colleges are increasingly expanding their reach into applied research and generating opportunities for collaboration with the private sector. Such collaborative projects give students practical experience and a professional edge as they enter the workforce, and provide companies with fresh ideas and creative solutions to industry-specific problems.

Sheridan's VDI conducts applied research in computer visualization, specializing in deploying game technologies to create 3D, real-time environments. It has a successful ten year track record of collaborating with industry and academia to develop innovative products. Working collaboratively with the development team at Spatial View Inc., a Toronto-based company specializing in 3D image processing, the VDI team not only designed the game but also refined its software development kit.

VDI worked with Spatial View and Canadian kids' broadcaster Family Channel through an Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) funding program called Interact to create the 3D iPhone game. Interact is designed to initiate new industry-academic interactions that create collaborative research partnerships between industry and Ontario universities, colleges or research hospitals.

The game, called Carnival Craze, can be played and viewed in natural 3D, without glasses, on an Apple iPhone equipped with a 3DeeShell from Spatial View. Once the partners agreed, the game was developed in a mere three weeks.

"This applied research project aligns Sheridan's research goals with the business objectives of industry partners," says Julia Walden, Director of the Visualization Design Institute. "By leveraging collaborating companies' investment of cash and expertise, OCE has the right strategy to ensure that funding is available so that Sheridan's students can apply sound academic methods to practical industry projects."

"Spatial View, Family Channel and the Sheridan Visualization Design Institute each bring unique expertise to the table to build a leading edge, 3D digital media experience," said John MacRitchie, Director of Business Development for OCE's Centre of Excellence for Communications and Information Technology.

Spatial View provided its 3DeeShell, a protective iPhone case equipped with a special 3D viewing lens, as well as a software development kit (SDK). Spatial View also provided advisory and collaborative support to the project. Family Channel provided sponsorship, creative and brand direction based on their team's expertise in game-play for audiences aged eight to 14.

"It's exciting to be able to work with these two great organizations on this project that advances our technology," said Brad Casemore, Spatial View's Vice President of Business Development. "As a result of this project, Spatial View will be able to identify improvements for the software and visualization tools we provide to 3D game developers and content creators, helping to reduce the costs and time-to-market associated with visually compelling content that can be viewed naturally in 3D."

VDI has plans for more collaboration with these partners in the future and is currently working on some other research projects, such as a new Motion Analysis Technology (MAT) that offers a lighter carbon footprint and that can be used for distance health applications.

Learn more at www.visualization.ca.