Tag Archives: ArcGlobe
Leap Motion for ArcGlobe
Leap motion is a hand and finger sensing peripheral for Macs and PCs. This video demonstrates the integration of the Leap Motion Controller with the ArcGIS Desktop application called ArcGlobe. The controller is used as a virtual 3d mouse for navigating in the three dimensions.
To download the source code, click here.
The controller is surprisingly accurate, it is able to measure hand and finger displacement with millimeter accuracy at a rate of up to 120 updates per second. Because this flying tool did not require any precision sketching we used the hand position and orientation information exclusively. At approximately 30 times a second, the tool retrieves the spatial and angular displacement of the hand from the original starting position. These differentials are used to update the observer’s location and orientation in ArcGlobe.
One of the complexities that needed to be overcome is how to present a consistent navigational experience when the controller is communicating at a rate of 60-120 times a second and ArcGlobe is refreshing anywhere between 15 to 60 times a second.
The work presented here is based on an early developer unit from Leap Motion. Consumer units are scheduled to ship in May 2013. Please visit the Leap Motion website for more details.
The virtual city featured in the video is Philadelphia, PA. For more information about this data please click here.
Video filmed by Mark D.
Kinect for ArcGlobe
On June 16, 2011, Microsoft released the Kinect for Windows SDK. This SDK allows windows developers to support motion with an Xbox 360 Kinect device. The Applications Prototype Lab at Esri has just completed a prototype using a Kinect to navigate in ArcGlobe.
To fly forward, the user can raise their right hand. The display will navigate in the direct the right hand is pointing. We call this “superman navigation”. If the left hand is elevated, the display will pivot around a central location on the globe surface. And lastly, if both hands are raised, the screen will zoom in or out as the hands are both together or apart.
To use the add-in you must have the following:
- Kinect for Xbox 360 sensor,
- Windows 7 (32 or 64bit),
- .NET Framework 4.0,
- Kinect for Windows SDK beta.
The add-in (with source code) is available here.
Contributed by Richie C.
Touch for ArcGIS Desktop 10 – Update
In July, the Applications Prototype Lab published the Touch AddIn for ArcGIS, this AddIn allowed ArcGlobe users to navigate the globe with touch gestures like pan and pinch. That release was discussed here. One disadvantage of the July release was that users could not use tools like identify, selection or editing concurrently with the touch navigate tool.
Today’s release overcomes that limitation. Now, touch navigation is always active irrespective of the current tool. This new capability is ideal for editing, for example, the user can position the globe with one hand whilst editing with a pen (or mouse) in the other hand.
Instructions on how to install and use the AddIn are available from the download page here.
Contributed by Richie C.
Touch for ArcGIS Desktop 10
Just published on the ArcGIS Resource Center is a proof-of-concept developed by the Applications Prototype Lab called Touch for ArcGIS Desktop. This contribution is an AddIn that adds touch navigation to ArcGlobe. The contribution can be downloaded from here and includes the AddIn itself and full source code. The download page includes instructions how to install and use the AddIn.
The AddIn will install on any computer running ArcGIS 10 but a warning message will appear if you do not have a Windows 7 Touch-enabled device connected.
This AddIn is based on code from the Windows 7 Multitouch .NET Interop Sample Library.
Contributed by Richie C.
