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Industrial design modelling, used to make prototypes of home appliances or mock-ups of car parts, could soon make the leap from the world of plaster, plastic and sticky tape into the digital domain thanks to an augmented reality design system developed in Europe. function google_ad_request_done(google_ads) { if (google_ads.length < 1 ) return; document.write("< google_ads.length; ++i) { document.write(" google_ad_client = "pub-8430344808469242"; google_alternate_ad_url = "http://www.azom.com/images/spacer.gif"; google_ad_channel = "8293186506"; google_ad_output = "js"; google_max_num_ads = 6; google_ad_type = "text_image"; google_color_line = "330000"; google_feedback = 'on'; The system, developed by a team of researchers from six EU countries, merges touch-sensitive haptic technology with 3D digital modelling and computer-aided design (CAD) to allow professional designers to feel and shape their creations physically and virtually. Implemented commercially, the system promises to save companies time and money, raise designers' productivity and improve the quality of new products.

"Haptics is far from a mature technology, and this project was one of the first to build a haptic system for industrial designers," Bordegoni notes. The multimodal and multisensory SATIN system consists of two FCS-HapticMASTER devices, in essence robotic arms more commonly used for remote welding or dental surgery, which position and rotate a robotic spline, an electronic version of the flexible strip of material, typically wood or metal, long used by designers to draw curves. Fitted with actuators and sensors, the spline automatically twists and bends to the shape of a digital representation of the product uploaded by the designer into the system.