Amazon Web Services has announced the launch of Amazon Sumerian, a new application to make it easier for people to develop 3D experiences for VR, AR and 3D applications, and run them on mobile devices, head-mounted displays, digital signage, or web browsers.
With Amazon Sumerian’s editor, developers can build realistic virtual environments, populate them with 3D objects and animated characters, and script how they interact with each other and the application’s users.
VR and AR apps created in Amazon Sumerian will run in any browser that supports WebGL or WebVR graphics rendering, including Daydream, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and iOS mobile devices.
There is no software to install or upfront costs - customers pay only for the storage used for 3D assets and the volume of traffic generated to access the virtual scenes they create.
Until now, creating realistic virtual environments, or 'scenes,' required specialist skills and the use of multiple different tools for disciplines such as 3D modeling, environmental design, animation, lighting effects, audio editing, and more. Once a VR or AR application is ready, developers must learn and implement unique specifications and deployment processes for each of the major hardware providers. Amazon Sumerian solves these challenges by providing a web-based editor that developers can use to create professional-quality scenes, and a visual scripting tool to build the logic that controls how the objects and characters in the scenes behave and respond to actions.
"Customers across industries see the potential of VR and AR technologies for a wide range of uses—from educating and training employees to creating new customer experiences. But, customers are daunted and overwhelmed by the up-front investment in specialist skills and tools required to even get started building a VR or AR application," said Marco Argenti, VP, Technology, AWS. "With Amazon Sumerian, it is now possible for any developer to create a realistic, interactive VR or AR application in a few hours."