Participatory innovative design technology tools for enhancing production systems and environment
Production systems need to be improved in order to increase efficiency and environmental sustainability. There is a demand for a comprehensive method or principle to concurrently consider all the relevant factors affecting the whole environment of interest. This work is based on implementing virtual environment (VE) and augmented reality (AR) technologies in a number of case studies using a participatory approach. The findings indicate that it is not satisfactory to implement only one of these technology approaches in production systems and production environment development; it appears beneficial to integrate both types of technologies and corresponding procedures in the design process. mprovements should also focus on the design procedures in order to obtain the benefits of using these technologies in production systems and environment design.
Thank you for your interest to our presentation.
The main challenges in creating virtual environment in our cases have been: - to integrate 3D CAD models (if available) from other software to VE software, - to give enough information for the modeller to understand the relevant shape and functions of the target system and to build adequate models with realistic functions in such a complex machinery and constructual environment, - to handle the resources for the modelling, - to define the detail levels of the models, - to keep the accuracy of the model in an adequate level, - to handle the orientation of the models during building them for a complex environment, - to handle the visualisation principles during the modelling of the system. The integration of models made with the CAD tool into VE was quite easy with the simulation software (VR module was included).
The time needed for modelling tasks depends naturally on many factors. Such models which we have modelled tooked about from 3 to 10 working days, depending on the size (amoud of parts) and complexity of a modelled system. In one day we could modelled several machines and structures if they were simple ones. The software we applied had been developed for off-line programming of robots, so it was not designed for modelling objects. The software, however, allowed us to build easily functions for different parts of machines for simulation purposes. To understand the structures of a comblex machine it can take easily one day or more. For that purpose, and for the modelling itself, photographs and videorecordings of current systems will help much.
Nowadays 3D modelling is common in design process and these kind of modelling afterwards seldom is needed. Different tools for modelling old structures are also in the market. We did't have opportunity to use them during these case studies.
Timo Maatta
Thank you for your most interesting paper. Your case studies quite correctly relate to systems design because this is the scope of the paper. However, is your work also applicable to product design as opposed to systems design? If so, could you please give examples of how your techniques might help product designers?
As your paper points out, the integration of "reality tools" (AR) and "virtuality tools" (VE) is the key issue. What are the main difficulties in developing one system that integrates these two approaches?
Emmanuel Brousseau
Thank you for your interest to our presentation.
You are right. We have mainly used the approach in systems design. However, our human-machine system design case study (case #3) is approaching product design problem. Both production system design problems and product design problems have similarities. Both designing problems have similar basic steps; concept development-system level design- detail design – testing and refinement. Each of these steps requires different AR-VR and participatory tools. Based on these similarities the AR-VR approach might be useful also for product designers. Of course the procedures how to efficiently utilise AR-VR tools in product designing should be developed.
Arto Säämänen
Thank you for your interest to our presentation.
The development of one system that integrates both is a challenging task. As far as I know there are not such systems available. The main idea of our work is not to create one physical system that can combine both reality and virtuality approaches. The integration of “reality tools” and “virtuality tools” should be done in procedural level. The designing process normally contains several steps in which different tools are required. Our presentation tried to emphasize that it is beneficial to integrate the use of both “reality tools” and “virtuality tools” to the designing process.
Arto Säämänen
Thank you for your contribution to IPROMS2005. In this presentation, you show a nice example of a steel factory for which the machines and environment were modelled with a 3D simulation software based on photographs, video recordings and 2D drawings. What are the main challenges in creating such a virtual environment and could you give us an idea of the time needed to complete the modelling task?
Emmanuel Brousseau