VR + AI= intelligent environments: a synergistic approach to engineering design support

Rudolph P. Darken; Christian J. Darken

doi:10.1117/12.237450

10 April 1996 VR + AI = intelligent environments: a synergistic approach to engineering design support

Rudolph P. Darken, Christian J. Darken

Proceedings Volume 2653, Stereoscopic Displays and Virtual Reality Systems III; (1996) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.237450
Event: Electronic Imaging: Science and Technology, 1996, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

Both VR and AI have the potential to be huge productivity enhancers for engineering design, and in complementary ways. VR is a visualization tool allowing users to comprehend complex spatial relationships among many variables. AI is an exploration tool capable of finding and exploiting relationships which are very difficult to visualize, but is most effective with few variables. Using engineering design as an example, we explore how VR and AI might be integrated to yield productivity gains greater than either might alone. The typical engineering design cycle for a complex system involves multiple passes through design, simulation, and analysis phases. VR is used to visualize a design simulation while AI is used to assist in the subsequent redesign. The role of the VR subsystem is twofold; it visualizes the data for analysis and problem diagnosis such that it is easily comprehended by the engineer, and it provides a mechanism by which the engineer can describe how the design is to be improved in the next iteration. The AI subsystem then acts on the redesign descriptions to suggest design modifications. These suggestions are integrated with direct modifications from the user, and the redesigned system is simulated again. The synthesis between the VR and AI subsystems results in a closed loop design system capable of effectively undertaking complex engineering design tasks.

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Rudolph P. Darken and Christian J. Darken "VR + AI = intelligent environments: a synergistic approach to engineering design support", Proc. SPIE 2653, Stereoscopic Displays and Virtual Reality Systems III, (10 April 1996); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.237450

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