Ascension Technology Newsletter - 2003 Home > News > Newsletter -2003 December 8, 2003 Ascension Introduces Eye Tracking and Virtual Training to Simulation and Training Industry Ascension solidified its leadership role in the simulation industry at the annual I/ITSEC trade show last week in Orlando by introducing two major new developments for warfighter training. These are: 1. The world's most advanced eye tracking system that, among other things, lets a user activate switches and controls by looking at them. EYEHEAD is available through Ascension's strategic partner ASL (www.a-s-l.com ). It includes either a low-cost Flock of Birds tracker or a high precision laserBIRD tracker so a user can freely move his head as his line of gaze is instantly tracked and recorded. 2. A new virtual training system for soldiers and security personnel. Live Actor uses real-time capture of full body motions and gestures by ReActor or MotionStar so a trainee can interact with characters in a virtual environment. The system lets trainees practice procedures before exposure to dangerous assignments. It is available through Ascension's developmental partner, University of Pennsylvania (www.hms.upenn.edu). October 1, 2003 New pciBIRD with Windows Interface and Metal Detection pciBIRD now supports up to four 25mm or 8mm sensors. Up to two sensors can be tracked by each pciBIRD electronics card. It also operates with a compact as well as a standard transmitter. It now includes an easy-to-use Windows interface for setting parameters, metal detection and error reporting. FASTRAK Emulator Now Available Have you ever wanted to switch from your Polhemus AC electromagnetic tracker to a more affordable, metal-tolerant DC magnetic tracker but didn’t want to rewrite driver code? Our new emulator solves the problem. It automatically adapts Ascension tracker outputs to look like FASTRAK outputs to your applications software program. Emulator lets you drop an Ascension tracker into your application without changing a line of code while saving you thousands of dollars. Linux Drivers Now Available pciBIRD now works in PC computers running the Linux operating system, Version 9.0 . Beta versions of the driver are available at no charge to qualified customers. Ascension's Flock, Nest, and miniBIRD tracker with serial interfaces are also supported by 3rd party Linux drivers. Windows Interface – winBIRD -- Simplifies Tracker Use winBIRD is a Window’s interface available for most Ascension trackers. It offers an intuitive interface for accessing, formatting and distributing tracker data. It also contains a metal detection module so you can adjust tracker parameters to avoid distortion issues. Feel free to download this program for use with your Ascension tracker. New Tracker for Medical Market We now have a new DC magnetic tracker – Class B Flock -- that meets Class B radiated EMI standards. Medical device manufacturers often certify their products and components to meet Class B requirements before sale into hospital and health-care environments. The Class B Flock tracker is now fully compliant with these regulatory requirements. Environmental Analyzer Optimizes Magnetic Data This tool significantly improves tracking outputs in any installation using our magnetic products. Use it to help identify sources of metal in the work space. You can also use it to help reduce noise by selecting an optimum frequency for tracker operation. The Analyzer can make the difference between a successful or unsuccessful installation by reducing set-up time and helping guarantee excellent magnetic data! September 2, 2003 Ascension Wins Two New SBIR Grants Ascension today announced it has received two Phase I Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) awards to further development of its tracking technologies. A grant from the National Institute of Health will be used to conceptualize, analyze and report on the the development of new tracking techniques for high accuracy tracking of medical instruments in 3D visualization applications. A second grant from the U.S. Air Force will be used to explore new and innovative ways of using optical tracking technologies to overcome imaging restrictions in military simulators and virtual environments. August 4, 2003 Ascension Performers Shine at SIGGRAPH 2003 Some 24,000 people attended Siggraph 2003 in San Diego and most of them stopped by the Ascension "MoCap" booth. They came to see MotionStar Wireless, the only motion-capture system in the world that lets animators capture and animate in real time the full body motions of up to 5 performers at once. No other tracking devices on the show floor were able to animate more than one performer at once. For show attendees, it is still not too late to take advantage of the Ascension Show Special which offers extraordinary savings on MotionStar Wireless as well as other mocap trackers. July 18, 2003 SIGGRAPH 2003 Ascension Technology will be demonstrating the MotionStar Wireless motion capture tracker in a multi-performer configuration in Booth # 2528 at the 30th Annual SIGGRAPH show. Save on MoCap Trackers with Siggraph 2003 Show Promotions MotionStar Wireless: Save $10,000 and up on MotionStar Wireless with Ascension’s Siggraph show special. The package includes 13 or more sensors, two transmitters, a sensor mounting kit, and free use of our environmental analyzer tool kit. We’ll also throw in free shipping in the USA and free installation in North America. MotionStar Wireless captures the motions of up to five performers at once for real-time interaction, animation, and visualization of shot sequences. ReActor 2: Ascension’s new second-generation optical workstation, ReActor 2, is also discounted for Siggraph. Save $8,500 and higher for an order placed within 60 days of Siggraph. MotionStar Wired: Motion Star with tethered cables is already the most economically priced professional mocap tracker in the animation marketplace. Take another 10% off its price by ordering one as part of our Siggraph promotion. Save on Other Trackers, Too In addition to our mocap trackers, save 10% on all other mocap Ascension trackers. This offer is good for Siggraph attendees placing an order within 60 days of the show. Fly to Vermont on Us to See ReActor2 We’re so confident that you’ll be impressed with our new second–generation active optical workstation for the mocap market that we’re flying qualified animators to Vermont for a free demo. R2 features untethered markers that deliver highly accurate tracking without the frequent calibration and re-alignment issues of passive camera systems. Markers are active-optical and feature Instant Marker Recognition to virtually eliminate occlusion drop-outs. R2’s new and improved algorithms and digital detection technology provide improved accuracy, reduced noise, and consistently clean data throughout the capture space. May 21, 2003 VT Business and Industry Expo '03 Ascension's Vice President Jack Scully and Microprocessor Designs' President Jeff Finkelstein joined forces in a lively performance to explain how their local high-tech companies joined forces to drive Ascension's motion tracking technology forward and open up a brand new marketplace -- real-time computer animation. In 1990, Ascension's magnetic tracking technology could track the motion of a single point on a single person who sat in a chair. The entertainment industry, however, wanted to track the motion of 20 points on one or more people free to roam over a room-sized area. Ascension brought the problem to Microprocessor Designs which helped craft a solution. It included the development of new and innovative communications and interface protocols that are widely used in the entetainment industry. At the Expo, the companies showed working models of the products that have revolutionized the way animators give life to computer characters for movies, TV and video games. May 2, 2003 Ascension Starts Value-added Reseller (VAR) Program North American companies bundling Ascension trackers with their hardware and/or software may now apply for a new competitive sales incentive program. Unlike system integrators or OEMs who develop new products for vertical markets, VARs typically sell a variety of equipment across a broad range of applications and markets. In the real-time computer graphics marketplace, they often sell 3D visualization products, such as data gloves, virtual headsets, interactive displays, and other real-time software. The program gives generous discounts off the list price of Ascension trackers for qualifying companies. For more infomation, contact Greg Erdmann gerdmann@ascension-tech.com May 1, 2003 Ascension Hosts Orientation Day for Budding Engineers As part of its ongoing community outreach program, Ascension today hosted an orientation day for 15 electrical engineering and computer science students from Vermont Technical College (VTC), the state's engineering and technical college. VTC's director of career placement, Lauri Sybel, arranged the visit to give students an opportunity to see first hand how a high tech company operates and uses technology. In addition to learning about Ascension's business and interacting in small groups with engineers, the students participated in a live "MoCap" demo. One of students donned MotionStar sensors and was soon animating Ascension's 3D interactive model, Angel. Said one of the students, "This is the coolest stuff I've ever seen. I had no idea that you could animate a computer character so quickly." March 26, 2003 MotionStar Brings Students’ CG Characters to Life in Mocap Demo On March 26, 2003, students from Vermont’s South Burlington High School Imaging Lab presented a motion capture demonstration using Ascension’s MotionStar tracker to bring their animated characters to life. With assistance from Ascension engineers, the students were able to demonstrate their skills at CG character design through the magic of motion capture technology. The Imaging Lab is one of only a few in the country doing such sophisticated computer graphics at the secondary school level. Collaborating with high tech business allows them to take their achievements to an even higher plane. Following the presentation, Ascension Vice President Jack Scully announced that the company plans to develop a real-time computer animation based curriculum with courseware designed for interactive instruction. “The mixture of education and high technology business continues to be a winning combination,” noted Scully. March 5, 2003 Ascension Adds New Q & A Feature to Web Site Do you have a question about choosing the right 3D tracker for your medical application? We've just posted a Medical FAQ on-line that will help you sort out the pros and cons of various approaches. The bottom line for success: design the tracker in at the beginning of development; not at the last moment. You can also use this feature to pose your own question to our experts. We'll respond within one work day. Click Here. March 3, 2003 Ascension Technology profiled in March Issue of Business People - Vermont The current issue of Business People - Vermont profiles Ascension from its humble origins to leadership position in the 3D peripheral marketplace. While this publication is available outside of Vermont by subscription only, you can read the article online. Click here to read article. . February 12, 2003 Eye Tracking Joins Ascension's Family Of Tracking Solutions Through its new strategic partner, ASL Laboratories, Ascension now offers the best eye and head tracking system in the world. The highly developed, features-rich EYEHEAD™ system for use with head-mounted optics enables integration of eye and head position data -- thanks to DC magnetic tracking -- for real-time computation of eye-pointing angles. In short, evaluators always know where their subjects are looking. By combining eye and head-tracking technologies, evaluators can eliminate the need to reacquire the eye when the subject looks out of the tracking area and then returns. Eye fixation data is typically shown as a point-of-gaze cursor superimposed on a real-world object or computer graphics scene. Eye tracking is used in many applications ranging from monitoring baby eye gaze and studying cognitive behavior to aiming weapon systems and matching simulator scenes with eye direction. According to Ascension VP, Jack Scully, "ASL has earned our certification because it offers a highly accurate eye-tracking solution, fully integrated with our head trackers. And, it enjoys the support of a large and satisfied list of customers." Most important to technical users, EYEHEAD provides unique features not available elsewhere. In addition to showing where the subject is looking in 3D space, the Windows-based system also identifies and records up to 20 eye targets, distances, X-Y coordinates, and pupil diameter for later analysis. Click Here for Press Release February 3, 2003 Ascension Lowers the Price of Nest of Birds Lean manufacturing initiatives improved the Nest of Birds’ production process allowing Ascension to drop the price from $8,595 to $7,345 for a full-up tracker. This lower price makes the Nest more accessible to users and gives them a greater choice of Ascension tracking options. Suitable for head, hand and instrument tracking, the Nest tracks position and orientation with 6 DOF in real time. With the ability to track four sensors simultaneously using a dedicated processor for each sensor, the Nest achieves the highest measurement rates possible regardless of the number of sensors tracked. January 22, 2002 The Getaway for PlayStation 2 Released in North America Today An Animation Landmark: Real-Time, 5 Performer Motion Capture Production Two months after celebrating the European release, Sony is distributing the highly acclaimed The Getaway in North America for PlayStation 2. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe used five Ascension MotionStar Wireless® full-body trackers and 5DT data gloves to help produce the biggest project ever from a European game developer. The Getaway is the first project to use 5 motion capture performers at once, in real time. “All [mocap] credit really has to go to Ascension for making this work. Without their help and their vision, we just couldn’t have made this possible. Ascension rewrote software and made hardware changes to allow us to put together this most ambitious of projects.” - Gavin Moore, Director of Motion Capture for Team Soho, SCEE A demo of the game is available inside the February 2003 issue of Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. The Magazine is the only Sony Computer Entertainment America-licensed magazine in North America. Click Here for The Getaway Home Page January 2, 2003 Ascension Introduces "WANDA" Navigation Device Ascension Technology Corporation has acquired worlwide sales and distribution rights for the WANDA 3D Navigation Device. A hybrid mouse-joystick "wand" with three programmable buttons, WANDA was designed to manipulate 3D objects in a virtual environment using an embedded 6 degrees-of-freedom sensor. WANDA can be used in free space, unlike a typical mouse or joystick. It is ideal for CAVE environments, enabling superior 3D graphic control and manipulaiton for physical modeling, virtual reality, interactive games and virtual prototyping. WANDA can be used as an add-on to several Ascension motion trackers - MotionStar Wired, MotionStar Wireless, Flock of Birds and pcBIRD. Back to Top