Leap Motion Controller Plugin for Mastercam?

[IllinoisEngraving]

Does anyone know if Mastercam has plans to support the leap motion control device? I know that Autodesk plans to release plugins for some of its software and I am hoping Mastercam will do the same.

https://www.leapmotion.com/

 

Sorry, if this post should be in a different section of the forum. I wasn't sure the best place to ask.

[Matthew Hajicek - Singularity]

Unless it gets supported by Windows as a mouse I wouldn't hold my breath. Most industrial users agree that devices like this will quickly result in "gorilla arm" and are therefore impractical for continuous usage. For similar convenience without the repetitive strain injury try a Space Pilot.

[K2csq7]

Space pilot + google earth = awesome.

[IllinoisEngraving]

"gorilla arm" sounds awful.

 

I still hope I can use them together though.

[mayday]

lets get it working good with a 2 button mouse and wheel first

mk?

[IllinoisEngraving]

The mouse works fine, but come on, this isn't 1980 anymore. That Space Pilot looks awesome but expensive. Tech like the Leap Motion will become more prevalent anyway. I'm surprised no one is more excited about this.

[IllinoisEngraving]

It occurred to me that if the gestures being used to manipulate 3D CAD drawings are causing cramps or discomfort from prolonged controlling, maybe the gestures should be different. The gestures made by using by the Space Pilot could be the gestures used with a Leap.

[drafting3]

it's not necessarily any specific gesture that causes the discomfort. it's gravity.

 

hold your hands out in front of you for 10 seconds. no big deal.

hold your hands out in front of you for 8 hours.... gorilla arms.

 

 

extended touch screen use should be restricted to screens that have a horizontal orientation. maybe you could pull it off if you were leaning back in a chair, and your monitor was raised up, but tilted down toward you?

 

this device looks amazing, and i think could be really useful, but they will have to deal with the ergonomics before it's practical to use in the professional world.

[drafting3]

at one point in time i heard about a retina mouse, which basically put the cursor anywhere your eyes were looking. i'd definitely use that.

[Matthew Hajicek - Singularity]

That Space Pilot looks awesome but expensive.

 

It is awesome, and it's not that expensive. I got my Space Pilot for $110 on ebay just after the Space Pilot Pro was released, when all the fancy CAD houses had to get the latest and greatest.

 

Here are the "gestures":

 

Rest your forearm on your desk with your wrist resting on the base of the Space Pilot, grab the control knob, and move it how you want the part to move. Once you get used to it it's just like holding the part in your hand.

[Mastercam User Experience]

There is no support for the Leap Motion controller in Mastercam at the current time. We are very excited by the explosion of alternate input and output devices over the last 3-5 years, with technology like the Leap Motion controller, Windows support for the Microsoft Kinect, Google Glass, and the Microsoft Surface.

 

There are certainly concerns about the practical day-to-day use of some of these devices, as pointed out, ergonomics have a large role in the adoption of natural user interfaces. We are continuing to explore the best uses for these new technologies as we move forward and are always looking for input in regards to how you anticipate using them in your work environment.

[djstedman]

I'm not likely to be able to use it at work.. but seriously a beer drinking motion that makes mastercam shut down.. that would be epic! lol

[IllinoisEngraving]

I'm glad to hear Mastercam is thinking about the future.

 

I do still think we can have a controller that uses gestures that don't depend on us holding our arms out all day. If the controlling gestures were like that of a Space Pilot, you could at least rest your elbow on a desk.

 

I did see some of the Space Pilot products were comparable to the price of the Leap Motion controller. I think the notebook version looked best. I had, however, already pre-ordered the Leap controller months ago and I'm expecting it today. Maybe I'll change my mind about how useful it could be after I get familiar with it.