NAME: Visualization and Virtual Reality for Manufacturing
CONTACT: Sandy Ressler, sandy.ressler@nist.gov
IMPETUS / HOW PROJECT BEGAN: The Visualization and Virtual Reality for Manufacturing
project began four years ago as a joint
MEL/ITL project in the Systems Integration for Manufacturing Applications
(SIMA) program. Specifically, this project has looked at the use of advanced
visualization environments to enable more intuitive interfaces to
manufacturing data. When the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
sought help with their data access problems, a related effort was
begun to digitize and then visualize child anthropometric data to increase
its availability to manufacturers.
Beginning in FY99 we began to focus on VRML and
collaborative environments. The three main areas we are examining are:
(1) VRML based collaborative worlds as real world control and status, such as
control and status of a smart meeting room), (2) meeting summarization to
enable near real-time web site generation for post meeting reviews, and (3)
integration of "smart" devices with virtual world with interaction in
a physical location.
Objective: The project is currently in its 4th year and
has achieved a number of its objectives. While the initial year was
spent primarily with immersive VR technology, we shifted to the
development and use of the Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML)
which is now an ISO standard (ISO 14772). We have created a number of
prototype systems, primarily in VRML that were the first of their kind and
have proven the feasibility of VRML in this domain.
Impact: The Visualization and Virtual Reality for Manufacturing project has
the goal of improving the manufacturing design process by enhancing
the access and sharing of 3D models. Because of our work, 3D visualizations
can now be viewed on the web. Our approach has been to take proprietary
visualizations and convert them to standard VRML (Virtual Reality
Modeling Language) visualizations so that they can be viewed (and integrated)
from any VRML-enhanced web browser. We have built translators for several
design and analysis tools that now have been integrated into commercial
tools such as products from Deneb Robotics and Knowledge Revolution (Working
Model 3D). We have also produced utilities to aid in the production of
audio-enabled VRML worlds for better accessibility by persons with
disabilities. Finally, we have made available to the public the only existing
US child anthropometric database. This data was originally gathered by the
Consumer Product Safety Commission, but was not in electronic form. Because of
our work, such companies as EAI (formerly Transom), Safework, and
Genicom are incorporating this child anthropometry data into their
ergonomic or human body simulation products. We have been commended by
the Commissioner of the CPSC, Ann Brown, for our efforts in making this
data available.
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