Virtual Clay Brings Act of Sculpting to the Digital World
enews
BUFFALO, NYA new tool for transmitting physical touch to the virtual world enables users to replicate in real time on a personal computer the physical act of sculpting a block of clay or other malleable material. The resulting 3D electronic shape shown on the computer screen can then be fine tuned for product design using standard computer-aided design and modeling software.
Developed by the Virtual Reality Lab at the University of Buffalo, the technology uses what researchers have dubbed the "ModelGlove," which records the force exerted by a hand when depressing and shaping a block of clay. This force-feedback information, as well as information on hand position and speed of fingertip motion, is instantaneously communicated to a computer where a virtual block of clay-possessing the characteristics mimicking the physical properties of the clay-is shaped precisely to the contouring of the actual clay.