Technical Drawings and Virtual Prototypes

This article describes a program that uses virtual reality techniques to allow mechanisms to be viewed, moved and manipulated. These mechanisms can be assembled/unassembled and checked to see if they work properly. A virtual environment is used and the mechanism can be seen by different ways using a head-mounted display or stereoscopic glasses. This program is an example of how it is possible to adapt traditional subjects, like engineering drawing, to the new technologies of visualization and simulation. In order for the program to be used via the Internet, it supports a VRML file that can be view with Internet Explorer software.