Autodesk releases Project Geppetto crowd simulator

Autodesk Labs has released Project Geppetto, its experimental new crowd simulation system for 3ds Max.

Originally scheduled for release in August, the system is intended to provide simple pathfinding, avoidance and crowd behaviours in a format accessible to non-specialist architectural visualisation professionals.

Autodesk has announced that Geppetto will eventually be hooked up to technology developed by avatar-creation firm Evolver, which Autodesk acquired in August, enabling users to generate visual styles for the actors.

The release is one of a number of new crowd simulation systems for Autodesk software. Commercial vendor AXYZ design released its an(i)ma system for 3ds Max and Cinema 4D back in March.

The Project Geppetto current technology preview is timebombed to expire on 1 July 2012.

Visit the Project Geppetto page on Autodesk Labs
(Includes download link: registration required)