Walkabout in Another World

This article discusses that virtual reality can be expected to be the next big thing in product design and prototype, especially for products too small to be seen with the naked eye. Virtual reality will be new technology for engineering, according to many companies. Virtual reality applications could become commonplace as soon as five years down the road. By using virtual reality systems, designers touch a stylus or pen to manipulate a three-dimensional image. They get their hands on tiny sensing devices, the way you would tinker under the hood of a car. They can still determine, through the system’s visualization and animation capabilities, how the MEMS devices will function in their tiny world. Intersense of Burlington, MA, provides the motion-tracking sensors that literally track a user’s eyes and hand motions, to ensure the object they feel and manipulate in three dimensions matches the movements of their hands and eyes. It is this key piece of technology that allows users to interact in a three-dimensional environment the same way they move in their real environments.