Research Initiation Award Grant: Advancing the Complex Product Design Using Virtual Reality Techniques

Prairie View A&amp；M大学的研究启动奖题为“使用虚拟现实技术推进复杂产品设计”，其目标是利用虚拟现实技术提高复杂产品设计的能力，特别是自由形状建模。目的是研究一种虚拟雕刻建模和仿真技术的自由形状几何设计与异质材料。通过引入材料的非均质性，自由曲面可以获得各向异性的特性，实现各种材料的优点，避免材料不相容的问题。该方法是通过使用虚拟工具交互式雕刻工件来应用虚拟雕刻方法。在模型和工具之间执行布尔运算，以同时更改设计模型的几何形状和材料。结合了触觉界面，以反映雕刻过程中工具和模型之间的相互作用。然后将虚拟雕刻过程集成到大型PowerWall虚拟环境中。该项目提出了一种使用虚拟雕刻以直观和互动的方式使用异质材料创建自由形状模型的新方法。通过将该工艺与触觉界面和PowerWall虚拟环境相结合，提高产品设计质量，缩短产品设计周期。该研究在复合材料、纳米技术、生物工程和医学模拟等领域具有潜在的应用前景。教育目标是提高工程专业学生的质量，增加在Prairie View A&amp；M大学从事工程职业的非裔美国学生的数量。这将通过课程开发、学生辅导和外展活动来实现。

Prairie View A&M University's Research Initiation Award entitled - Advancing the Complex Product Design Using Virtual Reality Techniques - has the goal to advance the ability of complex product design especially freeform shape modeling with Virtual Reality techniques. The objective is to investigate a virtual sculpting modeling and simulation technique for freeform geometry design with heterogeneous material. By introducing material heterogeneities, the freeform can obtain anisotropic properties, achieve advantages of various materials, and avoid the problem of material incompatibility. The approach is to apply a virtual sculpting method by interactively carving a workpiece using a virtual tool. Boolean operations between the model and the tool are executed to change the geometry and materials of the design model simultaneously. Haptic interface is incorporated to reflect the interaction between the tool and the model during the sculpting process. The virtual sculpting process is then integrated into the large scale PowerWall virtual environment.The project presents a new method of creating a freeform model with heterogeneous materials in an intuitive and interactive manner using virtual sculpting. By integrating the process with haptic interface and PowerWall virtual environment, the product design quality will be improved and the product design cycle will be shortened. The research has potential applications in composite materials, nano-technology, bio-engineering, and medical simulations. The education goal is to enhance the quality of engineering students and increase the number of African-American students pursuing engineering careers at Prairie View A&M University. This will be accomplished through curriculum development, student mentoring, and outreach activities.