SensAble PHANTOM Omni (Haptics Pen)
I was just listening to the Rev VR podcast about Haptics technology and it reminded me of a device I used back in 2006 or 2007 at an Autodesk convention. It's called PHANTOM Omni by a company called SensAble (not sure if this has been discussed on the forums).
http://www.sensegraphics.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage_sensegraphics&product_id=22&category_id=8&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=83&vmcchk=1&Itemid=83
This is a tool thats like a Wacom Pen for 3 dimentional use that has force-feedback. I tried it on a digital sculpting software (could have been Mudbox) and as I pressed against the model feeling the shape and pressing in holes, it felt like I was actually working on a physical model. The haptics were spot on as I recall and was totally blown away. Obviously the arm gets limited movement based on the shape your pressing against but it was phenomenal.
I've posted this because maybe some people developing a new Input Device could look at this and might find something useful to implement on their hardware. Or even SensAble themselves could make something for gaming.
Heres a video of someone using it, but you cant really see the Force-Feedback but you do see it in motion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REA97hRX0WQ
http://www.sensegraphics.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage_sensegraphics&product_id=22&category_id=8&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=83&vmcchk=1&Itemid=83
This is a tool thats like a Wacom Pen for 3 dimentional use that has force-feedback. I tried it on a digital sculpting software (could have been Mudbox) and as I pressed against the model feeling the shape and pressing in holes, it felt like I was actually working on a physical model. The haptics were spot on as I recall and was totally blown away. Obviously the arm gets limited movement based on the shape your pressing against but it was phenomenal.
I've posted this because maybe some people developing a new Input Device could look at this and might find something useful to implement on their hardware. Or even SensAble themselves could make something for gaming.
Heres a video of someone using it, but you cant really see the Force-Feedback but you do see it in motion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REA97hRX0WQ