Fashion Research Institute brings premium content to Science Sim

Press Release: Fashion Research Institute Collaborates with Intel Labs to Bring Premium Digital Content to Science Sim

New York, NY – “Content is King” has long been the mantra of the gurus of the Internet.  And now, Fashion Research Institute has teamed up with Intel Labs to provide users with a myriad of choices in premium digital content to help give those users a solid start to their Science Sim efforts.

Fashion Research Institute has been collaborating with Intel Labs since 2009, helping to push the limits of content development.

“Compelling content will drive the growth of virtual world grids; performance is essential to sustain that growth. But compelling content must be there first for the platform to host the business models to follow, including ours,” says FRI CEO Shenlei Winkler. “In particular, our research, which is supported by studying more than 65,000 new users to virtual worlds, shows that premium avatar customization content in particular aids in user uptake and deeper immersion to the platform”

FRI provided Science Sim with six full avatars in various skin tones for male and females with multiple facial hair and makeup options, as well as a range of clothing, jewelry, shoes, and hairstyles. Additionally, FRI has provided landscaping, texture packs and buildings of various sorts.

“We were thrilled to have the opportunity to continue to collaborate with Intel Labs to bring over 800 items of inventory to the Science Sim project,” says Winkler.

“Along with recent performance enhancements, we are laying a foundation for further exploration of new problem solving methodologies. Fashion Research Institute is collaborating in this effort through their recent content contribution,” says Dr. Mic Bowman, Principal Engineer, Intel Labs.

(Image courtesy Fashion Research Institute, Inc.)

Teach Parallel, the Intel Software Network TV, recently interviewed Dr. Mic Bowman, the principal engineer in Intel Labs, who leads the Virtual World Infrastructure research project, in which he discusses advances in Science Sim and the FRI content contribution. http://blip.tv/play/g5FLgoSJXgA%2Em4v

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About Fashion Research Institute, Inc.: FRI is at the forefront of developing innovative design & merchandising solutions for the apparel industry.  They research and develop products and systems for the fashion industry that sweepingly address wasteful business and production practices. All items included in the Science Sim content library are covered by a license.  The class of the content determines the exact license. Scripts are covered by BSD, GPL, Creative Commons, and Public Domain licenses. All other content contributed is covered by Fashion Research Institute’s content license.

Science Sim is part of an evolution toward online 3D experiences that look, act and feel real. Sometimes dubbed the “3D internet,” Intel Labs refers to this technology trend as immersive connected experiences, or ICE. ScienceSim is differentiated from most virtual world environments
by its open source architecture. ScienceSim leverages open source building blocks (installation utilities, management tools, client viewers, etc.) based on OpenSimulator (OpenSim) software.