- SpaceOrb 360
The SpaceOrb 360 is a 6-DOF computer input device that is designed to be operated with two hands. It has two right-index-finger buttons and four right-thumb buttons. It interfaces with a computer through an
RS-232 serial port using a custom binary protocol. Drivers for the device exist forMS Windows andLinux .The device was released shortly after the introduction of popular 3-D games such as
Descent II andQuake . The SpaceOrb was especially suited for the gameplay of Descent because of the complete freedom-of-motion afforded by itsrendering engine . There was strong support for the device in bothQuake andQuake II , but theWASD -type keyboard-and-mouse controls eventually became more popular. As of the Half-Life engine (based on the original Quake source), there was specific support for the SpaceOrb's capabilities. A major SpaceOrb-focused website of the time was [http://www.planethardware.com/spaceorb/ Birdman's Lair] .It was originally manufactured and sold by the SpaceTec IMC company (first bought by
Labtec , which itself was later bought byLogitech ). The device is no longer sold nor supported by Logitech. It has been supplanted by more modern devices sold under Logitech's3Dconnexion brand.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.