jtchromeframe

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SpringerInternationalPublishingSwitzerland2014AugmentedRealityApplicationsintheEngineeringEnvironmentKarleOlaldeAzkorreta1andHéctorOlmedoRodríguez21UniversityofBasqueCountry,UPV/EHU;C/NievesCano12.
01006Vitoria-Gasteiz,Spainkarle.
olalde@ehu.
es2UniversidaddeValladolid;CampusMiguelDelivess/n.
47014Valladolid,Spainholmedor@gmail.
comAbstract.
Intheareaofengineering,wecanmovemuchinthewayclientsgenerallycaninteractwithmodelsordesignsfornewproducts,sowearedevelopingvariousalternativesforvisualization,suchasVirtualandAugmentedrealitiesbasedonaccuratemodelswithnoneedofusingspecificsoftware.
Inordertohaveabetterandglobalknowledgeofthepossibilitiesweshowinthispaperthesituationandcapabilitiesofthesetechnologies.
Frommodelsdevelopedwithcommercialprogramsandtoolsforindustrialdesign,weproposeaworkflowtogiveeverybodyachancetointeractwiththesemodels.
ThesectorswherethesetechnologiesareappliedandtheservicesofferedaregroupedinIndustrialproductionsystemsandLearningofrelateddisciplines.
Attheendconclusionswillbegivenwitheveryreferenceused.
Witheverything,ideasforimprovingthesetechnologiesandthecorrespondentapplicationscouldbesuggestedtothereader.
Keywords:Collaborationtechnologyandinformallearning,AugmentedandvirtualReality,engineering,models.
1IntroductionInthispaperwetrytoanalyzethedifferentoptionswehavetorepresentanobjectinaugmentedreality,from3Ddesignprogramsandengineering,suchasCatia,SolidEdge,SolidWorks,Autocad,etc.
,withtheobjectiveofproductdesignordoitmoreaccessibletoallpotentialcustomers.
AugmentedReality(AR)[1,2]isatechnologyinwhichthevisionfortheuserintherealworldisenhancedoraugmentedwithadditionalinformationgeneratedfromacomputermodel.
Theimprovementmayconsistofvirtualdevicesplacedinarealenvironment,orthedisplayof"non-geometric"informationaboutrealobjects.
TheARallowstheusertoworkwithandexaminereal3Dobjects,whilereceivingadditionalinformationabouttheseobjects.
TheARaddsinformationtotherealworldoftheuser.
Allowstheusertostayintouchwiththerealenvironment.
ThisisacleardifferencefromtheVirtualReality(VR),inwhichtheuseriscompletelyimmersedinanartificialworld,completelyseparatedfromtherealworld.
InVR[3,4]systemsthereisnopossibilityfortheusertointeractwithobjectsintherealworld,theAR,84K.
O.
AzkorretaandH.
O.
Rodríguezhowever,doesallowuserstointeractnaturallywithaworldthatisamixtureofvirtualandreal.
TheARsystemscarrythecomputertotherealworldoftheuser,whiletheVRsystemshavetherealtothecomputerworld.
However,suchapplicationsimposedemandingrequirements.
Tocombinemodelsactuallystatesthatthesemodelsareveryaccurate.
Thisrealisticmixrequiresobjectsthatareintroducedintherealscenebehaveinaveryrealisticway.
ToachievethisrealitytheARrequiresaverydetaileddescriptionofthephysicalsetting.
2SoftwareCADTheComputerAidedDesign(CAD)software,whichwewilldiscussinthisarticle,referstothemostwidelyusedinthefieldofbothmechanicalasaerospace,automotiveengineeringandmanyotherfieldsofengineeringmainlymanufacturing.
Whatweintendtoshowinthisarticle,first,istheusewhichhasbeengivensofartothedesignsinCAD[5],anddifferentoutletsthatweprovidesuchsoftwaretoworkatalaterstagedisplaythroughAR.
Thiskindofsoftwareisalwaysexpensiveandtherearestudents,customersandpartnersthatcan'taffordtobuylicenses.
Sharing3DcontentsusingwebsitesandAR/VRappsbasedonopenstandardsoffersagreatchancetomakepublicknowourproductswithnospecificinvestment.
Thereareopentechnologiestodiffuse3Dcontentsbuttherearenotwidelyusednowadaysbecauseproducersofpluginstovisualize3Dcontentsonthewebareinadvanced.
Butmostusedwebbrowsersincludenativepossibilitiestovisualize3Dcontents,itisonlyaquestionofdevelopingspecialwebsitesoraddingtheneededmodificationstotheactualwebsites.
Thereiswheretheaimofourprojectliesin.
BasicallywewillfocusonCADprograms[6],wehaveatourdisposalandthathasallowedustoseeallthepossibilitiesfortheARenvironment.
InTable1shownbelowcanbeseen,thesoftwareusedandthedifferentextensionsthatweprovideforfurthertreatmentinAR.
Table1.
SoftwareCADandextensionsSoftwareCADMainextensionOtherextensionsCATIAv5*.
part;*.
product*.
stp;*.
vrml;*.
3dmap;*.
3dxml;*.
cgr;*.
iges;*.
model;*.
Navrep;*.
stl;*.
x3d;*.
wrl;*.
hcg;*.
icemNX9*.
prt*.
iges:*.
stp:*step:*dxf:*dwg:*.
model(catia):*.
catpart(catia)Autocad2014*.
dwg;*.
dgn;*.
dxf;*.
dws;*.
dxx;*.
bmp;*iges:*.
igs;*.
dwf;*.
3ddwf;*.
pdf;*.
fbx;*.
wmf;*.
sat;*.
stl;*epsSolidEdgeST5*.
par;*.
asm*.
model;*.
plmxml;*.
prt:*.
dwg:*.
dxf;*.
x_t;*.
xgl;*.
sat;*.
jt:*.
part;*.
igs;*.
step;*.
stl;*.
3dpdf;*.
u3dSolidWorks*.
sldprt;*.
sldasm*.
stl;*.
iges;*.
stp;*.
proe;3DXML;*.
dxf;*.
dwgSkectup2013*.
skp*.
mtl;*.
obj;*.
wrl;*.
xsi:*.
fbx;*.
dwg;*.
3ds;*.
txtAugmentedRealityApplicationsintheEngineeringEnvironment85FromthedifferentextensionsthatprovideuswithCADprograms,wetrytotransfertoARsoftware,makingtheappropriatechanges,andrenderedapplicationlayers,lightingandevenmovement,totrytogettheeffectofvisualizationfeaturesisasrealaspossibleandtheusercanmanipulateasifitwereinyourhand.
Suchsupplementsareobtainedfromotherspecificporgrams[7]foritsuchastheAutodesk3DStudio,MayaorBlender,thelatterofOpenSource,andtheyarespecializedintoodsrendering,animationorilumninacionscenes.
3Web3DEvenmoreandmorewebsitesaretridimensional.
Thiswillbegeneralizedwhenoursmartphonesandtabletswillbeabletovisualizethesecharacteristics.
HavingspecifichardwaretodothisistheintentionofprojectAREngine[8].
SeveralstandardslikeVRMLandX3DhavebeendesignedbyWeb3DConsortium[9]buttherearealsoworksinprogressforAR.
Forexample,ARML[10]isaproposal.
Alsostandardizationofa3Dcompressionformatisamust.
Thebigchallengeistocompressandstream3Dassetsusinganeffectiveandwidelyadoptedcoder–decoder(codec),inthesamewayasMP3isthestandardforaudio,H.
264forvideoandPNG/JPEGforimages.
Thenwewillseeapopularapplicationfor3Dtransmissiononthewayastherearepopularapplicationsforaudio,videoandimages(seeTable2).
Table2.
AStandard3DCompressionFormatAudioVideoImages3DMP3H.
264PNG/JPEGX3D,MPEG4,COLLADANapsterYouTubeFacebookUsesofWeb3DcouldbethoseproposedbyJohnVinceinTable3butrelatedtoengineeringenvironmentwecanconsider:(1)Visualizationofproductanddata,reducingcostofsendingsamplestothecustomers,etc.
(2)E-commerceandB2Bapplications,improvingdetailedinformationaboutproductsoffered.
(3)Learningandtraining,givingabetterapproachtothetridimensionalappearancetothelearnerswithoutusingauthoringtools.
(4)Webimprovement,giving3Dtotheweb.
(5)NewsandAdimprovement,giving3Dtoadvertisingandcommercialweb-basedreports.
86K.
O.
AzkorretaandH.
O.
RodríguezTable3.
AR/MR/VRapplications(Vince,2004)GROUPSAR/MR/VRapplicationsIndustrialVisualizingengineeringconcepts,Trainingpersonnel,Evaluatingergonomicissues,Visualizingvirtualprototypes,Visualizingvirtualweapons,Exploringservicingstrategies,Simulatingtheinteractionofassemblies,Simulatingthedynamicsofarticulatedstructures,Stressanalysis,Distributedproductdevelopmentmanagement,Simulatingmanufacturingprocesses,CollaborativeengineeringonlargeAECprojects,Machiningandpressingsimulation,Concurrentengineering,Ergonomics,Virtualprototypes,Visualengineering,Spatialvisualization.
TrainingSimulatorsMedicine(Softbodymodeling,Minimallyinvasivesurgery,Virtualtherapy),Civilianflightsimulators,Teaching,Learning,Militarysimulators(Flight,etc.
),Strategicsimulators,Traindrivingsimulators,Vehiclesimulators,EmergencyservicesEntertainmentandCulturalHeritageComputerandVideoGames,Recreationalgames,ExperiencesatThematicparksandMuseums,TourismandAdvertisementVRCentresArchitecture,IndoorDesign,UrbanDevelopment,AirportDesign,BridgeDesign,HumanMovementAnalysisSeveraloptionshavebeenusedtodevelopWeb3D,themostpopularare:(1)CommercialPlugins:AdobeDirector[11],AdobeFlash[12],MicrosoftSilverlight[13],Cortona[14]andothers.
(2)JavaPlugins,appletbasedsolutionsdevelopedwithJavaorJavabasedAPIslikeJava3D[15].
(3)Ajax3D[16]:X3DbasedandpluginneededwithJavaScript.
(4)WebGL[17]:severalJavaScriptlibrariesforHTML5,(5)X3DOM[18]:thatisourchoicebecauseofthegreatcommunitysupportingthisJavaScriptandCSSlibrarywithnoneedofpluginandwidelyimplementednativelyonmostpopularwebbrowsers.
4X3DOMWhileX3DOMcommunityisstillworkinghardtomakeitareferenceforWeb3D[19],wehavetestedseveraldesktopandmobiledevicestoknowthepossibilitiestoaccess3Dcontentsusingdesktop/laptopbasedsystemsandmobilebasedsystems.
4.
1Desktop/LaptopSupportThecurrentimplementationoftheX3DOMfallbackmodelneedsanInstantRealityplugin,aFlash11pluginoraWebGL-enabledbrowser.
WebGL-enabledwebbrowsersareavailableformostplatforms.
WetestedthemostusualwebbrowsersonaMicrosoftWindows8.
1Enterprise64bitsmachineandanAppleMacOSX10.
9.
1(Table4).
AugmentedRealityApplicationsintheEngineeringEnvironment87InternetExplorer:LatestversionneededandinstallingoftheInstantRealityplugin,Flash11,orChromeFrame.
GoogleChrome[20]:Startingwithversion9.
xofGoogleChrome,WebGLisnativelysupported.
MozillaFirefox[21]:SupportsWebGLnatively,latestversionrecommended.
Safari[22]:Maconly,version5.
1andneweronOSX(10.
6andabove)includesupportforWebGLbutmanualenablingisneeded.
Opera[23]:DespiteofhavingnoinformationaboutsupportforX3DOM,wetestedthatitworksonMacOSbutitdoesn'tworkonWindows.
Table4.
Desktop/laptopbrowsersupportforX3DOMWebbrowserWindowsMacOSLinuxInternetExplorerNON/AN/AGoogleChromeOKOKN/AMozillaFirefoxOKOKN/ASafariNONON/AOperaNOOKN/A4.
2MobilesupportWetestedthemostusualwebbrowsersonaniOSbaseddeviceandanAndroidbaseddevice(Table5):iOS:ThestandardSafaribrowserdoesnotyetsupportWebGL.
However,therearevariouswaystoenableWebGLvia3rdpartysolutions,thereisnowaytovisualize3Dcontentonanywebbrowserwithoutspecialconfiguration.
Android:SonyEricssondeliveredthere2011XperiaPhoneswithWebGLsupport.
Bydoingso,SonyEricssonisthesecondmobilephonemanufacturertosupportWebGLforthedefault(Android)webbrowserandstandardHTMLcontent.
FirefoxmobileforAndroidsupportsWebGLnatively.
WeimproveditworksonourAndroiddeviceandalsoGoogleChromedoes.
WindowsPhone:Notestsdoneyet.
Table5.
MobilebrowsersupportforX3DOMWebbrowseriOSAndroidWindowsPhoneInternetExplorerN/AN/AN/AGoogleChromeNOOKN/AMozillaFirefoxN/AOKN/ASafariNON/AN/AOperaNONON/A88K.
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AzkorretaandH.
O.
Rodríguez5FromCADtoARAsmentionedabove,theinformationtransferfromCAD[24,25]modelstotheARisdonesometimesinadirectway,throughspecificsoftwareofARorthroughintermediariessuchascouldseeSketchup,Mayaor3DSthatallowmodelstobeinterpretedbytheARsoftware.
Ourproposalallows3DdesignerstoexporttheircontentsdevelopedwithusualauthortoolslikeCatia,Autocad,etc.
tobeshownontheInternetinsidewebsiteswithnoneedofdownloadingpluginsoranyspecialconfigurationfortheusers.
OnFigure1wherethisprocessisshown.
Fig.
1.
CATIAtoX3DOMOncethe3DcontentisexportedtostandardWeb3Dformat(VRML,X3D,etc.
)acustomizedHTMLandJavaScriptcodeiscreatedtodisplaythe3DcontentinusualWebbrowsersonPCs,laptops,tabletsormobilephoneswhereuserscaninteractwiththis3Dcontentresizingit,changingperspectives,etc.
3DcontentcanbeshownasVRorAR.
ForvisualizingasARmoredevelopmentisneededdependingonbeinglocationbased,markerbasedorevenOculusRift[26]basedbutalwaysusingJavaScriptandHTMLwithnocommercialplugins.
Onceweareabletoshowour3DmodelsthroughtheWeb3D,3Dprintingcouldbethenextstepandthiscouldbedonewithasimilarprocesswhereinsteadofproducingwebpagesfileformattedfor3Dprintingareputtobedownloaded(STL,stereotypelayered,etc.
)AugmentedRealityApplicationsintheEngineeringEnvironment896ConclusionsWiththeabove,weshowthattheworldofARisverypowerfulandcanhavemanyapplications[27]inengineeringandthatthisjunctioncanbeverybeneficialforallpartiesinvolved,boththedesignerandthepotentialcustomer,whichtheinformationwillreachamorerealisticandintuitiveway,asitcaninteractwiththemodelinsomecases.
Atothertimeswemaybeofassistancetotheformationormaintenance[28]ofequipment,bothaeronauticalandautomobilefield.
Intheareaofeducation,wecanseethattheinteractivewiththedesigncanbemorerealistic,althoughstillalignmenterrorsorlossofinformationareinplace,theAR[29,30]canprovideusabreakthroughinspatialabilitystudent,unimaginablerecentlytime.
Inthefieldofaeronauticsandautomobileproduction,majorcompanieslikeBoeingandAirbusarealreadymakingsignificantevidencefortheuseofARinthetrainingoftheirworkers,aswellasfieldmaintenance.
ThereisapromisingfutureforWeb3Dtechnologies.
Despiteoftheinvestmentontrainingfordevelopingthiskindofapplications,thesolutionsthatcanbereachedarelessexpensivethanothers,notonlyrelatingtomoney,alsotalkingaboutsustainability.
Asanillustrativeexample,augmentedbooksarecheapertodevelopthanpaperbooksandthereisnoneedofdeforestation,virtualfurnitureforTVprogramsischeaperandmoresustainableandincluding3Dobjectsinawebsitecouldbeaperfectwaytoletourcustomersinteractwithourproductswithnoneedofsendingsamples.
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