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Re:Show HN: Best Buy Uses WebGL to Create Interactive Applia... by relaunched on Monday May 11, 2015 @11:42AM (#9525543)
This is a project my team has been working on a very long time and I'm really excited to see it in the wild.

All the 3d urls:

  * 4-Door Refrigerator - http://esd.bbystatic.com/3d/5258309/  

  * Top-Load Washer - http://esd.bbystatic.com/3d/8822012/ 
  
  * Front-Load Washer w/ Steam and Water Jets - http://esd.bbystatic.com/3d/4995705/
Re:Show HN: Best Buy Uses WebGL to Create Interactive Applia... by gus_massa on Monday May 11, 2015 @02:16PM (#9526702)
A post with too many links is not interesting and looks spammy.

I think it's better if you cherrypick two or three of them and add a small explanation. For example:

* Fridge with transparent door: [link here]

* Washer with additional soap container: [link here]

* Complete list of all 3d pages: link here

---

Also, if you have been working in this, a nice blog post about your work would be more on topic. Is this official? Differences with the previous page? Will this be integrated with the official page? Where did you get the models? Do you have to tweak the models or the WebGL support? Is there an impossible to render machine?

(On the technical side, this takes almost a minute to load in my slow netbook, you should add a "loading" animation. And the color changing button is not obvious.)

Re:Show HN: Best Buy Uses WebGL to Create Interactive Applia... by relaunched on Monday May 11, 2015 @02:25PM (#9526785)
That's a great idea. A blog post about the work is in the works, but has a few hoops to jump through before I can release it.

I appreciate the technical feedback as well. We are continually refining the ui/ux component. I'm very excited to show the work, but want to add the correct context so that others easily and meaningfully consume it.

Re:Show HN: Best Buy Uses WebGL to Create Interactive Applia... by swalsh on Monday May 11, 2015 @04:04PM (#9527485)
This is an awesome start, but ultimately of limited usefulness to me. When I was recently shopping for a new refrigerator I really wanted one of these new fancy fridges with the larger area for produce. The problem was there was only 1 that would fit my oddly shaped space, and i wasn't sure if the dimensions listed included the hinge for the door or not (i had a cabinet above the fridge), and it was going to be tight.

What I really wished I could do at the time was take out my phone, take a picture of my space, give a few measurements for reference, and have you render the new fridge in the space.

Re:Show HN: Best Buy Uses WebGL to Create Interactive Applia... by relaunched on Monday May 11, 2015 @08:46PM (#9528854)
That's a very common problem, which we encounter both in-store and online. Solving it will be key to providing the best possible customer experience; stay tuned.
Re:Show HN: Best Buy Uses WebGL to Create Interactive Applia... by NathanKP on Monday May 11, 2015 @04:02PM (#9527479)
There is a minor bug: Any mouse event over the control panel, even a mouse wheel spin, causes the drum to stop and or start. This leads to strange starts and stops of the drum if you happen to zoom in while hovering over the control panel. I would expect the drum to start and stop spinning only on clicks.
Re:Show HN: Best Buy Uses WebGL to Create Interactive Applia... by relaunched on Monday May 11, 2015 @08:47PM (#9528857)
I'll make a note, thx.
Re:Show HN: Best Buy Uses WebGL to Create Interactive Applia... by city41 on Monday May 11, 2015 @02:35PM (#9526859)
How are the models generated? From existing assets, like a CAD file or something?
Re:Show HN: Best Buy Uses WebGL to Create Interactive Applia... by relaunched on Monday May 11, 2015 @02:44PM (#9526935)
We do a lot of work to ensure we represent the assets in as true to form as possible. However, I'll check to see if the company is okay with me answering this question and get back to you. I am comfortable saying that the work effort is not trivial.
Re:Show HN: Best Buy Uses WebGL to Create Interactive Applia... by senna on Monday May 11, 2015 @03:22PM (#9527237)
How much time is 'a very long time'?
Re:Show HN: Best Buy Uses WebGL to Create Interactive Applia... by relaunched on Monday May 11, 2015 @03:30PM (#9527270)
I'll forward your question and if I can answer it, I will.
Re:Show HN: Best Buy Uses WebGL to Create Interactive Applia... by Cakez0r on Monday May 11, 2015 @03:48PM (#9527388)
I don't suppose you guys have found a way to make it economical to model, texture and animate products en masse? ;)
Re:Show HN: Best Buy Uses WebGL to Create Interactive Applia... by fsloth on Monday May 11, 2015 @03:52PM (#9527417)
If they were cooperating with the manufacturers the mesh could come as an export from the cad/cam package the hardware designers use.
Re:Show HN: Best Buy Uses WebGL to Create Interactive Applia... by relaunched on Monday May 11, 2015 @03:49PM (#9527398)
LoL, it is not fully automated. Unfortunately, the economics isn't something I can talk about.
Re:Show HN: Best Buy Uses WebGL to Create Interactive Applia... by Cakez0r on Monday May 11, 2015 @04:24PM (#9527601)
Figured as much. I've worked on projects before that have tried to make it work financially, but 3D capture always falls short on quality (and I'll bet the specular highlights on those appliances caused you guys many hours of fun if you tried that approach too!) and it's too expensive to hand-craft all the assets. Hope you guys make it work! It's a cool area and I'm sure you'll have clients queuing up if you can!
Re:Show HN: Best Buy Uses WebGL to Create Interactive Applia... by rsal on Monday May 11, 2015 @04:18PM (#9527564)
Great job! I really like how you added a reflection on the door of the Front-Load Washer
Re:Show HN: Best Buy Uses WebGL to Create Interactive Applia... by relaunched on Monday May 11, 2015 @08:48PM (#9528859)
Thanks for noticing the level of detail. We're really proud of the work; someone on the team has an amazing eye for detail ;-)