|
Fakespace Systems Unveils New Products, Innovative Technologies For Use With Immersive Visualization Company Launches Interactive Devices To Manipulate 3D Data, Shows First Force-Feedback Integration With Mini WorkBench™, New Portable Bench Display Los Angeles, CA - August 10, 1999 - Fakespace Systems Inc.™, the world leader in immersive visualization systems, today unveiled advanced new products and technologies for working with three-dimensional (3D) models and computer-generated simulations. The company's SIGGRAPH '99 booth #339 features new user interface devices designed to enhance the usability of visualization display systems when working with applications such as product design and engineering, task training, oil and gas exploration, scientific research and more. The company is also showing a new portable virtual model display with a 4-foot x 5-foot screen, and the industry's first public demonstration of force-feedback technology integrated with a virtual model display. "At Fakespace, our goal is to provide customers in research and industry with the best tools available for understanding and working with 3D data," said Dan Wright, president and CEO of Fakespace Systems Inc. "We're very excited to extend the company's track record of innovation by bringing to market a variety of new devices and systems." Input Devices for 'Real-World' Applications At SIGGRAPH, Fakespace Systems is showing three new user interface devices for use with large-scale visualization display systems. The NeoWand™ is an ergonomic, handheld input device developed for use in spatially immersive environments such as the Immersive WorkRoom™ and CAVE™. It combines the functionality of a VR (virtual reality) wand or stylus with the familiar interface of a handheld remote control. It has eleven buttons that can be used to control navigation, manipulation of virtual objects, menu viewing and selection, and other programmable functions. The NeoWand was designed to function as a collaborative device, so that a designer or researcher can click on a virtual object, or part of a model, and hand it to someone else for their input. For an automotive designer working with a computer-generated 3D prototype, this might be used to review various positions for a side mirror, or to place and remove several mirror models to evaluate their impact on overall appearance. The NavPod™ is a pedestal or desk-mounted navigation device designed for use with large-scale wall or room displays such as the Fakespace Immersive WorkWall™. The user grips each end of a 12-inch long horizontal bar and pushes or turns gently in the direction they wish to drive the perspective for viewing. Based on Fakespace's award-winning PUSH™ technology, the NavPod provides very intuitive steering for moving around a 3D-scale model, such as a prototype of a car, airplane, physical plant or cityscape. Both the NeoWand and the NavPod are now available from Fakespace Systems Inc. The list price for the NavPod is $10,500 and the NeoWand sells for $5,000. The Cubic Mouse™, a development of the National German Research Center for Information Technology (GMD) is another new device for interacting with visualization data being shown in the Fakespace booth. Demonstrations during the show will include applications for automotive engineering, geophysical exploration, and medical simulation. The Cubic Mouse is a handheld, cube-shaped device that enables users to manipulate huge sets of 3D data. Turning the cube in space changes the position of the volumetric data being viewed, and a click of a button freezes the position. Three rods that run through the cube's axes are used to set orthogonal slicing planes that can be moved through a visualization to reveal the interior structures. Fakespace has signed a letter of intent to license the Cubic Mouse technology from GMD, and will make it available worldwide later this year. Integrating Haptic Feedback The Haptic Mini WorkBench™ is a virtual model display system designed to enable users to feel and manipulate the stereoscopic images that they are viewing. It provides force-feedback through the integration of the PHANTOM™ haptic interface from SensAble Technologies. The technology demonstration in the Fakespace booth is a collaboration of Fakespace Systems, ACSys (the Australian Government's Cooperative Research Centre for Advanced Computational Systems), SensAble Technologies, and Teneo Computing. The system was developed to demonstrate the value of hapto-visual techniques for the analysis and interpretation of seismic data, which is used by oil and gas exploration geophysicists who must rapidly examine huge sets of data to determine if an area is likely to be productive. Other potential applications for this system include computer-aided design (CAD), assembly planning, biomolecular engineering, and education and training. "Integration of force-feedback is a major step forward in creating realistic simulations for data analysis and virtual prototyping," said Jim Angelillo, vice president of strategic relations at Fakespace Systems Inc. "We are pleased to work with this team of top technologists, who are exploring new territory in order to tap the power of touch cues for analysis and creative thinking." New Portable Virtual Model Display Fakespace Systems is also showing the newest addition to the ImmersaDesk™ family of virtual model displays, a portable display system that will be introduced later this year. The H3™ is a projection-based visualization system designed for "virtual sandtable" military applications and commercial applications such as seismic data analysis. The system, which breaks down into two separate modules on wheels, fits through a standard 33-inch door and opens to a 4-foot by 5-foot horizontal screen, enabling almost any room to instantly become a visualization center. It provides the group-viewing capability of the Immersive WorkBench, which is a stationary system, in a transportable, self-contained system that can be deployed from the folded position in just five to ten minutes. ### About Mechdyne Corporation Mechdyne Corporation is the world’s largest company dedicated to consulting and development of immersive, networked and collaborative visualization solutions. The company addresses complex projects where an in-depth understanding of user requirements leads to the development of products and customized solutions involving elements of visual, software and support systems. Mechdyne’s product divisions provide advanced display technology, audio/visual systems design, and implementation services, as well as immersive and interactive software development and support. Headquartered in Marshalltown, Iowa, Mechdyne’s customers include leading government laboratories, military research programs, energy companies and a variety of ‘edutainment,’ manufacturing, and other users of visualization technology. More information is available at www.mechdyne.com. Mechdyne Press Contact Jeff Brum Matt Schmidt |
|
 |
|
(c) 2009 Mechdyne Corporation. All rights reserved. |
|