Today, 3D Computer-Aided-Design (CAD) is one of the most efficient tools for expressing and communicating the intentions of designers. However, designers usually capture still images of 3D CAD data or play rendered animations of 3D CAD data to share their design outcomes with other designers. Captured images and rendered animations of 3D CAD data make it impossible for designers to view the design outcomes from their chosen angle in real-time.
To overcome these limitations, a new design evaluation tool is proposed based on a real-time interactive gestural command interface. The expected outcomes are that the new design evaluation tool will make it possible for designers to view their design outcomes at any angle in real-time. In addition, the gestural command interface will provide an interface that is more natural for design meetings.
In an effort to examine how 3D CAD data are used in design presentations and evaluations, user research in the form of interviews and contextual inquiries were conducted. Four professional product designers and a master student who were all experts in using 3D CAD software were participated in the research.
Our gesture based design supportive tool was composed of several components, including a finger-worn input device, the Wii remote, and design evaluation software. The input device is designed to be worn on the user’s middle fingers of both the left and right hands. The gestural commands as designed here include basic navigation interfaces and additional functions. The basic navigation interfaces are zooming in/out, rotating, and moving. The additional functions provided denotation, size measurement, hide, snapshot and print.
This new design evaluation tool makes it possible for designers to present or view a certain part of a 3D CAD image in their design outcomes from any desired viewpoint to see in real-time. The gestural command interface provides a more natural interface for designers who often use their hands or fingers during design presentations or evaluation meetings. The developed design evaluation tool can be used effectively in design areas such as design studios or design companies and can aid communication between designers. Concurrent manipulation by multiple users makes the group meeting more active and participatory compared to manipulation by a single user alone.
오늘날 제품 디자인 분야에서 3D CAD는 디자이너의 의도를 효과적으로 표현하고 타인과 원활한 의사소통하기 위한 수단으로 사용되고 있다. 그러나 제품 디자인의 시각화, 형상화 단계에서 품평 회의가 빈번하게 이루어지고 있음에도 불구하고 최적화된 도구의 부재로 3D CAD 데이터를 효율적으로 활용하지 못하고 있다. 본 연구는 3D CAD 데이터를 활용한 제스처 기반의 제품 디자인 품평 지원 도구를 제안하고자 한다. 제품 디자인 실무의 품평 회의 현황을 파악하기 위해 제품 디자인 전문회사에서 애쓰노그래피를 실시하였고, 3D CAD 데이터의 인터페이스를 디자인하기 위해 실무 제품 디자이너들을 대상으로 컨텍스추얼 인콰이어리와 심층 인터뷰를 실시하였다. 본 논문에서 제안하는 품평 지원 도구는 입력장치, 적외선 센서, Visual C# 기반의 소프트웨어로 구성된다. 입력장치를 착용한 모든 회의 참여자가 실시간으로 3D CAD 데이터를 원하는 방식으로 컨트롤할 수 있으며, 사용 가능한 부가기능으로는 ‘실행 취소’,‘표시’,‘신속치수’,‘숨기기’,‘그림 저장’,‘출력’ 등 총 6가지를 사용할 수 있다. 본 연구의 의의는 제품 디자인 프로세스 가운데 디자인 형상화 단계에서 수행되는 품평 회의에 최적화된 시스템을 제안하여 상호 의사소통의 효율성을 높이고자 한 것이다.
