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Brite Computers Gives 3-D Display Systems to MCC and RIT


Brite Computers donated state-of-the-art 3-D display hardware and software, with a total value of $75,000, to Monroe Community College and Rochester Institute of Technology. The 3-D autostereoscopic display systems include servers, software and display screens. MCC and RIT will use the systems for enhanced visual learning and curriculum development. Each system is valued at $37,500.

“This is the only technology of its kind in the world,” says John Smith, chairman and chief executive officer of Brite Computers, and an alumnus of both MCC and RIT. “It is our hope that through collaborative efforts we can create mutually beneficial opportunities by enhancing the learning experience for MCC and RIT students.”

MCC will incorporate its system into the college’s Faculty Innovation Center, a centralized resource for curricula and program development, to enhanced 3-D programming for use in classroom instruction and demonstrations.

The technology, developed by Opticality Corp., provides “eye popping” 3-D displays, says Harvey Palmer, dean of RIT’s Kate Gleason College of Engineering. The college plans to use its display system in computer-aided design projects and to showcase multidisciplinary engineering senior-design projects—for example, showing 3-D animation of new product designs. The system will be shared among RIT’s mechanical engineering department and industrial and systems engineering department in the engineering college and with the university’s College of Imaging Arts and Sciences, which plans to use it in coursework in animation and visualization.

“The gift is the catalyst for some exciting inter-college collaborations between faculty and students in engineering and imaging arts and sciences, particularly in the areas of animation and industrial design,” says Palmer. The creation of innovative products requires a true partnership across this spectrum of disciplines. First-hand exposure to this cross-disciplinary environment is of great value to our students.”

The system is ideally suited for educational purposes, product modeling, retail point-of-purchase and trade-show displays, and “virtual tours,” says Smith, who earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from RIT in 1973. Smith earned an associate’s degree in business administration from MCC in 1971.

“The technology opens up new concepts for knowledge presentation and academic content delivery,” said Jeffrey P. Bartkovich, Ph.D., vice president of MCC’s Educational Technology Services division. MCC is excited to be a part of the research efforts to explore 3-D technology’s potential for learning.”

Smith and his son, Justin, are directors of the MCC Foundation Board. John Smith also serves as chair of the Alumni Council.

This article written in collaboration with Mike Saffran, RIT.

Rosanna Condello
Public Affairs
07/05/2005