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Sculpting Interface Prototype
uw_dwarf writes "Now you can play with Play-Doh and your computer at the same time. Folks at the State University of New York at Buffalo have demonstrated another tactile interface to the computer: a glove with a sensor to determine pressure and direction in 3-space as the user works with a nice malleable substance. I'm torn between 'cool!' and 'scary!'"
The technology utilizes a ModelGlove developed by the researchers to record the force exerted by hand when depressing and shaping a block of clay. This force-feedback information, as well as information on hand position and speed of fingertip motion, is instantaneously communicated to a personal computer where a virtual block of clay -- possessing characteristics mimicking the physical properties of the clay -- is shaped precisely to the contouring of the actual clay.
;-)
The next generation of the ModelGlove will have sensors on all fingers and on the palm of the hand to give users full finger control of virtual clay.
"Touch is the next frontier in the evolution of virtual reality," Kesavadas says. "Most virtual-reality technologies to this point have focused on 3D visualization, but the sense of touch may be the most powerful way to make virtual reality more real."
"I'm torn between hot and sexy", said Hugh Heffner when asked about this interactive research project being worked on at the Playboy Research Labs
Stocks soar in the interactive porn industry.
- "Nobody came out that night, not one was ever seen. But Old Man Stauf is waiting there, crazy sick and mean!"
...I'll point out that they prefer to be called just plain "University at Buffalo" now, none of that low class SUNY stuff (even though they still are part of the SUNY system).
And any pr0n joke I make is already redundant. Oh well, if there was any doubt as to how the geek mind worked...
Boy oh boy.
I remember getting an invite over to V.P.L. (Virtual Propulsion Laboratories) back when I had a friend who was working at nearby Oracle.
The demo: they had a virtual reality glove, something which you put your hand in and moved in free space to manipulate objects in virtual reality. Yeah, yeah, I know SUNYAB has made some incremental changes and added some haptic feedback, but please, VPL had started this in the pre-boom days of Silicon Valley back in the early 1990's.
"The Power Glove has to be one of the most innovative and least useful of all peripherals. R.O.B. may be more pointless from a gaming perspective, but there wasn't as much to R.O.B.
The Power Glove along with the sensors that were to be placed around your TV supposedly allowed you to control the game through virtual reality."
See, they're touching themselves when they're at porn sites. Do you see? DO YOU SEE?
KHAAAAAANNNNNNNNN!
I barely knew it was a word. Now I find out it's a field.
Certain hand/arm disformaties or Nuerological Degeneration diseases can have their affect on the use a of a PC nullified with proper application of this tool (as opposed to attention/finger dexterity demanding keyboards and mice).
Unfortunately, I doubt the funding is out there to adopt this technology to disabled persons uses, much less actually get it to them :-\ .
yea but suppose you cant be bothered to reproduce, triangle by triangle, a 3D structure on-screen with your mouse... just rub it all over with your gloved fingers and it's done.
"...virtual block of clay -- possessing characteristics mimicking the physical properties of the clay -- is shaped precisely to the contouring of the actual clay."
The actual clay... meaning you still have to have clay? That's all well and good, but the biggest problem to working with clay and getting the shape onto the computer is getting clay all over your $K's worth of interface devices. I'd like to see the force feedback go into the glove, so I can just "model" virtual clay, sans real clay.
stuff |
It seems some of you are confused as to what this is. From what I see, it using pressure sensors, and position sensors, combines them, and produces a 3D image (similar to one in a CAD program). This image can then be used later on, either to look at the object with out it being there, or to have as a design. This is not in any way the other way around. Virtual objects do not put FORCE on the GLOVE. You will not "feel" any thing from it. That would not work.
Lets look at this from a physics standpoint. It is a glove with wires coming out. There are no air bags to fill, no rockets to fire, and nothing to push your hand with. If you look at the picture you can see that. From this, we can assume the glove can not put force on your hand to move it. So no, VR sextoys, or objects won't really come from this.
What will come from this is faster design. A sculptor who is very good at making models in clay, may very well be horrible with CAD. They can model in real clay, using this glove, and it will make a CAD of the actual design he made. They can now mass produce exactly what he made. This basically flips the way they make cars around. From what I've seen, they model it, then make a clay mockup.
Yes! Now you too can have your very own Darth Vader glove, complete with Force Strangle.
Moderation Insight
How about:
And you thought "finding out the hot girl you were chatting with is really a guy" was creepy...
think about it.
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
I just love how the nerds brain works. One person mentions pr0n and that's all everyone can talk about. I was sure someone in the /. community would have noticed this about it: If this product gets marketed, it could mean extreme changes in one of our favorite industries, (no, not pr0n) gaming. Slip one of these on you could easily create the majority of 3D models for a game. Need a toaster? Just run your fingers over one and BAM! you have your model. This could cut a lot of time out of making games so they could focus on other parts of the process. (I wonder what this will do to copyright laws. e.g. "You have a copy of our brand of toaster on your computer! We're gonna sue you")
Just my two cents. -TP
LCpl Winward, USMC I'm Awesome