From owner-iris-on-line@sgigate.sgi.com Mon Jun 6 23:54:36 1994 Return-Path: Received: from mx3.u.washington.edu by stein2.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW94.4/UW-NDC Revision: 2.30 ) id AA09379; Mon, 6 Jun 94 23:54:36 -0700 Received: from sgigate.SGI.COM by mx3.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW94.4/UW-NDC Revision: 2.30 ) id AA23856; Mon, 6 Jun 94 23:54:23 -0700 Received: from localhost (root@localhost) by sgigate.sgi.com (8.6.4/8.6.4) id AAA20050; Tue, 7 Jun 1994 00:24:16 GMT Received: from relay.sgi.com (relay.sgi.com [192.26.51.36]) by sgigate.sgi.com (8.6.4/8.6.4) with SMTP id RAA20037; Mon, 6 Jun 1994 17:24:07 -0700 Received: from hole19.csd.sgi.com by relay.sgi.com via SMTP (920330.SGI/920502.SGI) for iris-on-line@sgigate.sgi.com id AA24009; Mon, 6 Jun 94 17:23:07 -0700 Received: by hole19.csd.sgi.com (931110.SGI/911001.SGI) for iris-on-line@sgigate.sgi.com id AA02647; Mon, 6 Jun 94 17:19:51 -0700 From: "IRIS On-Line" Message-Id: <9406061719.ZM2645@hole19.csd.sgi.com> Date: Mon, 6 Jun 1994 17:19:49 -0700 X-Mailer: Z-Mail-SGI (3.0S.1026 26oct93 MediaMail) To: iris-on-line@sgigate.sgi.com Subject: IRIS On-Line June 1994 Vol 2 Issue 6 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Mime-Version: 1.0 Sender: owner-iris-on-line@sgigate.sgi.com Precedence: bulk Status: OR IRIS On-Line VOL 2 ISSUE 6 June, 1994 TABLE OF CONTENTS NEWS FROM SILICON GRAPHICS ========================== 1. LATEST 32-BIT APPLICATION BENCHMARKS SHOW MIPS-BASED PCs FASTEST AVAILABLE FOR WINDOWS NT 2. SILICON GRAPHICS SETS TPC-A DATABASE RECORD WITH ORACLE7 ON CHALLENGE SERVER 3. POWERFUL NEW 200 MHz MIPS R4400 BEGINS SAMPLING THIRD PARTY NEWS ================ 4. MOVIEOLA FROM RADIANCE SOFTWARE INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL ARTICLES AND REFERENCES ================================= 5. 3D GOES UNDERGROUND 6. A BEAUTY OF A BEAST 7. STRIKING OIL WITH 3D VISUALIZATION 8. MAPPING MIRACLES AT MOOMBA 9. A DREAM COME TRUE 10. SEEING BENEATH THE SURFACE To subscribe, send email to list-manager@sgi.com. The message should consist of the command "subscribe iris-on-line". Your return email address will be added to the subscription list. If you wish to receive IRIS On-Line at an address other than that from which you are sending your request, send email to iris-on-line- editor@sgi.com. Include your email address in the message. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ NEWS FROM SILICON GRAPHICS ========================== 1. LATEST 32-BIT APPLICATION BENCHMARKS SHOW MIPS-BASED PCs FASTEST AVAILABLE FOR WINDOWS NT MIPS-Based PCs Run Windows NT Applications up to 3.08 Times the Performance of Fastest Intel Pentium and up to 1.65 Times the Alpha AXP On May 23, 1994 MIPS Technologies, Inc. released results from the new Application Benchmark Suite which show MIPS-based RISC PCs operating native 32-bit Microsoft Windows NT(tm) software applications significantly faster than PCs based on other microprocessors. The tests, which involve running five different applications scripted with real sets of data, show that a MIPS- based system (with a MIPS(r) R4400(tm) microprocessor at 200 MHz) runs these applications up to 3.08 times the performance of PCs with an Intel Pentium P54C microprocessor (90 MHz), up to 5.49 times the performance of PCs with an Intel 80486 DX-2 microprocessor (66 MHz), and up to 1.65 times the performance of an Alpha AXP (200 MHz). Each system used in the benchmarks are believed by MIPS to be the fastest or best configuration on the market today. "MIPS-based personal computers and servers truly deliver the power of Windows NT applications," said Tom Whiteside, president of MIPS Technologies. "Because the benchmarks are based on real applications, and the way applications run is the key purchasing factor for users, they can be the basis for practical comparisons of Windows NT platforms. These application benchmarks prove that MIPS-based PCs deliver the highest real performance and the best price/performance."separate companies, including Acer America Corporation; DeskStation Technology, Inc.; NEC Technologies, Inc.; NeTpower, Inc.; ShaBLAMM! Computer; Shuttle Computer International; Siemens Nixdorf; and UniMicro Systems. MIPS-based desktop and servers are designed to optimally run Windows NT and offer the best performance at the lowest price points. MIPS-based PCs smoothly run existing MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows application software, but their power becomes especially apparent with 32-bit Windows NT applications. New 32-bit applications are now becoming available. - end - 2. SILICON GRAPHICS SETS TPC-A DATABASE RECORD WITH ORACLE7 ON CHALLENGE SERVER Company Doubles Previous Open Systems Database Record On May 2, 1994 Silicon Graphics, Inc. announced that it has broken another open systems database performance record by achieving a TPC-A number that nearly doubles the previous record. The company achieved 2,049 transactions per second (TPS) on the Transaction Processing Council benchmark by running the Oracle7(tm) relational database management system in a client/server configuration using a 31-processor Challenge(tm) symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) server and 20 Indy(tm) desktop workstations. This TPC-A number is nearly 100 percent higher than any other TPC- A number reported to date by any vendor running a non-proprietary database, including vendors of mainframe, massively parallel or SMP systems. The company's performance record achieved a cost of $5,434 per TPS, putting Silicon Graphics among the leaders for high-end price/performance. "Online transaction processing (OLTP) was the primary database direction of the 1980s. In the 1990s, corporations need to leverage their online data to maintain competitive advantage. This will fuel the growth of a second technical wave called data mining with system requirements even more extreme than OLTP," said Ross Bott, general manager of Silicon Graphics' Information Products Division. "Not only does Silicon Graphics offer the industry's leading transaction processing performance, but it also provides the most powerful hardware platform for this new level of data analysis." Silicon Graphics' Challenge servers are uniquely suited to meet the needs of users who want to move their customer data off mainframes, organize it and analyze it to gain a better understanding of consumers' behavior and interests. Utilizing sophisticated consumer databases, data mining enables organizations to conduct pattern recognition and identify trends in industries such as transportation, media, manufacturing, retail, financial services and telecommunications. Silicon Graphics' visual computing expertise enables the company to deliver a client/server architecture that is optimal for multimedia databases and the database visualization applications required for this new level of analysis. The Challenge SMP architecture has already established itself as a powerful database server technology. In November 1993, Silicon Graphics announced an unmatched TPC-B performance number of 1,786 transactions per second ($1605 per TPS) by running Oracle7 on a 28- processor Challenge server. In addition, all the major relational database and object database management products are available for Silicon Graphics servers. "The TPC-A performance record which Silicon Graphics and Oracle are announcing here is another dramatic demonstration of the scalability and high-end power of Oracle7 and Silicon Graphics' Challenge systems," said Jerry Baker, senior vice president, product line division for Oracle Corporation. "We look forward to extending this power into the data mining market with EDS and Silicon Graphics using the parallel query capabilities of Oracle's latest 7.1 release." Challenge servers for the database market are available through Silicon Graphics' OEMs, systems integrators and value-added resellers. These relationships will provide turnkey solutions and integration tools and services to meet the needs of the commercial marketplace. For example, Silicon Graphics and EDS recently announced a multi-year strategic alliance to deliver high- performance decision support databases and multimedia information management solutions to consumer-focused companies worldwide. In addition, Tandem Computers is an OEM of Challenge servers, focusing on online transaction processing markets. "Achieving this outstanding TPC-A result is a significant accomplishment that reconfirms the considerable capabilities of the Silicon Graphics Challenge systems as database servers," said Toby Tobaccowala, president, Media Division, of EDS' Communications Industry Group. "These systems possess the extremely high performance levels that are mandatory for data mining, which is a key reason why EDS chose to ally itself with Silicon Graphics. Combining these strengths with our dbINTELLECT(tm) product line creates a powerful database decision support offering for the marketplace." The highly scalable, binary-compatible Challenge server product family includes the Challenge XL enterprise system with up to 36 R4400(tm) MIPS(r) RISC processors for the highest levels of performance and expandability; the Challenge L departmental system with up to 12 R4400 processors, offering price/performance leadership; and the Challenge M single-processor workgroup server. - end - 3. POWERFUL NEW 200 MHz MIPS R4400 BEGINS SAMPLING RISC Microprocessor up to 3.08 Times the Performance of Intel's Fastest Pentium On May 23, 1994 MIPS Technologies, Inc. and semiconductor partners Integrated Device Technology (IDT), NEC Corporation and Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. announced the availability of the 200 MHz version of the MIPS(r) R4400(tm) RISC microprocessor. Based on the Application Benchmark Suite of actual 32-bit Microsoft Windows NT(tm) applications with real data, the MIPS R4400/200 processor runs up to 3.08 times the performance of the fastest available Intel Pentium processor, the P54C running at 90 MHz. The powerful 64-bit MIPS microprocessor takes advantage of an unprecedented 0.35 micron CMOS process. The R4400/200 is optimized for performance of real software applications rather than synthetic benchmarks. With an initial measured SPECint92 of 117 and a SPECfp92 of 131, the R4400/200 is designed for the increasingly demanding computing needs of both servers and desktops in the UNIX(r) and Windows NT operating system markets. The R4400/200 processor is based on the original 64-bit R4000 processor, first introduced in 1991. The 200 MHz R4400 processor represents the fourth upgrade to the product since its introduction. To date, the fastest MIPS chip has been the current 150 MHz R4400 microprocessor, which has been available since May 1993. "MIPS is firmly committed to accelerating the pace of microprocessor technology and, with our world-class semiconductor partners, delivering the highest applications performance on the planet," said Tom Whiteside, president of MIPS Technologies. "MIPS not only concentrates on very fast architectural implementations but also in the technology to best deliver solutions for current industry needs, as well as those of the next generation of computing. Some of these core MIPS technologies include high bandwidth for real-time information analysis, symmetric multiprocessing for the highest scalable performance in transaction or query processing, and true digital data capabilities to enable effective use of voice, sound, speech, video and graphics." In addition to the 200 MHz R4400 microprocessor, MIPS expects to announce its next generation processor, code named T5, later in 1994. MIPS also expects to announce availability of its processor specialized for supercomputing and high-performance image processing, code-named TFP, later this summer. T5 represents the next step for MIPS in peak general computing performance, while TFP represents the MIPS peak for supercomputing. In keeping with other MIPS processors, T5 will maintain complete binary compatibility with software for R4xxx processors, while providing a substantial leap in performance. MIPS customers already have received complete specifications on T5, and were involved early in its design. Other MIPS processors such as Orion(tm), or the R4600(tm) microprocessor, should continue to aggressively increase in performance. Orion is designed for dramatic uniprocessor midrange power with outstanding price/performance. Like the current 150 MHz processor, R4400/200 is a true 64-bit superpipelined RISC microprocessor with 32 Kb primary cache (16 Kb for instructions and 16Kb for data) and support for secondary cache of up to 4 megabytes. It is designed for demanding symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) performance with support for the three major types of SMP: snoopy bus, duplicate tag and directory-based. The R4400/200 has a die size of 184 square millimeters with 2.3 million transistors. The sampling price of the R4400/200 will be set individually by IDT, NEC and Toshiba. First samples have already been shipped, and general sampling begins in June 1994. INSIGHT FROM MIPS PARTNERS "By reaching the 200 megahertz speed level, we are able to demonstrate our performance leadership," said Larry Jordan, IDT's vice president of marketing. "We believe the superiority of the MIPS architecture allows this level of performance for the R4400 and will also allow achievement of this milestone for the Orion R4600 within 12 months." Integrated Device Technology, Inc. designs, manufactures and markets high-speed CMOS VLSI integrated circuits with sub-half micron feature sizes. The company's product lines are synergistic and are targeted at providing products that support the accelerating rate of change in the power of microprocessors. The company focuses its efforts on four product areas (logic, microprocessor, specialized memory and SRAM cache) that serve the desktop computer, supercomputer, data communications and office automation markets. Head-quartered in Santa Clara, Calif., IDT employs approximately 2,615 people worldwide. "NEC's commitment to supply leading-edge products continues with our introduction of the 200 MHz VR4400. Our state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities worldwide enable us to easily produce volume quantities of MIPS processors at highly competitive prices," said Basheer Ahmed, product marketing manager for VR-Series products at NEC Electronics Inc. "This manufacturing strength also allows us to supply total system solutions with supporting chip sets, reference designs and multi-chip modules that take full advantage of the MIPS RISC technology. Future products will further demonstrate our continuing support for this high- performance architecture." NEC Corporation (NIPNY) is a $31 billion international manufacturer of computer, communications and semiconductor products. NEC Electronics Inc., headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., is an affiliate of NEC Corporation. The company manufactures and markets an extensive line of electronic products including ASICs, microprocessors and microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), memories and components. The company operates a 676,000- square-foot manufacturing facility in Roseville, Calif. "This newest device demonstrates Toshiba's continuing commitment to MIPS RISC architecture," said Amar Dhillon, director, system products. "We are very pleased that Toshiba's advanced 0.3 micron CMOS process technology gives us an edge in delivering CPU solutions that continue to push the performance envelope." Toshiba America Electronics Components, Inc. (TAEC) is the American manufacturing, sales and marketing arm of one of the world's largest suppliers of semiconductors, integrated circuits and electronic components for industrial and consumer applications. The company is the recognized leader in CMOS technology and has one of the broadest IC product lines in the industry. In addition, Toshiba is a leading manufacturer of technologically advanced electron tubes and solid state devices, including color picture tubes, liquid crystal displays, medical tubes, lithium ion batteries, microwave components, laser diodes and optical transmission devices. The company is located at 9775 Toledo Way, Irvine, Calif., 92718. - end - THIRD PARTY NEWS ================ 4. MOVIEOLA FROM RADIANCE SOFTWARE INTERNATIONAL Radiance Software International _____________________________________________________________________ Movieola from Radiance Software International (Berkeley, California) is a new high-end, low-cost photo-realistic 3D modeling system targeted at the Silicon Graphics system user. It provides fast, intuitive modeling tools, designed for the artist and engineer with little or no computer experience. By providing high-end features at an entry-level base price of around $4000, it is aimed at users of existing solutions such as Wavefront and Alias as well as new users looking for a high-quality entry-level solution running on an SGI (especially the Indigo/Indy) machine. With its powerful, yet easy-to-use features, Movieola will appeal to anyone interested in visual authoring: artists, game writers, designers, architects, scientists. Movieola's spline-based modeling system provides intuitive tools for sculpting and manipulating objects with real-time feedback. The unique Potter tool allows simultaneous manipulation of sections, profile, axis and twist using a combined curve/line editor, to create composite NURBS-based objects. The axis manipulation can be used to create realistic skin movements. Deformation tools include 'bend' and 'mold with fingers' (as you would a piece of clay), and 3D manipulation of spline control points. Beveled 3D text with multiple fonts (normally an expensive add-on in other products) can be used to create flying logos. Interactive editors for materials and textures provide the'costume' for the models. Movieola provides an open, seamless graphical interface to photo realistic renderers. It comes bundled with the popular Rayshade raytracer. Realistic shadows, multiple layers of texture and bump mapping, reflections and atmospheric effects can be applied. The system provides a consistent, well-integrated interface designed by real artists, based on standard Motif and SGI Inventor 3D look and feel. Features include 3D cut/paste with other desktop tools, context-sensitive on-line cues and easy management of large projects. Movieola will support export/import of multiple file formats including Inventor, DXF, etc. Movieola Version 1.0 consists of the modeler and a photo-realistic renderer. The complete Movieola suite will also include animation and post-production tools. To obtain more information and a demo version of Movieola, you can use anonymous FTP to FTP.netcom.com (pub/radiance), or contact: Radiance Software Int'l, 1726 Francisco Street, Berkeley, CA 94703 Tel: (510) 848-7621 E-mail: movieola@radiance.com Fax: (510) 848-7613 _________________________________________________________________________ MOVIEOLA 3D MODELER A powerful yet affordable 3D solution for Silicon Graphics Workstations Sculptor - It's as easy as playing with clay! o Primitives - Choose from a library of basic shapes (cylinder, cube, torus, etc). o Potter - Intuitive sweep/extrude/bend tool lets you make complex NURBS-based 3D models easily. Manipulate sections, profile, axis and twist in a single interface o Spline Editing - Mix lines and splines to create complex curved shapes in Potter. Load and save spline primitives. o 3D Text - Create "flying logos" in a variety of PostScript fonts. Change the bevel of the text o Tweak - Tweak individual or groups of surface control points or vertices. Make selected portions of the object more detailed. o Bend - Bend or twist the object about any axis. o Mold - Unique feature that allows you to push and pull the surface using "3D molding tools". o Face Builder - Stitch objects together into a single mesh of faces and add new faces. o Mirror and Branch- Create mirrored objects by interactively manipulating a real "mirror" in 3D. Pick a vertex on an object and branch off a new hierarchically linked object. o 3D Manipulators - Unique, intuitive "3D widgets" allow direct interaction of 3D objects. o Assemble - "Snap" objects in place by picking. o Object List - Select, rename, hide / show, and manage objects using this intuitive gizmo. o Export/Import - Multiple file formats such as Inventor, Autodesk DXF, Wavefront, etc. Costume - Clothe your objects with materials and textures! o Material Editor - Make your objects shiny or transparent, set their specular and photo-real properties. Load from an elaborate palette of materials. Create or save your own materials. o Texture Editor - Wrap your objects with RGB color/ bitmap images. Interactively scale, translate, rotate, or mirror texture maps. o Texture Layering - Create upto 20 layers of intensity, bump or transparency maps, to create "bumpy skin" or "multiple decals." Limelight - The (photo) real show begins .. at the touch of a button! o Light Editor - Create and edit different types of lights - Directional, Spot, Point , Ambient and Headlight. Let light shine on selected objects. o Rayshade - Produce professional quality ray-traced images. Create real shadows, reflections, multiple textures and bump maps, atmospheric effects, anti-aliasing , and so on - all using an intuitive graphical interface - no coding or calculations! Fork off and graphically monitor the progress of multiple renderings without going into a "shell"! ... And now the applause! o 100% Graphical Interface - based on standard Motif and SGI Inventor 3D interface. o Undo/ Redo - mechanism for most operations. o 3D Clipboard - 3D cut/ paste with other apps. o Cue Cards - Context-sensitive on-line help. o Coming later in a sequel - Choreographer (animation), Multiple Renderers (such as Renderman), Video/Paint (post-production). ______________________________________________________________________ Radiance Software International, 1726 Francisco St., Berkeley, CA 94703 Phone: (510) 848-7621 E-Mail: movieola@radiance.com Fax: (510) 848-7613 FTP: FTP.netcom.com (pub/radiance) (C) 1994 Radiance Software. Movieola is a copyright of Radiance Software. All other product names mentioned are trademarks of their respective holders. - end - TECHNICAL ARTICLES AND REFERENCES ================================= 5. 3D GOES UNDERGROUND: HOW VISUALIZATION TOOLS IMPROVE THE ODDS OF SEARCHING THE EARTH'S SUBSURFACE FOR OIL AND GAS (As first appeared in IRIS Universe #26) By Laura Pankonien What our Earth looks like 3,000, 9,000 or sometimes as much as 18,000 feet under the ground we walk on is the question petroleum geoscientists spend their careers examining. Only it is not enough to know just approximately what the Earth is made of and how it is shaped at these depths. When hundreds of thousands or perhaps millions of dollars are about to be spent towards drilling a new oil well into the ground, or expanding an existing oil and gas project, a precise understanding of the subsurface is a must. Earlier this century, geoscientists would examine the geology of a specific area, look at the results and data gathered from any well locations nearby, and extrapolate this local information to the subsurface. In other words, they would gather geologic data, make calculations and map by hand, and finally visualize in their minds what the three-dimensional subsurface must look like at a particular location. Ultimately, deciding whether to drill or not was based largely on intuition, rather than rigorous analysis, and drilling success rates typically reflected this imprecise methodology. Today's success rates, however, continue to improve, thanks to geoscientists' early adoption of computer graphics to enhance their calculation, mapping and visualization routines, as well as data management tasks. In fact, geoscientists have been among the pioneers in the advanced use of computerized mapping, graphics and 3D visualization tools. In the early '80s, there were even a handful of visionaries in the geosciences who, along with Silicon Graphics, realized that visual computing would become an important productivity tool. Among the early geoscience software players was Dynamic Graphics, Inc. (DGI), of Alameda, California. Its spatial analysis and visualization software application called EarthVision, coupled with the performance of an IRIS Indigo work station, is an excellent example of visual computing at work, producing bottom line results for the end user. The sequence of images and captions printed here, from the EarthVision-IRIS Indigo package, demonstrates how today's geoscientists use advanced computational and imaging tools to rigorously evaluate a subsurface area. The oil field evaluated with these images was discovered in 1934, has had numerous wells drilled into it, and includes ten areas (blocks) bounded by major faults, with significant minor faulting within each block. Simply put, it represents a highly complicated geological puzzle. However, using the EarthVision-IRIS Indigo package and almost fifty years of collected field data, geoscientists were able to unravel the puzzle. Specifically, they more precisely defined and created 3D images of each fault block's geometry, which led to: - finding previously unidentified faults that were impacting current field production, - delineating new, potentially productive oil traps in a "well- explored" area, - communicating successfully with regulatory agencies about field dynamics and operations. Each of these events means increased dollars to the oil company in time savings and added oil production. They also translate into increased oil field safety and regulatory compliance. Significantly, none of this likely would have taken place without the use of the EarthVision-IRIS Indigo package -- increased productivity through visual computing. - Laura Pankonien is a marketing communications consultant and a freelance writer based in Austin, Texas. - end - 6. A BEAUTY OF A BEAST (As first appeared in IRIS Universe #26) By Douglas Cruickshank The Indigo2 Dual-Head workstation is a powerful new visualization and interpretation tool for oil and gas explorationists. Around Silicon Graphics some jokingly call it the beast with two heads, but they're also quick to praise the beauty of the new Indigo2 Dual- Head workstation -- a powerful, affordably priced system featuring two independent graphics subsystems and two 19-inch full-color monitors. With its capacity to improve the quality and accuracy of data interpretation, the introduction of the new workstation is of special interest to the oil and gas industry, but its unique qualities are certain to be welcomed by numerous disciplines, including GIS, CASE and animation. The computational power of the Indigo2 allows it to easily handle massive amounts of data in real- time, and enables applications for interpreting 3D seismic data - previously run only on high-end supercomputers in research labs - to be used on the desktop. Though professionals in the exploration and interpretation sector of the geophysical industry have been using multi-screen 2D workstations for a decade or more, the Indigo2 Dual-Head now provides high performance, simultaneous viewing of 2D and 3D data, making it possible to use one system for seismic analysis and the other for global analysis. "Being able to look at 2D and 3D simultaneously has only recently become important," Silicon Graphics' Geosciences Marketing Manager, Ronald Uchida, explained in a telephone interview from his Denver office. "In the past, geophysicists would take a multi-screen computer drafting system and adapt the software to fit their needs. But those systems only displayed 2D images. Today, with 3D visualization software and hard ware becoming more prevalent in the oil and gas industry, there's a pressing need for the ability to see 3D and 2D versions of the data at the same time, side by side. "The primary reason for multiple monitors," Uchida continues, "is simply to get more screen 'real estate' -- to make it possible to look at several incarnations of data in different forms, and simultaneously. But windows that overlap or lie on top of one another are only marginally useful, because, ultimately, you run out of room -- you need that additional 'real estate' a second screen provides. And, you need the higher res olution_the 1280x1024 capability, and 24-bit true color -- to ensure that you'll see what you're looking for in the data set." The Indigo2 Dual-Head line of workstations is available in two configurations -- both a 2D/2D and a 2D/3D format -- providing geophysicists high-performance comparison and analysis capabilities, whether they are viewing different data on each screen or comparing different aspects of the same information. Where simultaneous, side by side viewing of 3D and 2D data is desired, the Indigo2 XL:Extreme is the ticket. The system features XL 2D graphics on one dedicated monitor and Extreme 3D visualizations on the other. In circumstances where both screens are to be used for traditional raster/vector data display and interpretation, the Indigo2 XL:XL offers a dual-head system at an affordable entry price. The new workstations are binary compatible with Silicon Graphics' entire line of RISC-based workstations, symmetric multiprocessing servers and supercomputing sytems. As in so many other fields, the use of 3D visualization is today transforming the petroleum exploration and production industry. Many explorationists - who have worked with 2D data throughout their careers - are becoming enthusiastic converts to the use of 3D visualization, a trend which the Indigo2 Dual-Head is likely to accelerate. Still, fast, high performance technology that can also deal with the abundance of existing 2D data is essential. "It will be a little while before geophysicists are doing their work entirely in 3D," Uchida explains, "because such a large quantity of 2D data has been generated over the years. In this industry, a great deal of the data was acquired in 2D form and there's no easy way to convert it to 3D." But Uchida believes that within four to five years the vasr majority of computer visualization work being done in the geophysical industry will be performed in 3D. "Quite frankly," Uchida comments, "what's helping speed this transition along is the fact that the benefits of 3D visualization are so striking that most of the traditional software vendors who have supported what you might call a '2D industry' are very rapidly building 3D visualization capabilities into their software, because that's obviously the way of the future. "An ancillary benefit of the Indigo2's configuration and the new software," Uchida says, "is that it allowas exploration groups to familiarize themselves with new technology and techniques at an individual pace, while using traditional methods with increased performance. But, to give credit where it's due," he says, "I think it's the hardware in combination with the new software capabilities that are really pushing the industry forward." (Among the companies offering software geared to the needs of oil and gas explorationists, and expecially well-suited to the Indigo2's dual-head configuration, are CogneSeis, Dynamic Graphics, Geoquest Systems, Photon Systems, Stratmodel, Vital Images and Halliburton Information Technology.) While the dual-headed Indigo2 may be an important component of the oil and gas industry's technological progression, other industries, such as animation, also stand to benefit from the system's introduction. For example, in producing a feature-length animated film, the animators may with to use one monitor for referencing a chart - that might describe characters, their relationships and actions in the scene - and, perhaps, a storyboard while, on the second monitor, they're actually designing and painting the scene. "I think this new workstation is going to be useful in animation in many more ways than people have yet real ized," Patty Harrel of Silicon Graphics tells me one afternoon. "It's also going to be useful in software development. That's an area where people always want more screen real estate. And also in some of the high-end applications, such as visual simulation, where the user may find it very valuable to have a small scale out-the-window display on the high-end 3D graphics head, while an instrument panel or something of that nature is viewed on the 2D display." Today, 3D volume visualization of geological formations enables explora tionists to see and analyze such formations with a higher degree of quality and accuracy than was ever possible with 2D data. Perhaps of equal importance are the advances facilitated by the Indigo2's digital media user environ ment and video options. The Indigo Magic user environment powerfully enhances communication and collaboration, making it easier to explain complex ideas to laymen, produce nar rated videos for presentations, and work interactively with networked colleagues across the room or across the country. Suddenly, applying for a scientific grant, familiarizing senior man agement with a new drilling site, or giving an illustrated talk to stock holders is easier, more effective. In fact, in almost any situation where complex ideas must be quickly communicated in an interactive fashion, Indigo2's digital media user environment and video options will be of inestimable value. In wrapping up the interview, Ron Uchida concisely puts into per- spective the importance of the Indigo2 Dual-Head workstation. There are other multi-screen workstations on the market, he points out, but the resem blance stops there. "Yes," he says, in answer to a question, "another company makes a dual-head, 2D/3D system, but ours performs sixty to eighty percent faster on both heads, at a price that's only nominally higher. There really is no equivalent system available -- the Indigo2 Dual-Head is the state of the art." Indeed, as some contend, it may be a two-headed beast, but like the crea ture in the fairy tale, the real beauty and value of the Indigo2 Dual-Head work station is found within. - Douglas Cruickshank is a freelance writer and IRIS Universe's editorial consultant. - end - 7. STRIKING OIL WITH 3D VISUALIZATION (As first appeared in IRIS Universe #26) By Christian Tourenne In the summer of 1992, Vital Images established its Customer Directed Development Initiative to offer an opportunity to major oil companies to participate in the design and development of 3D visualization and interpretation software tools for petroleum exploration and production. The Initiative's first year efforts have resulted in a new software package, VoxelGeo, spearheading a new paradigm in the area of computer-aided exploration. VoxelGeo is defined as a seismic interpretation accelerator; it handles 3D seismic data as a solid volume rather than a series of two-dimensional seismic sec tions. VoxelGeo improves the precision of data exploration and interpretation, how it enhances effectiveness and pro ductivity at the interpretation workstation, and what impact it will have on finding oil and gas. Vital Images' Customer Directed Development Initiative The Initiative held its first meeting July 1, 1992. Vital Images' existing software package, VoxelView/ULTRA, was chosen as the basic software environment for the design and development of the first version of VoxelGeo. This visualization environment offered the advantage of employing composite, object-oriented volume rendering techniques to reconstruct volume images of 3D seismic data. Because this reconstruction technique demands intensive compute and graphics power to be highly interactive, and because interactivity was a requirement for the project, it was agreed that VoxelGeo would use the Silicon Graphics workstations as the hardware platform. The Crimson VGXT and, more recently, the Indigo2 Extreme and the Onyx RealityEngine2 workstations were chosen because of their balanced computing and imaging capabilities. The interactive volume rendering speeds VoxelGeo delivers on these platforms were also a deciding factor. In view of the fact that the Initiative was employing the leading image recon struction technology on the leading graphics platform, VoxelGeo would provide -- for the first time -- a combination of two different types of visualization technologies: volume rendering to directly visualize the 3D seismic volume, and geometric rendering to sketch and examine a 3D interpretation model of the data. VoxelGeo would offer this functionality in a variety of different modules: GeoSlicer, GeoDigitizer, GeoManager, GeoView, GridMap, GeoSeed and GeoAnimator. After a series of collaborative meetings between the five major oil companies participating in the Initiative and the engineering team in charge of the project, followed by several months of software development, VoxelGeo 1.0 was released on January 1, 1993. The first maintenance release went out in the spring of 1993, and the second phase of design and development to further improve VoxelGeo's functionality began July 1, 1993. A New Paradigm for Oil Exploration Seismic interpreters have very limited visual access to 3D seismic data volumes. With conventional 3D workstations, they have access to horizontal time slices, inline or crossline sections, even arbitrary vertical sections and chair displays, but, if they want to be visually involved within the 3D seismic volume, they have to imagine it. Using the technique of object-oriented volume rendering, the 3D seismic volume is represented by VoxelGeo as a collection of cubic building blocks, called voxels, or volume elements. Each seismic sample (voxel) is given a color and an opacity value, quantifying the measured or calculated property of the data (seismic amplitude) at each point of the 3D volume. The image is reconstructed from the back to the front of the computer screen, and is composed of millions of tiny cubic voxels. This method of rendering 3D seismic volumes is unique to VoxelGeo and is critical for interpreters, because it allows them to see inside the seismic volume with no data distortion. By reconstructing 3D data as a volumetric solid, VoxelGeo allows the geoscientist to work with the 3D seismic data set as a volume. In addition to interpreting in two dimensions, he can now interpret in three dimensions; VoxelGeo adds another dimension and with it, brings to the interpreter all the visual information he has been previously only able to imagine. VoxelGeo's Visualization Tools Before interpreting their data, geophysicists need to interactively visualize them. VoxelGeo is the logically necessary next step to replace the existing 2D way of thinking and working; it gives inter preters a series of tools to explore the 3D seismic volume. - The extremely fast back-to-front volume rendering allows geoscientists to do quick initial reconnaissance of the 3D seismic data volume and establish a better feel for the complex relationship between stratigraphy and structure. It allows interpreters to see what faults are doing and where they are going. Geomorphologies can be seen with no data distortion and at any arbitrary angle. - Individual crossline or inline sections can be panned in GeoSlicer at any aribtrary speed to give a feel for regional structures and plan an efficient strategy for picking faults and tracking horizons. The panning is as fast as a smooth continuous animation. - The opacity of individual seismic amplitudes can be selectively controlled to reveal bright spots and leave lower amplitudes transparent; amplitude anomalies abd their spatial relationships can thus be visually observed at once through the whole 3D siesmic volume. VoxelGeo's Interpretation Tools One of VoxelGeo's modules, GeoSeed, allows interpreters to very quickly track horizons in the 3D volume. It automatically tracks seismic amplitude subvolumes after specification of a seed point, amplitude window, and sample connectivity. At the same time, GeoSeed builds the corresponding horizon grid. If the seismic data has poor continuity, the user can employ the non-automatic mode to perform several consecutive trackings into bad data areas and obtain a more reliable grid. Using another module, Geo Digitizer, the interpreter can pick fault lines and interpolate the lines into fault planes. Fault planes can be transformed into grids; fault and horizon grids can be interpolated into surfaces with color-coded time values. The geological relationships between faults and horizons can be studied by making them transparent and rotating them interactively in a 3D window called GeoView. Horizon grids and fault planes are embedded inside the 3D seismic volume. VoxelGeo takes advantage of Silicon Graphics' hardware alpha blending to allow for the control of both the transparency of the faults and horizons, and the selective opacity of seismic amplitudes. These features make it possible to quickly gain a better understanding of a prospect, for example to see if there is production trapped in the updip portion of a fault block, or even see whether or not a sand has any chance of communicating across a fault plane. The 3D volume can also be clipped down to any particular horizon; the seismic amplitudes at the horizon surface can then be visualized at the top of the clipped volume. Embedding proposed or existing deviated well tracks allows more accurate well positioning for multiple reservoirs. Embedding the interpretation into the seismic volume also becomes very useful to perform a quality control of the interpretation of a fault or horizon. Using GeoDigitizer, the grid or the fault lines can also be edited in real time in the GeoSlicer window, and the interpreter can create a new 3D surface and visualize it in the GeoView and the 3D volume windows. VoxelGeo's Presentation Tools Most oil industry executives do not have enough time to become familiar with the details of a 3D seismic data set and have a difficult time relating 2D amplitude maps to geological structure and trap geometry. Often, several maps have to be used in a single presentation; it stretches the attention of the audience when they view one map and at the same time and are required to remember a previous one. This problem disappears with a 3D display of the interpretation. With Voxel Geo, it becomes possible to combine two or three horizons, a few fault planes, interactively rotate the model, zoom it and explore areas of interest; it is a very effective method of communicating complex three-dimensional structural geology and bright spot relationships. With another module of VoxelGeo, GeoAnimator, the interpreter can build 3D animations, interactive rotations with a selective control of the rendering parameters of both the 3D data and of the interpretation. VoxelGeo promises to be a very effective presentation tool, as it is much easier for the exploration geo- physicist to communicate his under standing of the prospect, and it becomes more straightforward for members of the exploration team, management and investors to recognize a hydrocarbon trap. VoxelGeo has unleashed the full power of Silicon Graphics' workstations, allowing geophysicists to visualize their data better and faster than with conventional exploration software. VoxelGeo has become a "must" for greater productivity at all interpretation workstations. - Christian Tourenne is Director of Geo sciences Business Development for Vital Images. He holds a PhD in Physical Chem istry; he has a research background, has been widely published, and has spearheaded Vital Images' marketing drive for 3D seismic visualization and interpretation applications of VoxelGeo. - end - 8. MAPPING MIRACLES AT MOOMBA (As first appeared in IRIS Universe #26) Australian petroleum company experiences productivity gains with a 3D mapping, reserves calculation system. By Stuart Jones, Chris Gee and Laura Pankonien Should these gas reserves be attributed to Mudera, Moorari, Munkarie, Marabooka or the Moomba gas field? And how many partners and units are involved in this transaction? You say there are four horizons producing in this one new well? Such are the questions confronted daily by the development geology staff at SANTOS Ltd., Australia's largest onshore petroleum operator. Among company holdings are over 800 reservoirs, comprising numerous fields with distinctly Australian names. Yet, all produce hydrocarbons from two superimposed geologic basins, called Cooper/Eromanga, in the northeastern corner of South Australia. As lead company, or the operator, for many joint-venture partners in its Cooper/Eromanga projects, SANTOS must manage group assets equitably. It is required to map and calculate recoverable reserves for each producing reservoir, which is not a one-time job. Each time a new well or new producing horizon is added to a field, or new data about a producing reservoir are obtained, the mapping and calculating must be done anew. Further, because many of the basins' reservoirs are subject to unit agreements, the calculated reserves must be apportioned further. Altogether, these factors amount to an enormous data management, map making and calculations task. In early 1990, SANTOS determined that its existing main frame-based system for mapping and reserves calculations needed to be updated. Too much time was being spent by staff geologists and geophysicists simply managing and processing field data. More time for interactive data analysis and decision making was desired. The company's specifications for the new system required, in addition to routine mapping functions, that it be: easy to learn and use; fast; cost effective; able to rapidly calculate accurate volumes; able to calculate reserves for unitized fields; able to handle the "wedge effect" at the edge of reservoirs; able to produce quality plotted output; able to handle faulted reservoirs; and, compatible with existing and projected computer systems at SANTOS. Most importantly, the company had to be satisfied that any new computing system committed to would result in significant productivity gains. After carefully reviewing the range of commercially available hardware and software, SANTOS chose a solution offered by MAPTEK Pty. Ltd and Silicon Graphics -- convinced this team would come closest to meeting its specifications. Specifically, MAPTEK was asked to modify its existing and proven VULCAN software system, designed for use in the coal and hard rock mining industries, to better suit petroleum industry needs. MAPTEK did so, and the result was OilVision, a UNIX-based, interactive, three-dimensional mapping and reserves calculation system that operates on Silicon Graphics IRIS Indigo and Personal IRIS workstations. Thanks in part to the easy development environment offered by Silicon Graphics' systems, the conversion of VULCAN to OilVision was timely and cost-effective. Further, because Silicon Graphics' products are based on an open-systems computing approach, MAPTEK knew their introduction into SANTOS' existing computing environment could be handled with minimal effort and would not make obsolete the customer's existing computing investment. Also important to SANTOS was the fact that OilVision, a graphics- intensive application, can be driven satisfactorily on Silicon Graphics' lowest priced, entry level workstations. With the petroleum industry remaining in economically stringent times, price/performance is an important item. As previously stated, SANTOS was looking for a system that would bring a "significant" increase in productivity. Any new tools purchased would have to not only pay for themselves rapidly, but also tangibly add to the bottom line. As it turned out, two Personal IRIS workstations loaded with OilVision were installed at SANTOS' Adelaide office for testing in early 1991. By mid-1991, the system had been expanded and was helping to produce results that were far supe rior to what had previously been accomplished by SANTOS' development geology staff using mainframe software. Accordingly, seven networked Indigo and Personal IRIS workstations at SANTOS are each driving OilVision almost full time now. And of course, the network can be expanded, as need arises. Improved Return on Investment Getting more information out of its geoscience data store more quickly was SANTOS' objective when incorporating the Oil Vision/ Indigo package into its computing scheme. And within less than a year of putting OilVision to work, SANTOS had reached its goal. The application proved easy to use, yet powerful. "Our geologists and geophysicists spend much less time processing and massaging data and much more time using the data productively," says Stuart Jones, Team Leader at SANTOS. In fact, "tasks that were taking days to complete using the old mainframe-assisted system can now be completed in less than a day, sometimes even hours. For example, updating reserves after new wells have been drilled can now be accomplished within only a few hours of the new data being available. And calculating reserves for unitized fields is done quickly and automatically by OilVision, instead of slowly, by hand, by geologists with planimeters." In addition to time savings, Jones cites the increased information that 3D, interactive visualization and mapping brings. "Because our geoscientists are able to view their interpretations in the interactive 3D environment provided by OilVision on Silicon Graphics workstations," says Jones, "they are able to gain a much clearer picture of the geology and determine subleties in the data that were not readily apparent in two dimensions. As a result, they have more confidence in their interpretations and are able to extract much more information from the available data." Putting OilVision/Indigo to the test, SANTOS found that two people were able to recalculate the hydrocarbon reserves for 800 seperate Cooper/Eromanga reservoirs in four months, including dividing the reserves according to unit ownership. Prior to having these tools, this job would have required an estimate four man years. In other words, an eighty percent time savings was achieved. If you as SANTOS why they chose the MAPTEK/Silicon Graphics solution or if they are pleased with its performance, these are the results they will turn to. When you have achieved an eighty percent time savings on a critical task, which few in the petroleum industry can cite, the specifics of your computer system (operating environment, CPU MHz, architecture- style, screen resolution and refresh rate, to name a few) are easily forgotten. It is overall, bottom line performance that is remembered. To the SANTOS managers, the MAPTEK/Silicon Graphics partnership equals significantly improved productivity. The Right Tools For The Job Mapping the subsurface with increasingly fine detail, accurately calculating reserves, modeling complex 3D geological settings, and rapidly manipulating surfaces are among the interactive tasks that SANTOS' development geologists perform in order to properly assess and manage the company's petroleum assets. Thes tasks clearly require the most advanced visual computing tools available - the fast computation and display of graphics is a must. The accompanying visuals hint at the complex structures that geologists build in order to visualize something they can't see - the Earth's subsurface. The rapid manipulation of these visuals and the data they represent is enabling geologists to more rapidly and accurately point to remaining petroleum reserves trapped in the subsurface. Tasks geologists might undertake given the functionality of OilVision include: - viewing seismic or geologic data that has been loaded into the system and interactively resolving any errors (quality control), - changing scale values on the data (convert time values to depth), - gridding subsurface horizons by depth (multiple algorithms are available), - gridding various horizon values (multiple algorithms are available), - creating contour maps from various grids and interactively adding local knowledge to help precisely define reservoir limits, - building "net sand models" from well data (triangulation and extrapolation routines come into play), - blending all available images into a 3D "net pay map" and calculating reserves (multiple techniques are available). Using the OilVision/Indigo package, SANTOS geologists can manage a sequence of tasks, such as the one just outlined, leaving the actual calculating, recalculating, drawing and redrawing tasks to his/her visual computing tools. The geologist is then free to interpret more data, more rigorously, which leads to better answers. But bringing the right tools to the job is the critical first step. In this case, SANTOS has clearly chosen well. The con stant remapping of geology and reserves necessary to properly steward its Cooper/Eromanga fields, such as Moomba, is no longer such a daunting task. Thanks to the combination of OilVision software and Indigo and Personal IRIS workstations, SANTOS has reaped a productivity increase that few oil companies can quantify. Some would call this a small miracle. - Stuart Jones is a Team Leader at SANTOS Ltd., Adelaide, South Australia. - Chris Gee is South Australia Branch Manager, MAPTEK, Fullarton, South Australia. - Laura Pankonien is a marketing communications consultant and freelance writer based in Austin, Texas. - end - 9. A DREAM COME TRUE (As first appeared in IRIS Universe #26) Subsurface models that integrate seismic geologic data provide provide increasingly accurate representations -- and that makes for less guesswork. By Mark Compton People involved in oil and gas exploration must all have the same fantasy -- to be able to lift out a huge chunk of the earth like so much geological cobbler and take a good look at where the petroleum oozes from between the layers of crust. Scientists using advanced visualization techniques that provide an integrated volumetric view of seismic and geologic data are already taking advantage of the next best thing: subsurface models that greatly reduce the guesswork. For a petro leum industry coping with falling prices and mounting environmental concerns, this comes as very good news. Previously, geologists, geophysicists, and reservoir engineers drew their conclusions about the oil fields they were evaluating independently of one another. Besides providing a less than cohesive basis for decisions regarding where and how deep to drill, this limited the ability of researchers to check or enhance their findings using work done by their col leagues. At present, as many as ninety percent of the wells drilled by petroleum companies in new exploration areas prove to be "dry holes." Anything that even slightly improves that ratio could lead to billions in added annual revenues for petroleum companies. "The frames of reference for the geologist and the engineer have always been at odds," says Mike Zeitlin, head of Texaco's Integrated Visualization Tech nology Team. "That's where visualization technology plays a very important unifying role." By providing tools for visualizing geological information such as rock porosity, permeability, pressure, and temperature, Zeitlin's team has managed to create an environment in which geologists, geophysicists, and reservoir engineers can contribute to one another's work. All the while, they're building on the same 3D database, enriching it and creating an increasingly accurate representation or model of the subsurface area. An important aspect of this is that everybody is allowed to view the underlying data in the way best suited to their work. Geologists, for instance, tend to prefer an entirely visual frame of reference, focusing on the shapes of structures and the use of color to represent different measured or interpreted properties of the subsurface volume. Reservoir engineers, on the other hand, are much more numerically oriented. From the descriptions provided by the geologists -- rich in visual detail -- they attempt to produce mathematical simulations. Often, the translation proves to be tortuous, leading to reservoir models that only vaguely resemble the geologists' earth model. The different worlds of the geologist and reservoir engineer are now being merged by making it possible to apply the tools used in each to the same body of 3D data. This not only allows for collaboration, but also makes it possible to use one tool's output as another tool's input. Much of the data underlying these models is collected seismically or by acutally measuring the properties of rocks collected from wells. Seismic data, usually obtained before any wells are drilled, provide a subsurface image of the rocks containing hydrocarbon. Using this information, geophysicists and geologists can locate promising fields for petroleum accumulations. After drilling, they study the well results to dtermine hwo much oil or gas lies in the field as well as to evaluate the potential for reservoir production. Reservoir engineers are primarily interested in learning how the new field will yield its hydrocarbons, so they can forecast its likely production over time. The volumes of the earth surveyed in this manner tend to be very large-- up to hundreds of cubic miles. Historically, seismic measurements or "lines" have taken at wide intervals (as much as five miles) and then combined to form a data set describing the whole area. By interpolating between the lines, geophysicists and geologists have then constructed a 3D model fo the subsurface volume. This has proved to be woefullly inadequate, though, since entire oil fields can be contained within a single five-square-mile area -- meaning the sample lines could miss them altogether. In contrast, a 3D seismic data set is collected at 50 meter sampling intervals, thus increasing the resolution of subsurface models dramatically. According to industry analyst John Pohlman, editor of the respected Pohlman Report, "seismic acquisition is now predominately 3D. Traditional 2D, even as speculative data, currently makes up less than fifty percent of all the seismic information acquired." The decision of where to locate a well and how deep to drill it is based on an assessment of several factors. The first is an analysis of a seismic structure that may contain oil. A good candidate may resemble an inverted bowl, possibly indicating a subsurface rock structure which has contained a body of water for mil lions of years. Oil, which is buoyant, also is often found in these structures. When the calculated rate of change in the seismic structures is consistent with a model suggesting the presence of oil, exploration professionals begin to think they have a "prospect." Then comes the hard part: convincing management to invest in drilling a well. Integrating Three Visions Of The Earth "To represent a reservoir with the kind of accuracy which will reduce our costs, we need more detail than ever before," says Zeitlin. "Models that meld geographic, seismic, well, and reservoir data allow us to blend the skills of the geophysicist, the geologist, and the reservoir engineer into a single representation of an earth volume. This is where visualization technology is going to have -- and is having -- a tremendous impact. Now, we can represent sub surface volumes, using pictures on a screen, at any scale we want -- whether it's the scale the reservoir engineer prefers (which literally could be in square feet), or one appropriate for the geophysicist (generally an area measured in square miles). The result is that we bring all of the disci plines together. And because today's graphics systems are fast -- although not quite fast enough for me -- I can cross from one scale to the next as quickly as I can move the mouse or click a button." Zeitlin is careful to draw a distinction between visualization technology and graphics per se. As he puts it: "There's a difference between drawing a pretty picture and helping the mind's eye to see volumetrically important forms in a computer-generated image. Any com puter can be used to draw a picture. But it's only in your mind that you can construct a 3D representation of that image. That's easier when the object is familiar - like a dinosaur or a Terminator - but for something as complex as an oil reservoir, there's no ready frame of reference to provide the mind with additional cues. What Silicon Graphics systems do for me is that they draw pictures to the screen fast enough to allow me to see shape from shading. And suddenly, recognizable patterns emerge. The impact can be amazing!" Another advantage of 3D visualization is that it permits a view of the contouring within a cross-section of strata, which helps geologists and engineers see the physical aspects of the fields they are studying. By moving a light source around the object on the screen, a user can determine from the way the shadows fall what the size and shape of the volume is (hence, the phrase - "shape from shading"). "When I describe 'shape from shading' to my geologist friends, they still react with wonder, but when I show them what it can do for their data, I get the 'Eureka!' response," says Zeitlin. A Twenty-fold Reduction in Cycle Time The bottom line on 3D visualization for the petroleum industry is added revenues, reduced costs, and shortened cycle times. "Visualization professionals in the oil and gas industry today are able to reduce the cycle time for analyzing seismic data from as much as twenty days to less than a day," says Zeitlin. That means more time to run "what if" scenarios, which can provide much-improved decision support when the time comes to pinpoint drilling locations. Currently, the industry sinks millions of dollars into each dry hole -- tens of millions when the drilling occurs off-shore. In testing their new techniques for visualizing geologic and seismic data, Zeitlin's colleagues have identified wells which would not have been drilled had visualization technology not been applied. There's no easy measure at present of the improvement in drilling decision support attainable through integrated visualization, but it stands to reason that better information should lead to better decisions. Certainly, the geologic information which engineers are now able to incorporate into their reservoir studies lead to more accurate models. The ability to run many hypothetical simulations provides multiple reference points, which can be reviewed and compared visually. In general, the more data decision makers have and the easier it is to assimilate that information, the more accurate their assessments can be. Integrated visualization techniques have provided the basis for locating previously unidentified oil accumulations in currently producing fields -- leading to an average of ten percent in added reserves for each field. To appreciate this improvement, consider that in a modest-sized 100-million-barrel field, that would mean an additional 10 million barrels at roughly $18.50 a barrel -- or $185 million in incremental revenue. Given these returns, Zeitlin expects that old oil fields in the U.S. will be thoroughly re-examined, since they almost certainly still contain tremendous amounts of oil. Industry analyst Pohlman, quoting the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology, says the "total amount of oil and gas produced from the known fields in North America is something less than twenty percent of all the reserves in place in those reservoirs." In the face of falling gas prices and stricter regulation, oil companies should be happy to know that a tool exists to help extract more of the assets still buried in their own backyards. Since only one well in ten in new exploration areas yields oil, and only twenty percent of the oil lying in producing fields is successfully extracted using primary recovery techniques, you have to wonder why the rush isn't already on to snap up every 3D graphics computer in sight. "Believe me, there probably isn't an oil company which doesn't already have Silicon Graphics equipment," says Zeitlin. "So it's not that people don't believe in visualization. They do. But they believe in it as a sideline to their business -- as a tool for specialists. I'm trying to make it an everyday tool by changing the paradigm. "Can you imagine if you had to write a paper without a word processor?" he asks. "You probably can't even comprehend it, yet fifteen years ago, that's how it was done. And that's what you're seeing in our industry now with visualiza tion. We're right at the cutting edge. The idea of looking at a volume of rock in any other way than 3D will be ludicrous ten years from now." Once it reaches market-wide saturation, 3D visualization will increase production and save billions of wasted drilling dollars. - Mark Compton monitors trends in computer graphics from his comfortable perch atop a hill in San Francisco. Formerly, he served as editor of both IRIS Universe and UNIX Review. - end - 10. SEEING BENEATH THE SURFACE (As first appeared in IRIS Universe #26) By allowing geoscientists to bring the three-dimensional world to the desktop, 3D computer visualization is revolutionizing the petroleum exploration and production industry. By Ronald Uchida Almost 2500 years ago, the philosopher Heraclitus observed "Nothing is permanent but change." How could he possibly have known so much about today's petroleum industry? While change can sometimes be challenging, it can also introduce signifi cant improvements as new technology and techniques replace the old. Perhaps one of the most important improvements in the exploration and production (E&P) sector of the petroleum industry in recent years has been the advent of three-dimensional computer visualization. This powerful technology makes it possible to create precise 3D images of subsur face formations and interpret exploration and production data more completely, more accurately and faster than ever before. Those familiar with how things were done in the past are quick to recog nize that 3D computer visualization is an extraordinary improvement. It is changing the way E&P professionals do their work, and in so doing is revolutionizing the industry. The Way It Was Until relatively recently, the visualization and interpretation of petroleum exploration data was a labor-intensive endeavor carried out by highly trained professionals using crude tools -- paper and pencil. Typically, geophysical data were plotted out on large maps or printouts of seismic cross-sections (cross-sections of the sub- surface of the earth produced by collecting sonic reflections through a seismic survey). A geophysicist would then sit down at a desk, spread out a vast sheet of paper and, using color pencils, color in the different horizons and geological for mations. A process called "timing" employed another simple tool -- a common ruler -- to determine seismic time units, rather than actual depth units. Later in the process, the timing information was combined with other data to allow geophysicists to hand contour a map which represented their understanding of the seismic data. In this way, geophysicists would try to interpret the subsurface geology by creating a hand-colored "portrait" of the geological char acteristics of a particular subsurface portion of the earth. Needless to say, it was an extremely time consuming process and, ultimately, inefficient. Moreover, the inefficiency of the process was exacerbated by the fact that, in addition to seismic data, the geophysicist might use information from a variety of different sources -- field observation, aerial photographs, oil wells, etc. -- which could actually be located in several different places -- one piece of information in a file folder on a desk, another on a shelf in an office down the hall and so on. As one veteran explora- tion geophysicist recently described it: "You'd be hauling information back and forth from one office to another, working with file cabinets full of paper sections and paper logs. In many cases the problem was knowing what data you had, where it was, and then gathering it all together to get a look at it." To further complicate matters, geophysicists, geologists and engineers usually worked independently. All would interpret the data they'd collected, and conflicts in their interpretations would be resolved at a final management presentation, commonly known as a "map meeting". Not only was this inefficient, it sometimes fostered antagonism between the disciplines rather than cooperation. It was a slow process, not much fun for those involved, and errors were likely. In those days the success rate was four to six productive wells out of every ten drilled. An enormous improvement, to be sure, over the success rate of two to three out of ten, which was the norm before geophysical techniques began to be employed in exploration. Yet with today's use of 3D computer visualization, a success rate of eight productive wells out of every ten drilled is possible. When we consider that a single well can easily cost one million dollars or more to drill and complete, the economic benefit of this greatly improved success ratio is impressive, to say the least. Not surprisingly, the difficulties and high rate of failure inherent in doing things "the old fashioned way" convinced the E&P industry that it was essential to get geophysicists, geologists and engineers working together as a team. Over several decades, as the methods used to collect data from the field progressed from 1D (well logs and cores) to 2D (seismic lines, gravity, magnetic and geochemical profiles), the industry's approach to the way in which people worked together also evolved, moving toward greater cooperation and integration of data. But, while the team approach, utilizing 2D data, was an important leap forward, much of the work was still done with pencil on paper. It is the fairly recent transition from 2D to 3D, facilitated in large part by the advent of the 3D graphics workstation, that is fulfilling the vision -- first glimpsed decades ago -- of complete integration of different data from different disciplines, and the ability to transform that information into an accurate three- dimensional model. As Frank Marrone and John McTigue of Houston's Geo Quest Systems wrote in Offshore magazine, "3D seismic has had a tremendous impact on interpretation, allowing imaging of spatial relationships between geological features, rather than the interpolation necessary with 2D." Simply put, computer visualization allows geoscientists to bring the three-dimensional world, in all its complexity, to the desktop. The savings of money and time this represents is impossible to quantify. And now, recent advances in graphics computer functionality and attendant decreases in cost, evidenced by the introduction of Silicon Graphics' affordably priced IRIS Indigo and high-performance Indigo2 desktop workstations, promise to bring the benefits of 3D computer visualization and modeling -- power, speed, ease of use, the ability to quickly convey complex information -- to an unprecedented number of E&P professionals. The Way It Is Over the last decade, the 3D graphics workstation has developed into a sophisticated, mature technology. In turn it has spawned 3D software, such as: Geo Viz, a seismic interpretation application from GeoQuest Systems; EarthVision, Dynamic Graphics' surface and volume visualization system; Stratamodel's SGM (Stratigraphic Geocellular Modeling) product, adept at reservoir characteriza tion; BasinMod, modular basin modeling software from Platte River Associates; and interpretation systems like Sierra Geophysics' AIS-3D and PetroVision from PetroVision Inc., to name but a few. These innovations in technology come at time when the E&P industry is going through intense change and restructuring. Efficiency and economy in oil and gas exploration in the world's major producing areas is critical. Concurrently, major oil companies are focusing increased attention on frontier regions where exploration and production is more costly. And smaller companies are seeking to strengthen their competitiveness by pursuing new reserves in mature producing regions. Oil, many have said, is discovered in the mind. And like the color pencils and paper used in the early days, 3D visualizations created on IRIS Indigo graphics workstations are a tool for enhancing the mental process of interpretation that leads to such discoveries. However, beyond their ability to simulate the real world through realistic modeling and movement, 3D workstations, complemented by geoscience specific software, offer a total solution to the modern oil company, which results in an increased ability to understand and predict reservoir behavior. Source data in the E&P industry, either collected by the company carrying out the exploration or purchased from data collection services -- Halliburton, Schlumberger, Western Geophysical and others -- is highly varied, complex, and voluminous. Computers used to manage and manipulate this information must possess enormous computational power. Fortunately, major advances in workstation technology -- innovations in RISC, CMOS, VLSI and symmetric multi- processing, along with improvements in the UNIX operating system - -- have resulted in microprocessor-based systems capable of handling problems at the supercomputer level. The volume at which the new systems can be manufactured -- some refer to them as "deployable supercomputers", due to their relative portability and ease of operation -- ensures that supercomputing will become more accessible, flexible and affordable than ever before. For today's geoscientist, this means that, in addition to generating and displaying color 3D models, "picking" (the process of selecting specific data points within the 3D model), mapping of seis mic data, and a multiplicity of complex calculations can now be done on desktop graphics workstations like the IRIS Indigo and Indigo2, or by accessing a department server, such as one of the new CHALLENGE line of symmetric multi processing servers. Desktop graphics workstations pro vide numerous specific competitive advantages to companies -- both large and small -- involved in petroleum exploration and production: - better understanding of geometric and spatial complexity; - the ability to tightly integrate data from a variety of sources and different disci plines -- geophysics, geology, engineer ing_and thereby derive the maximum value from that data; - the ability to rotate and change the ori entation of a 3D model, which provides geoscientists the opportunity to view geographic areas -- even those they're familiar with -- from an entirely new and different perspective; - faster, more accurate and thorough interpretation of data; - quicker "time to insight", that is the ability to quickly arrive at insights and support decisions. The Way Of The Future 3D seismic surveys produce 50-100 times more data than 2D surveys. In petroleum exploration, as with most anything, the more information you have the better informed your decision can be and the more likely it is of being the correct one. A recent dissertation on the benefits of 3D data in the selection of drilling locations observed: "Accuracy in well-site selection is directly related to quality of data interpretation... it is not surprising that most surveys currently being undertaken or planned are 3D, particularly for development drilling" (PetroVision, Inc., 1992). Today, 3D computer visualization is being widely embraced in the E&P indus try by large and small companies alike, and the future holds great promise and challenges for this technology. Indeed, as exploration and production companies have committed them selves to acquiring and interpreting 3D data, the potential of computer visualization is being better understood, and desires and needs for its continuing devel opment more clearly defined. After all, here, finally, is a tool that lets geophysicists, geologists and engineers create and work with a model that in the recent past could only be imagined. But as sophisticated as the systems are, refinements are being introduced continually. One advance we can expect in the near term for spatial representation technology will be improved 3D database management systems. Companies like Aangstrom Precision, makers of the GIS mapping software called Vortext, hope to develop hybrid systems that will combine GIS functionality with data from subsurface seismic surveys, engineering and other applications to enable the 3D visual ization of those complex datasets. In an article by Thomas A. Jones and Jay Leonard ("Why 3D Modeling?", Geobyte; February 1990) the two stated, "Many interpretive and unique models may be created for a particular project, and they should be filed and managed distinctly but associated with the source data. Thus, databases for 3D applications must accommodate immense "n-cubed" quantities of both attribute and spatial data, and provide more functions than traditional database management systems." Recent technological breakthroughs in 3D visual computing workstations -- notably Silicon Graphics' innovative implementation of the MIPS R4400 Super Pipeline and TFP Super Scalar processors -- have allowed the industry's technological leader to produce a 600 MFLOP RISC Supercomputer, which delivers computing performance equivalent to that of a CRAY Y-MP supercom puter processing unit. Improved applications will lead the way toward new data processing and 3D modeling methods. And the accessibility and relatively low price of Silicon Graphics' new Power CHALLENGE line of supercomputing servers and CHALLENGE line of sym metric multiprocessing servers, will put significantly greater power at the fingertips of a vast number of geoscientists. What's occurring today in the E&P industry, and in all technical professions, is a true paradigm shift in the concept and hardware of supercomputing. What has, in the past, been seen as a rarefied technology has been brought to the desk top and will now be viewed differently and used far more widely. In the E&P industry, this paradigm shift, or evolu tion, will allow the monitoring of simulation results in real-time. Instead of taking hours or days, geoscientists will be able to see visualizations of output data volumes during the run, even on-site, and quickly change or improve the models. In the future, virtual reality (or VR) simulations of data volumes will make it possible for geoscientists to "tour" the subsurface and "walk-through" reservoirs of oil that exist hundreds of feet below ground. Though the name "virtual reality" may sound like something out of a science fiction novel, virtual reality is a real technology with numerous practical applications. Virtual reality simulations are being used daily in fields ranging from medicine to the design of spacecraft. The VR systems are designed to simulate sights, sounds, and sensory stimuli by employing realistic, three-dimensional computer-generated images, audio, and, soon, tactile sensations. These highly sophisticated systems allow the user to create a complex environment, "enter" that environment, and interact with persons or objects as if immersed in an entirely real situation (for more information, see issue #25 of IRIS Universe). As the designer and manufacturer of most of the advanced computers used as the central component for such simulations, Silicon Graphics has been the acknowledged leader in this amazing technology from the outset. In fact, VPL Research of Redwood City, California, widely recognized as one of the world's most innovative and prominent developers of VR (their founder is credited with coining the term "virtual reality"), has supplied Silicon Graphics computers as the central "engine" in their product from the beginning. And the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), an institution which has been a pioneer in the field of virtual reality, was one of Silicon Graphics' earliest customers, and is still its biggest. It is simply a matter of time before the level of user interaction with data offered by virtual reality simulations is commonplace in the oil industry. Sound, too, may someday be an important component of 3D visualizations. One practical use of sound will be the attaching of audio memos when geoscientists are working with visualizations over a network, or for adding narration to accompany presentations. Another utilization of sound might allow a geophysicist to move the computer cursor over a 3D visual ization and hear the changes in amplitude at the same time he or she is seeing them. Perhaps one of the most important advances 3D graphics workstations bring with them is their promotion of interactive interpretation. Groups of geoscientists in different buildings, or in different coun tries, will be able to work with 3D visualizations, share data and collaborate in real-time in ways never before thought possible. As old philosophers often are, Heraclitus was right when he observed that "Nothing is permanent but change." Admittedly, he may not have been referring specifically to the exploration and production industry, but he might as well have been. However, the changes in the industry and innovations in the technol ogy we're now seeing give reason for optimism. The advent of 3D computer visualization not only enables geoscien tists to see and work with their data in its natural, three-dimensional form, it brings new levels of understanding, economy, efficiency and accuracy to the petroleum industry and the ongoing search for oil and gas reserves. - Ron Uchida is Silicon Graphics' Geo sciences Marketing Manager, based in the Denver office. - end - ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Silicon Graphics, Inc. is the leading manufacturer of high- performance visual computing systems. The company delivers interactive three-dimensional graphics, digital media and multiprocessing supercomputing technologies to technical, scientific and creative professionals. Its subsidiary, MIPS Technologies, Inc., designs and licenses the industry's leading RISC processor technology for the computer systems and embedded control markets. Silicon Graphics has offices worldwide and headquarters in Mountain View, California. 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