Polhemus Announces Rhinoceros® Plug-In For Stylus Based, Hand-Held Digitizing

Posted: March 20, 2007

COLCHESTER, VT, (March 20, 2007)---Polhemus, the industry leader in 6-Degree-of-Freedom (6DOF) motion capture, tracking and digitizing technologies, is proud to announce a Rhino software plug-in for the PATRIOT™, a 6DOF tracking system, that when used in conjunction with the Polhemus stylus turns the system into a handheld, free-form digitizer.
 
A typical 3D digitizing system includes the PATRIOT electronics unit, a 2-inch magnetic source and a stylus. The source is placed near the object to be digitized. The sensor that is integrated into the stylus detects the stylus' location with respect to the source.  The stylus range is ideally 1-3 feet from the source, but is usable up to 5 feet. The source and stylus may be configured with cabling of up to 20 feet in length for maximum flexibility. The PATRIOT Digitizer has a resolution of 0.0015 in. and 0.1 degree and a static accuracy of 0.1 inch RMS for the X, Y and Z position and 0.75 degrees RMS of orientation, with an affordable price and several accessories from which to choose. For higher accuracies and extended range, the Rhino plug-in is also compatible with the Polhemus LIBERTY™ series of trackers.
 
Once PATRIOT digitizes an object, Rhino can create, edit, analyze, and translate NURBS curves, surfaces, and solids in Windows®. There are no limits on complexity, degree, or size. The PATRIOT with stylus is an affordable, powerful combination for the digitizing needs of today's CAD users, with no maintenance fees.

Polhemus provides the absolute best in time-proven 6DOF systems, eye tracking, and handheld 3D scanners.  These products already are in wide use in such areas as medical applications, university research, military training and simulation, and computer-aided design.  
 
McNeel North America (www.rhino3d.com) is responsible for sales, marketing, training, and support of all McNeel products including Rhino. Founded in 1980, McNeel is a privately-held, employee-owned company with sales and support offices and affiliates in Seattle, Miami, Buenos Aires, Barcelona, Rome, Tokyo, Taipei, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, and Beijing with more than 700 dealers, distributors, OEMs, and training centers around the world.
 
Rhinoceros is a registered trademark of Robert McNeel & Associates.