Revolutionary Hungarian Invention Claims American Award

VIRTUAL REALITY COMES TO LIFE WITH 3D DESIGN TOOL 'LEONAR3DO'

"TO EFFECTIVELY MODEL REALITY in 3D design, you have to be able to imagine being inside the picture." According to young inventor Daniel Ratai who had set out to revololutionize the traditional methods of 3D design. He emerged with the prototype of 'Leonar3Do', a system transforming an ordinary PC into a window of virtual reality, which was recently granted the 'Microsoft Education Award'.

"The user of Leonar3Do, even your average child, can create a virtual world emerging from the monitor of his own home," Ratai told Diplomacy and Trade. "You can actually manipulate the 3D image, create models, build structures and much more."

Ratai believes a picture is worth a thousand words."However, I also believe a single three-dimensional image is worth more than a thousand two-dimensional pictures." Similar technologies have gained ground in recent years in several fields including archeology, interior design, construction, criminial investigations, engineering, medicine, geology and tourism. According to former Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA) President, Szilveszter E. Vizi, even the scientific community has yet to realize the full potential of Leonar3Do."In my field of brain research it could be a tremendous boost," he said.

Series Of Awards In 2005, Ratai was awarded at 'Intel, International Science and Engineering Fair', where he claimed first prize in six categories. The same year, he won the 'Gyorgy Olah Young Scientist Award', presented by the Hungarian-born Nobel Prize-winning scientist, himself. Also in 2005, in recognition of Leonar3Do, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's 'Lincoln Laboratory' named a discovered planets after the young inventor. Ratai's family founded a company, '3D for All', for research into projects related to his invention. One of these was launched at the Institute of Experimental Medicine at MTA, concerning a 'two-photon scanning microscope' used in brain research. "Projects like this justify our expectations to become one of the major players on the 3D design market," Ratai said. Leonar3Do is a so-called 'work environment', and consists of two sensors placed on the PC monitor following the motion of the pen (which manipulates the 3D image), a pair of goggles (to see the image), and special software.

MAGYAR INNOVATION: With Leonar3Do, even a child can create a virtual world emerging from the monitor of his own home, manipulating the 3D image to create models, build structures and much more, inventor Daniel Ratai said.