I’ve been a big fan of 3Dconnexion since the first time I put my hands on a SpaceNavigator a few years ago. Frank first showed off the 3D mouse in late 2006, and we took a fresh look at it again last year. Mine continues to sit on my desk and is used daily.
Earlier this week, the folks at 3Dconnexion hit a major milestone by selling their one millionth mouse. Amazing! Congratulations to the team over there on such a remarkable accomplishment.
Below are details about this milestone. Do you use a SpaceNavigator when you’re in Google Earth or SketchUp?
FREMONT, Calif. – March 2, 2011 – 3Dconnexion today announced it has shipped more than one million 3D mice, supporting today’s most popular and powerful 3D software solutions from companies including Autodesk, Dassault Systèmes, Siemens, PTC, Google, Microsoft, and Adobe across computer aided design, digital content creation, architecture and construction, and geographic information systems.
3Dconnexion 3D mice unlock the power of 3D design applications by allowing design engineers to interact naturally with 3D content as if they are holding the model or camera in their hand. Many of the world’s leading companies in industries from aerospace to automotive, consumer goods to electronics, and machine tools to game development, use 3Dconnexion 3D mice to boost productivity, efficiency and the comfort of their design teams.
“As we accelerated through the one millionth 3D mouse milestone, we’ve seen customer recommendations become an increasingly powerful driver of our business,” said Dieter Neujahr, president of 3Dconnexion. “And the future looks bright as we continue to bring the benefits of superior 3D navigation to an ever wider range of software applications and new market opportunities, bound only by the imagination.”
To mark its “One Millionth 3D Mouse Milestone,” 3Dconnexion will host several activities throughout the next month, offering users the opportunity to win a 3D mouse. For more information, visit 3Dconnexion’s website, Facebook and Twitter.
The core technology inside all of 3Dconnexion’s 3D mice originates from the field of robotics and space exploration. In 1993, a 3D controller was used on the space shuttle Columbia, manipulating the first robotic arm in space, and was the launching point for a family of 3D mice that now help 3D professionals in hundreds of thousands of organizations to design, innovate and create some of the most well known products in the world.
About Mickey Mellen
Mickey has been using Google Earth since it was released in 2005, and has created a variety of geo-related sites including Google Earth Hacks. He runs a web design firm in Marietta, GA, where he lives with his wife and two kids.
I use SpaceNavigator since 2007 in Google Earth and later also in Sketchup. I really enjoy this tool and am looking forward to the day when a driver will also allow its use in the GE plugin.
Microsoft Live Earth showed that using SpaceNavigator in a browser plugin generally works. Nevertheless the GE Plugin still doesn’t support this great piece of hardware.