spaceball support

Are there any plans to use 6DOF input devices (like 3dconnexion,
USB-based) for avatar navigation?

--
Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> http://leitl.org
______________________________________________________________
ICBM: 48.07100, 11.36820            http://www.ativel.com
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I am interested in alternative input devices. It would be good to hear
from people who are currently working with these devices or want to, and
what devices are considered to be "hot" right now. I tried a cheap head
tracking system. It worked, but I got very tired using it. People just
don't work that way...

I do want a mouse-look mode. By far the most popular 3D interface today.
I just need to figure out how to also allow for picking an manipulating
without going model.

David A. Smith


Eugen Leitl wrote:
> Are there any plans to use 6DOF input devices (like 3dconnexion,
> USB-based) for avatar navigation?
>
>  

On Tue, Jul 18, 2006 at 11:29:05AM -0400, David A. Smith wrote:

> I am interested in alternative input devices. It would be good to hear
> from people who are currently working with these devices or want to, and

I'm currently using a reasonably affordable 3dconnexion SpaceTraveler
http://www.3dconnexion.com/products/3a1.php
(only Maya and VMD so far, though Blender is also supported, or is
about to). It is typically operated ambidextrously (in my case,
the spaceball in the left hand, the mouse right-hand).

> what devices are considered to be "hot" right now. I tried a cheap head
> tracking system. It worked, but I got very tired using it. People just
> don't work that way...

Affordable immersive VR (can it really be that we've been waiting for
it over a decade?) would be certainly nice. The molecular modeling
community typically uses video projectors (DMD) with orthogonally aligned
polarizing filters and matching-orientation polarizing glasses,
projected on a (silver) screen. Otoh, there are some HMDs with
OLEDs and head trackers, which are almost affordable (but far from
the resolution required).
 
> I do want a mouse-look mode. By far the most popular 3D interface today.
> I just need to figure out how to also allow for picking an manipulating
> without going model.

--
Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> http://leitl.org
______________________________________________________________
ICBM: 48.07100, 11.36820            http://www.ativel.com
8B29F6BE: 099D 78BA 2FD3 B014 B08A  7779 75B0 2443 8B29 F6BE