From ascen@world.std.com Mon May 22 07:22:16 1995 Return-Path: Received: from mx5.u.washington.edu by stein2.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW95.05/UW-NDC Revision: 2.33 ) id AA14280; Mon, 22 May 95 07:22:16 -0700 Received: from hitl-new.hitl.washington.edu by mx5.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW95.05/UW-NDC Revision: 2.31 ) id AA13278; Mon, 22 May 95 07:22:16 -0700 Received: from relay3.UU.NET (relay3.UU.NET [192.48.96.8]) by hitl.hitl.washington.edu (8.6.12/8.6.12) with ESMTP id HAA11529 for ; Mon, 22 May 1995 07:22:15 -0700 Received: from uucp2.UU.NET by relay3.UU.NET with SMTP id QQyqvh01180; Mon, 22 May 1995 10:22:11 -0400 Received: from world.UUCP by uucp2.UU.NET with UUCP/RMAIL ; Mon, 22 May 1995 10:22:13 -0400 Received: by world.std.com (5.65c/Spike-2.0) id AA18603; Mon, 22 May 1995 10:21:50 -0400 Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds Path: ascen From: ascen@world.std.com (Ascension Technology) Subject: New VR Tracker Blasts Off Message-Id: Summary: New tracker for OEM VR games Keywords: tracker VR electromagnetic Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2] Date: Mon, 22 May 1995 14:21:49 GMT Lines: 80 Apparently-To: uunet!sci-virtual-worlds@uunet.uu.net Status: OR NEWS RELEASE NEW VR TRACKER BLASTS OFF ASCENSION LAUNCHES ** SpacePad ** South Burlington, VT (USA), -- A new, low-cost magnetic tracker, SpacePad, is now available from Ascension for VR game developers and designers of interactive experiences. SpacePad instantaneously determines both the position and orientation of one or more lightweight receivers attached to a person interlinked to a virtual world. Its outputs furnish the motion cues needed to interact in real time with your virtual world. SpacePad smashes the existing tracker price barrier. You can now buy a four-receiver tracker for one-third the price of competitive tracking products. SpacePad gets its name from the design of its unique magnetic-field transmitting antenna. The antenna is completely flat, consisting of a loop of wire locatable in a pad near the user. Antenna size and placement are user- adjustable. SpacePad lets you create virtual environments ranging in size from a few cubic feet to thousands of cubic feet. SpacePad is perfectly suited for VR games in location-based entertainment and arcade settings. It lets you, for instance, bury transmitter loops horizontally in the base of a game pod, configure loops vertically between adjacent pods, embed loops in a sit-down module, or even string loops on a wall to create a virtual room. SpacePad consists of a single electronics card and up to four receivers. Since the transmitter is just a piece of wire, you provide it yourself. The electronics card is compatible with PCs and all other computers with an ISA-bus slot. Additional SpacePads may be used in close proximity to one another without interference. "SpacePad lets developers focus on improving the VR experience by minimizing the cost and complexity of the tracker," said Ascension's Jack Scully. "We are pleased to introduce a new-generation of tracking products that overcomes two critical limitations of robust tracking devices: high cost and limited range," said Scully. SpacePad makes 120 measurements per second in its single-receiver mode. Lag is approximately 8 milliseconds. Range is configuration dependent: the larger the antenna coils ( up to 16' X 16' ); the greater the tracking volume. OEM pricing for SpacePad starts at $995 for a single-receiver model with aggressive discounts available for OEMs purchasing product in quantity. Evaluation units are available now. Ascension Technology Corporation, headquartered in South Burlington, Vermont, is one of the premiere designers and manufacturers of multi-degrees-of-freedom tracking devices in the world today. Its Bird tracking products have been available since 1990. Contact: Jack Scully (802) 860-6440 Internet: ascension@world.std.com From ascen@world.std.com Wed Jun 14 06:52:09 1995 Return-Path: Received: from mx5.u.washington.edu by stein2.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW95.05/UW-NDC Revision: 2.33 ) id AA26368; Wed, 14 Jun 95 06:52:09 -0700 Received: from hitl-new.hitl.washington.edu by mx5.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW95.05/UW-NDC Revision: 2.31 ) id AA19054; Wed, 14 Jun 95 06:52:07 -0700 Received: from relay3.UU.NET (relay3.UU.NET [192.48.96.8]) by hitl.hitl.washington.edu (8.6.12/8.6.12) with ESMTP id GAA05766 for ; Wed, 14 Jun 1995 06:52:06 -0700 Received: from uucp1.UU.NET by relay3.UU.NET with SMTP id QQyucd05142; Wed, 14 Jun 1995 09:51:59 -0400 Received: from world.UUCP by uucp1.UU.NET with UUCP/RMAIL ; Wed, 14 Jun 1995 09:51:59 -0400 Received: by world.std.com (5.65c/Spike-2.0) id AA22840; Wed, 14 Jun 1995 09:51:27 -0400 Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds Path: ascen From: ascen@world.std.com (Ascension Technology) Subject: Ascension SpacePad details Message-Id: Summary: 6DOF motion tracking price VR Keywords: 6DOF motion tracking VR virtual reality Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2] Date: Wed, 14 Jun 1995 13:51:25 GMT Lines: 81 Apparently-To: uunet!sci-virtual-worlds@uunet.uu.net Status: OR Ascension Press Release June 14, 1995 Subject: Ascension Launches Revolutionary New Tracker for Virtual Reality Games/Experiences FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE South Burlington, VT., June 15, 1995 -- Ascension announces the availability of its new, low cost magnetic tracker, SpacePadTM, for virtual-reality game developers and designers of interactive experiences. First shown at VR World '95, where it provided head and hand tracking for Straylight's new VR game (3D*XTC), SpacePad is rapidly becoming the tracker of choice in virtual-reality entertainment venues. SpacePad instantaneously measures the position and orientation of one of more lightweight receivers attached to a person experiencing virtual reality. It outputs furnish the motion cues vital to interacting in real time with a virtual world. Because its signals are not attenuated by body parts, SpacePad is not restricted by blocking or occlusion problems. No matter which way a player turns, his every motion is captured and instantly relayed to its host computer. SpacePad smashes the existing magnetic tracker price barrier! For OEMs purchasing SpacePads in quantity, a single-receiver board set costs less than $999 with aggressive discounting as volume increases. "SpacePad lets developers focus on improving the VR game experience by minimizing the cost and complexity of the tracker," says Ascension's vice president, Jack Scully. "We are pleased, "he notes, "to launch a new generation of trackers that overcomes two limitations of vigorous tracking devices: high cost and limited range." SpacePad takes its name from the design of its unique magnetic-field transmitting antenna. The antenna is completely flat. It consists of a few loops of wire locatable in a pad near the player. Antenna size and placement are user adjustable. SpacePad lets developers create virtual environments ranging in size from a few cubic feet to thousands of cubic feet. Product integrators are finding SpacePad ideally suited for VR games in location-based entertainment and arcade settings. Since the transmitter is just strands of wire, it can be purchased for pennies from a wire manufacturer and laid out to fit the size and shape of most VR modules. The Straylight game, for instance, unobtrusively buries the transmitter loops in the base of its game pod. Other layouts include vertical placement between pods, stringing loops on a wall to create a virtual room, and even embedding loops in the superstructure of a VR roller coaster. SpacePad consists of a single electronics card and up to four receivers. The electronics card is compatible with PCs and all other computers with an ISA-bus slot. Additional SpecePads may be run in close proximity to one another without interference. SpacePad makes 120 measurements per second in its single-receiver mode. Lag is less than 8 milliseconds. Range is configuration dependent: the larger the antenna loops (up to 16' X 16'); the greater the tracking volume. Ascension Technology Corporation, headquartered in South Burlington, Vermont (USA), is one of the premiere designers and manufacturers of multi-degrees-of-freedom tracking devices in the world today. Its Bird products have been available since 1990. Its long-range Flock of Birds has become an entertainment-industry standard for capturing human motions in the field of character animation. For more information, contact: Jack Scully, Ascension, POB 527, Burlington, VT 05403 Tel: 802-860-6440; FAX: 802-860-6439 email: ascension@world.std.com (include POSTAL address please) --