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Comment by gravypod | Hacker News Reader

If there is one thing I CANNOT wait for is these new VR systems being applied to CAD/CAM software.

The ability to move tools and remove material in 3D from items and move them around as you feel fit will revolutionize the world of CAD software.

I'm saying this as someone who is attempting to get into doing some CAD modeling but having an EXTREMELY hard time getting into it. It really is software made for engineers by engineers.

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Have a look at the VR support in the Unreal Engine editor[0]. You can actually manipulate the virtual world while inhabiting it! It's not much of a stretch to apply the same principles to CAD.

[0] https://docs.unrealengine.com/latest/INT/Engine/Editor/VR/

I didn't know this exact example but this is precisely what I am dreaming of.

It's just completely intuitive.

Since a little before the launch of the Vive, I've wondered if early VR adoption would have been better off if the focus of the platform holders was on content creation tools instead of hardcore games and 360 video. There are many examples of content creation tools available or in development in the form of art and music tools. Tiltbrush and Medium are awesome for example, but most of the applications available are much more on the toy side than the professional tool side currently.

I feel the same exact way. Not only for the design aspect but for debugging and data visualization as well.

Imagine simulating a 3D representation of a nuclear power plant and overlaying information from sensors in pipes into a 3D model.

Rather then thinking of "Sensor 19932324Z is malfunctioning" you can think "All of the pipes intersecting at point X are having a shared problem"

When dealing with large and complex systems it is a HUGE issue to deal with data visualization. 3D representations of data basically completely solves that problem for many systems.

But is VR all that relevant, compared to an interactive 3D rendering on a regular screen?

Yes because I feel the mode of interface is entirely different.

Looking around with your face and using you legs to walk (with a correct treadmill setup) will be much better for human computer interaction in my opinion.

I love my vive but I too am a little skeptical? It is an entirely different experience and it's cool. I am just not yet convinced that in the long term the interface will be as productive. Now glasses size true AR that is light weight high FOV/Res would be a game changer.

That is my opinion as well.

I was very excited for the castAR. They even had a device to clip on top of the glasses to turn them into a VR setup.

I would imagine something more along the lines of the Fantastic Contraption minimap.

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