Tricycle Carpet Software- Which One is Real and Which is Virtual?

Michael Hendrix and Jonathan Bragdon, chief creative officer and president, respectively of Tricycle, preside over one of the most modest yet intriguing booths at NeoCon. Armed with foot-square carpet samples and similarly sized color computer printouts, Hendrix and Bragdon challenge visitors to tell the difference between a computer simulation and the real thing. Remarkably, from just a few feet away, it’s impossible.

With these simulations—Hendrix calls them “virtual tufts”—Tricycle aims to speed the costly and time-consuming process that often transpires between designers and carpet manufacturers. Using their software to produce photorealistic samples, the vast majority of strike-off carpet samples can be eliminated.

If Tricycle can persuade designers to accept virtual rather than actual samples, it could result in faster production times, less waste, and lower costs to the industry.