CMU School of Drama


Tuesday, April 08, 2014

This cool pad and pen lets you sketch in 3D using augmented reality

sploid.gizmodo.com: Gravity is a pen and pad that allows to sketch in 3D space using augmented reality. The cool patent-pending system hardware and software system has gone through several working prototypes and now they are looking to start manufacturing.

6 comments:

Olivia LoVerde said...

Wow. This may one of the coolest things i have seen. Being able to draw in 3D on a 2D platform would be a huge leap in design. I could not count how many times I wanted to draw something out but could not make it look right in 2D form when it is supposed to be in 3D. This would be useful across many fields to not just design. I would love to see this become a popular tool to make showing and explaining things that were once only viewed in a 2D form be seen in a 3D form.

Unknown said...

Holy crap. We're gonna get to hologram technology in my lifetime! This is the best news ever! This takes things to a whole new level. Like it is cool for art and all, but if scientists start using this, then they can do so much more than just pencil on paper. There were many times in chemistry class were the teacher would draw something on the board and be like "It looks like this, class, except in 3D." So many kids had a hard time processing that much less visualizing it. This should be a thing readily available soon, but they just need to make sure that they don't make video games for it. That is when things will start to get silly. Kids don't need electronics to have fun. Things like that are ruining our next generation. I sometimes thank the Lord for days when the power is out and it forces kids to play outside or read a book.

Akiva said...

This is fun, but it seems like it has a long way to go. The control system looks like it isn't very well suited. You need to use the buttons to turn the object, when you should be able to use the pen to spin the object. The video says that it is comprised of a pad and a pen. It totally leaves out the glasses that seem really key to me. I would really like to see what people could actually make with this. If the most impressive thing that has been made thus far is those glasses I'm not very impressed. There is only one shot of someone actually using the device without a CG overlay. The man in the shot looks like he is having a really hard time and the device looks much more complex than the other shots make it look. This leads me to believe that this tech is still in the early phases and this video is just misrepresenting it. I hope they keep working on this because I think it has a lot of potential.

Hunter said...

This is a step in the right direction in terms of 3D design. Currently the most popular way to design in 3D is using a mouse which only works on a 2D plane. People who design in 3D need an interface that allows them to work in a 3D environment and while this might not be it yet it is getting closer. Something that I think that would make this better is if you could 3D scan already existing objects an then use this tool to manipulate the scans.

Adelaide Zhang said...

I imagine it would take some getting used to, but it seems like once acquainted with the software, an artist would really be able to use this to their advantage. Like others have said, using 2D drawings to try to represent something in 3D, especially something more complex, is simply inadequate some of the time. At the same time, as cool as this rendition of 3D sketching is, there is definitely still a lot of space for improvement. Right now, it looks like the best use for Gravity would only be to get out ideas -- precision work with it isn't quite feasible yet. Still, there are so many possibilities for where this technology could go, and it will be pretty interesting to see how these things change in the future.

Keith Kelly said...

This product looks amazing and the video sells the overall appeal very nicely. I love howe if I had an idea I could quickly start to see the 3D representation directly before my eyes, rather than trying to visualize mentally. Drawing tablets are becoming somewhat less popular, but I think this invention will get much attention and bring drawing tablets back to life. The product can't be cheap however and should be used by the highly skilled artists. I love the name "Gravity" too because its so simple, but perfect for this product.One down side is that you have to wear glasses when using it, which is ultimately something else you need to carry. Crazy awesome.