An Immersive VR Application for Interactive Product Concept Generation and Qualitative Evaluation

Currently, new product concepts are evaluated by developing detailed virtual models with Computer Aided Design (CAD) tools followed by evaluation analyses (e.g., finite element analysis, computational fluid dynamics, etc.). Due to the complexity of these evaluation methods, it is generally not possible to model and analyze each of the ideas generated throughout the conceptual design phase of the design process. Thus, promising ideas may be eliminated based solely on insufficient time to model and assess them. Additionally, the analysis performed is usually of much higher detail than needed for such early assessment. By eliminating the time-consuming CAD complexity, engineers could spend more time evaluating additional concepts. To address these issues, a software framework, the Advanced Systems Design Suite (ASDS), was created. The ASDS incorporates a PC user interface with an immersive virtual reality (VR) environment to ease the creation and assessment of conceptual design prototypes individually or collaboratively in a VR environment. Assessment tools incorporate metamodeling approximations and immersive visualization to evaluate the validity of each concept. In this paper, the ASDS framework and interface along with specifically designed immersive VR assessment tools such as state saving, dynamic viewpoint creation, and animation playback are presented alongside a test case example of redesigning a Boeing 777 in the conceptual design phase.