3Dconnexion to Support Rapid Motion Path Creation
August 10, 2004
Users prototype animations with controller by simultaneously adjusting motion paths along 6 axes
LOS GATOS, Calif. - August 10, 2004 - 3Dconnexion®, a Logitech® (SWX:LOGN) (NASDAQ:LOGI) company, and the leading developer of 3D motion controllers announced today that its award-winning line of motion controllers now supports the ability to rapidly create motion paths using its six-degrees-of-freedom devices, by simultaneously being able to dolly, track and tumble cameras. This saves considerable time for the animation professional by controlling all six degrees of freedom simultaneously, as opposed to using the mouse and controlling only two degrees of motion.
The standard way of creating a motion path for an animation involves using a mouse to create cameras, moving each camera to a certain "keyframe" point, and then fixing its position and orientation. For each keyframe point, the animator has to position the camera in 3D space (which requires three axes) and orient or point the camera by rotating or twisting it in 3D space (which requires three additional axes). Positioning and orienting along these six axes using only a mouse involves multiple mouse movements and is time consuming.
Using a six degrees-of-freedom device from 3Dconnexion, animators can now position the camera at the keyframe location along the six axes in one simple movement with the motion controller in one hand. The other hand stays on the mouse to activate the software and auto-generate intermediate camera positions, quickly creating smooth animations. Positioning in 3D space is faster, setting keyframes is faster, all leading to quicker creation and viewing of animations. In this way, the motion controller reduces the time to prototype and try out various animations before settling on the final one.
"This is an amazing capability that makes my job so much easier," said Akiko Ashley, president of Luminetik Animation Studios. "We have been using the 3D motion controller already and seeing tremendous productivity benefits. With this new feature, we can add a significant boost to our animation creation speeds and shorten project times."
Using Two Handed Power™ for creating motion paths, the animator is more productive than before and also enjoys greater comfort. The software drivers with this capability are available for download from www.3Dconnexion.com 's web site and currently support 3ds max® and SOFTIMAGE®|XSI® software. Support for Maya® with this new feature will follow shortly.
About 3Dconnexion
3Dconnexion, a Logitech Company (SWX:LOGN) (NASDAQ:LOGI), is the leading provider of 3D input devices that enhance the user interface for professional 3D applications in markets such as product design (CAD/CAM/CAE), modeling and animation (digital content creation). More than 350,000 designers, animators, and artists use 3Dconnexion's award-winning line of motion controllers, including SpacePilot ™, SpaceBall®, SpaceMouse® and SpaceTraveler™.
3Dconnexion is headquartered in Silicon Valley, California, with offices in Boston, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, London, Milan, Munich, Paris, Shanghai, Tokyo, and Wroclaw.
For more information, visit http://www.3Dconnexion.com
© 2005 3Dconnexion. All rights reserved. 3Dconnexion, the 3Dconnexion logo, and other 3Dconnexion marks are owned by 3Dconnexion and may be registered. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
