Date: Tue, 16 May 1995 09:53:53 -0700 Message-Id: <199505161653.JAA16730@ix5.ix.netcom.com> From: tuite@ix.netcom.com (Vicky Tuite) Subject: PRESS RELEASE: Fakespace Pinch(tm) Glove Interface To: scivw@stein1.u.washington.edu Editorial Contacts: David Eggleston Fakespace, Inc. 415/688-1940 Matthew Schmidt, Wendy Lewis FS Communications 415/691-1488 EASY-TO-USE, GLOVE-BASED INTERFACE FOR WORK AND PLAY IN VIRTUAL WORLDS NOW AVAILABLE FROM FAKESPACE Pinch (tm) Hand Gesture Interface System Is Easy To Use In Virtual Environments Menlo Park, Calif. -- May 15, 1995 -- Fakespace, Inc. today introduced Pinch, a hand gesture interface system based on a pair of cloth gloves containing electrical sensors in each fingertip, that allows developers and users of immersive visualization applications to easily and effectively interact with virtual environments. Pinch is the first commercially available virtual environment glove device based on conductive sense technology, which provides significant implementation, performance and cost benefits compared to other glove technologies. It also marks an important expansion of Fakespace's line of Real Tools For Virtual Worlds (tm), which include a family of readily accessible, high- resolution immersive displays, software and hardware to support virtual environment applications, and consulting services. "Pinch gloves represent a new way of working in virtual worlds," said Ian McDowall, vice president of Fakespace, Inc. "Our objective is to provide the developers with an entirely new, but incredibly easy, way to interact with the simulations they are building. The Pinch gloves are not mechanically complex, so the resulting design is both simple and powerful." Pinch gloves make it possible to use a representation of hand interaction to productively work within a three- dimensional (3D) computer simulation. Each glove contains five sensors (one in each fingertip). Contact between any two or more digits completes a conductive path, and a complex variety of actions based on these simple "pinch" gestures can be defined by the application developer. To track the motion of each "virtual" hand within an application, each glove also has a back-of-hand mount to accommodate Polhemus or other sensors. Unlike other sensor glove technologies, Pinch never requires calibration to an individual's hand. There are practically no moving parts, providing a high-level of reliability. And, compared to 3D mouse devices, it provides both complete six-degree freedom of motion and the capability to support a wide range of gestures. "The complex gloves now available for virtual reality development are useful in applications where a kinematic model of the human hand, supporting precise finger and joint movements, is required. However, a simple, lower cost glove that supports a wide range of tactile gestures may be more desirable in many applications," said David Eggleston, vice president of marketing and sales for Fakespace, Inc. "By focusing on our customer's stated needs, we have been able to implement a remarkably simple and affordable system to incorporate hand gestures within virtual environments." Developer Flexibility Developers using Pinch gloves can choose to represent the device as a wide range of objects within a virtual environment application. Any combination of single or multiple contacts between two or more digits can be programmed to have specific meanings, ranging from simple on/off to multi-part, multi-action commands. Thus, the range of defined actions is limited only by the creativity of the application developer. Pinch was developed by Fakespace as a tool for developers of virtual environment technologies in such areas as driving and flight simulation; computer-aided design applications such as product design and concurrent engineering; and development of interactive 3D graphics for entertainment, including video games and site-based entertainment. The technology is based on a prototype glove interface demonstrated at SIGGRAPH 94 by researchers at the Institute for Simulation and Training at the University of Central Florida (Orlando, Fla.). This prototype conductive sensing glove, demonstrated in gaming and other applications by the IST "Toy Scouts," was a popular demonstration technology at the annual industry conference. Product Deliverables Each commercial Pinch system includes a glove for each hand, electronics interface, software for either personal computers or Silicon Graphics workstations, two motion tracker mounts and documentation. The gloves are available in three sizes (small, medium, large) and are manufactured with a stretch fabric. Individual gloves are also available for separate purchase, allowing multiple users at a single site to use the same electronics interface while having their own personal gloves for working in virtual worlds. Initial shipments of Pinch systems to virtual environment developers in commercial, scientific and government organizations, have already begun. Pricing for a single complete system is $2,000, with additional individual gloves priced at $100 each. Fakespace is the leading supplier of three-dimensional (3D) immersive visualization systems used for interacting with virtual environments created for applications in scientific and commercial research, product design and engineering, and location-based entertainment. The company's products include the BOOM(R) (Binocular Omni- Orientation Monitor) family of high-resolution, high- performance immersive displays, hardware systems and software for integrating applications into 3D visualization systems and consulting services for applications development. Headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif., the privately-held company has been profitable since its founding in 1988. (R) - BOOM and Fakespace are registered trademarks of Fakespace, Inc. (tm) - Pinch is a trademark of Fakespace, Inc. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.