Oh, boy! Almost enough to make me want to buy an iPad! Let me re-phrase this - this little app is just one more reason to buy an iPad! Assuming it works well, of course,
I do love using Google's Sketchup (thank you, Google!) and, although the PC based controls work well, I think that a good set of touch and motion based commands would be just a super addition.
I wonder if a variation of this app might work well on the new Kindle Fire?
@BobGroh First things first, I'm sure. Based on my conversations with them, my guess is Maide will look to evolve the app on the iPad platform and perhaps introduce other apps there, then explore support for other tablets.
That said, are you using an iPad or smart phone and taking advantage of any of these mobile apps? Do you seen a need for mobile apps as part of your design toolbox and if so, where? I'm curious about the use case and I'm writing a feature on this so any and all interested/with opinions please wade in or contact me directly.
I would suggest looking into using the Kinnect as a 3D manipulator for CAD programs. Sort of like in Tony Starks lab. It can do so much right now and adding that bit of manipulation to a program to create other items would be very cool.
Great start at providing enhanced input paths for PC work. There are a few companies that make physical touchpads/tablets/etc. with selectively reconfigurable regions that mimic the old-school F-key functionality.
This app moves some of that feature set to the iPad. In doing so, it adds a GUI component, making the reconfigurable aspect more user friendly. Kudos. However, it also removes the any hover and pressure registration capability that physical touchpads provide.
So the tradeoff is a functional feature set for a user friendly GUI. I guess it depends on the demands of your application and workflow.
It will be interesting to see the functionality of a mobile device compared to the full fledged SW versions available on desktops or laptops. For the majority of users I would think a mobile device with a portion of the functionality would easily suffice. While I'm sure there is a portion of users that need all the functionality and won't be able to give anything up for mobility.
Mobile applications are the new harbinger of the technological spring. Mobile application will rule domains of automation, controls, medical and other domains where the need of the hour is better workflow. Anyone who is not following the mobile trends will be left behind and it is important to follow the mobile trend
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
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For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
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