3Dconnexion makes a line of 3D mice including desktop and portable versions. The mice are intended to improve productivity in design work but can be used for other things like Second Life as well. 3Dconnexion commissioned a study to see how well its mice improve productivity in CAD design.

The study titled The Economic Payback of 3D Mice for CAD Design in Engineers found that 80% of respondents who used the 3D mouse say they are drastically more productive. Most of the study respondents said they noticed a difference in the first week of use. Nearly 50% of respondents said that productivity increased by 20% or more with the 3Dconnexion mouse.

"Our 3D mice provide the ideal combination of an intuitive and comfortable design experience with increased productivity, which is essential to design engineers who spend hours on end navigating sophisticated and complex applications," said Dieter Neujahr, president of 3Dconnexion. "In addition to improving the design experience, we found that our 3D mice help improve the quality of designs by aiding in the detection of design flaws. This can have a tremendous financial impact on the product development process, helping to ensure that more costly changes are minimized in the final stages of design."

Via 3Dconnexion