A spin-out company based at Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) has launched a piece of design and modelling software called Cre8, which allows users to interact with and manipulate content in a virtual 3D workspace using their sense of touch.

The software product, designed by Anarkik3D, has recently been launched by American company Novint Technologies, the creators of the Novint Falcon, a revolutionary 3D touch controller available for PC and used in enabled PC games.

Cre8 provides a coherent 3D environment by combining "haptics"—technology which gives people a sense of touch within computer generated environments—"stereovision"—visual perception in three dimesions—and a collocated environment. The result is pioneering design freedom across six planes of movement with interactive touch manipulation.

Anarkik3D CEO Ann Marie Shillito said: “It’s great that our first product is so inclusive.

"It is easy and intuitive, and with the touch sensation, it is great fun to use. The software allows users to create and manipulate objects, experiment with forms and generally [be] imaginative."

According to Anarkik3D, the product's main target group is likely to be designers, artists, architects and sculptors.

The attraction of Cre8 for these individuals is that it encourages imagination and creativity without the usual added cost of producing physical design prototypes.

This enables the user to rethink or change a design plan with no waste of materials. In addition Cre8 could increase the speed of the whole production process by up to 500 per cent.

Anarkik3D began its original research into haptics with funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Board. Further funding was provided by Scottish Enterprise and latterly the Scottish Executive through the SMART:SCOTLAND scheme, designed to help small businesses develop new cutting-edge products in Scotland.

Anarkik3D is based at ECA and is led by Ms Shillito. Cre8 was developed by Xiaoqing Cao and Abi Ullattil, with technical consultation from Dr Mark Wright, a research fellow at the University of Edinburgh and ECA.

Although Cre8 is currently only available in the US, Ms Shillito expressed hope that it will soon be available in the UK.

"We have an enormous creative surge, and the software will make exploring and playing around with forms, creating organic shapes, and colouring them, very much more accessible to anyone and everyone."