10/07/96 NOW, THE VIRTUAL-REALITY SALES PITCH

NOW, THE VIRTUAL-REALITY SALES PITCH

THERE'S A NEW TWIST coming to the world of automated selling. Clear With Computers Inc. (CWC), a software manufacturer based in Mankato, Minn., is working on a small dome-ceilinged theater that will give as many as 10 people at a time a simulated test of a new product. Based on technology from Alternate Realities Corp. in Research Triangle Park, N.C., the system runs off a Silicon Graphics Inc. computer that's programmed to generate high-definition video images across the entire dome.
In a car-selling application, for example, the theater can put the viewer in the driver's seat of a new model. The ``front'' of the dome would display the view out the car's windshield, while the scene behind would display the backseats and beyond. At first, the $500,000 setup will be used mainly at trade shows and other special events. But officials at Clear With Computers say that in two years, the price should be low enough for individual car dealerships to operate the domes themselves. CWC has a five-year exclusive license to apply the technology to sales in automobiles and nine other industries.
EDITED BY AMY CORTESE By John W. Verity