Review: The 3dConnexion SpaceNavigator
I’ll be honest right up front, I use the SpaceNavigator more as a toy than a tool. But what a fabulous device to have if you work with 3D programs (like AutoCAD, Google Earth, Microsoft Virtual Earth, etc.)! Let me begin by explaining the problem that this device solves, then I’ll talk about what the SpaceNavigator is and how it helps.
The Problem
In Google Earth, your view begins by staring down at the Earth as if from a satellite in space. You can use your mouse wheel (if you have one) to zoom in for a closer look, and you can use your mouse to drag the planet under you to find the part of the world you want to see. As you move around, your view, or “camera,” is essentially stationary; it’s the world itself that you’re moving with the tools provided. It’s not very easy or natural to fly around as in a helicopter and view whatever you want. You have to drag the world, kicking and screaming, and zoom in etc., etc.
In Second Life (an online virtual 3D world, kind of a successor to the old online chat environments), you control your avatar with the keyboard (or use your mouse to click on some directional buttons provided in a little pop-up toolbox). The arrow keys propel your avatar forward, backward, left, and right. And you can use the Page Up and Page Down buttons to make your avatar fly (flying is one of the cool “advantages” of this 3D world). Controlling the camera requires another little pop-up toolbox so that you can tilt, pan, rotate, and zoom the camera.
In both cases, and with enough practice, you can get quite, um, handy with the acrobatics required to navigate and view these 3D worlds. However, I’m no acrobat, and find the default navigation methods frustrating and cumbersome at best.
3dConnexion SpaceNavigator
The Solution
The SpaceNavigator by 3dConnexion (pictured at right) is an alternate input device for your computer. In principle, it’s similar to a joystick. Except that its range of motion and sensitivity is far greater than your average joystick. Note, however, that like a joystick, the SpaceNavigator is only compatible with certain programs (see the website linked in this paragraph for full details). At the time of this writing, the SpaceNavigator is compatible with more than100 programs according to the 3dConnexion website.
Physically, the device is a heavy (surprisingly heavy for stability, but as you’ll find out when using it, only just barely heavy enough) round base that plugs into your USB port. Above the base is a fat rubber knob, bookended on either side by a small button mounted into the base (for a total of two buttons).
The knob, or controller cap, is pressure sensitive. You can push, pull, twist or tilt the knob just a wee bit to simultaneously pan, zoom and rotate 3D imagery. Increase or decrease your pressure and the adjustments will be greater or smaller, respectively. The control panel that you install when you buy the device allows you to adjust the sensitivity and many other settings. The two buttons’ functions can also be configured from this control panel.
The knob can literally be pushed down to move down, pulled up to move up, twisted left or right to move in those directions, or tilted. The features of pan, zoom, and rotate can be assigned to different axes in the control panel and may work slightly different from one program to the next. Typically, if you’re right handed, you control the SpaceNavigator with your left hand while you control your mouse with the right.
The main advantage of the SpaceNavigator over the old mouse and keyboard, according to their website (and my own experiences), ”is the ease of performing intricate adjustments to camera views and models without repeatedly stopping to change directions, zoom, or rotate models. With a SpaceNavigator you can do all three at once.”
3dConnexion offers three other versions of their device to suit more advanced users and laptop users. Again, check out the website for more information. The version pictured starts at $59 for personal use.
Full Circle
In Google Earth, the SpaceNavigator elegantly makes your camera fly like it’s mounted in a little helicopter. Once you’ve given Google Earth a chance to load the data for the local area you’re viewing, you can quickly and easily fly around and view the world from any angle. It’s the coolest thing ever!
In Second Life, the SpaceNavigator simultaneously controls moving your avatar and rotating the camera. In “joystick flycam” mode, you can fly your camera around your 3D environment just like you can in Google Earth. And, most impressively, since your mouse pointer is your “hand” in this 3D world, you can move your avatar with your left hand while you click on an object in the world with your right hand. An application of this would be the simple act of walking towards a door and opening it so you can walk through. This device makes this nearly effortless since you use the SpaceNavigator to propel your avatar toward the door with your left hand, while you click on the door to open it with your right hand which is controlling the mouse.
My last thought on this subject is that you can imagine the knob is your camera or avatar and that you’re physically nudging or propelling it along when you manipulate the knob. I’m seriously impressed with the device so far and hope to see it supported in more programs in the future. If you work with any 3D environments, you need this device! Just be sure to check the 3dConnexion site to verify that the device is supported in your program.
Craig Samson