Paul T. Evans
Veronica J. Dark
Judy M. Vance
Iowa State University
1998 ASME Computers in Engineering Conference, September 13-16, 1998, Atlanta, GA, DETC98/CIE-5546.
Abstract
Virtual reality (VR) interfaces have the potential to enhance the engineering design process, but before industry embraces them, the benefits must be understood and documented. The current research compared two software applications, one workstation based and one VR based, that were developed to aid engineers in designing complex three-dimensional spherical mechanisms. Participants used each software to design a spherical mechanism and then evaluated the software interface. Participants rated their ability to interact with the computer images, their feelings about each interface, and their preferences for which interface device to use for certain tasks. The results indicated that participants preferred a workstation interface for interaction tasks and a VR interface for visual tasks, but the former preference may have reflected differences between the software in the complexity of how each task was implemented. These results provide information about how to improve implementation of VR technology for spherical mechanism design.
An image showing the shape design. For a more information on this project, refer to the Research Project: Effectiveness of Virtual Reality in Engineering Design.
