News & Press releases

Computer New version of Protean ™ Clay released with several key improvements: TenLinks.com  

Getzville, NY, April 1, 2010 - Tactus Technologies, Inc. has announced several new features to its flagship software Protean™ clay. Following are some of the new additions to the software:

  Reference pictures can be loaded onto the faces of the workspace box to ease the process of complex shapes

• New "Import" option for importing a model file directly to a tool shape has been added to speedup design process

• Camera can be switched between perspective and orthogonal view

• "Cutaway" option that uses the grid plane to hide part of the clay model is now available

• Custom tool shapes and tool textures can be loaded automatically every time Protean starts up

• New hotkeys for moving the camera to a preset view have been added (using num pad 2,3,4 etc)

  Protean Clay is an intuitive 3-D virtual clay sculpting and modeling software application that allows fast early-stage design for engineering, animation and other applications.  Tactus Technologies engineers note that Protean simplifies the ability to do real-time 3-D volumetric modeling, resulting in highly efficient free form shape and model creation. Its easy-to-use tool-based modeling structure allows for rapid design and prototyping. 

Its product developers point out that a key advantage of Protean over conventional clay modeling by hand is that it allows the review of a wider variety of candidate designs. Protean is meant to complement the existing arsenal of design and modeling capabilities of industrial designers, engineers, creative artists, sculptors, architects, animators, game designers, marketers, bioengineers and others. 

As a creative tool, Protean emulates intuitive clay modeling operations and easily allows deforming - pushing, pulling, twisting and stretching of the virtual clay material. Its mimicking of physical clay lets users "feel" the material as they would in the real world using a Novint Falcon™ haptic device from Novint Technologies, Albuquerque, NM. 

Tactus Technologies programmers add that the new software allows designers to create complex organic shapes more quickly than conventional modeling methods - and in a simpler manner, using just one clay manipulating mode to facilitate 3-D shaping ability inherent in the software. The company emphasizes that Protean is not a CAD system, yet permits the production of high-quality three-dimensional prints using rapid prototyping technology. 

Protean-created 3-D models can also be conveniently imported into widely used commercial packages, such as 3-D Studio Max, to serve as an integral part of larger-scale animation or product design projects. 

Protean is priced substantially below competitive systems, company management notes, and a free fully funcational demo can be downloaded from www.proteanclay.com, or  can be obtained by calling 716.206.8463. Tactus Technologies is located at 2350 N. Forest Road, Suite 16A, Getzville, NY 14068. Getzville is a suburb of Buffalo, NY. 

New Virtual Clay Sculpting Software Simplifies Prototype Development

Computer Graphics World (January 15, 2010) - Tactus Technologies Inc. of Getzville, N.Y., has released Protean, an intuitive 3D virtual clay sculpting and modeling software application that allows fast early-stage design for engineering, animation, and other applications. Tactus Technologies engineers note that Protean simplifies the ability to do real-time 3D volumetric modeling, resulting in highly efficient free form shape and model creation. Its easy-to-use tool-based modeling structure allows for rapid design and prototyping... [Read more in CGW website]

New Virtual Clay Sculpting Software Simplifies Prototype Development

Getzville, NY (January 5, 2010) - Tactus Technologies, Inc. of Getzville, N.Y., has announced the release of Protean, an intuitive 3-D virtual clay sculpting and modeling software application that allows fast early-stage design for engineering, animation and other applications.
 
Tactus Technologies engineers note that Protean simplifies the ability to do real-time 3-D volumetric modeling, resulting in highly efficient free form shape and model creation. Its easy-to-use tool-based modeling structure allows for rapid design and prototyping.
 
"The power of the application rests in the innovative mathematical representation of the clay," explains Thenkurussi  Kesavadas, Ph.D, co-founder of Tactus. "Protean introduces a new paradigm that permits modeling of complicated 3D shapes more intuitively and efficiently than any commercial modeling system."
 
Its product developers point out that a key advantage of Protean over conventional clay modeling by hand is that it allows the review of a wider variety of candidate designs. Protean is meant to complement the existing arsenal of design and modeling capabilities of industrial designers, engineers, creative artists, sculptors, architects, animators, game designers, marketers, bioengineers and others. 
 
As a creative tool, Protean emulates intuitive clay modeling operations and easily allows deforming - pushing, pulling, twisting and stretching of the virtual clay material. Its mimicking of physical clay lets users "feel" the material as they would in the real world using a Novint Falcon™ haptic device from Novint Technologies, Albuquerque, NM. 

Tactus Technologies programmers add that the new software allows designers to create complex organic shapes more quickly than conventional modeling methods - and in a simpler manner, using just one clay manipulating mode to facilitate 3-D shaping ability inherent in the software. The company emphasizes that Protean is not a CAD system, yet permits the production of high-quality three-dimensional prints using rapid prototyping technology. 

"Protean is an enormous technological advancement, because it allows real-time 3-D volumetric modeling without requiring a lot of computer power," says Kevin P. Chugh, Ph.D, president and chief scientist at Tactus. "No one solves the complex mathematical challenges in this space the way our system does." 

Protean-created 3-D models can also be conveniently imported into widely used commercial packages, such as 3-D Studio Max, to serve as an integral part of larger-scale animation or product design projects. Protean was in development for three years and was funded in part by the National Science Foundation. Protean is a spin off product from the Virtual Reality laboratory at the University at Buffalo. 

Protean is priced substantially below competitive systems, company management notes, and additional information can be obtained at www.proteanclay.com, or by calling 716.206.8463. Tactus Technologies is located at 2350 N. Forest Road, Suite 16A, Getzville, NY 14068. Getzville is a suburb of Buffalo, NY. 

Tactus Technologies is a premier provider of virtual reality and simulation products and services. It focuses on 3-D technology products that can run on regular PCs, and also created and markets "V-Frog," the world's first virtual reality-based frog dissection software for K-12 education. 

###