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From: dchapman@toc.torolab.ibm.com (Dale Chapman Tic)
Subject: Re: 3D input devices
Sender: usenet@eclipse.torolab.ibm.com (eclipse sysadm)
Message-ID: <CyrKuz.1Iwq@eclipse.torolab.ibm.com>
Date: Fri, 4 Nov 1994 22:23:23 GMT
References:  <39dqcj$nhd$4@heifetz.msen.com>
Organization: IBM Toronto Lab (DB2 Common Server Development)
Keywords: 3D input
Lines: 33

Tom Peurach writes :
>We are in the process of developing some applications which require 
>3D input.  We want to find the best 3D input device, but we 
>do not now what is available.  We are remotely familiar with
>the Spaceball.  Does anybody know of different 3D input devices?
>And, any feedback on the use of the spaceball, or any other
>3D input device would be greatly appreciated!

While I was a graduate student at the University of New Brunswick,
we did a lot of work with 6DoF input devices.
The ones we had access to while I was there were :
SpaceBall, The Bird, Logitech 3D mouse, and the Polhemus.
It was our experience that the best of the bunch was the Polhemus.
It tended to be the most accurate, and the most versatile. The SpaceBall
was very limiting in how to intuitive interact with the application.
The Bird created a large magnetic field that prevented it from being
used too close to the computer screen. The Logitech 3D mouse was based on
ultra-sonics (I think), and worked well, but was limited its ability
to be used to correctly represent orientation. The Polhemus, like the 
bird, used an elctromagnetic field, but it seemed to behave better 
close to the computer screen, so it could be used in areas where the
Bird could not. 

Now, I understand that these devices have all been upgraded in the past
two years, so these impressions may be a little dated. I have not seen
any material on the SpaceBall, The Bird, or the 3D mouse since my 
graduation, but I have seen the new material on the Fastrak - the new
version of the Polhemus - and it has been greatly improved.

I hope that this helps.

Dale Chapman
dchapman@vnet.ibm.com
