Gravity Sketch
By Paul Krupski (added by Maia Mongado, edited by Mohammed Akel)
(Last Updated: 05/16/23)
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Summary
Gravity Sketch is an intuitive 3D design platform for cross-disciplinary teams to create, collaborate, and review in an entirely new way.
Express your ideas in real-time, at any scale, from concept sketches through to detailed 3D models. Create using a wide variety of digital tools in Virtual Reality and supporting tablet applications. View and manage your designs on your desktop using the LandingPad cloud platform, and integrate Gravity Sketch within your end-to-end workflow.
Available on:
Steam VR
Oculus Store
Supports:
Windows Mixed Reality
HTC Vive
Oculus Rift
Valve Index
[added by Maia Mongado, edited by Mohammed Akel]
Accessibility: The estimated time for someone to get it up and running
Availability - Very simple setup - readily available on the Oculus store for download. There are paid versions that allow for full import / export capabilities. You can sign in with an existing Oculus account on both the desktop dashboard and the VR app, unlike other apps where you were required to make a new account.
Ease of use - There are a number of short videos that play before entering the room that guide you quite well, as well as short guides when you first enter the room. However, there is no dedicated long tutorial to mastering the tools, etc. The tools are noted as quite intuitive and movement was noted to be less nauseating than other apps.
Power: The engine's power - i.e. how much one can do with this
High: This is an extremely powerful app - the data visualization is very fluid. What makes it powerful though is its editing capabilities - you can make a series of different “volumes” and irregular shapes, which is different from other apps that I’ve tested. You can also see the points that make up this shape as well and edit them by pulling them around. Overall, very powerful app for mesh editing.
Usage: Evaluation of software's use for the following purposes
Art / Game Design - Unlike ShapesXR, doesn’t have the ability to move through different work spaces - especially powerful and meant to handle large meshes, so would be great for scene design.
Science - The free version has quite limited import / export capabilities; seeing as importing more complicated obj files made in other programs better suited to scientific visualization is the main mode of viewing 3D models, this makes it less suited to scientific purposes. However, the mesh editing is quite powerful.
Education - The set up process is simple and the controls are fairly easy to use. Moreover, there is a host leader of each room who can gather all the participants, show them their point of view, etc. This makes it particularly well suited to education purposes, although pricier versions would be needed for larger groups.
System Requirements:
MINIMUM:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10
Processor: Intel Core i5 4590 or AMD FX 8350 or greater.
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: GeForce GTX 970 or AMD Radeon R9 290 or better
Storage: 2 GB available space
RECOMMENDED:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
Pricing:
Application Screenshots:
Insert Shapes
Insert Shapes
Main Menu
Main Menu
Link to File System
Link to File System
Documentation
Community
Collaboration Evaluation [Maia, edited by Mohammed Akel]
Collaboration Evaluation [Maia, edited by Mohammed Akel]
Avatar representation
Users noted that the avatar representation was well done - it showed head and hands position, as well as a name above each head, and a different color for each avatar. However, it was not so detailed as to be distracting - it captured the key parts of each person. You could also go to each others’ viewpoints and show others your viewpoints, which was highlighted as especially useful.
Communication ability
There is spatial audio in the app, which is the primary mode of communication between avatars. Users noted that the “microphone” feature was useful (where users hold the controller up to their mouth to talk), because spatial audio could get distracting with background audio - it was also useful that users could mute themselves. There is also guest / leader capabilities, with lasers indicating where users are pointingand the ability to gather or go to certain users. There is not much ability to communicate in a written fashion, which users noted would have been useful for message persistence.
Shared workspace
Users were able to explore a model together and point out different parts, thanks to the ability to go to different viewpoints. There is also file sharing between all users, so outside of just a collaborative space there is also data sharing. The mesh editing was extremely powerful and detailed - lots of complex shapes could be created, and points could be moved around and edited. Overall, it was an extremely useful app.
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