London-Based Startup 3D Industri.es Aims to Become the Google of 3D Search
[Philip Lelyveld comment; this appears to be truly innovative, AND meets a clear need.]
Halfway between the Chinese factories and Silicon Valley tech giants, right in the heart of London’s emerging tech scene, is a startup that aims to revolutionize both manufacturing and internet search.3D Industri.es (3DI) commercializes advanced 3D search technology, creating applications based on its geometric shape-based 3D search engine. Its first product, 3Dpartsource.com, a visual component-sourcing platform for industry, has the potential to disrupt the age-old sourcing process for parts in the manufacturing supply chain.
With 3DI, an industrial designer looking to source components can upload a 3D design into the 3D search engine which immediately returns a list of matching suppliers worldwide.
Read the full story here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/juliepham/2013/03/27/london-based-startup-3d-industri-es-aims-to-become-the-google-of-3d-search/