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Engineering Animation

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Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Engineering Animation, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 8 August 202518 sources
Engineering Animation, Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustrySoftware, Animation, Multimedia, Video games
Founded1990
FounderMartin Vanderploeg, Jay Shannan, Jim Bernard, Jeff Trom
Defunct2000
FateAcquired by Unigraphics Solutions, Inc. (later Siemens AG)
Headquarters
Ames
,
United States
Area served
United States, International
Key people
Matthew Rizai (CEO)
ProductsAnimation services, VisLab, VisFly, VisView, VisMockup, NetFly, VisNetwork, e-Vis.com, various multimedia titles and computer games

Engineering Animation, Inc., commonly known as EAI, was a service-oriented and software firm situated in Ames, Iowa, United States. From its establishment in 1990 until its purchase in 2000 by Unigraphics Solutions, Inc., it maintained its headquarters in Ames.[1] Unigraphics Solutions, now operating as a branch of the German global enterprise Siemens AG, incorporated EAI.[2] Throughout its operational years, EAI specialized in producing animations for legal litigation support, developing and marketing animation and visualization software, as well as creating various multimedia products spanning medical and computer gaming sectors.[3] A segment of EAI's operations continues today through the spin-off firm Demonstratives.[4]

History

Founded in 1990 by engineers Martin Vanderploeg, Jay Shannan, Jim Bernard, and Jeff Trom—who were closely connected with Iowa State University's Virtual Reality Applications Center (VRAC), which Vanderploeg and Bernard had established—EAI began its journey.[5] Later that year, Matthew Rizai—a mechanical engineer and software entrepreneur—joined the team and assumed the role of CEO.

Initially, EAI concentrated on crafting computer-generated animations that depicted crime scenes and technical courtroom testimonies for attorneys and expert witnesses,[6][7] before broadening their scope to include visualization tools relevant to medicine, product development, and additional sectors.[8][3] In 1994, the company introduced VisLab,[9] an animation software tailored for the graphics capabilities offered by the Silicon Graphics Unix platform.[10]

VisLab distinguished itself by utilizing hardware rendering for complex animations instead of relying solely on software processes. Steve Ursenbach, general manager of SGI's Application Division, remarked that "VisLab is the first software program to take such advantage of our hardware rendering capabilities."[11] The user interface incorporated the widely adopted Motif framework.[12]

EAI's animation work featured prominently in notable legal cases such as reconstructing the TWA Flight 800 disaster and crime scene analyses including the Nicole Brown Simpson murder[13] as well as coverage of the Oklahoma City bombing featured on NBC's Inside Edition.[14][15] In collaboration with the American Bar Association Judicial Division Lawyers Conference in 1997, EAI developed a CD-ROM titled "Computer Animation in the Courtroom – A Primer," which served as an instructional resource for employing computer-generated animations in crime scene reconstructions.[16]

Among its manufacturing clientele were leading companies such as Ford Motor Company, Motorola, Lockheed Martin, and 3M.[17][18]

Visualization and collaboration

Following VisLab's achievements with automotive industry clients, EAI introduced VisFly between 1995 and 1996, the first commercially successful 3D interactive visualization software, initially developed for SGI and later adapted for HP and Sun systems. This software was eventually migrated to Microsoft Windows and IBM AIX platforms, giving rise to the VisView and VisMockup product families. To enhance connectivity, networking solutions such as NetFly for VisFly and VisNetwork for VisView/VisMockup were implemented.

A critical factor in EAI's growth was its provision of visualization tools capable of converting standard CAD files into the JT format. The company's networking capabilities further advanced with the launch of e-Vis.com, an internet-based platform that prefigured many functionalities found in contemporary collaboration applications.

EAI Interactive

In 1996, EAI broadened its scope by acquiring a small Salt Lake City-based video game development studio headed by Bryan Brandenburg, which became the foundation for EAI Interactive. This branch operated with some autonomy and occasionally utilized resources from Ames to manage additional workload.

EAI Interactive's portfolio included titles such as Barbie Magic Hair Styler, Trophy Buck (published by Sierra On-Line), Championship Bass (Electronic Arts), A Bug's Life (Disney Interactive), Clue and Outburst (Hasbro Interactive), along with Scooby Doo: Mystery of the Fun Park Phantom and Animaniacs: A Gigantic Adventure (SouthPeak Games).

Outside the gaming sector, EAI’s medical and scientific illustration division developed interactive 3D educational products like The Dynamic Human for McGraw Hill and The Dissectible Human for Elsevier.

Recognition

In September 1997, Individual Investor listed EAI among "America's Fastest Growing Companies." CEO Rizai was highlighted by Businessweek in January 1998 as one of seven standout entrepreneurs of 1997. By 1999, Forbes ASAP placed EAI twenty-third on its list of the 100 most innovative technology firms in the United States.

An international company

At its height, EAI maintained offices throughout the United States and internationally. Its primary financial driver was the visualization software VisFly, later known as VisView, which has since become part of Teamcenter under Siemens Digital Industries Software following acquisitions beginning in 1999. The animation services division persists today as Demonstratives, a unit within Engineering Systems Inc. located in Aurora, Illinois.

Former employees of EAI have gone on to work at leading companies such as Pixar, Disney, Zygote Media Group, Hasbro, MediaTech, Milkshake Media, DreamWorks, and Maxis. In 2008, founders Vanderploeg and Rizai played instrumental roles in establishing Webfilings (currently Workiva), a SaaS company focused on corporate compliance software headquartered in Ames.

Animation services and special effects

Animation software

  • VisLab (1994)
  • VisModel (approximately 1996)

Visualization software

  • VisFly (1995)
  • NetFly (1996)
  • VisView (circa 1997)
  • VisMockup (approximately 1998)
  • VisFactory (around 1998)
  • VisNetwork (1998)
  • eVis.com (1999)

Multimedia titles

  • Barbie Magic HairStyler
  • Crayola Magic Coloring Book
  • MicroType Multimedia
  • The Dynamic Human

Computer games

External links

  1. ↑ "Company Overview of Engineering Animation, Inc". Bloomberg.com Research. Engineering Animation, Inc. was acquired by Unigraphics Solutions, Inc. on 10/23/2000.
  2. ↑ "Siemens to Acquire UGS Corp". Siemens PLM Software Newsroom. January 25, 2007.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Marsh, Ann (March 23, 1998). "Say It With Animation". forbes.com. pp. 146–148 (in the hardcopy version). Retrieved 1 February 2017. But no company makes animation for as many purposes as EAI.
  4. ↑ "Demonstratives History". Demonstratives.com. Demonstratives. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  5. ↑ Upah, Eleni (August 13, 2013). "Merging engineering and business". Iowa State University College of Engineering News. Iowa State University College of Engineering. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  6. ↑ Mahoney, Diana Phillips (January 1994). "See you in court". Computer Graphics World. 17 (1). PennWell Publishing Corp.: 49. (EAI) has developed a method of simulating criminal activity to help juries in civil litigation trials visualize complex engineering principles germane to the case.
  7. ↑ "Demonstratives History". Demonstratives.com. Engineering Animation, Inc. (EAI) was established. Retrieved 8 February 2017. The company's initial focus was the creation of physically accurate animations of complex engineering systems for use as demonstrative evidence in the courtroom
  8. ↑ William F. Long (March 1999). "Three-Dimensional Anatomy of Human Body, With Animation, for Medical Training". AdvancedTechnologyProgram.gov. National Institute of Standards and Technology. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
  9. ↑ Deitz, Dan (December 1995). "A virtual cadaver comes to life". Mechanical Engineering-CIME. 117 (12). American Society of Mechanical Engineers: 136.
  10. ↑ Mahoney, Diana Philips (January 1995). "This animation starts with a bang". Computer Graphics World. 18 (1). PennWell Publishing Corp.: 70.
  11. ↑ Belleville, Laureen (November 1993). "Fast and accurate 3D animation". Computer Graphics World. 16 (11). PennWell Publishing Corp.: 23+.
  12. ↑ "ENGINEERING ANIMATION, INC.'s VISLAB 2.0 MAKES 3D VISUALIZATION MORE INTUITIVE". The Free Library by Farlex. Gale Group. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  13. ↑ Associated Press (January 22, 1995). "OJ SIMPSON TRIAL: COMPUTER SIMULATION OF INCIDENT". APArchive. Associated Press TV.
  14. ↑ Marsh, Ann (March 23, 1998). "Picture This". Forbes Magazine. 161 (6): 146. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  15. ↑ "Oklahoma City Bombing-Engineering Animations". YouTube.com. Engineering Animations. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  16. ↑ "Computer Animation in the Courtroom". ABA Journal. 83: following p.96. February 1997.
  17. ↑ Lisa Branston (June 4, 1998). "Engineering Animation Jumps On Steady Stream of New Deals". Wall Street Journal Interactive. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  18. ↑ "Ford, and your mom, improve processes". Design News: 25. July 5, 1999.

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