SENSOR FRAME GRAPHIC MANIPULATOR

IF MUCH OF THE FUTURE INTERACTION BETWEEN HUMANS AND GRAPHICS-CAPABLE COMPUTERS, SUCH AS THOSE USED IN SPACE EXPLORATION, WILL INVOLVE MANIPULATING GRAPHIC OBJECTS, IT MAKES SENSE TO DEVELOP AN INPUT DEVICE THAT LETS US DO JUST THAT IN THE MOST DIRECT AND INTUITIVE WAY, WITH MINIMAL USER TRAINING. THIS IS THE RATIONALE DRIVING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SENSOR FRAME GRAPHIC MANIPULATOR. THE SENSOR FRAME IS A DEVICE WHICH SIMULTANEOUSLY DETECTS POSITION, SPATIAL ORIENTATION, AND VELOCITY OF MULTIPLE FINGERS, BY OPTICAL MEANS. UNLIKE TOUCH SCREENS, MICE, LIGHT PENS, AND OTHER DEVICES LIMITED TO POINTING (USING A SINGLE POINTER), THE SENSOR FRAME PERMITS MANIPULATION OF GRAPHIC OBJECTS USING MULTIPLE FINGERS. WE PROPOSE TO APPLY THE SENSOR FRAME TECHNOLOGY TO MANIPULATE THREE-DIMENSIONAL GRAPHIC OBJECTS AND CONTROL DEVICES IN ORDER TO ASSIST SPACE CREW IN PERFORMING ROUTINE IN-SPACE MAINTENANCE. WITH SUITABLE GESTURES, SPACE CREW COULD MOVE, ROTATE, ASSEMBLE, SCALE, OR EVEN DISASSEMBLE GRAPHIC OBJECTS IN THREE-DIMENSIONS. APPLYING THIS TECHNOLOGY TO SOFT CONTROL PANELS, CREW MEMBERS COULD ALSO PRESS BUTTONS, TWIST KNOBS, AND THROW TOGGLE SWITCHES SUCH AS THOSE FOUND ON INSTRUMENTATION PANELS IN SPACECRAFT. THESENSOR FRAME GRAPHIC MANIPULATOR TAKES ADVANTAGE OF NATURAL SKILLS AND FAMILIAR MEANS OF DEALING WITH PHYSICAL OBJECTS. THUS, LITTLE TRAINING IS REQUIRED TO GAIN THE FULL FLEXIBILITY OF THE SENSOR FRAME TECHNOLOGY.