Salto (software)
Encyclopedia
Salto is a software title for creating interactive applications. It is developed by Alterface
.
Salto is a real-time interaction engine, not a content authoring tool. It makes use of pre-existing contents (images, sounds, movies, 3D scenes) created with other tools from the market (3D Studio Max
, Adobe Photoshop
, Adobe Premiere etc.).
Salto added-value is its capacity to integrate any type of sensor
and actuator
, which makes it a software engine
from which many interactive systems can be devised, from interactive kiosks to interactive shows and theaters.
Suffering from a lack of user-friendliness for non programmers, Salto is a flexible and powerful tool which allows to quickly create astounding interactions without needing to start from scratch every time. The tool will become of more interest to non programmers when an authoring tool will be available.
which is easily programmed in XML
to create interactive applications. Contrarily to other tools on the market (such as Adobe Flash
or Macromedia Director), Salto founding principle is to muse external sensors, beyond the traditional keyboard and mouse interaction devices. The tool is therefore mainly used in the edutainment
domain, typically to create physical interaction setups for museums and amusement parks.
Salto proposes a complete separation between technology and contents. The engine takes as argument an XML file which instantiates a particular application by describing:
Programmers can also develop new plugins in C++
in order to extend the sensing and actuating features of the engine.
Alterface
Alterface is a spin-off from the Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium, active in the field of creation of interactive systems.Dedicated to the development of entertainment attractions and edutainment setups -systematically with interactivity for the user, its systems are installed into...
.
Salto is a real-time interaction engine, not a content authoring tool. It makes use of pre-existing contents (images, sounds, movies, 3D scenes) created with other tools from the market (3D Studio Max
3D Studio Max
Autodesk 3ds Max, formerly 3D Studio MAX, is for making 3D animations. It was developed and produced by Autodesk Media and Entertainment. It has modeling capabilities, a flexible plugin architecture and can be used on the Microsoft Windows platform. It's frequently used by video game developers, TV...
, Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems Incorporated.Adobe's 2003 "Creative Suite" rebranding led to Adobe Photoshop 8's renaming to Adobe Photoshop CS. Thus, Adobe Photoshop CS5 is the 12th major release of Adobe Photoshop...
, Adobe Premiere etc.).
Salto added-value is its capacity to integrate any type of sensor
Sensor
A sensor is a device that measures a physical quantity and converts it into a signal which can be read by an observer or by an instrument. For example, a mercury-in-glass thermometer converts the measured temperature into expansion and contraction of a liquid which can be read on a calibrated...
and actuator
Actuator
An actuator is a type of motor for moving or controlling a mechanism or system. It is operated by a source of energy, usually in the form of an electric current, hydraulic fluid pressure or pneumatic pressure, and converts that energy into some kind of motion. An actuator is the mechanism by which...
, which makes it a software engine
Software engine
In computer science, a software engine refers to the core of a computer program. Software engines drive the functionality of the program, and are distinct from peripheral aspects of the program, such as look and feel.- Elucidation :...
from which many interactive systems can be devised, from interactive kiosks to interactive shows and theaters.
Suffering from a lack of user-friendliness for non programmers, Salto is a flexible and powerful tool which allows to quickly create astounding interactions without needing to start from scratch every time. The tool will become of more interest to non programmers when an authoring tool will be available.
Software Description
Salto is a software engineSoftware engine
In computer science, a software engine refers to the core of a computer program. Software engines drive the functionality of the program, and are distinct from peripheral aspects of the program, such as look and feel.- Elucidation :...
which is easily programmed in XML
Extensible Markup Language
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
to create interactive applications. Contrarily to other tools on the market (such as Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
or Macromedia Director), Salto founding principle is to muse external sensors, beyond the traditional keyboard and mouse interaction devices. The tool is therefore mainly used in the edutainment
Edutainment
Edutainment is a form of entertainment designed to educate as well as to amuse.-Overview:...
domain, typically to create physical interaction setups for museums and amusement parks.
Salto proposes a complete separation between technology and contents. The engine takes as argument an XML file which instantiates a particular application by describing:
- First, the used sensors, along with the signal processingSignal processingSignal processing is an area of systems engineering, electrical engineering and applied mathematics that deals with operations on or analysis of signals, in either discrete or continuous time...
to be applied to the grabbed data. - Secondly, the necessary content elements (external resources stored on the hard drive).
- Thirdly, the influence of the former ones on the later, i.e. the interactive scenario that makes the application.
Programmers can also develop new plugins in C++
C++
C++ is a statically typed, free-form, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose programming language. It is regarded as an intermediate-level language, as it comprises a combination of both high-level and low-level language features. It was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell...
in order to extend the sensing and actuating features of the engine.