Science Accessories
Science Accessories Corporation (SAC) was a company that made 2D and 3D computer input devices, including the Spacepen and Graf/Pen.
The products are based on a spatially tracked pen, and have the tip of the pen tracked in position only, and not in rotation. The 3D tracking is based on multilateration.
The company was originally controlled by Amperex Electronics Corporation. It started business in 1965.[1] The company was eventually acquired and merged into CalComp.
The company's mailing address was 2 Research Drive P.O.Box 825 Shelton CT, USA.[2] At one point the company's address was 200 Watson Blvd. Stratford, CT. At one point its address was 970 Kings Highway West Southport, Connecticut.[3]
Products[edit]
GP stands for graf/pen. The products do time-of-flight (TOF) measurements of acoustic pulses to determine the position of a transmitter on a handheld probe.
- Graf/Pen GP-2 - 2D digitizer that uses three microphones for multilateration
- Graf/Pen GP-3
- Graf/Pen GP-6 line
- Graf/Pen GP-7
- Graf/Bar GP-7
- Graf/Pen GP-7 MK II
- Graf/Pen GP-8-3D Three Dimensional Digitizer.[4]
- OD-1 two-dimensional optical digitizer.[5]
- Graf/Pen GP-9 - 2D digitizer
- Graf/Pen GP-9 XL - 2D
GP-12 line[edit]
SAC sold GP-12 products, later branded Freepoint 3D.
- GP-12 3D - Update rate up to 75 Hz
- GP-12 XL
3rd party[edit]
A company that produced related proructs was Rock Technologies, also known as Roctek. For example, the RD-48.[6]
Technology[edit]
Science Accessories uses sonic technology and a contact probe to capture surface or positioning information from an object.
In effect, their 3D products do for solid objects what a 2D digitizing tablet does for drawings. The probe is a hand-held device that has two sound emitters on it that are in a line formation with the tip going through the body of the device.[1]
In at least one study, Science Accessories' Graf/Bar was used with an Apple IIe computer.[7]
History[edit]
Science Accessories was previously controlled by Amperex Electronics Corporation.[8]
In the 1970s, three employees, including Albert Whetstone, left and founded Summagraphics.[9]
As of 1974, SAC had created the first 3D isomorphic interaction computer input device ever.[10]
In about 1975, Joseph A. Howells was vice president of the company.[8]
Science Accessories was a public company. In 1994, GTCO Corp acquired majority ownership in the company.[11] The board of directors was changed.[12]
SAC's 2D products use a frame in the shape of an L for 2D, and a frame that is a full quadrilateral for 3D. 2D needs only three microphones, hence the L, and 3D needs four.[3]
Product releases[edit]
GP-7 Mark II was introduced in 1986. The Mark II is largely the same as the original GP-7 but has a larger active area.[3]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Freepoint 3D Digitizer". 2001-10-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20020319055638if_/http://www.digitizer.ca/sa/sa-free.htm.
- ↑ "Human Movement Tracking Technology". 1998-05-08. https://xspasm.com/x/sfu/vmi/HMTT.add.html.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Science Accessories Corp.". https://history.siggraph.org/exhibitor/science-accessories-corp/.
- ↑ "An Automatic Position Detector for Handheld NDE Probes". https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA209526.pdf.
- ↑ "NASA Tech Briefs June 1994 Vol. 18 No. 6". https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20100030371/downloads/20100030371.pdf.
- ↑ "Byte Magazine August 1989". p. 35. https://vintageapple.org/byte/pdf/198908_Byte_Magazine_Vol_14-08_80386-Based_Portable-Neural_Networking-Mac_supp.pdf.
- ↑ "Distribution, Advection, and Growth of Larvae of the Southern Temperate Gadoid, Macruronus novaezelandiae (Teleostei: Merlucciidae), in Australian Coastal Waters". https://spo.nmfs.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/pdf-content/fish-bull/thresher.pdf.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Hand Lettering Is Utilized by Computer". 1975-10-04. https://www.nytimes.com/1975/10/04/archives/hand-lettering-is-utilized-by-computer-patents-script-utilized-in.html.
- ↑ "Science Accessories v. Summagraphics". 1980-11-21. https://law.justia.com/cases/delaware/supreme-court/1980/425-a-2d-957-1.html.
- ↑ Burton, Robert P.; Sutherland, Ivan E. (1974). "Twinkle box: a three-dimensional computer input device". ACM Press. p. 513. doi:10.1145/1500175.1500278. http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=1500175.1500278.
- ↑ "GTCO Corporation, (say "gee-tee-co")". https://web.archive.org/web/19961220233454if_/http://gtco.com/.
- ↑ https://www.courant.com/1994/10/31/company-acquires-majority-interest/
- "GP-9 TWO-DIMENSIONAL SONIC DIGITIZER". https://www.interworldna.com/sa/sa-gp9.php.
- "GRAF/ PEN". https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102649139/search/organization:science-accessories-corporation-sac-organization/.
- "ADA314134". p. 62. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA314134.pdf.
- RELoad, the (2002-01-09). "SeqEd". https://bip.weizmann.ac.il/education/materials/gcg/seqed.html.
- "GTCO Corporation, (say "gee-tee-co")". https://web.archive.org/web/19970119154011if_/http://www.gtco.com/gp9.html.