“The P5 was a major challenge in numerous areas of both electronics and appearance,” said David Devor, COO of Essential Reality. “C2P Inc., of Toronto Canada, Essential Reality’s industrial design and mechanical development partner, has successfully completed all the areas of visual and electrical design, on time and with flair. We are very excited about the look, feel and functionality of P5, and we are on schedule for release in time for the 2001 Christmas season.”
The P5 will purportedly, among other things, let you pick up objects, open and close them, or turn the pages of a Web site like a book. It utilizes a patented technology originally developed for use in the Nintendo Power Glove.
P5 uses the latest in combined bend sensor and tracking technologies to enable full interaction with a 3D environment, according to Al Castagna, lead designer and C2P co-founder. There’s no lag time and “six degrees of freedom” tracking to make the experience totally immersive and real, he added. Fully USB compliant, P5 will be compatible with Macs (including Mac OS X), PCs, and next-generation gaming systems, including PS2 and Xbox. Look for it to have a price tag of approximately US$129.