How could your organisation use NOVINT's expertise?

First thought is use in basic engineering education, but I am sure we could find MANY ways to incorporate haptic technology into higher education.

I am very much interested in seeing support for 3d modeling applications such as 3d studio max and/or maya. 3d modeling and animation is a growing industry, and there are already successful 3d interface devices in that field (such as the space navigator or the omni phantom). The Falcon could very well gain some support in that market as the lowest cost haptics modeling tool. I know a lot of 3d artists with cash to spare, they make enough in a days work to buy a Falcon. So if you could develop production-ready plug-ins for 3dmax/maya I think you will have a lot of new customers. These people are also of the generation that plays games, might own a Nintendo Wii, and are open to new experiences. Just a suggestion.

There's a lot of training apps that will definitely benefit.
This is really the first *affordable* 3D haptic device. SensAble's Phantom line cost $3K+ at the low end. So I can easily see the medical field jumping on. But it will really depend on whether Falcon gives out the info so people can make their own controllers and can easily program it.

One thing that I notice with the Novint Falcon is the lack of interface with Windows - I'm using Windows XP SVC PK2.

When I switch from Novint games back to the OS, instinctively I try to use th Falcon to launch a program (explorer, notepad, etc.) and it takes a second before I release that the Falcon - while on - can't do it.

Now, if the Falcon worked with the OS - or even better Microsoft Office - I can't help but think that more people would adopt it.

Right now, I've got to keep a Mouse AND the Falcon on my desk - and I'd prefer to get rid of the mouse - if I could.

Please a SDK for this device.
Ron

Hello Ron,

We plan to release an SDK for the Falcon within a matter of a few week's time. This will be available free for non-commercial use. If you have have further questions, or would like to receive an email when the SDK is released, please send me an email at games@novint.com.

Novint Technologies, Inc.

The SDK is soon to be released. It will allow programmers to create vector forces in any direction with any magnitude, which is the most basic building block in haptics, so you will be able to program the Falcon to do whatever you need. We will also provide example code. The Falcon has high enough fidelity, it can be used for medical applications. With the SDK going out, there will be the opportunity for the Falcon to be used with modeling tools and other non-gaming applications. It could be an application we will develop ourselves in the future as well. We have basic mouse support working internally with some experimentation we've been doing, but need to package it up before we can release it. Not sure when we will be able to do that - the big focus now is getting games out, and there is a lot in the works on that right now.

thanks to everyone for your comments

This is a major announcement in my view. The first app you should consider is Quest3d as it is a real time 3d app that is being used for training apps.Contact
Quest3D is developed by:

Act-3D B.V.
Schipholweg 11d
2316 XB LEIDEN
The Netherlands
[www.act-3d.com]
info@act-3d.com
They may develop the driver themselves once they're aware of the product

Ron

thanks for the thought on Quest3D

Ron, not sure if you've ever heard of 'em, but you may or may not want to try talking to the folks at VR Sonic ( [vrsonic.com] ) for a spatialized audio component to this system.

As for professional apps, I have to agree remote robotic control, training simulations of various types in many different fields and work with 3D graphics programs are also things that popped up in my idea hamster head...
The other thought that came to mind is affordable physical therapy, as far as using this device to exercise fine motor control skills (I feel that Nintendo has a good handle on the gross motor skills with the Wii).

Getting used to the cone of movement, vs. the box/cube of full movement of the controller could come into play on a few other bits and bytes, and I think that this could come in really handy if you were to allow for a change in positioning of Falcon, such that it could be re-positioned vertically via a swivel at the base, this way there could be a bit more "realism" in the motion for the golf game that came with the software.

The Sound of this (Quantum 6) bass is in your head!

Hello,

Well - I kind of like the idea of using the Z-axis for acceleration - i.e. slowing down for detail work - then pulling out and over to work on detail on the other end of the screen. I also like using the Z-axis for Zoom, which might be another way of saying the same thing. I'm picturing annotating maps, or perhaps entering a plan on one.

I've also pondered 3-D vehicle control -- wondering if perhaps the device could hinge on its base so that it was vertical [I'm not alone here] -- might better afford the sort of motion desired to drive a vehicle?? Let's face it -- with this design, the operator is acutely aware of where the grip ball is tethered (and reminded by the occasional jerk).

I'd like to see the device have more force feedback - that is - help in staying where it is, and a firm reaction to being moved (not always and for everything). I'd like a firmness adjustment, akin to tightening the tether hinges I suppose). I don't know if the PC is "close" enough to handle this - will try it soon.

Finally, I'd really love to see the Grip swivel, especially a T-Bar grip - or at least an adult-sized ball with room between the grip platform and the grip. For that matter a T-Bar could rotate itself, like a throttle. That would give me 5-axis of control.

I'm also thinking of Camera control - again, however, would love to have more inputs on that T-bar, perhaps a couple of scroll wheels here (we have focus, which might be "rotate the grip", then some compensation parms, along with the point (z-rate,y-rate) and zoom (z-rate) action.)

Well, one could dream all night.....

3D Molecular modeling (e.g., X-ray crystal and NMR modeling of protein structures) would be a perfect fit for this device, especially coupled with a Stereo 3D-LCD screen. However, most (not all!) of the 3D molecular modeling software run under Linux/Unix.