Advanced Computing in the Age of AI | Thursday, March 28, 2024

Leonar3Do’s Bird Soars into Third Dimension 

<img style="float: left;" src="http://media2.hpcwire.com/dmr/Leonar3Dobird.jpg" alt="" width="95" height="79" />While some creatures may dream of flying, Leonar3Do has made that possible for its own take on a computer mouse that they call a “bird.” Instead of a mouse, which is bound to the two-dimensional planes of your mousepad and desktop, the bird moves around in the third plane of space above your desk.

While some creatures may dream of flying, Leonar3Do has made that possible for its own take on a computer mouse that they call a “bird.”

Instead of a mouse, which is bound to the two-dimensional planes of your mousepad and desktop, the bird, complete with wings and tail, moves around in the third plane of space above your desk, while its digital representation floats beyond the boundary of your computer monitor.

Obviously, a 3D mouse and pointer are pointless without an integrated 3D virtual reality system, which is where Leonar3Do's 3D glasses, peripheral sensors and specialized software come in. The result is an object that artists, designers or students can view and manipulate in the space in front of their screen.

“You could put this on any computer, any laptop and have a virtual workspace environment,” said Roland Manyai, director of marketing, sales and business development for Leonar3Do in an interview with TechNewsDaily's Jeremy Hsu.

This flexibility has paved the way for Leonar3Do's Vimensio brand of educational software, which aims to help students interactively learn anything from the planets in a solar system to the name and location of organs in the human body.

The Leonar3Do technology has applications that extend far beyond the elementary. One company has already used Vimensio software to develop a driving simulator, while a physician reported using the same technology to develop a facial reconstruction program to prepare for an upcoming live surgical procedure.

For its time, the technology is robust: the bird controller still features the two buttons of a traditional mouse, allowing for object rotation and even distortion, while the 3D glasses will alter the view of an object depending on the tilt and position of the wearer's head. However, for more advanced applications such as surgical practice, we are still years away from a realistic tactile feedback system.

Still, this technology could become essential for digital artists specializing in 3D media as well as designers. At $550 for hardware, the technology could even find its way into the hands of students. However along with the cost of software this bird may remain in the hands of select professionals, for now.

Full story at Yahoo

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