The SpaceCat with its six degrees of freedom (6DOF) was the prototype which verified the
usability of our Inductive Spring 3D-technology. The handle can be
translated as well as rotated with respect to the x, y and z axis. |
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User Need
Today's home and personal computers are
becoming increasingly powerful while becoming very affordable as well.
Complex real-time animations that required high-end graphics
workstations a few years ago can now be performed on standard personal
computers equipped with inexpensive graphics cards. Interactive 3D
applications have thus become more accessible for professional users in
fields like engineering, industrial design, architecture, medicine,
biotechnology, computer animation and telemanipulation. Additionaly the
3D graphics development is nowadays strongly driven by private users, where primarily
gamers demand the newest upgrades.
To interact efficiently in
3D there is a need to control more parameters simultaneously.
Conventional 2D input devices (like mouse and joystick) are designed
to control two degrees of freedom at a time, while controlling a
3D-object requires six degrees of freedom. The issue here is not only
the number of degrees of freedom but also the ease with which these
parameters can be manipulated. By controlling six degrees of freedom
simultaneously the information flow from the user to the computer
increases, which makes the interaction faster and additionally
the interaction becomes more intuitive.
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