Fraunhofer-Institut für Produktionsanlagen und Konstruktionstechnik IPK

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  • Publication
    Towards hybrid modelling environments - merging desktop-CAD and virtual reality-technologies
    ( 2010)
    Stark, R.
    ;
    Israel, J.H.
    ;
    Wöhler, T.
    Immersive virtual environments are a important technology within the overall toolset of virtual product creation[1]. Immersive modelling systems which allow for creating product models receive interest from both academic research and industry [2-4]. This paper describes three empirical studies on immersive modelling techniques conducted with 52 industrial designers, engineers and design students. Based on the results of these studies, a methodology for hybrid modelling environments is introduced and exemplified. This methodology enables designers and engineers to solve spatial, interactive and creative design tasks in immersive, collaborative environments while maintaining CAD modelling as a familiar design method.
  • Publication
    Investigating three-dimensional sketching for early conceptual design - results from expert discussions and user studies
    ( 2009)
    Israel, J.H.
    ;
    Wiese, E.
    ;
    Mateescu, M.
    ;
    Zöllner, C.
    ;
    Stark, R.
    As immersive 3D user interfaces reach broader acceptance, their use as sketching media is attracting both commercial and academic interests. So far, little is known about user requirements and cognitive aspects of immersive 3D sketching. Also the latter's integration into the workflow of virtual product development is far from being solved. We present results from two focus group expert discussions, a comparative user study on immersive 3D sketching conducted among professional furniture designers and a qualitative content analysis of user statements. The results of the focus group discussions show a strong interest in using the three-dimensional (3D) space as a medium for conceptual design. Users expect it to provide new means for the sketching process, namely spatiality, one-to-one proportions, associations, and formability. Eight groups of functions required for 3D sketching were outlined during the discussions. The comparative study was intended to find and investigate advantages of immersive three-dimensional space and its additional degrees-of-freedom for creative/reflective externalization processes. We compared a 3D and a 2D baseline condition in the same technical environment, a VR-Cave system. In both conditions, no haptic feedback was provided and the 2D condition was not intended to simulate traditional 2D sketching (on paper). The results from our user study show that both the sketching process and the resulting sketches differ in the 2D and 3D condition, namely in terms of the perceived fluency of sketch creation, in terms of the perceived appropriateness for the task, and in terms of the perceived stimulation by the medium, the movement speed, the sketch sizes, the degree of detail, the functional aspects, and the usage time. In order to validate the results of the focus group discussions, we produced a questionnaire to check for the subjectively perceived advantages and disadvantages in both the 2D and 3D conditions. A qualitative content analysis of the user statements revealed that the biggest advantage of 3D sketching lies in the sketching process itself. In particular, the participants emphasized the system's ability to foster inspiration and to improve the recognition of spatiality and spatial thinking. We argue that both 2D and 3D sketching are relevant for early conceptual design. As we progress towards 3D sketching, new tangible interactive tools are needed, which account for the user's perceptual and cognitive abilities.
  • Publication
    Ein Renderingsystem für immersive Anwendungen in Forschung und Lehre
    ( 2009)
    Neumann, J.
    ;
    Beckmann-Dobrev, B.
    ;
    Kulf, L.
    ;
    Israel, J.H.
    ;
    Stark, R.
    Alternative stellen hier Aktiv-Stereo-Projektionslösungen dar. Zur Nutzung dieser Technologie sind jedoch zusätzliche Funktionalitäten bezüglich der Syn-chronisation der Renderer sowie des Multiplexens der Video-Signale bereitzustel-len. Gleichzeitig werden die genannten Probleme des passiven Stereo vermieden. Mit einem solchen System haben das Institut für Werkzeugmaschinen und Fab-rikbetrieb (IWF) der TU Berlin und das Fraunhofer IPK Berlin im Jahre 2001 ihre Forschungen auf dem Gebiet der VR begonnen. Seither gab es zahlreiche For-schungsaktivitäten z.B. in den Bereichen immersives Styling (Virtual Clay Mo-delling), interaktive Ein- und Ausbausimulation und immersives 3D-Skizzieren. Im Zuge einer Modernisierung entstand ein Visualisierungs-System auf Basis eines PC-Clusters, welches sic h durch die Nutzung einer Aktiv-Stereo-Projektionslösung auszeichnet und zusätzlich auch im Passiv-Stereo-Modus be-trieben werden kann. Die entwickelte Lösung kommt darüber hinaus mit der Hälf-te der bisherigen Anzahl an Renderern und drastisch verringertem Konfigurations- und Wartungsaufwand aus und bietet dabei eine moderne Grafikleistung. Im Kern der Entwicklung wurde unter dem Arbeitstitel RENDERit!2 eine flexible VR-Visualisierungssoftware auf Basis eines Open Source Szenegraphen realisiert, die für Aktiv- und Passiv-Stereo und an unterschiedlichsten Displaysystemen betrie-ben werden kann. Im Ergebnis entstand ein modernes und performantes VR-Visualisierungssystem, das für Forschung und Lehre an der TU Berlin und am Fraunhofer IPK erfolgreich eingesetzt wird. Die vorgestellte Arbeit s tellt zusätz-lich einen Praxisbericht dar und beschreibt die wichtigsten Aspekte des Aufbaus eines VR-Systems.
  • Publication
    Investigating user requirements and usability of immersive three-dimensional sketching for early conceptual design
    ( 2008)
    Israel, J.H.
    ;
    Zöllner, C.
    ;
    Mateescu, M.
    ;
    Korkot, R.
    ;
    Bittersmann, G.
    ;
    Fischer, P.T.
    ;
    Neumann, J.
    ;
    Stark, R.
    As immersive 3-d user interfaces reach broader acceptance, their use as sketching media is attracting both commercial and academic research. So far little is known about user requirements and cognitive aspects of immersive 3-d sketching. Also its integration into the workflow of virtual product development is far from being solved. In this paper we present results from two focus group expert discussions and a comparative user study on immersive 3-d sketching which we conducted among professional furniture designers. The results of the focus groups show a strong interest in using the three-dimensional space as a medium for conceptual design. Users expect it to provide new means for the sketching process, namely spatiality, one-to-one proportions, associations, and formability. Eight grou ps of functions required for 3-d sketching were generated during the discussions. The results from the user study show that both the sketching process and the resulting sketches differ in the 2-d and 3-d condition, namely in terms of the perceived fluency of sketch creation, of the perceived appropriateness for the task, of the perceived stimulation by the medium, movement speed, sketch sizes, details, functional aspects, and usage time. We argue that both 2-d and 3-d sketching are relevant for early conceptual design. As progress towards 3-d sketching, new tangible interactive tools are needed which account for the users perceptual and cognitive abilities.