February 1997, Vol. 14, No. 2 Table of Contents Industry Leaders Form VRML Consortium Thirty-five hardware, software and Internet providers -- including Microsoft, IBM, Intel, Oracle, Netscape and Silicon Graphics -- have banded together to form the VRML Consortium. This group is committed to developing the Virtual Reality Modeling Language into an open standard for interactive 3D content on the World Wide Web.   News Briefs A snapshot of newsworthy events in the intelligent systems arena.   Neural Nets Help Amoco Close the Loop By applying three neural network models and real-time intelligent system software, Amoco Oil has been able to create a control system featuring soft sensor values for the crude oil compositions. The result: an estimated savings of more than $500,000 per year in recovered product.   Intergraph Adds CBR to Project Solomon Intergraph has launched Project Solomon to upgrade its customer support services by integrating its current system with case-based retrieval (CBR) technology to maintain its customer support help desk services.       SAVE Could Save Air Force Billions Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Air Force are working together on a virtual manufacturing project to apply modeling and simulation technology during the design process to prove out and select optimal new concepts. The Air Force is investing $8.8 million in anticipation of a $3 billion lifecycle cost savings through the program.   Automakers Form Knowledge Consortium An international consortium of automobile manufacturers -- including General Motors, Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, Volvo, BMW, Ricardo, Eberspacher and Unipart -- are collaborating on a global project called KADOS (Knowledge-based Automated Design of Intake and Exhaust Systems).   Intelligent Applications A round-up of recently released applications utilizing intelligent technologies.   Book Shelf Reviews of current books dealing with intelligent systems.   Products A compilation of new product release information, ranging from bneural networks and expert systems, to speech recognition and virtual reality.   Calendar A list of upcoming intelligent systems-related events.   NASA Explores Interstellar Travel Ideas NASA's Lewis Research Center is spearheading the Breakthrough Propulsion Physics program, involving an investigation into the potential of nanotechnology. NASA's long-range goal is to develop propulsion that could enable interstellar voyages.   Web Site © Copyright 1997, 1998 by Lionheart Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Lionheart Publishing, Inc. 2555 Cumberland Parkway, Suite 299, Atlanta, GA 30339 USA Phone: 770-431-0867 | Fax: 770-432-6969 E-mail: lpi@lionhrtpub.com Web: www.lionheartpub.com Web Design by Premier Web Designs E-mail: lionwebmaster@preweb.com