Overview of global stereo software solutions

Many users from the high-tech sectors of biochemistry / molecular research, geo-information (GIS, photogrammetry & Lidar), medicine (CT, MRI & ultrasound) or construction (CAD, CAM & 3D printing) - often do not know which of the many software applications offered on the market are capable of stereoscopic visualization with spatial 3D-stereo and therefore true depth-perception, in contrast to the standard, flat and perspective, monoscopic representation.

After two years of intensive research and in cooperation with leading software manufacturers, the company Schneider Digital, recognized for its professional 4K/8K and VR/AR hardware solutions, has published a global market overview of all 3D-stereo software solutions for the first time. More than 300 applications are listed and linked with their creators in a monthly updated community-based database. Schneider Digital first checks the individual applications for their basic 3D-stereo functionality to then certify them individually for plug & play operation with its 3D monitors or the smart VR wall. The overview provides an open platform for users and software manufacturers on which they can quickly and easily find stereoscopic software solutions tailored to their requirements.

Through the continuous maintenance of this central database, in which all worldwide relevant 3D-stereo software applications are listed, the company Schneider Digital provides users with an always up-to-date orientation aid, how their work processes and visualization quality can be improved using 3D-stereo technologies. A declared goal of the Miesbach-based company is to help as many software manufacturers as possible to effectively integrate stereoscopic image output options into their existing applications. This offer is also extended to the implementation of a stereoscopic mouse pointer, which enables the user to directly and intuitively select every point, surface and edge in 3D space. Schneider Digital has provided significant company resources for this pioneering work for over two years. As a result, a manufacturer and hardware-independent "Open-Source Compendium" was created to benefit all software manufacturers and application users. At a glance, this global market overview shows which of the available software applications have native 3D-stereo capability. In other words - "which software is able to display 3D data true-to detail, holographically, as real objects in 3D space, and which software already has a 3D-stereo cursor"?

Cross-industry compendium of 3D-stereo applications

Following the vision of creating a comprehensive market overview of all relevant 3D-stereo applications, Schneider Digital tested more than 300 software applications for their 3D-stereo functionality. The company has already certified most of them for operation with its own, passive 3D monitor systems, the 3D PluraView monitors.

Software solutions from the geospatial industry, medicine, CAx, DCC/CGI and biotech sectors, can be found under the download link. The applications are sorted according to software and areas of use. They are listed and linked in alphabetical order, including information about the respective manufacturer. With the help of this overview, software manufacturers and users can quickly and easily find a solution tailored to their requirements. It is also planned to further expand this collection with video tutorials for 3D-stereo configuration settings and include a graphics card database with all suitable, stereo-capable and professional graphic cards. The project initiator and CEO of Schneider Digital, Josef Schneider, summarizes the goal of the project as follows:

“Our vision is the continuous expansion of this market overview, creating a complete, community-based database of all relevant 3D-stereo applications. In addition to listing all manufacturers and applications, we want to integrate the relevant documentation, ‘how-to’ guides and video tutorials for the software configuration there.”

More than 300 3D-stereo solutions at a glance

Most of the currently 300 software solutions have been extensively tested by Schneider Digital for their 3D functionality and certified for use with 3D monitors or power walls. The geospatial section includes leading 3D software applications from Esri, Hexagon, Bentley, Trimble, DAT/EM Systems, and Terrasolid, among many others. The "Medical" category includes, for example, the 3D Slicer software from KITWARE, the 3D application Stereotaxy from Brainlab, Vesalius3D, and the 3D software syngo.foursight TEE & Cinematic Anatomy from Siemens. All 3D software applications in the overview are widespread solutions for sophisticated visualization. For design and modeling in the CAx area, 3D-stereo solutions are listed, e.g. from Autodesk, Dassault Systems, PTC, Siemens and ESI. Autodesk, Blender, Dassault Systems, KeyShot, and Lumiscaphe offer professional 3D software solutions for design and rendering. “Our goal is to make stereo technology more widespread in the market for use with professional applications. We would like to further establish the advantages of working and visualization in 3D-stereo for the most important industry applications," says Josef Schneider, summarizing the benefits of the market overview.

Complete 3D-stereo workstation solutions - a powerful combination of software and hardware

Working with holographically displayed 3D models is becoming increasingly established in application areas such as research, analytics, development, construction, design or medical diagnostics. The passive-stereo 3D PluraView monitors are now the industry standard for all stereoscopic software applications because they guarantee precise 3D-stereo visualization with the highest resolution of up to 4K per eye. They are used in a wide variety of areas, such as photogrammetry, GIS/mapping, Lidar point clouds, laser scanning, oil & gas exploration, archaeology, AEC/BIM, visualization of 3D city models, CAx, medical or biotechnology and molecular chemistry.

3D visualization is a complex subject which can only lead to excellent, industrial-grade visualization results, if the software and hardware components work flawlessly together. Schneider Digital has over 25 years of industry and product experience with sophisticated professional hardware and has gathered detailed market knowledge and application expertise over these years. Schneider's experience has proved: the combination of computing performance and visualization technology is essential! If you use a 3D-stereo software solution and want to work stereoscopically - or with VR/AR - you need a competent CPU/GPU hardware combination. Only in perfect interaction with powerful, professional hardware can landscapes, buildings, entire cities, complex CAD models, GIS infrastructure, industrial processes or human anatomy be processed and visualized in three dimensions, true to detail, efficiently and smoothly. The larger the data sets to be processed are, the higher the demands on the performance of the workstations and the image quality of the 3D monitors. Professional users with demanding 3D work tasks benefit from Schneider Digital’s visualization technology, in combination with high-performance workstations and 3D/VR/AR input devices as complete workplace solutions.

About Schneider Digital

Schneider Digital is a globally active, full-service provider for professional 3D-stereo, 4K/8K and VR/AR hardware solutions.
Schneider Digital supplies you with the optimal monitor-, workstation-, graphics- and peripheral devices for demanding applications in the geospatial sector, meeting the highest requirements for 3D-Stereo and VR/AR systems.