Mental Images GmbH (stylized as mental images) was a German

computer-generated imagery Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is a specific-technology or application of computer graphics for creating or improving images in Digital art, art, Publishing, printed media, Training simulation, simulators, videos and video games. These images ...

(CGI) software company based in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. In 2007,

Nvidia Nvidia Corporation ( ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and incorporated in Delaware. Founded in 1993 by Jensen Huang (president and CEO), Chris Malachowsky, and Curti ...

acquired the company and rebranded it as the Nvidia Advanced Rendering Center (ARC). The company continues to provide similar products and technology, offering rendering and

3D modeling In 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling is the process of developing a mathematical coordinate-based Computer representation of surfaces, representation of a surface of an object (inanimate or living) in Three-dimensional space, three dimensions vi ...

technology for

entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and Interest (emotion), interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but it is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have deve ...

, computer-aided design, scientific visualization and

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

. The company was founded in April 1986 in Berlin, Germany, by the physicists and computer scientists Rolf Herken, Hans-Christian Hege, Robert Hödicke and Wolfgang Krüger as well as the economists Günter Ansorge, Frank Schnöckel and Hans Peter Plettner. It was established as a company with limited liability & private limited partnership (GmbH & Co. KG). The Mental Ray software project was initiated in 1986. The first versions of the rendering software were influenced, tested and utilized by the then-sizable commercial computer animation division of Mental Images, which was led by the following visual effects supervisors: The 1991 and 1993 Academy Award winner John Andrew Berton (1986–1989), the 2000 and 2017 Academy Award winner John Nelson (1987–1989), and the 1996 and 2000 Academy Award nominee Stefen Fangmeier (1988–1990). In 2003, Mental Images completed an investment round led by ViewPoint Ventures and another large international private equity investor. Since December 2007, Mental Images GmbH has been a wholly owned subsidiary of the Nvidia Corporation. The company is headquartered in

with subsidiaries in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

(Mental Images Inc.) and

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

(Mental Images Pty. Ltd.) as well as an office in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. Following its acquisition by Nvidia, the company was renamed Nvidia Advanced Rendering Center (Nvidia ARC GmbH).

Products

Mental Images was the developer of the rendering software mental ray, iray, mental mill, RealityServer, and DiCE. Mental ray is a production-quality render engine that has been used in many feature films, including

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, The Day After Tomorrow, and much more over three decades.

Filmography

* ''Mental Images'' (1987) (movie awarded at Prix Ars Electronica 1987, 4 min, demonstrating the technical possibilities of the time) * '' Asterix in America'' (1994) (3D computer animation "Storm Sequence" and digital effects, software development) * ''

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

'' (2002) (images computed with Mental Ray)

References

External links

* *
Technical Oscars: The 75th Scientific & Technical Awards 2002 / 2003
* mental images office at th
Kant Dreieck
tower * 1986 establishments in Germany 2007 mergers and acquisitions 3D graphics software 3D imaging Computer-aided design software Nvidia Software companies established in 1986 Software companies of Germany {{Ict-company-stub