The Leading Edge

Here are some technologies that may change the landscape of product design.

• CollabWare Corp., an application service provider and software developer, offers its high-end, solid-modeling 3-D CAD software on a month-to-month subscription basis over the Internet. -- www.collabware.com
• SensAble Technologies Inc.'s Phantom device makes it possible for users to touch and manipulate digital data. Engineers are able to perform digital product design and manufacturing-engineering activities on the computer in the same way they would in the physical world: rapidly, with their sense of touch. -- www.sensable.com
• MUSE Technologies Inc.'s software allows developers to create run-time applications that combine 3-D graphics with sound and tactile feedback to "bring mixed formats of data to life by presenting them in a way that helps end users intuitively convert information into knowledge," reports Craig Peterson, the company's managing director of strategic development. -- www.musetech.com
• The Monkey Wrench Conspiracy, an intergalactic 3-D video game designed by think 3, teaches professionals how to use 3-D mechanical design skills. In the game, the user plays the part of "Agent Moldey," who is on a mission to a top-secret research station in space. In the course of his adventure, Moldey must work through a number of design exercises that illustrate various capabilities of thinkdesign, the company's design software. -- www.think3.com
• e-Vis.com, an Internet portal for manufacturing companies run by Engineering Animation Inc., captures project decisions and the decision-making process in real-time, enabling distributed project groups to share documents and data, identify issues, and work as a team to find solutions. -- www.eai.com