[Goober5000]

Not the suit, but the design methods:

[watsisname]

That just might be the most awe inspiring thing I've seen all year.

[headdie]

that is awesome the way those technologies are brought together

[Colonol Dekker]

Do you think there's any way a Kinect could emulate those functions?

[Unknown Target]

@Dekker: Yes, and if you use a pair of AR goggles like Google glas, with a custom modeling interface, you could make it an actual modeling tool like in Iron Man, instead of just a spinning model on a desktop.

[Phantom Hoover]

i am in awe, how can one man create something at once so flashy and so worthless

[Kiloku]

Not worthless, but not as useful as people are making it out to be. It is better suited for visualization (which is the use he displays in the video) than actually modeling and assembling (which is what he said this could be used for). I can think of at least two more uses:
Education (showing children animated and interactive models for biology, astronomy, physics, chemistry and who knows what else)
Entertainment (With the Oculus Rift and the Virtuix Omni, if the precision for the sensor is good enough, you could have a nearly full VR experience, including the movement of your arms. The only thing missing would be tactile feedback)


And I didn't go really a centimeter out of the box. Someone more creative than I am could do WAY better.

[Aesaar]

If this had tactile feedback (like, say, with a pair of specialised gloves), it could actually be quite useful.

[Phantom Hoover]

I accept that the underlying technologies might be quite useful; however, I think the big error in these flashy interfaces is that they completely ignore the human brain's capacity for abstraction. If you understand a rocket engine or whatever thoroughly enough to actually be involved in its design, I think you will already have a more detailed and vivid mental image of its structure than this 3D motion-sensing toy.

[Unknown Target]

If this had tactile feedback (like, say, with a pair of specialised gloves), it could actually be quite useful.

Yep.

[Klaustrophobia]

I accept that the underlying technologies might be quite useful; however, I think the big error in these flashy interfaces is that they completely ignore the human brain's capacity for abstraction. If you understand a rocket engine or whatever thoroughly enough to actually be involved in its design, I think you will already have a more detailed and vivid mental image of its structure than this 3D motion-sensing toy.

I strongly disagree with this.  If you designed that PARTICULAR engine, maybe.  And still, only if there's been a physical model.  Having laid down a bunch of numbers and plan views still isn't the same as seeing a whole, no matter how deep your understanding is.  However if said rocket scientist wants to take a look at several other engines of different design, this kind of display has the potential to be a far more powerful tool than blueprints, drawings, and even traditional 3D models.  And then there's the fact that the vast majority of the people who come into contact with a particular design AREN'T among the handful who created it.  I wish like hell the plant manuals I've spent the last 2 years learning came in this format.

[TwentyPercentCooler]

I accept that the underlying technologies might be quite useful; however, I think the big error in these flashy interfaces is that they completely ignore the human brain's capacity for abstraction. If you understand a rocket engine or whatever thoroughly enough to actually be involved in its design, I think you will already have a more detailed and vivid mental image of its structure than this 3D motion-sensing toy.

I strongly disagree with this.  If you designed that PARTICULAR engine, maybe.  And still, only if there's been a physical model.  Having laid down a bunch of numbers and plan views still isn't the same as seeing a whole, no matter how deep your understanding is.  However if said rocket scientist wants to take a look at several other engines of different design, this kind of display has the potential to be a far more powerful tool than blueprints, drawings, and even traditional 3D models.  And then there's the fact that the vast majority of the people who come into contact with a particular design AREN'T among the handful who created it.  I wish like hell the plant manuals I've spent the last 2 years learning came in this format.

Yeah, I would tend to agree with this. It's a lot easier to get a feel for something, at least for me, if I can have something to manipulate with my hands. Tactile input or not, I could see this being helpful to a lot of people, especially if it's something that doesn't actually exist yet in physical form.