Marlborough, MA, and Oakland, CA December 2, 2002 Proficiency, a provider of collaboration software for engineering, and technology provider Tech Soft America (TSA) announced a licensing agreement in which Proficiency will use TSA's HOOPS component technology to deliver its new UPR Viewer module as part of Proficiency's Collaboration Gateway solution.
Proficiency said its Collaboration Gateway extracts design information, like features, history, constraints and metadata, from mechanical design systems, and represents it in the universal product representation (UPR), a CAD-neutral format. The provider's new UPR Viewer allows CAD and non-CAD users to view that information independently of the authoring system.
After an evaluation of various possible technical solutions, Proficiency chose the HOOPS 3D Application Framework for its "flexibility, power and functionality," according to the company.
TSA's HOOPS 3D Application Framework (HOOPS/3dAF), which will be used to deliver Proficiency's UPR Viewer, is a component that simplifies the design, development and maintenance of interactive 2D/3D applications for Windows, UNIX, LINUX, Windows CE devices and the Web.
TSA explained that, with HOOPS/3dAF, the base infrastructure for building custom applications is already designed and built. Developers work from a high level to extend and customize the framework, taking advantage of the underlying set of components.
"The HOOPS 3D Application Framework has enabled us to quickly deliver a solution that our customers will no doubt find to be a high-value addition to our interoperability solution," said Roni Or, vice president of development for Proficiency. "With the HOOPS 3D Application Framework, Proficiency was able to go from concept to demonstrable product within three months of project start, due to the high level nature of the HOOPS component technologies and the consulting assistance of the Tech Soft team."
TSA said that other engineering software developers, including PTC, SolidWorks, MSC.Software, Autodesk/CaiCE, Fluent, CADKEY, and Pam-Systems, are using HOOPS technology in one or more shipping applications to reduce research and development costs and enhance the functionality of their applications.
