Three-dimensional drawing programs offer precision, but still require input in two dimensions. Now scientists have developed a software program that trades the keyboard and mouse for virtual reality goggles with feedback to illustrate objects in mid-air. The program, Drawing on Air, is meant to give scientists a better way to model complex ideas, and could eventually allow doctors to visualize a surgical procedure before they even cut into a patient. It could also give artists an intuitive, simple way for moving from traditional freehand methods to computers.
How Does it happen
To use the program, the sketcher sits in front of a conventional computer monitor and dons a pair of virtual reality goggles. Each lens is equipped with a shutter that opens and closes 100 times a second. When synched with the computer program, the right lens opens when the appropriate right-eye image is displayed on screen, and vice-versa for the left. The toggling back and forth between right and left eyes tricks the brain and creates an optical illusion that makes the image appear in three dimensions.
Gap between reality and virtual reality
If the person is right-handed, he slides a small tracking device over his left index finger. With his right hand, he manipulates a stylus that is attached to a robotic device designed to provide force feedback. To draw, he leads the line with his left hand, following behind with his right. The real difficulty may lie in finding the program on a store shelf any time soon. So far, the virtual reality components are too expensive and the program itself is still in the prototype stage.
Inspired from
The two-handed method is inspired by a technique commonly used in automotive design called tape drawing. Artists literally sketch on a wall, holding a roll of thin tape in the left hand and sticking it to the wall with the right. By pulling the tape out a little, then securing, pulling and securing, the artist can achieve a precise, smooth curve.
Via: Impactlab
