Universal 3D
Universal 3D (U3D) is a compressed file format standard for 3D computer graphics data.
| Filename extension |
.u3d |
|---|---|
| Internet media type | model/u3d |
| Developed by | 3D Industry Forum, Ecma International |
| Initial release | August 2005 |
| Latest release | 4th edition June 2007 |
| Type of format | File format for 3D computer graphics |
| Extended from | XML |
| Standard | ECMA-363 |
| Website | Standard ECMA-363 |
The format was defined by a special consortium called 3D Industry Forum that brought together a diverse group of companies and organizations, including Intel, Boeing, HP, Adobe Systems, Bentley Systems, Right Hemisphere and others whose main focus had been the promotional development of 3D graphics for use in various industries, specifically at this time manufacturing as well as construction and industrial plant design. The format was later standardized by Ecma International in August 2005 as ECMA-363.
The goal is a universal standard for three-dimensional data of all kinds, to facilitate data exchange. The consortium promoted also the development of an open source library for facilitating the adoption of the format.
The format is natively supported by the PDF format and 3D objects in U3D format can be inserted into PDF documents and interactively visualized by Acrobat Reader (since version 7).