From the April 26, 2002 print edition

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Tech Startup

Advantage3D aims to bring 3-D images to Web

You still can't touch a thing over the Internet. You still can't embrace a contour, shift a shape, mold a form. You still can't interact with objects in three dimensions. Not physically, anyway.

Marcos Salganicoff's Philadelphia-based Advantage3D looks forward to that day. Until then, Advantage3D's primary offering is no small step in that direction.

About two years ago, Salganicoff believed he could see the future of images on the Web. Actually, the first thing he saw was a bunch of irritating digital images. Irritating because they loaded slowly. They looked awkward. And it seemed they promised much more than they delivered.

With a background in art and computer science, Salganicoff was the perfect man to recognize a deficiency in Web-based digital imagery.

"I was frustrated," Salganicoff said. "I knew there had to be an easier way of looking at digital images on the Web. And why weren't there more digital images in the first place? And why weren't they put to better use?"

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When Salganicoff peered into the future, he saw it filled with digital cameras, all of them producing several billion digital images a year. There seemed to be only one conclusion from all this: The future of Web images was three-dimensional.

Thus came into being the concept of Advantage3D, a company that aims to provide simple, cost-effective, mass-market 3-D images to companies hungry to sell stuff online.

Advantage3D's technology lets ordinary computer users create 3-D presentations of just about any object that can be photographed from several angles. It can play the images in any Web browser and requires no plug-in. Once loaded, the image can be made to turn around by manipulating a scroll bar.

"I do a fair amount of online shopping and was impressed by the panoramic images that are sometimes used in selling items on the Web," Salganicoff said. "When I saw that such imaging does have business value, I looked deeper into its technology. I wanted to see how it could help sellers make more money with their business."

"Then, when I saw how many digital images were being used, and how inadequate the imaging was, in general, I knew there was a value proposition there. Not that I want to make much fun of my competitors, but I saw that to view a lot of the 3-D images out there, I had to download some multi-megabyte plug-ins just to view the object. And I am a very tech-savvy person. If I was having problems with the plug-ins, I couldn't imagine what kind of trouble a non-(tech)-savvy person would have. And the file sizes were way too big."

He founded the company in September 2000. Salganicoff had just left Sensar Inc., now Iridian Technologies Inc., where he oversaw development of the company's software products and Internet service strategies.

A lot of experience in technology development -- he did stints at NASA/Caltech's Jet Propulsion Lab Robotics Lab and at the University of Delaware/A.I. duPont Institute -- gave him credibility among investors.

He began the search for seed money. He was going to need it.

"It was the nuclear winter of venture capital," Salganicoff said. "I decided to gather nuts for the winter (locally), rather than look far beyond Philadelphia. Philly is a really good place to start a business. With the various innovation funds around here, and the good networking, it's really a good melting pot for entrepreneurs."

Of course, it didn't hurt that Salganicoff had spent six years in "startup bootcamp" at Iridian.

Advantage3D eventually secured a $100,000 matching funds grant from Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania.

The company consists of three people. Salganicoff, who holds a doctorate degree in computer and information science from the University of Pennsylvania, is founder, president and CEO. Tom Hillhouse, a Web developer who spent two years at Qwest Interactive, works as vice president of software development. Craig D.T. Dahlin, with 15 years of experience in programming and engineering, is chief information officer.

Advantage has gotten interest from strategic partners exploring the possibility of adding 3-D capabilities to their photo-hosting sites. And some eBay sellers are already using the technology to sell items online.

To make money, the company charges a pay-per-use fee for what it calls software delivery. Under this system, users use the software to create 3-D images of their objects, but then pay to have that image incorporated onto a given Web site.

Another revenue stream will come from companies that want to license Advantage3D's technology for their own customers. Examples might be sites like newspapers that run online classified sections.

But that's just the beginning.

Once the company establishes itself in markets that sell primarily online, Salganicoff sees the demand for 3-D technology growing to include anyone wishing to give Web shoppers a three-dimensional image of their business. This would include brick-and-mortar stores hoping to entice shoppers for a visit.

"Right now, our main focus is feeding it to small businesses that have Web catalogs, and to medium to small businesses that are beginning to use distribution channels like eBay to sell overstocks," Salganicoff said. "They like us because what we do is easy and cost-effective.

"The next step will be to go after people who are not selling purely online, to establish our ability to bring the shopper to an in-store experience before they get to the store," he said. "And I don't view this as something for online shoppers only. It's good to bring people to your establishment, whether it's a restaurant or jewelry store. This technology lets people look at your products up close and in three dimensions. It's a much more visual experience."

Copyright 2002 American City Business Journals Inc. Click for permission to reprint (PRC# 1.1657.585510)

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