Interest in 3D Mouse (eg: 3DConnexion Space Navigator) support?

Feature Requests
#1

In SketchUp and SolidWorks, I use a 3D mouse routinely ( http://www.3dconnexion.com/products/spacenavigator-for-notebooks.html ).  You might be surprised at how hard it is to manipulate a 3D model with an standard mouse after becoming used to having such a controller.


In the 3D environments like SketchUP and SolidWorks, you select the centre point (eg: as we do with a shift-click on the model), and you can then grab the 3D Mouse and twist/push/pull on it to rotate, pan, and zoom around that centre point.

I’m wondering if anyone has looked at this for EyeWire.  There is a chance, for example, that it might not be practical just because of issues with getting the input from the controller into the web browser context.

If there turns out to be no such roadblock, I’m wondering how much interest might be out there.  The cost of the pointer pictured is not insane, but neither is it $5 USD.  I thought I paid about $60 for mine, though that might be wrong, as Amazon.com has them for ~$85.  Bottom-line – I think it’d be a niche feature for the heavy user, or someone who already does a lot of 3D manipulation, but wanted to throw it out there in case it happens to align with some other momentum.

-Cedric
#2

Hey cedric,


That sounds pretty cool. I’ve passed the info on to the devs to see if they know more about whether or not a 3D mouse can be used with eyewire. 

Cheers, 
Aleks 
#3

my personal opinion is that there are two separate UIs.

  • the main one is the 2D, and it requires a precision 2D movement ==> the regular mouse is adequate
  • the additional one is the 3D cube view, that you can rotate in any direction ==> a 3D controller can help indeed.
#4

I don’t see a reason why you wouldn’t be able to use these specialised mice with EyeWire. Let me know if you encounter any problems. Very few people are going to purchase a special mouse for EW, but I’m not against providing some basic support if you encounter problems. We’d need to get one for the lab first of course, but I’m kind of getting into 3d printing myself, so maybe I’d get one for kicks. :wink:


Will Silversmith
EyeWire Developer