Tracking and interaction
 

The are a couple things I am looking for help to get started on. I already have Vizard reading my Flock of Birds sensor on the Wanda with the trackd plugin (thanks again for that)

We are using Vizard to replace our previous scientific visualization software, due to the last programs limited abilities, but I would like to add some of the functionality from the old software to Vizard.

Navigation:
Drive Mode: The view changes with movement of the Wanda when a button is pressed (separate from head tracking). Joystick on Wanda allows for moving forward and backward.
Fly Mode: When fly mode is turned on (usually with a button) the position and orientation is stored. When the Wanda is moved, the user "flies" around the world based on the difference from the initial values.

Interaction:
Cursor: I simple 3D object could be used as a cursor. The old software had a light-saber like cursor, a red line extending from the location of the Wanda into the screen, with the tip being the cursor. It would be nice if this was possible in Vizard.
Functionality: There are 2 functions the cursors needs to be able to perform. The first is selection any object it interacts with, similar to the mouse over function, but in 3D. For example, I can use the light saber to "spear" a 3D object, and by pressing a button, the object can be moved around with the sensor. The other functionality would be to use the same 3D cursor to interact with GUI items.

Any help getting any of this started will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

All of this functionality can be replicated in Vizard.

The navigation features you describe are fairly straight forward. Check out the Controlling the Viewpoint tutorial to get introduced to the objects you will need to manipulate.

As for the interaction, the “laser pointer” functionality is certainly possible. I will have to check if we have any code implementing this.

Thank, that is great. I've been investigating some of the view adjustments, and it seems to be working well. Any news on the laser pointer?

Can't seem to find any code samples for you to get started with the laser pointer interaction. I suggest that you take a look at the algorithm that implements the laser pointer in your previous code base and replcate that in Vizard.

You will probably want to use Vizard's intersect or pick functions. These guys will help you select objects in the world. Look'em up in the help.

thanks, I'll check those out

What is the best way to draw a line that moves as the endpoints are updated?

With the on-the-fly Vizard fucntions. Check out the tutorial in the help file.