Method and system for efficiently streaming 3D animation across a wide area network

A method for providing streaming 3D animation across a network using a client/server computer system, the method comprising the steps of:

• accessing a 3D model on a client;
• compressing a series of transform updates for the three model using a compression algorithm, wherein each of the series of transform update comprises a location vector and a rotation;
• transmitting the series of compressed transform updates from the server to the client via a network;
• decompressing the series of compressed transform updates using the client;
• rendering a corresponding series of 3D images by applying the decompressed series of transform updates to the 3D model using the client;
• and
• displaying the corresponding series of rendered 3D images to a user to provide 3D animation.

A computer system for implementing streaming 3D animation via a network, comprising:

• a client computer system having a processor coupled to a memory, the memory storing software which when executed by the computer system cause the client to perform the steps of:
• a) accessing a 3D model on a client;
• b) receiving a series of transform updates for the 3D model on the client via a network, the series of transform updates received from a server, wherein each of the series of transform updates comprises a location vector and a rotation;
• c) rendering a corresponding series of 3D images by applying the series of transform updates to the 3D model using the client;
• and
• d) displaying the corresponding series of rendered 3D images to a user to provide a 3D animation.