3D Controllers in Marvel's The Avengers

So I went to see The Avengers the other day and caught a scene where they are in the mothership, and are entering the control bridge.  They show several 'operators' in their stations and as it pans across two stations in particular, you can get a glimpse of at least 1 of 3Dconnexion's offerings.

3D Connexion's Explorer

I don't know if I am the first to notice this but the hell with it.  I spotted two different kinds of Controllers, the first one shown may be a modified CADMAN or something I may not be familiar with.

Unidentified Peripheral

Then in a few other scenes, an operator is shown using a 3D Connexion Space Explorer

From the 3D Connexion Wiki we gather some more data for what these magical devices are used for:

Commonly utilized in CAD applications, 3D modeling, animation, 3D visualization and product visualization, users can manipulate the controller's pressure-sensitive handle (historically referred to as either a cap, ball, mouse or knob) to fly through 3D environments or manipulate 3D models within an application. The appeal of these devices over a mouse and keyboard is the ability to pan, zoom and rotate 3D imagery simultaneously, without stopping to change directions using keyboard shortcuts or a software interface.

I personally use Space Pilots in Desktops and Space Traveler with Laptops.  If anyone knows what that unidentified peripheral is, please let me know.  I'm putting together my flying fortress and need partz.

Until next time,

Antonio Suarez
Industrial Designer