VANCOUVER — 3Dconnexion’s (www.3dconnexion.com) intelligent 3D navigation technology is now available in Autodesk Maya. The technology automatically determines the optimal center of rotation based on the user’s point of interest. In addition, the center of rotation can optionally be seen through an icon to give designers a reference point when controlling spin, tilt and roll motion.
Maya users can easily switch between different intelligent 3D navigation modes, including object mode, camera mode and target camera mode. Additionally, the rotation center calculation can be applied to the whole model or focused on a selected part.
The latest driver update also streamlines the 3Dconnexion 3D mouse user interface within Maya. By using the Menu or Panel button on the 3D mouse, a pop-up menu is activated to centralize all 3D mouse related options into one location.
The company also announced at the SIGGRAPH show that its 3D mice are now supported by Blender 2.59, the free, open source animation software. Using a 3D mouse (SpaceNavigator, SpaceExplorer or SpacePilot Pro) in Blender allows artists to position models while simultaneously sculpting or modifying them with a traditional mouse or tablet. 3Dconnexion’s 3D mice deliver a consistent navigation experience across most 3D applications, enabling designers to maintain their navigation workflow when changing from one app to another.