4DIVE- A 4D INTERFACE FOR THE VISUALIZATION OF CONSTRUCTION PROCESSES IN A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT

ABSTRACT: In this paper we present 4DIVE, an interface concept for the visualization of construction processes in Virtual Reality (VR). It supports process management tasks of the AEC industry in the field of Virtual Design and Construction (VDC). 4DIVE is developed for the use in projection based Virtual Environments (VEs) like the CAVE or large scale projection walls, supporting stereoscopic visualization in real-time and 3D user tracking. The 4DIVE project focuses on the design of interaction concepts addressing the following topics: (1) The integration and visualization of 4D CAD models in VR systems, (2) the development of 4Record, a tool for recording and replaying paths in the 4D time-space, and (3) the design of suitable input devices and interaction techniques

The Amalgamation – Product Design Aspects for the Development of Immersive Virtual Environments

Abstract: Interacting in an immersive virtual environment we refer to the real world. The user gets to expect real world behaviour from virtual objects and functions. We explore the idea of bringing aspects of product design to the development of input devices and interaction techniques for virtual environments. We use ergonomics and product language to design the physical input device, the virtual representation and the connection between real and virtual parts. This connection, which we call amalgamation, is the most important element of the design, since it defines, if the user rather interacts with virtual objects as “virtual products ” (via an input device), or rather interacts with an input device as a “real product ” controlling virtual content. 1

SphereViz- Data Exploration in a Virtual Reality Environment

We present SphereViz, a novel 3D user interface for the visual exploration of multi-dimensional data sets in virtual reality environments. SphereViz builds on known visualization and search concepts like RadViz and RelevanceSphere. It combines them with 3D-interaction techniques like World in Miniature for projection in virtual environments. A prototype implementation of SphereViz allows to study, on one hand, the visualization methods of images in 3D space, and on the other hand, intuitive search methods and adequate interaction techniques. 1. The SphereViz interface We present current work on the design of SphereViz. SphereViz is a new 3D interface fo

iRoundTable A COLLABORATION PLATFORM FOR VIRTUAL AEC ORGANSIZATIONS

In this paper we give a short overview of ongoing research and development of iRoundTable, a collaboration platform for efficient execution of large complex AEC projects with geographically dispersed interdisciplinary teams. iRoundTable will allow for convenient and task related access to the distributed heterogeneous information of the virtual organization. A suite of tools will support the multi-media communication between the project stake holders. The system will be realized using a grid of loosely coupled software services which can be combined freely at request. User will connect to the platform either via sophisticated multimedia conference systems or via simpler mobile devices. The development of a task-oriented intuitive user interface will be of central importance to allow getting access to decision related information efficiently. A new wireless 3D tracing system will be integrated in the conferencing systems and will provide new methods to browse through the project information spaces and histories to combine relevant information for decision making processes. The development is organized as follows