Initial video of Lagoa + Softimage simulation possibilities received more than 1 million hits in first week online.
Autodesk has entered into a license agreement with Lagoa Technologies for its multiphysics simulation technology. The Lagoa multiphysics simulation framework animators helps create realistic simulations of the dynamic behavior of liquids, cloth, foam, plastic deformations and soft body collisions.
Lagoa Materias is the creation of Brazilian developer Thiago Costa, who built the product using Softimage’s ICE (Interactive Creative Environment). The technology is included in the Autodesk Entertainment Creation Suites Premium and Softimage 2011 Subscription Advantage Pack.
When an initial video of the Lagoa/Softimage simulation was uploaded to Vimeo in mid-July, it received 300,000 views in the first day; a number that grew to well over 1 million by the end of the week.
Autodesk says Softimage users will be able to use Lagoa to create highly customized simulations with control properties that help govern incompressible fluids as well as inelastic, elastic and plastic deformations. Artists will be able to simulate fine detail interactions and collisions and use Lagoa simulator data to help create user-defined materials, particles and meshes. Lower resolution, interactive setups can be more quickly created from preset materials, allowing for more rapid effects pre-visualization of simulations requiring millions of points.
The multi-threaded Lagoa simulation framework took advantage of Softimage ICE, a node-based visual development platform for creating custom tools. ICE is a visual development paradigm, reducing the need to write complex scripts or computer code.
About the Developer
Costa created Lagoa Technologies (lagoa means “small lake” in Portuguese) to generalize physics formulas into one unified formulation. He has worked extensively in the post-production industry in Brazil, the United States, and Canada. Costa says the Lagoa multiphysics engine grew out of his desire as an artist to help resolve the technical obstacles he encountered in creating his art.
Costa participated in some of the first beta tests for Softimage ICE and began developing Lagoa Materials multiphysics simulation framework soon thereafter. He spent close to two years developing Lagoa before presenting it to Autodesk. “I had a solid pool of testers on my beta program, but once it was ready I wanted to make Lagoa available to the broader 3D community. Autodesk is an ideal partner to help me do that,” said Costa. “ICE is revolutionary in many ways. It is an excellent platform to develop this framework because it’s the fastest, most flexible system I know. Developing a powerful multiphysics framework was relatively easy and extraordinarily fast using ICE.”
You can read an expanded interview with Costa at CGSociety.
Product Availability
Lagoa Multiphysics is included in the Autodesk Maya Entertainment Creation Suite Premium and the Autodesk 3ds Max Entertainment Creation Suite Premium. Autodesk Softimage 2011 Subscription Advantage Pack and Autodesk Maya Entertainment Creation Suite Premium are now available, while Autodesk 3ds Max Entertainment Creation Suite Premium is expected to be available at a later date.
