by Lawrence S. Gould
> Contributing Editor
No matter how a 3D model is sliced in
computer-aided design (CAD), it appears
flat, whether on a computer screen,
mobile device display, humongous
flat-screen TV, or projection on a wall.
Immersive virtual reality (VR) software
changes that by making those models
"pop out" from the world of flat,
making them appear as in the physical
world.
CAD packages often include tools
for generating animated simulations
of the 3D geometry being designed.
These tools generally have simple
functionality, best suited for simple
presentations. VR development soft-
ware creates more complex simulations
MAKING
IMMERSIVE
Here's technology that
helps transform 2D
CAD designs into the
third dimension.
AD&P; > November 2014 > FEATURE > Making CAD Immersive > Lawrence S. Gould > lsg@lsgould.com
and has more-advanced features for
modifying animations. The software
also optimizes the running of those
animations, resulting in more fluid
simulations of reality. Last, explains
Mark Cheben, marketing manager
for EON Reality (eonreality.com), VR
development software typically works
in real time. True, CAx and many
visualization products "can render
animation, but only if it's pre-rendered
and the product includes a simulation
engine rather than a game engine
shoehorned into simulation."
In creating VR environments, solid
geometries files created in CAD are
first imported into VR software.
This software doesn't interpret the
geometry data directly. "CAD data
is mathematical in nature and needs
to be scaled for real-time rendering,"
explains Cheben. "The data needs to
be interpreted into bite-size polygonal
data so it can be [displayed] without
chop or lag." Once that's done,
"developers animate the geometry, add
different behaviors, and surround it
with a scene." (Backgrounds and scenes
can come from CAx or visualization
software.)
EON's software creates left/right
images of the geometry, along with
the proper parallax and front/back
(hidden) object relationships for 3D
CAD
34