Late last year, Derivative released the next version of the popular visual development platform TouchDesigner. Called version 088, this release packs a new powerful punch on top of an already incredibly versatile piece of software.
Some of the new features in this release include: “CamSchnapper,” a method to align projectors to 3d objects, and “Kantan Mapper,” used to map projectors on 2D surfaces by creating masks, native support for Kinect, hardware framelock, and, perhaps most exciting of all, Python. The beta of 088 had been public for many months leading up to the release.
Version 088 extends TouchDesigner’s use of the 3D world by giving the user the ability to map a projector to 3D objects. By aligning six or more points to a 3D model of a real world object, you can very quickly project onto a 3D object. This calibration method, called homography, seems to be all the rage of late. We first saw this with d3 technologies a few years ago, followed by an update to that system with d3 r11 last year. A few months ago, the new release of coolux Pandoras Box also included this tool for calibrating projectors looking at 3d objects.
The new feature that may arguably double the ability of TouchDesigner is the inclusion of Python. You’ll find Python everywhere you work in 088. It’s truly woven into the architecture of the program, whether you’re doing simple scripting within TouchDesigner or you’re completely extending its functionality with advanced scripting. Many (thousands of) libraries are accessible. Python will also help you make TouchDesigner interact with other programs flawlessly.
This new version also includes support for Kinect and Leap Motion. While not necessarily show-caliber tools, these devices can bring a whole new degree of interactivity into your project. If you haven’t heard about Leap yet, take a look. It’s an incredible device for $80. When this small device is within a few feet of your hand, it can recognize gestural motions and individual bits of information about what your hand is doing. You can take this data into TouchDesigner and attach it to anything.
Hardware framelock makes its way into this release. Using devices such as the ATI FirePro™ S400 sync card or NVidia Quadro Sync/G-sync, you can sync multiple graphics processors or multiple computers. This is a necessity when you have two outputs that must be in sync, such as two or more blended projectors or adjacent LED walls of video screens driven by multiple GPUs or computers.
The pricing structure hasn’t changed: 088 comes in four versions. The non-commercial license is still free, followed by Educational, Commercial, and Pro at $300, $599, and $2,200 respectively. Educational is essentially the commercial version, equivalent to the non-commercial but with no resolution limitation. It’s worth noting that the new hardware syncing feature is only available with a Pro license. TouchDesigner is already a Swiss army knife of video, and 088 just makes the software all that more powerful.
Here's some video Derivative has on the blog section of its site, from "trans-disciplinary artist Matthew Biederman who participated in our MUTEK 2012 workshop and has since adroitly incorporated TouchDesigner into his performative and exhibited works," the post says. "We talk with Matthew about how he has been using TouchDesigner in two very interesting pieces that contemplate if not challenge the experience of perception: his most recent installation Serial Mutations (z-axis) and the performance piece Physical (RTv3), 2013."