Most of us watched Iron Man with amazement and hopes for the future, but SpaceX and Tesla founder, Elon Musk was thinking how he could bring it to reality. Musk argues that our current method of 2D interaction doesn’t feel natural when designing and manufacturing 3D product. His solution is to hack together a solution that results in a very Tony Stark-like experience.
“We love to play with cutting-edge technology and are always looking for ways to turn science fiction into reality. It not only advances our work, but it’s also fun! Shown here is a concept we’re exploring: natural gesture-based interaction with a computer-aided design program, leveraging a Leap Motion Controller.
This system is just the beginning, and gives a glimpse into what may come in the worlds of engineering and design. Special thanks to Leap Motion, Siemens and Oculus VR, as well as NVIDIA, Projection Design, Provision, and to everyone enabling and challenging the world to interact with technology in exciting new ways.”
You can watch the video below, then sadly wait for Musk to make it into a reality. The good news is, this well resourced, crazy (awesome) guy is likely one to bring this technology to reality. The closest version to the movie was a transparent front projected screen, but that has some inherent problems. I’d like to see semi-transparent displays, like those digitally created ones from the movie, become a reality, then when combined with a NUI things start to get very futuristic.
The final step of the process is to send the manipulated design to a 3D printer that prints not a plastic toy, but a metal object that can actually be used in the product.
Via TheNextWeb
