So I Was Watching Congo...

[127001]

... and I saw this:


Please tell me it's real and has a name.

[Phedran]

Closest thing I can find is this. 

[Halverson]

I don't think it would be very efficient. I mean, it's just a ball you hold..with limited degrees of movement when used with our human wrists.

[metalliqaz]

Spacepilots (six axis controllers) are very efficient.  They are used for 3D design software.

[Halverson]

Spacepilots (six axis controllers) are very efficient.  They are used for 3D design software.

Would that look like more of a joystick? Too lazy to google, pics or links if you don't mind!

[Phedran]

Spacepilots (six axis controllers) are very efficient.  They are used for 3D design software.

Would that look like more of a joystick? Too lazy to google, pics or links if you don't mind!

I already linked it above.

[metalliqaz]

At work the engineers that use them still call them "spaceballs".  I guess they used to actually be balls instead of the more modern dial-looking thing.

[Halverson]

Spacepilots (six axis controllers) are very efficient.  They are used for 3D design software.

Would that look like more of a joystick? Too lazy to google, pics or links if you don't mind!

I already linked it above.

Hah. I looked at the link....and didn't happen to see what it was called. Derrrrr. My bad.

But I would have to say it looks much more efficient than the congo equivalent.

[Phedran]

Spacepilots (six axis controllers) are very efficient.  They are used for 3D design software.

Would that look like more of a joystick? Too lazy to google, pics or links if you don't mind!

I already linked it above.

Hah. I looked at the link....and didn't happen to see what it was called. Derrrrr. My bad.

But I would have to say it looks much more efficient than the congo equivalent.

The little standalone ones look kind of cool actually.

[PointyFox]

It's a 3D mouse called Spaceball.  One of the companies that sold it was HP:

Here it is:
http://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/input-output/14/352/1816




I think this is the original:
http://spacemice.wikidot.com/spaceball-1003



Similar:


http://shopping.yahoo.com/30031327-3dconnexion-spacemouse-plus-pointing-device/

[metalliqaz]

If only I was a mechanical engineer and had use for such a peripheral 

[SpAmRaY]

Now I want to go read the book and watch the movie again.....

[noisyturtle]

Now I want to go read the book and watch the movie again.....

Why would you do that to yourself?

[SpAmRaY]

Now I want to go read the book and watch the movie again.....

Why would you do that to yourself?

your right....I don't read books anymore.......

[esoomenona]

I love Congo. That's a great movie.

[Findecanor]

Painted black and put next to Kinesis keyboards (also painted black!) in Men in Black. It is like they were designed to go together ...

By the way, the thing the person on the right is lifting is a Swedish "cobra phone" from the '60s onwards.
By the way 2. The Kinesis was not available in black when Men in Black was made. The black models came about because they had been seen in this movie.

[hashbaz]

Now I want to go read the book and watch the movie again.....

Congo was a mediocre book and a terrible movie.

Read Sphere instead (but don't watch the movie)!

[demik]

Congo was terrible.

Would 3D mice be okay for everyday use and not just for 3d modeling?

[SpAmRaY]

Now I want to go read the book and watch the movie again.....

Congo was a mediocre book and a terrible movie.

Read Sphere instead (but don't watch the movie)!

Yes I agree!

The Andromeda Strain
The Terminal Man
The Great Train Robbery
Eaters of the Dead
Congo
Sphere
Jurassic Park

I read all those Chrichton books but it was like at least 18 years ago so it's all a little fuzzy now

[Findecanor]

Congo was terrible.

I agree. Horrible movie. I hated it.

The only cool thing about it was the sign-language gesture-recognition at the beginning.
The problem with that is that it would work only for the types of sign-languages used by apes...
In human sign languages, the hand gestures express only words -- the "grammar" is in facial expressions.

Would 3D mice be okay for everyday use and not just for 3d modeling?

Despite the name "spacemouse", they are not pointing devices. I would classify the Spaceball, Spacemouse and Magellan as six degree of freedom - joysticks. You use them to navigate in a 3D environment: nudge in a direction to move around, twist to rotate.

[noisyturtle]

I love Congo. That's a great movie.

Truly the Cherry MY of films.

[gameaholic]

Spaceballs on the other hand is a classic.

[PointyFox]

Congo was terrible.

I agree. Horrible movie. I hated it.

The only cool thing about it was the sign-language gesture-recognition at the beginning.
The problem with that is that it would work only for the types of sign-languages used by apes...
In human sign languages, the hand gestures express only words -- the "grammar" is in facial expressions.

Would 3D mice be okay for everyday use and not just for 3d modeling?

Despite the name "spacemouse", they are not pointing devices. I would classify the Spaceball, Spacemouse and Magellan as six degree of freedom - joysticks. You use them to navigate in a 3D environment: nudge in a direction to move around, twist to rotate.

They're technically "isometric joystick pointing devices".

[demik]

Congo was terrible.

I agree. Horrible movie. I hated it.

The only cool thing about it was the sign-language gesture-recognition at the beginning.
The problem with that is that it would work only for the types of sign-languages used by apes...
In human sign languages, the hand gestures express only words -- the "grammar" is in facial expressions.

Would 3D mice be okay for everyday use and not just for 3d modeling?

Despite the name "spacemouse", they are not pointing devices. I would classify the Spaceball, Spacemouse and Magellan as six degree of freedom - joysticks. You use them to navigate in a 3D environment: nudge in a direction to move around, twist to rotate.

hm that's what i thought. trackball it is!

[127001]

It's a 3D mouse called Spaceball.  One of the companies that sold it was HP:

Here it is:
http://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/input-output/14/352/1816

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

I think this is the original:
http://spacemice.wikidot.com/spaceball-1003



Similar:

Show Image

http://shopping.yahoo.com/30031327-3dconnexion-spacemouse-plus-pointing-device/

Show Image

Show Image

I love Congo. That's a great movie.

[Oobly]

I have a 3DConnexion Spacenavigator and use it a lot for Solidworks. Really intuitive to me for moving the model around. Combined with a mouse it's a great tool. The only thing I use the keyboard for while designing is entering numbers for dimensions.

It is NOT a pointing device, but rather a 6 DOF joystick as Findecanor and Pointyfox have pointed out.

[PointyFox]

According to Wikipedia, joysticks are also pointing devices.  The entry for "pointing device" also has a picture of a 3D isometric joystick in it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointing_device

"A pointing device is an input interface (specifically a human interface device) that allows a user to input spatial (i.e., continuous and multi-dimensional) data to a computer."

[Tehrasha]

The device in both the image from Congo and MIB, is the Spaceball 2003.
The black one shown in the MIB image is not painted, they also came in black.  (I have 2.)

If you like to tinker and hack, the older models are readily available on eBay for very reasonable prices, but keep in mind that only the models currently in production are supported by the factory drivers.   Older models will want to stay in linux and use the spacenavd open-source driver.

The factory beta-drivers -can- be made to act as a normal mouse, but only for the models currently in production .
They also have native support in GoogleEarth, so you can 'fly' your POV around the world.

Shameless plug...
Gallery of all the models...  LINK
My personal collection... LINK

[MTManiac]

The device in both the image from Congo and MIB, is the Spaceball 2003.
The black one shown in the MIB image is not painted, they also came in black.  (I have 2.)

If you like to tinker and hack, the older models are readily available on eBay for very reasonable prices, but keep in mind that only the models currently in production are supported by the factory drivers.   Older models will want to stay in linux and use the spacenavd open-source driver.

The factory beta-drivers -can- be made to act as a normal mouse, but only for the models currently in production .
They also have native support in GoogleEarth, so you can 'fly' your POV around the world.

Shameless plug...
Gallery of all the models...  LINK
My personal collection... LINK

Did you create an account here just to inform us plebs about the spaceballs?
If so, welcome to GH

Very nice collection by the way!~

How do I get a spaceball in gooooold?

[Tehrasha]

Did you create an account here just to inform us plebs about the spaceballs?
If so, welcome to GH

Yes I did.  My site got some hits from this thread, so I decided to check GH out.
It looked like my collection of oddball (NPI) input devices should fit right in.

Very nice collection by the way!~

Thankyou.

How do I get a spaceball in gooooold?

Umm.... Photoshop?
Gold leaf would probably work, but would wear off quickly.
I would suggest contacting a Saudi Prince, they have more expertise in that department.

[CPTBadAss]

Closest thing I can find is this. 

That's what I use at work to help me 3D model. I can't imagine doing 3D CAD modeling without one now. It's painful to work on CAD stuff at home since I don't have one. I bet it would be good for video game movement but I can't think of a good day-to-day use with it since things like web surfing is in 2D.

The little standalone ones look kind of cool actually.

Mkawa had one of these at his place. They're nice.

At work the engineers that use them still call them "spaceballs".  I guess they used to actually be balls instead of the more modern dial-looking thing.

The old "Spaceball" that I hear about at work refers to this. The older guys used that before the SpacePilots. Dorkvader picked one up on eBay for cheap but the problem is you need specific plugins for each program (i.e. Solidworks, AutoCAD, etc). So the peripheral works but there's no support for newer programs. I'm not sure where he's at with that project now.

Edit: Sorry missed PointyFox's and Tehrasha's links. Good stuff.

[esoomenona]

I would suggest contacting a Saudi Prince, they have more expertise in that department.

Or a Mexican cartel kingpin.

[hashbaz]

So I was flipping through Netflix last night and guess what came up?  Congo.

It was delightfully cheesy and more fun than I remember.  Maybe I misunderstood what the filmmakers were trying to do as a smug 13-year-old.

When the camera saunters into Amy's playroom area at Berkeley it passes over an old SGI workstation which I think has Alps keyswitches.

[esoomenona]

Yes, not every movie has to be A+. It's nice to take movies for what they are and enjoy them. But then I love movies more than almost anything else, so...

[dustinhxc]

Now thats an interesting setup.... I do love CONGO though..   

[jmchargue]

Closest thing I can find is this. 

That's what I use at work to help me 3D model. I can't imagine doing 3D CAD modeling without one now.

Would you say that if one were to get something like this, they should absolutely go for the spacepilot pro model, and not the standard Spacenavigator (http://www.3dconnexion.com/products/spacenavigator.html)? Or would you prefer the spacenavigator to nothing? Because just the spacenavigator is pretty cheap in comparison.

[CPTBadAss]

Closest thing I can find is this. 

That's what I use at work to help me 3D model. I can't imagine doing 3D CAD modeling without one now.

Would you say that if one were to get something like this, they should absolutely go for the spacepilot pro model, and not the standard Spacenavigator (http://www.3dconnexion.com/products/spacenavigator.html)? Or would you prefer the spacenavigator to nothing? Because just the spacenavigator is pretty cheap in comparison.

I used the Space Navigator when I was in LA. I thought it was fine for doing 3D CAD work at home.  I wouldn't buy the SpacePilot Pro for my home. They give it to me at work so I use it haha. And having just the SpaceNavigator was way better to having nothing but the keyboard.

[Oobly]

I have a Space Navigator and use it with Solidworks. I'd feel very frustrated working without it now. It's very natural feeling to use. I haven't used the Space Pilot, though, so I don't know what I'm missing, but so far I'm happy in my ignorance. The Space Navigator does the job for me.

[jmchargue]

Sweet, it's good to hear the space navigator will cut it, I was not looking forward to dropping 300 dollars, but sometimes I just get set on something... thanks for pulling me out of it