| Engineering Animation, Inc. |
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Engineering Animation, Inc. (EAI) was a services and Software company based in Ames, Iowa (a.k.a. the "Silicon Prairie"). It remained headquartered there from its incorporation in 1990 until it was acquired by Unigraphics Solutions, Inc. in 1999 . During its existence, EAI produced animations to support Litigant s in Court , wrote and sold animation and visualization software, and developed a number of Multimedia Medical and Computer Game titles. HISTORY EAI got its start by providing consulting for Lawyer s and Expert Witness es and producing animations to help illustrate techinical testimony in the courtroom. They also provided in-house expertise and Testimony on occasion. These EAI-produced animations were created using software written in-house which later developed into EAI's first software product in 1994 , VisLab , an animation package initially written to leverage the graphics capabilities of the SGI UNIX Computer Platform . Based on the initial success of VisLab with Automotive companies, EAI developed and released the first commercially viable 3D interactive visualization software package, VisFly , on the SGI and then the HP and Sun platforms in 1995 and '96 . Providing both the visualization software and the tools to convert common CAD data into the JT visualization format were keys to this most successful of EAI's business ventures. EAI Interactive '' represents one of the combined efforts of the SLC and Ames offices. The art assets were developed in Ames, while the Programming took place in Salt Lake City.]] By 1996 , EAI wanted to broaden its scope of development. This led to EAI's purchase that year of a small Video Game Developer in Salt Lake City, Utah (SLC) headed by Bryan Brandenburg . This new studio became the primary location of EAI Interactive's activities. The SLC office worked more or less independently, though from time to time it relied heavily on the main Ames office for special talent. EAI Interactive grew to be the largest independent game developer in the U.S., producing a variety of titles, such as '''' for Southpeak Interactive . In addition to game development, EAI's medical and scientific illustration team developed a variety of 3D interactive educational products including The Dynamic Human for McGraw Hill, The Dissectible Human for Elsevier. Recognition In the September, 1997 issue of Individual Investor magazine, EAI was named one of "America's Fastest Growing Companies." And, early in 1998, two additional magazines recognized the company's achievements. Business Week magazine, in its January 12, 1998 issue, recognized Matthew Rizai , the company CEO, as one of the best entrepreneurs of 1997, and Forbes ASAP magazine, in its February 23, 1998 issue, recognized the company as one of the 100 most dynamic technology companies in the US -- with a rank of number eight. An international company In its hey day, EAI had offices located around the world and across the US . EAI's primary financial success was in the area of visualization software initially called VisFly and later renamed VisView . This product line lives on today as part of UGS , the PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) software and services company now based in Plano, Texas that acquired EAI in 1999. The litigation supporting animation services portion of EAI lives on as a spin off company called Demonstratives . Former EAI employees have gone on to achieve fame and fortune at such notable companies as Pixar , Disney , Zygote Media Group , Hasbro , Milkshake Media , DreamWorks and Maxis . PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Animation software Visualization software Multimedia titles
Computer games
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