Logitech subsidiary debuts “3D Mouse” for Second Life
By Eric Reuters
3Dconnexion debuted a made-for-Second Life “3D Mouse” called the SpaceNavigator at the Virtual Worlds 2008 Conference in New York on Thursday.
The device, which looks like a black knob attached to a heavy brushed-steel base, is meant to be used in conjunction with a traditional mouse. By lightly rocking the knob, Second Life’s camera moves accordingly, and pushing the controls parallel to the desktop will make an avatar walk forward or backward. By pulling upwards on the knob a Second Life character will launch into flight. “Second Life is a three dimensional world, but working with a traditional mouse is a very flat experience, and we tried to improve on that,” said Froi Lomoton, the engineer behind the device.
The SpaceNavigator takes a few minutes to get used to but quickly becomes intuitive. Several Second Life-specific features have been programmed, including mouselook (via a mouse button) and 3d camera support to rotate around partially constructed virtual objects while in Second Life’s “build mode.” The mouse is already on the market and can be used with CAD and Photoshop applications, but drivers for the SpaceNavigator to work with Second Life won’t be available for download until later this month, 3Dconnexion executives said.
The SpaceNavigator sells for $60, and works with both Mac and PC. 3Dconnexion is a wholly owned subsidiary of computer peripherals giant Logitech.
(Video courtesy of 3Dconnexion)
