Famo.us,
launching today at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco and brought to you by
the same guy who founded PowerSet (Steve
Newcomb), lets developers write fully 3D apps without having to depend on
complex programming tricks or compiled apps. It’s a lot like the interfaces you
see in Iron Manor Minority Report, and it works on
nearly any platform, including desktops, Android, and iOS.
In essence, Famo.us is a JavaScript game engine that renders applications with high performance in both native and browser environments. The Famo.us engine does all the heavy lifting — you know, the stuff browsers are horrible at — and bypasses the operating environment to speak directly with the graphics hardware.
The system works by communicating directly with the GPU,
which allows for speedy, high performance. Developers can use pre-designed
templates, or develop their own, for various interfaces and simply feed their
images or data into the models. The math involved with developing a 3D virtual
world — at least one that performs well and follows the laws of physics — is
incredibly dense, so you’d naturally assume that the coding language is foreign
to most.
But no. Developers can code for Famo.us in JavaScript. It’s
as simple as that. Because the technology speaks directly to the GPU, it works
on any device: iOS, Android, web, gaming consoles, and anything else with a
GPU.
The idea is that Famo.us will let developers use its engine
to create 3D templates, but there’s one condition. The templates have to be
open-source, so that everyone can build off of them and enjoy them. Eventually,
when enough developers have made enough templates (and thus, apps) for Famo.us,
the company will stitch them all together to create a 3D world.
Thus the name Famo.us. The company wants to let developers
build something that’s never been seen before, and eventually, become famous.
So imagine your Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook living in
a 3D gesture-based interface. Now take it a step further. Imagine your email
with a more prominently placed priority inbox, and less important messages in
the background. And it can go even further than that, all the way down to the
simplest of the apps: your file manager.
The company has so far raised a total of $1,100,000, with
hopes to raise another round very soon. They plan to first offer the technology
in a private beta to JavaScript developers, and further down the road, they’ll
create tools for designers and eventually general users to create their own 3D
worlds.
Q & A:
Judges: Cyan Banister (Zivity), Kevin Rose (Google
Ventures), Scott Weiss (Andreessen Horowitz), Greg Yaitanes (Emmy Award-winning
director and angel investor)
GY: So, it makes stuff you build on the web
browser in 3D?
Famo.us: It works in 2D mode or 3D mode as well.
It just takes a flip of a switch.
GY: So those could be my photos in your
interface?
Famo.us: We want to build templates, so that
JavaScript engineers can make their own templates, too. And they can either
sell them if it’s for commercial use or have them for free if it’s personal.
The more templates people create, the more that our Internet will transition to
3D.
GY: In visual effects and 3D modeling, I see
that a lot, so you’re just saying you’ve brought that to the browser.
Famo.us: We want to empower JavaScript
developers. So we’ve made it possible for them to compete with native apps in
performance, and 3D is only the natural evolution of the Internet.
CB: What’s the most exciting app developers are
creating for it?
Famo.us: I see anything visual in there.
Something like Pinterest, Instagram, anything visual. I’m not the guy that is
going to make the killer app. I’m an infrastructure guy.
We’re just offering an engine that’s capable of rendering
this type of performance in the browser, in an app, on iOS, Android, or a game
console.
KR: I’m still trying to understand what’s the
big thing? I’ve seen my Apple TV do that.
Famo.us: That’s actually pre-rendered, what you
see on Apple TV. We’re giving a tool to do the same thing in an interactive
app. JavaScript devs are trying to build web apps that are performant. We’ve
solved the performance problems with web apps for them.
SW: So is it all open sourced?
Famo.us: That’s the rule. The engine is closed,
so we don’t share that with developers. But they have complete access to the
tools, and any template they make must be open source as well, so that everyone
can enjoy and explore 3D.
SW: It felt a little Swiss Army Knife to me.
Everything you said seems possible. Do you have a main focus or a main thrust?
Looks like it’s searching for a use case.
Famo.us: The first case is JavaScript engineers.
They can use Famo.us to see if it solves their performance issues. Then they
can explore 3D from there with their existing apps.
SW: Is there any area you’re going to attack?
Famo.us: We’re coming at people trying to
compete with native through HTML5. They now have another weapon in their
arsenal to compete on the web with highly performant apps.
