Thesis
English
ID: <
10670/1.jpi85u>
Abstract
Industrial design reviews benefit from emerging interactive technologies to become more Realistic, Immersive and Collaborative. However, the modification of design data is still managed in traditional workspace–Computer-Aided Design (CAD) systems on a workstation. As only engineers can apply modifications in such a workspace after the design review meeting, miscommunication between various experts could occur, resulting in unnecessary iterations. I argue that current processes of design reviews–design discussion and design adjustment– should merge. It could reduce the iterations, facilitate discussions and empower non-CAD experts to modify CAD data. In this dissertation, I started by interviewing engineers at an automotive industry and drew a new design review scenario in which project members can generate and compare several design alternatives in heterogeneous systems that can support needs from various experts. Based on the scenario, I firstly designed a VR-CAD system that can update the native format of CAD data in highly configurable interactive systems. I then explored interaction techniques for non-CAD experts to modify parametric CAD data with 3D and 2D interactive systems: a CAVE system and a wall-sized display. For the CAVE system, I created ShapeGuide, which allows users to generate and switch design alternatives of CAD data with a shape-based 3D interaction. I investigated how ShapeGuide affects a CAD data modification task compared to a standard one-dimensional scroll for parameter manipulation. Results showed that ShapeGuide was faster, more efficient and preferred by the users than the scroll technique. For the wall-sized display, I created ShapeCompare, which allows users to generate and distribute multiple design alternatives of CAD data using touch interaction. I investigated how ShapeCompare affects the collaboration among experts compared to a visualization technique suitable for standard screens. Results showed that pairs of participants performed a constraint solving task faster and used more deictic instructions with Shape- Compare. The presented findings for new design review practices using immersive systems and a wallsized display, allowing direct modification of the original CAD data by all project members regardless of their CAD expertise.