The Evolution of Virtual Reality Towards the Usage in Early Design Phases

Abstract

The aim of the present work is to show possibilities with which 3D models in virtual reality (VR) can be created and exported. First an overview of the existing hard- and software is given. Subsequently, existing solution concepts are analysed which, however, are not used in product development. Based on these knowledge a concept for the creation of 3D models in VR and the export of these models is developed.

VR as a 3D Modelling Tool in Engineering Design Applications

“…Cases from (c) to (i) show the participants' results in order of their try. The average times of individual phases were as follows: image placement and scaling-5 min 30 s; sketching the rough outline-12 min 17 s, creation of surfaces-17 min 7 s. Table 3 shows the volume of the models in cm 3 . The participant (e) visually achieved the shape, which best resembles the design intent.…”

“…Berni and Borgianni [31] classified design functions that can be supported by VR into early phases, co-design, 3D modelling, virtual assembly and prototyping, product evaluation and educational purposes. Balzerkiewitz and Stechert [3] discussed the usability of VR tools and their capabilities for early design phases. They listed several challenges: for the detailed design phase the transfer from 3D VR to a CAD model has to be possible, the VR-created surface models must be automatically converted into solid bodies, collision detection has to be integrated to prevent overlapping of the objects and an automatic alignment of edges and axes must be enabled.…”

“…However, research regarding the use of VR in product design has been limited to the conceptualisation phase and design review. Moreover, previous design phase studies expressed doubt that VR tools can be used for mechanical design and engineering work as they lack the required accuracy and the capability to transfer the model into later stages of product development [3].…”

Product Development Methods in Virtual Reality

“… Participants are the users who interact with the virtual environment and thus manipulate it. A detailed overview of the VR technology can be found in the already published papers of the authors (Balzerkiewitz and Stechert, 2020a;Balzerkiewitz and Stechert, 2020b). Until 2016, VR was mainly use in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction industry (AEC) With the launch of modern Head Mounted Displays (HMD) like the HTC Vive or the Occulus Rift, VR applications increasingly found their way into technical product development.…”

User Experience Study on Ideating Wearables in Vr

“…Rieuf et al (Rieuf et al, 2017) and Häggman et al (Häggman et al, 2015) compared the traditional design process to the immersive process aesthetically and semantically. Balzerkiewitz and Stechert (Balzerkiewitz and Stechert, 2020) provided a good overview of current consumer-level VR sketching apps, illustrating that for researching VR Aided Design (VRAD) there is no longer a need for design researchers to develop their own applications (Bourdot et al, 2010;Fuge et al, 2012;Ingrassia and Cappello, 2009). Maurya et al provide a novel approach to concept generation, prototyping and storyboarding with Mixed Reality (Maurya et al, 2019).…”