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Immersion Ships New Wireless CyberGlove II

Immersion Corp., a leading developer and licensor of touch feedback technology, has started shipping its new CyberGlove II hand motion capture glove. The wireless CyberGlove II system was designed to help animators, product designers and virtual-reality researchers increase efficiency and realism for animated productions, design prototypes and virtual reality systems.

Our CyberGlove products supply very high accuracy and resolution, said Mike Zuckerman, svp and general manager of Immersions Industrial business unit. Higher quality motion capture data allows animators to create a more realistic and compelling animated production or to control digital characters with simple finger movements. Adding to these benefits, the new CyberGlove II glove is a very comfortable, easy-to-wear device that is now wireless.

We found the new wireless CyberGlove II system very easy to work with, said Herve Tardif, founder/president of 3Dclic, a 3D production studio that produces television shows, commercials and interactive Web experiences. The gloves resolution, stability and accuracy are the same as the previous CyberGlove wired model, which is what most of our performers have preferred up until now. Its wireless range gives you more freedom of movement, and when it is fully integrated with body-motion capture, it could shave a considerable amount of time off a production schedule, especially when multiple actors are involved.

Curtis Garton, product manager at Alias, maker of the popular MotionBuilder real-time 3D character animation productivity suite used by videogame, animated film and cartoon animators, said, Alias is pleased to have Immersion take advantage of MotionBuilder Pro version 7 software. With the introduction of wireless capture gloves, clients will now be able to achieve the freedom and flexibility they need for todays most demanding character performance needs.

For researchers and developers of virtual reality systems, the CyberGlove II system is also an invaluable tool. The Immersion wireless glove gives us the low-latencies and spatial resolution we require, while providing the user with the unencumbered movement that more closely emulates the natural tasks we are studying, said Don Stredney, director of the Ohio Supercomputer Centers Interface Lab, a part of Ohio State University.

The new gloves ergonomic interface electronics comfortably strap to a models arm and use the industry-standard Bluetooth wireless technology to supply a wire-free 30-foot range from the host PC. The lightweight glove takes up to 22 high-accuracy joint-angle measurements to add realism to any application.

The CyberGlove II system includes software options for interfacing with CATIA, MotionBuilder and many other applications. Product designers can use Immersions VirtualHand for V5 to seamlessly interface with Dassaults CATIA 3D design software and reach into digital designs to evaluate ergonomics. Animators using Immersions VirtualHand for MotionBuilder can transform hand and finger motions into realtime, joint-angle data for MotionBuilder. For virtual-reality researchers, Immersions VirtualHand Software Development Kit supplies the interface for adding hand motion capture, hand interaction and force feedback to simulation applications.

San Jose-based Immersion (www.immersion.com) is a leading developer of 3D and force feedback products and technologies. Immersions comprehensive family of hand-centric hardware solutions include Immersions CyberForce, CyberTouch, CyberGrasp and CyberGlove products that help reduce prototyping costs by allowing users to reach in and physically interact with digital 3D content. Immersions cost-effective MicroScribe digitizer allows users to quickly construct detailed computer models by tracing over an objects surface.

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Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
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