Task-Level Assembly Modeling in Virtual Environments

This contribution introduces a new framework for assembly modeling in Virtual Reality. Aiming at an easy instructability of the virtual environment, the framework provides a task-level interface which directly maps logical assembly commands to corresponding changes in the geometry scene. For example, the visual assembly of two parts is achieved given only a single command 'connect(a,b)'. This is in contrast to the assembly modeling style of conventional CAD systems which forces the designer to break down each conceptual assembly task into a series of lower-level subtasks. The proposed framework consists of two parts: (1) A knowledge-based model of connection-sensitive part features ("ports") and the connections between them; and, (2), a set of algorithms that define the task-level interface for assembly, disassembly, and adjustment operations. All algorithms are computationally efficient and easily meet the real-time requirements of virtual environments. At the user interface, both direct manipulation and directive interfaces, e.g. based on natural language instructions are supported. A family of implemented VR-systems, including CAVE and Internet-based applications, demonstrates the feasibility of the approach.

[1]  Mark R Mine.  ISAAC: a meta- system for virtual environments , 1997, Comput. Aided Des..

[2]  Marc Erich Latoschik,et al.  Utilize speech and gestures to realize natural interaction in a virtual environment , 1998, IECON '98. Proceedings of the 24th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (Cat. No.98CH36200).

[3]  Nong Ye,et al.  Assembly Planning Effectiveness Using Virtual Reality , 1999, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[4]  Yoshiaki Katayama,et al.  VLEGO: a simple two-handed modeling environment based on toy blocks , 1996, VRST.

[5]  Torsten Kuhlen,et al.  MAESTRO - a tool for interactive assembly simulation in virtual environments , 2001, EGVE/IPT.

[6]  Elmar Schömer,et al.  Interactive rigid body manipulation with obstacle contacts , 1998 .

[7]  Marc Olano,et al.  3DM: a three dimensional modeler using a head-mounted display , 1992, I3D '92.

[8]  Michael Grafe,et al.  Layout Planning of Manufacturing Systems with VR-based Construction Sets , 1998, EGVE.

[9]  Rakesh Gupta,et al.  Prototyping and design for assembly analysis using multimodal virtual environments , 1997, Comput. Aided Des..

[10]  Michael Grafe,et al.  Interactive planning of manufacturing systems with virtual construction sets , 1998, IECON '98. Proceedings of the 24th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (Cat. No.98CH36200).

[11]  Yong Wang,et al.  VADE: A Virtual Assembly Design Environment , 1999, IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications.

[12]  Gabriel Zachmann,et al.  Virtual reality as a tool for verification of assembly and maintenance processes , 1999, Comput. Graph..

[13]  David Zeltzer,et al.  Task-level interaction with virtual environments and virtual actors , 1996, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Interact..

[14]  Michael Weyrich,et al.  Interactive functional evaluation in virtual prototyping illustrated by an example of a construction machine design , 1998, IECON '98. Proceedings of the 24th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (Cat. No.98CH36200).

[15]  Michael Symietz,et al.  Echtzeitbasierte Generierung und Verlegung von Leitungsobjekten in einem digitalen Fahrzeugmodell mit einem Virtual-Reality-System , 2000 .

[16]  Karlheinz Roth,et al.  Konstruieren Mit Konstruktionskatalogen , 1994 .

[17]  Naokazu Yokoya,et al.  SeamlessDesign: a face-to-face collaborative virtual/augmented environment for rapid prototyping of geometrically constrained 3-D objects , 1999, Proceedings IEEE International Conference on Multimedia Computing and Systems.

[18]  Jure Zakotnik,et al.  Natural Language Based Virtual Prototyping on the Web , 2002 .

[19]  J. A. Adam,et al.  Virtual reality is for real , 1993 .

[20]  Terrence Fernando,et al.  A constraint manager to support virtual maintainability , 2003, Comput. Graph..

[21]  Marc Erich Latoschik,et al.  Virtuelle Werkstatt: A platform for multimodal assembly in VR , 2002 .