SensAble Technologies
15 Constitution Way
Woburn, MA 01801
T: 781-939-7495
F: 781-937-8325
media@sensable.com
Cambridge, MA, August 10, 1999 - SensAble Technologies Inc. and The Boeing Company are adding a new dimension to the world of virtual prototyping - one that will allow engineers to design products that are faster, easier and cheaper to assemble and maintain.
The new dimension is the sense of touch, and it is being added to 3D design and simulation computer systems by combining a special collision detection and response software developed by Boeing with a highly flexible force-feedback interface device developed by SensAble Technologies.
"The resulting haptic, or touch, system provides engineers with a more realistic hands-on experience in assembly and maintenance simulations than is possible with vision systems alone," said Bill McNeely, a project manager in the Boeing PHANTOM Works. "This allows them to conduct producibility and supportability analyses - especially of complex systems - more thoroughly and quickly than before."
By enhancing the chances of finding and avoiding assembly or maintenance problems early in the design cycle, the new touch system can save significant time and cost in actual production and provide customers with higher quality products with lower life cycle costs. In addition, the new system can also be used to lower the cost of maintenance training by eliminating the need for expensive physical mockups.
This new system combines Voxmap Pointshell™ (VPS) software developed by the PHANTOM Works, an R&D unit of Boeing, with SensAble Technologies' PHANTOM™ six-degree-of-freedom force feedback interface device.
"Because our innovative VPS software solves difficult geometry-related problems so much faster and more efficiently than comparable products, it can detect contacts between objects in virtual reality and compute physically realistic tactile responses in real time," McNeely says.
The PHANTOM six-degree-of-freedom device is the latest development in SensAble's line of 3D Touch™ systems. It augments the translational force feedback found in SensAble's existing product line with rotational torque feedback (pitch, roll and yaw), thus providing a greater sense of realism in virtual assembly simulations.
SensAble executive vice president Tom Ellery says, "After visiting with many customers that deal with large assembly and maintainability problems, the need to incorporate human interaction into the virtual environment became evident. The work being done with Boeing is a step toward that goal, and supports our belief that 3D Touch technology will be the cornerstone of this success."
Boeing and SensAble Technologies are demonstrating the six-degree-of-freedom device and VPS software at Siggraph in Los Angeles from August 10 - 12, 1999.
The prototype system was demonstrated last March at the IEEE-VR '99 conference in Houston. Prof. Greg Burdea, IEEE-VR 2000 chairman and author of the haptics textbook, Force and Touch Feedback for Virtual Reality, stated that "This is the most impressive haptic application I have seen so far."
About SensAble Technologies
SensAble Technologies, the industry leader in "3D Touch" force feedback technology, is redefining the way professional computer users interact with their 3D data. SensAble and its products, including the PHANTOM family of hardware interfaces and the GHOST software development platform, have won numerous awards and have been featured in many publications worldwide, including The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek and Fortune. The company has over 450 customers in more than 30 countries, including General Electric, Chrysler, Boeing, Honda, Shell, Sandia National Laboratories, Mayo Clinic, and leading universities.
About Boeing and the PHANTOM Works
The Boeing Company, based in Seattle, Washington, is the largest aerospace company in the world, as measured by total sales, and the world's largest manufacturer of commercial jetliners and military aircraft. The company's capabilities also include helicopters, electronic and defense systems, missiles, rocket engines, launch vehicles, and advanced information and communication systems. The PHANTOM Works, where the VPS software was developed, is the advanced R&D unit of Boeing, dedicated to making breakthrough improvements in the affordability, quality, and performance of aerospace systems.
PHANTOM, GHOST and 3D Touch are trademarks of SensAble Technologies, Inc. VPS and Voxmap Pointshell are trademarks of The Boeing Company.
SensAble Technologies, Inc., 15 Constitution Way, Woburn, MA 01801.
Tel: 781-937-8315, Fax: 781-937-8325, Web: www.sensable.com, Email: info@sensable.com.
