Myo Wristband and 3D CAD

[danielw88]

I found this on the internet a number of months ago and was immediately intrigued by the concept and possible integration with 3D CAD.

https://www.thalmic.com/myo/

For those of you who have not heard of it, the Myo Wristband is a device created by Thalmic Labs. Unlike most other gesture controlled devices that rely on motion, the Myo Wristband accounts for 6 axis motion as well as muscle motion.

The use of this kind of device in 3D CAD had me thinking of some scenes in the Iron Man franchise where Tony Stark was whipping 3D CAD parts and assemblies around with hand gestures. Granted, we are YEARS off from technology like that, but looking at this technology (in my mind) brings us a step closer to that kind of technology.

I have a friend who has a couple pre-ordered, so i am looking forward to getting my hands on one to try it out in our field to see if it is a) useable and b)if it improves capabilities without the need of a spacepilot/3d mouse.

I would be interested to see other people's reactions on this technology and how they might think it could be used in the 3D CAD world. So, please feel free to reply and let us know what you think of this.

-daniel 

[sam_m]

surely this is where cinema and tv differs from reality...

compare this with a spaceball - where your arm is still and rested and only your fingers move a little to turn a puck.  Very little movement.

would that looks impressive on film?  nope...

would something that requires your arm to move and rotate a lot look more impressive on film (or arguably in a presentation) - sure...  See Minority Report for a fancy touch-screen - looks good in the film but just imagine how tiring it would be to use that constantly for a working week...

When working at a pc designing something would you want your arms to be relaxed and moving small amounts to get the work done throughout the day, or would you want to have to swing 1 arm about a load for the same rotational input?  I have to say the Spaceball is far more suited for the workplace environment and this looks far more a gadget-toy.  Imagine trying to use this on the move, on a train or plane, you'd look pretty special...

saying this...  I don't think it's worthless.  It's surely helpful in environments when you dont want to touch something, possibly for fear of contamination.  e.g. I thought the idea of being able to control a cookery vid while your hands are contaminated with raw chicken is clever.  Or could it help disabled people?  If it is wrapped on the arm and picks up muscle-movement then could it help those with missing hands/fingers who wouldn't easily be able to use a traditional input device?

[cbenner]

On the other hand, the small movements of the space explorer I use daily, have contributed to the tennis elbow In my left arm.  The constant rotating and twisting of those tendons over several years have me wearing a brace at the moment.  One of the dangers of this kind of work, I suppose.  I'm not sure how the wristband would be much different long term though.

[sam_m]

surely small movements are less likely to cause any pain or tennis elbow issues?  Just look at the way we're recommended to use our mouse these days, with a wrist protector keeping our arm still and just using our fingers to move the mouse about without it affecting our arm.  I would only question whether the location of your spaceball is almost too close to you if you're moving your arm instead of just your hand, of if your chair and desk heights are incorrect (with your forearms comfortably rested on the desk is your elbow at 90 degrees?).

[dgorsman]

There's a couple of issues, one is repetetive movement.  Regardless of position, small or large moves, etc. if you do it over and over for years on end there will be some damage.  Larger movements tend to push the tendons around a corner and/or leave the arm unsupported which can be aggrivated by the repetetive movement.