Highly Flexible and Intuitive Computer-Aided Design Modeling

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Computer-Aided Design (CAD) has been the dominant industrial practice for product design. While reasonably robust and versatile, current commercial CAD software uses a rigid parameter-based modeling scheme. Designers have to learn to follow a very specific technique for model creation and modification. Rather than focusing on shaping the overall model geometry, designers create models by specifying dimensions to individual geometric features and constraining inter-feature relationships. This admittedly is a powerful method to create CAD models since it ensures accurate digital representation of the created model. However, as new technologies emerge, the decades-old CAD modeling scheme is under significant stress to keep up. Specifically, the latest 3D laser scanners and 3D cameras can easily capture massive data points from a physical object surface. These 3D digitizing devices would greatly facilitate direct creation of complex CAD models from physical objects. Virtual reality or 3D visualization technologies are also advancing rapidly in recent years. Prototype CAD stations with 3D user interfaces have already been disclosed and received much media coverage. These advanced 3D technologies will continue to power the evolution of CAD modeling into a highly flexible and intuitive environment. Unfortunately, the current parameter-based modeling scheme is too rigid to fully utilize the novel 3D technologies and has become a drag to the overall technological advancement.******The proposed research program aims to make fundamental changes to CAD modeling from the current parameter-based scheme to a highly-flexible hybrid scheme. The prospective development will revolutionize how designers interact with the CAD system to create and modify CAD models. Complex CAD models can be directly and easily created using 3D scanners/cameras. On a virtual reality 3D platform, designers can carry out intuitive modeling operations that are only partially available today. CAD models are to be modified intuitively in ways similar to shaping physical objects. Typical intuitive modeling operators include merging (similar to connecting LEGOr blocks), sculpting (similar to using a sculpting tool), and deforming (similar to playing with Play-Dohr). The learning curve to use CAD will then be drastically reduced. With the ease of modifying CAD models with the intuitive modeling operators, designers will be able to quickly finalize their design through the iterative design modeling process. The overall design cycle time will thus be significantly reduced and this will evidently add to the competitiveness of Canadian industries. Virtual reality 3D platforms are being built and will become widely used in the coming years. Canada will then be recognized as the leader in the compatible CAD modeling technologies due to years of prior research and development in this important area.