Cumincad : CUMINCAD Papers : Search Results

CumInCAD is a Cumulative Index about publications in Computer Aided Architectural Design
supported by the sibling associations ACADIA, CAADRIA, eCAADe, SIGraDi, ASCAAD and CAAD futures

PDF papers
References

Hits 1 to 20 of 717

Reformat results as: short short into frame detailed detailed into frame

_id	3dcd
authors	Ennis, Gary and Maver, Tom
year	2001
title	Visit VR Glasgow - Welcoming multiple visitors to the Virtual City
source	Architectural Information Management [19th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-8-1] Helsinki (Finland) 29-31 August 2001, pp. 423-429
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2001.423
summary	The development of the Virtual Reality Modelling Language (VRML) for the Internet has resulted in the emergence of a multiplicity of 3D web sites. The metaphor used by these sites varies enormously from virtual galleries to virtual cities and style varies from abstract to reality. Additionally these worlds are populated by virtual objects, some having reactive or interactive properties, including movement, audio, video, databases, artificial intelligence etc. Perhaps the most stimulating embodiment of these new environments are those that offer the participant the opportunity to meet and communicate with other visitors exploring the same virtual space/world. The Glasgow Directory is an established 3D web space, with around 10,000 visitors per year. The model represents approximately 10,000 properties in the city and is populated by contextual information on its culture and socio-economic topography. This paper describes the background to this VR space, and suggests a set of design criteria for successfully deploying multi-user software within this and similar environments. These criteria take into account lessons learned by ‘observing’ and analysing how participants interact with the existing system under different conditions and also what benefits they perceive on entering the environment via the multi-user interface. These recommendations will hopefully be applicable to a wide spectrum of internet virtual environment builders and users.
keywords	Virtual, City, 3-D, Databases, Interaction
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:55

_id	40a6
authors	Ennis, Gareth and Lindsay, Malcolm
year	2001
title	VRGLASGOW.CO.UK implementation of internet multi-user functionality to Glasgow's virtual city
source	Stellingwerff, Martijn and Verbeke, Johan (Eds.), ACCOLADE - Architecture, Collaboration, Design. Delft University Press (DUP Science) / ISBN 90-407-2216-1 / The Netherlands, pp. 135-142 [Book ordering info: m.c.stellingwerff@bk.tudelft.nl]
summary	The development of the Virtual Reality Modelling Language (VRML) for the Internet has resulted in the emergence of a multiplicity of 3D web sites. The metaphor used by these sites varies enormously from virtual galleries to virtual cities and style varies from abstract to reality. Additionally these worlds are populated by virtual objects, some having reactive or interactive properties, including movement, audio, video, databases, artificial intelligence etc. Perhaps the most stimulating embodiment of these new environments are those that offer the participant the opportunity to meet and communicate with other visitors exploring the same virtual space/world. The Glasgow Directory is an established 3D web space, with around 10,000 visitors per year. The model represents approximayely 10,000 properties in the city and is populated by contextual information on its culture and socio-economic topography. This paper will describe the background to this VR space, and suggest a set of design criteria for successfully deploying multi-user software within this and similar environments. These criteria will take into account lessons learned by 'observing' and analysing how participants interact with the existing system under different conditions and also what benefits they perceive on entering the environment via the multi-user interface. These recommendations will hopefully be applicable to a wide spectrum of internet virtual environment builders and users.
series	other
email
last changed	2001/09/14 21:30

_id	7897
authors	Achten, Henri and De Vries, Bauke
year	2001
title	Multiple Sketch Users in DDDoolz
source	Stellingwerff, Martijn and Verbeke, Johan (Eds.), ACCOLADE - Architecture, Collaboration, Design. Delft University Press (DUP Science) / ISBN 90-407-2216-1 / The Netherlands, pp. 153-162 [Book ordering info: m.c.stellingwerff@bk.tudelft.nl]
summary	This paper presents DDDoolz, a desktop-VR three-dimensional voxel sketchtool. DDDoolz is developed in the Design Systems Group to explore the use of Virtual Reality technology in the early design stage. The aim is to offer a sketch-like environment in VR with an unobtrusive interface. The paper presents DDDoolz, how it is used in education and with partners in architectural practice, and some future developments. As an extension to current functionality, the possibility of multiple users at the same time will be developed in the system for the {ACCOLADE} workshop.
series	other
email
last changed	2001/09/14 21:30

_id	5ac1
authors	Bourdakis, Vassilis
year	2001
title	On Developing Standards for the Creation of VR City Models
source	Architectural Information Management [19th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-8-1] Helsinki (Finland) 29-31 August 2001, pp. 404-409
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2001.404
summary	The paper is an inclusive summary of research work on creating VR city models carried out over the last six years in the UK and Greece aiming to put into discussion the guidelines/ rules developed by the author. The paper is structured in three sections referring to the main stages in terms of either technical expertise and problem solving or conceptual structuring of information: creation of 3D city models, CAAD versus VR in digital city modelling and finally utilizing digital city models. The expected outcome of the work presented is the establishment of a body of knowledge that will facilitate the development of standards and guidelines for the creation of city models. There are obvious advantages in having a compatible set of city 3D models. On the other hand, there are different rules to be followed and issues to be solved, according to the scale of the model, level of detail that is needed—all these rules relate to the projected use of the model.
keywords	Digital City Models, 3D Modelling, Virtual Reality, Urban Planning
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:54

_id	e693
authors	Caneparo, Luca
year	2001
title	Shared virtual reality for design and management: the Porta Susa project
source	Automation in Construction 10 (2) (2001) pp. 217-228
summary	The paper presents the implementation of a system of Shared Virtual Reality (SVR) in Internet applied to a large-scale project. The applications of SVR to architectural and urban design are presented in the context of a real project, the new railway junction of Porta Susa and the surrounding urban area in the city centre of Turin, Italy. SVR differs from Virtual Reality (VR) in that the experience of virtual spaces is no longer individual, but rather shared across the Internet with other users simultaneously connected. SVR offers an effective approach to Construction Data Model and Computer Supported Collaborative Work, because it integrates both the communicative tools to improve collaboration and the distributed environment to process information across the networks.
series	journal paper
more	http://www.elsevier.com/locate/autcon
last changed	2003/05/15 21:22

_id	8652
authors	Han, Seung-Hoon and Turner, James A.
year	2001
title	An Architectural Approach to Virtual Reality Support of Multi-user Environments
source	Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Computer Aided Architectural Design Futures [ISBN 0-7923-7023-6] Eindhoven, 8-11 July 2001, pp. 439-452
summary	The Internet and its multimedia component, the World Wide Web (WWW), are the essential technological foundations, and the tools to construct cyberspace on these foundations are beginning to be created. Two of those tools are the network programming language, Java, and the 3D graphics standard for the Internet, the Virtual Reality Modelling Language (VRML) which has the ability to support programmable behavior. This paper documents at experiment with the use of networks with Java-VRML connectivity, applying it to a collaborative system which will make it possible for multiple users to navigate and dynamically update an architectural VR environment.
keywords	Collaborative Design, Distributed Virtual Environments, Multi-User, Internet
series	CAAD Futures
email
last changed	2006/11/07 07:22

_id	avocaad_2001_17
id	avocaad_2001_17
authors	Ying-Hsiu Huang, Yu-Tung Liu, Cheng-Yuan Lin, Yi-Ting Cheng, Yu-Chen Chiu
year	2001
title	The comparison of animation, virtual reality, and scenario scripting in design process
source	AVOCAAD - ADDED VALUE OF COMPUTER AIDED ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN, Nys Koenraad, Provoost Tom, Verbeke Johan, Verleye Johan (Eds.), (2001) Hogeschool voor Wetenschap en Kunst - Departement Architectuur Sint-Lucas, Campus Brussel, ISBN 80-76101-05-1
summary	Design media is a fundamental tool, which can incubate concrete ideas from ambiguous concepts. Evolved from freehand sketches, physical models to computerized drafting, modeling (Dave, 2000), animations (Woo, et al., 1999), and virtual reality (Chiu, 1999; Klercker, 1999; Emdanat, 1999), different media are used to communicate to designers or users with different conceptual levels¡@during the design process. Extensively employed in design process, physical models help designers in managing forms and spaces more precisely and more freely (Millon, 1994; Liu, 1996).Computerized drafting, models, animations, and VR have gradually replaced conventional media, freehand sketches and physical models. Diversely used in the design process, computerized media allow designers to handle more divergent levels of space than conventional media do. The rapid emergence of computers in design process has ushered in efforts to the visual impact of this media, particularly (Rahman, 1992). He also emphasized the use of computerized media: modeling and animations. Moreover, based on Rahman's study, Bai and Liu (1998) applied a new design media¡Xvirtual reality, to the design process. In doing so, they proposed an evaluation process to examine the visual impact of this new media in the design process. That same investigation pointed towards the facilitative role of the computerized media in enhancing topical comprehension, concept realization, and development of ideas.Computer technology fosters the growth of emerging media. A new computerized media, scenario scripting (Sasada, 2000; Jozen, 2000), markedly enhances computer animations and, in doing so, positively impacts design processes. For the three latest media, i.e., computerized animation, virtual reality, and scenario scripting, the following question arises: What role does visual impact play in different design phases of these media. Moreover, what is the origin of such an impact? Furthermore, what are the similarities and variances of computing techniques, principles of interaction, and practical applications among these computerized media?This study investigates the similarities and variances among computing techniques, interacting principles, and their applications in the above three media. Different computerized media in the design process are also adopted to explore related phenomenon by using these three media in two projects. First, a renewal planning project of the old district of Hsinchu City is inspected, in which animations and scenario scripting are used. Second, the renewal project is compared with a progressive design project for the Hsinchu Digital Museum, as designed by Peter Eisenman. Finally, similarity and variance among these computerized media are discussed.This study also examines the visual impact of these three computerized media in the design process. In computerized animation, although other designers can realize the spatial concept in design, users cannot fully comprehend the concept. On the other hand, other media such as virtual reality and scenario scripting enable users to more directly comprehend what the designer's presentation.Future studies should more closely examine how these three media impact the design process. This study not only provides further insight into the fundamental characteristics of the three computerized media discussed herein, but also enables designers to adopt different media in the design stages. Both designers and users can more fully understand design-related concepts.
series	AVOCAAD
email
last changed	2005/09/09 10:48

_id	ascaad2007_026
id	ascaad2007_026
authors	Sarji, E.A.; A. Rafi and R. Mat Rani
year	2007
title	Preparing a multimedia-based gallery for institute of higher learning: A case study of Malaysian experience
source	Em‘body’ing Virtual Architecture: The Third International Conference of the Arab Society for Computer Aided Architectural Design (ASCAAD 2007), 28-30 November 2007, Alexandria, Egypt, pp. 305-316
summary	While the majority of medium and small sized institutions still rely on their physical or traditional content, it has been observed a pre-disposition usually by major, recently founded or contemporary art institutions to display net-based projects (Buiani, 2001) and to some extent established as a permanent display. This changing of exhibitions has penetrated in many Asian galleries and as a result many schools trying to re-position and present in such a way that it can be easily changed and adapted to host multimedia, Internet, interactive and computer-based content. This funded research project investigates the functions of gallery in IHL in Malaysia. A triangulated study was conducted to understand the potentials and issues faced by galleries in public and private universities focusing on design schools that include art and design, and architecture. This research starts with the understanding of gallery design theories. It is then followed by a qualitative method survey to all galleries in the IHL. This research continues with an in depth study and a survey on Electronic Gallery (e-Gallery), Faculty of Creative Multimedia (FCM), Multimedia University (MMU) to understand between the theories and design ideas. A set of questionnaires was developed based on Mathews (1991) and Stewart’s (2002) principles and guidelines on research methods and distributed to visitors throughout a period of time consisting of open-ended, close-ended, Likert Summated Rating Scale and Multiple-choice. This involved a controlled group of visitors comprises students and staff of the faculty. The results of these studies will be used as a reference to further conduct a wider scope of galleries worldwide towards designing a multimedia-based gallery framework for Institute of Higher Learning.
series	ASCAAD
email
last changed	2008/01/21 22:00

_id	2178
authors	Chevrier, C. and Perrin, J.P.
year	2001
title	Interactive 3D reconstruction for urban areas. An image based tool
source	Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Computer Aided Architectural Design Futures [ISBN 0-7923-7023-6] Eindhoven, 8-11 July 2001, pp. 753-765
summary	Urban applications (for example arrangement, new buildings, virtual sightseeing and walkthrough) require a three dimensional (3D) geometrical model of town areas. However, most of them do not need an accurate model of reality. Such model would occupy a considerable memory space and would be too slow to handle. Architects, urban designers and civil engineers can find in our tool a medium to conceive their projects. Some types of software exist but they do not correspond exactly to our needs. Consequently we have conceived and developed an interactive tool for virtual 3D rough reconstruction of buildings. The software development has been performed in the Maya environment (ALIAS Wavefront) with C++ language and MEL (Maya Embedded Language). A constraint we set for ourselves was the use of only light devices (for easy transportation) at low price (everybody can buy such devices). The principle is to overlay on the scanned photograph of the area we want to deal with, the two dimensional (2D) cadastral plan displayed from the same viewpoint as the picture. Then each building body can be extruded from its ground polygon and the roof can be created from what the user sees on the picture. A constraint is the flatness of the polygonal surfaces. Our application context was the town of Nancy in France for which some areas have been reconstructed. Some pictures have been used as textures for polygonal surfaces, giving more reality effect to the simulation.
keywords	Geometrical Modelling, Architecture, Urban Area, Virtual Visit
series	CAAD Futures
email
last changed	2006/11/07 07:22

_id	avocaad_2001_18
id	avocaad_2001_18
authors	Aleksander Asanowicz
year	2001
title	The End of Methodology - Towards New Integration
source	AVOCAAD - ADDED VALUE OF COMPUTER AIDED ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN, Nys Koenraad, Provoost Tom, Verbeke Johan, Verleye Johan (Eds.), (2001) Hogeschool voor Wetenschap en Kunst - Departement Architectuur Sint-Lucas, Campus Brussel, ISBN 80-76101-05-1
summary	The present paper is devoted to the deliberation on the genesis and development of designing from the point of view of the potential use of computers in the process. Moreover, it also presents the great hopes which were connected with the use of the systematic designing methods in the 1960’s, as well as the great disappointment resulting from the lack of concrete results. At this time a great deal of attention was paid to the process of design as a branch of a wider process of problem-solving. Many people believed that the intuitive methods of design traditionally used by architects were incapable of dealing with the complexity of the problems to be solved. Therefore, the basic problem was the definition of a vertical structure of the designing process, which would make it possible to optimise each process of architectural design. The studies of design methodology directed at the codification of the norms of actions have not brought about any solutions which could be commonly accepted, as the efforts to present the designing process as a formally logical one and one that is not internally “uncontrary” from the mathematical point of view, were doomed to fail. Moreover, the difficulties connected with the use of the computer in designing were caused by the lack of a graphic interface, which is so very characteristic of an architect’s workshop. In result, the methodology ceased to be the main area of the architect’s interest and efforts were focused on facilitating the method of the designer’s communication with the computer. New tools were created, which enabled both the automatic generation of diversity and the creation of forms on the basis of genetic algorithms, as well as the presentation of the obtained results in the form of rendering, animation and VRML. This was the end of the general methodology of designing and the beginning of a number of methods solving the partial problems of computer-supported design. The present situation can be described with the words of Ian Stewart as a “chaotic run in all directions”. An immediate need for new integration is felt. Cyber-real space could be a solution to the problem. C-R-S is not a virtual reality understood as an unreal world. Whilst VR could be indeed treated as a sort of an illusion, C-R-S is a much more realistic being, defining the area in which the creative activities are taking place. The architect gains the possibility of having a direct contact with the form he or she is creating. Direct design enables one to creatively use the computer technology in the designing process. The intelligent system of recognising speech, integrated with the system of virtual reality, will allow to create an environment for the designer – computer communication which will be most natural to the person. The elimination of this obstacle will facilitate the integration of the new methods into one designing environment. The theoretical assumptions of such an environment are described in the present paper.
series	AVOCAAD
email
last changed	2005/09/09 10:48

_id	7c56
authors	Alvarado, R.G., Parra Marquez, J.C. and Vildosola, G.V.
year	2001
title	Qualitative contribution of a vr-system to architectural design: Why we failed?
source	CAADRIA 2001 [Proceedings of the Sixth Conference on Computer Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia / ISBN 1-86487-096-6] Sydney 19-21 April 2001, pp. 423-427
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.caadria.2001.423
summary	The paper exposes the development of a Virtual-Reality system for modeling timber structures, and evaluations with students about its contribution to the architectural project.
series	CAADRIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:54

_id	5d55
authors	Billger, Monica and d’Élia, Stefano
year	2001
title	Colour appearance in virtual reality: a comparison between a full-scale room and a virtual reality simulation
source	AIC Colour 2001, The 9th Congress of the International Colour Association, Rochester, NY.
summary	The main goal of our project is to make VR applications usable for the planning of light and colour. To enable reliable simulations, we both need to develop better rendering methods and carefully study the appearance of light and colour in real rooms and in virtual environments. Assessments of real rooms are compared to simulations of the same rooms in immersive Virtual Reality (3D-cube). In this paper, we will present the outcome of a pilot study and discuss specific problems associated with the prospect of comparing reality to Virtual Reality. We will account for the experience of the room and go into details on the experience and perception of light. Indeed, the problems of getting enough light in the 3D-cube and of simulating the light situation of a real room affect colour appearance.
keywords	Virtual Reality, VR, 3D-cube, Colour Appearance, Light Perception, Visual Assessments, Simulations
series	other
email
last changed	2002/09/05 09:58

_id	0e58
authors	Campbell, D.A. and Wells, M.
year	1994
title	A Critique of Virtual Reality in the Architectural Design Process, R-94-3
source	Human Interface Technology Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle, USA, http://www.hitl.washington.edu/publications/r-94-3/: 23 May 2001
summary	An addition to a building was designed using virtual reality (VR). The project was part of a design studio for graduate students of architecture. During the design process a detailed journal of activities was kept. In addition, the design implemented with VR was compared to designs implemented with more traditional methods. Both immersive and non-immersive VR simulations were attempted. Part of the rationale for exploring the use of VR in this manner was to develop insight into how VR techniques can be incorporated into the architectural design process, and to provide guidance for the implementers of future VR systems. This paper describes the role of VR in schematic design, through design development to presentation and evaluation. In addition, there are some comments on the effects of VR on detailed design. VR proved to be advantageous in several phases of the design. However, several shortcomings in both hardware and software became apparent. These are described, and a number of recommendations are provided.
series	other
email
last changed	2003/04/23 15:50

_id	51a0
authors	Conti, G., Ucelli, G. and Maver, T.
year	2001
title	JCAD-VR: Java Collaborative Architectural Design Tool in Virtual Reality - A Java3D based scalable framework for real-time, multiplatform VR environments
source	Architectural Information Management [19th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-8-1] Helsinki (Finland) 29-31 August 2001, pp. 454-459
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2001.454
summary	This paper proposes a framework that provides the architect with a tool that uses Virtual Reality (VR) as part of the design path. It offers the possibility to deploy a system capable of assisting the design profession during the early stages of the design process. This way VR becomes the means for a new experience where the architect can, free from constraints of the 2D world, create and manipulate the space she/he is designing. The idea upon which JCAD-VR is being built is that all the users present in the virtual world have to be able to share the same virtual environment in a “transparent fashion” where the user interface, instead of the traditional menu/windows based layout, it is part of the virtual world itself. The aim is to provide the designer with a tool for creating 3D-shapes in a shared VR environment, thus allowing the design to be shared as it evolves.
keywords	Collaborative Design, Virtual Reality, Java 3D, Distributed Environment
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:56

_id	fe1b
authors	Do, Ellen Yi-Luen
year	2001
title	VR Sketchpad. Create Instant 3D Worlds by Sketching on a Transparent Window
source	Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Computer Aided Architectural Design Futures [ISBN 0-7923-7023-6] Eindhoven, 8-11 July 2001, pp. 161-172
summary	This paper describes VR Sketchpad, a pen-based computing environment for inputting and locating 3D objects in a virtual world. Designer can use the transparency layers to quickly trace and extract any image underlay from other application software. The 3D scene generation has three levels of complexity: simple extrusion of any drawn lines of shapes (i.e., straight or curved wall and column extrusion), solid modelling from a given geometric object representation (spheres, cones and boxes), and complex configuration with objects from graphics library (furniture layout).
keywords	Pen-Based Interface, Freehand Sketches, Diagramming, Transparent Window, Virtual Reality Modelling Language (VRML)
series	CAAD Futures
email
last changed	2006/11/07 07:22

_id	1229
authors	Donath, D., Beetz, N., Grether, K., Kruijff, E., Petzold, F. and Seichter, H.
year	2001
title	Cooling Factory, a concrete project to test new architectural applications for augmented reality
source	Venetia Giagourta, Michael G. Strintzis (ed.): International Conference on Augmented, Virtual Environments and Three-Dimensional Imaging, Verlag Myconos, pp. 14-17
summary	This paper will discuss possible fields of applications of AR/VR for revitalization of buildings from a user's perspective. Considerations are based on the real-world project "Cooling factory Gera". The project is founded by "Deutsche Forschungsgesellschaft (DFG)".
series	other
email
last changed	2003/02/26 18:58

_id	100d
authors	Hadikusumo, B.H.W. and Rowlinson, S.
year	2001
title	Development of a virtually real construction site - design for safety
source	CIDAC, Volume 3 Issue 2 May 2001
summary	Interpreting two-dimensional drawings presents problems for builders since they are required to transfer these into three-dimensional mental images. Virtual Reality (VR) technology has several advantages. One is that it can be used to solve the problem of image transfer since VR supports a What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get object together with a binocular effect, improving users' visual sense. Another advantage of VR is the capability to present a real time dynamic simulation, which can be used to represent construction processes. By representing virtually real construction components and processes, users can walk through the virtual project. Using his/her safety knowledge, he/she can identify safety hazards inherent within the virtually real construction components and processes and determine the appropriate safety precautions to employ to make the virtual construction site safe. This hazard identification process can be better achieved if a guideline is provided. Therefore, a Design-For-Safety-Process (DFSP) guideline is developed to assist users to identify safety hazards as well as to recommend remedial safety measures. This paper discusses how virtual reality benefits the construction industry in terms of a design representation. In addition, important issues in developing virtually real construction components and processes as well as functions of virtual reality which are needed to support the DFSP are discussed.
series	journal paper
last changed	2003/05/15 20:36

_id	avocaad_2001_22
id	avocaad_2001_22
authors	Jos van Leeuwen, Joran Jessurun
year	2001
title	XML for Flexibility an Extensibility of Design Information Models
source	AVOCAAD - ADDED VALUE OF COMPUTER AIDED ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN, Nys Koenraad, Provoost Tom, Verbeke Johan, Verleye Johan (Eds.), (2001) Hogeschool voor Wetenschap en Kunst - Departement Architectuur Sint-Lucas, Campus Brussel, ISBN 80-76101-05-1
summary	The VR-DIS research programme aims at the development of a Virtual Reality – Design Information System. This is a design and decision support system for collaborative design that provides a VR interface for the interaction with both the geometric representation of a design and the non-geometric information concerning the design throughout the design process. The major part of the research programme focuses on early stages of design. The programme is carried out by a large number of researchers from a variety of disciplines in the domain of construction and architecture, including architectural design, building physics, structural design, construction management, etc.Management of design information is at the core of this design and decision support system. Much effort in the development of the system has been and still is dedicated to the underlying theory for information management and its implementation in an Application Programming Interface (API) that the various modules of the system use. The theory is based on a so-called Feature-based modelling approach and is described in the PhD thesis by [first author, 1999] and in [first author et al., 2000a]. This information modelling approach provides three major capabilities: (1) it allows for extensibility of conceptual schemas, which is used to enable a designer to define new typologies to model with; (2) it supports sharing of conceptual schemas, called type-libraries; and (3) it provides a high level of flexibility that offers the designer the opportunity to easily reuse design information and to model information constructs that are not foreseen in any existing typologies. The latter aspect involves the capability to expand information entities in a model with relationships and properties that are not typologically defined but applicable to a particular design situation only; this helps the designer to represent the actual design concepts more accurately.The functional design of the information modelling system is based on a three-layered framework. In the bottom layer, the actual design data is stored in so-called Feature Instances. The middle layer defines the typologies of these instances in so-called Feature Types. The top layer is called the meta-layer because it provides the class definitions for both the Types layer and the Instances layer; both Feature Types and Feature Instances are objects of the classes defined in the top layer. This top layer ensures that types can be defined on the fly and that instances can be created from these types, as well as expanded with non-typological properties and relationships while still conforming to the information structures laid out in the meta-layer.The VR-DIS system consists of a growing number of modules for different kinds of functionality in relation with the design task. These modules access the design information through the API that implements the meta-layer of the framework. This API has previously been implemented using an Object-Oriented Database (OODB), but this implementation had a number of disadvantages. The dependency of the OODB, a commercial software library, was considered the most problematic. Not only are licenses of the OODB library rather expensive, also the fact that this library is not common technology that can easily be shared among a wide range of applications, including existing applications, reduces its suitability for a system with the aforementioned specifications. In addition, the OODB approach required a relatively large effort to implement the desired functionality. It lacked adequate support to generate unique identifications for worldwide information sources that were understandable for human interpretation. This strongly limited the capabilities of the system to share conceptual schemas.The approach that is currently being implemented for the core of the VR-DIS system is based on eXtensible Markup Language (XML). Rather than implementing the meta-layer of the framework into classes of Feature Types and Feature Instances, this level of meta-definitions is provided in a document type definition (DTD). The DTD is complemented with a set of rules that are implemented into a parser API, based on the Document Object Model (DOM). The advantages of the XML approach for the modelling framework are immediate. Type-libraries distributed through Internet are now supported through the mechanisms of namespaces and XLink. The implementation of the API is no longer dependent of a particular database system. This provides much more flexibility in the implementation of the various modules of the VR-DIS system. Being based on the (supposed to become) standard of XML the implementation is much more versatile in its future usage, specifically in a distributed, Internet-based environment.These immediate advantages of the XML approach opened the door to a wide range of applications that are and will be developed on top of the VR-DIS core. Examples of these are the VR-based 3D sketching module [VR-DIS ref., 2000]; the VR-based information-modelling tool that allows the management and manipulation of information models for design in a VR environment [VR-DIS ref., 2000]; and a design-knowledge capturing module that is now under development [first author et al., 2000a and 2000b]. The latter module aims to assist the designer in the recognition and utilisation of existing and new typologies in a design situation. The replacement of the OODB implementation of the API by the XML implementation enables these modules to use distributed Feature databases through Internet, without many changes to their own code, and without the loss of the flexibility and extensibility of conceptual schemas that are implemented as part of the API. Research in the near future will result in Internet-based applications that support designers in the utilisation of distributed libraries of product-information, design-knowledge, case-bases, etc.The paper roughly follows the outline of the abstract, starting with an introduction to the VR-DIS project, its objectives, and the developed theory of the Feature-modelling framework that forms the core of it. It briefly discusses the necessity of schema evolution, flexibility and extensibility of conceptual schemas, and how these capabilities have been addressed in the framework. The major part of the paper describes how the previously mentioned aspects of the framework are implemented in the XML-based approach, providing details on the so-called meta-layer, its definition in the DTD, and the parser rules that complement it. The impact of the XML approach on the functionality of the VR-DIS modules and the system as a whole is demonstrated by a discussion of these modules and scenarios of their usage for design tasks. The paper is concluded with an overview of future work on the sharing of Internet-based design information and design knowledge.
series	AVOCAAD
email
last changed	2005/09/09 10:48

_id	e515
authors	Kieferle, Joachim and Wössner, Uwe
year	2001
title	Showing the invisible - Seven rules for a new approach of using immersive virtual reality in architecture
source	Architectural Information Management [19th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-8-1] Helsinki (Finland) 29-31 August 2001, pp. 376-381
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2001.376
summary	Virtual reality, especially in a CAVE environment can be used in different ways. In architecture up to now it is mainly used to visualize planned or ancient buildings. Based on the information approach, on the approach that VR can be used not only to show the visual appearance of things but also information, which might be invisible in real world, seven rules are set up. The rules have been applied in university courses as testbed and verified in commercial projects.
keywords	Virtual Reality, Information, Cognition, Space, Collaboration
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:52

_id	9de9
authors	Laakso, Mikko
year	2001
title	Practical Navigation in Virtual Architectural Environments
source	Helsinki University of Technology, Espoo, Finland
summary	The interest towards virtual reality (VR) and virtual environments (VE) is growing all the time. The applications being developed for VE run a wide spectrum, from games to business planning. This thesis concentrates on navigation in virtual architectural environments, movement in worlds that are very similar to our own. Navigation in a virtual world should be practical, intuitive and simple. Unfortunately, it is very often far from that - for some reason the usability issues in VEs have been usually left with little attention. Currently it is easy for a user to get lost and disoriented when traveling in a VE. This situation must change, navigating through virtual environments can no longer be considered a task reserved for the experts only. 3D-worlds and architectural applications for the common user require new, intuitive interface techniques. This thesis addresses issues related to both physical and cognitive aspects of navigation as well as theoretical models that bind them together. In the technology survey of this thesis, the virtual environment technology is presented. Different visual display systems, new input devices and some 3D user interface design aspects are described. The literature survey section discusses the main issues concerning navigation theory. The two parts of navigation, travel and wayfinding, are described in detail. The major challenges are discussed and some solutions and various research results are presented. A major part of the thesis consists of the description of HCNav, a new navigation system developed by the author. The system was constructed for use in the virtual room at Helsinki University of Technology. The purpose of HCNav is to provide a very intuitive and practical navigation interface. Three new experimental input devices, namely custom wand, data glove and speech recognition system, were tested. Another important part of the work is to evaluate the effectiveness of the HCNav system. A usability test was conducted to determine if the use of HCNav was actually improving navigation performance. Twelve subjects participated in a test where HCNav was compared with a traditional navigation software used previously in the virtual room. The experiment setup has been described and the results analyzed. The results are promising and show that the navigation methods adopted in HCNav are clearly better.
keywords	Virtual Environments, Navigation, Usability
series	thesis:MSc
last changed	2003/02/12 22:37

For more results click below: