3D Design Review Systems in Immersive Environments

Addam, Omar Khodr

3D Design Review Systems in Immersive Environments

dc.contributor.advisor	Maurer, Frank O
dc.contributor.author	Addam, Omar Khodr
dc.contributor.committeemember	Willett, Wesley
dc.contributor.committeemember	Jacob, Christian J
dc.contributor.committeemember	El-Hacha, Raafat
dc.contributor.committeemember	Irani, Pourang Polad
dc.date	2024-02
dc.date.accessioned	2023-09-29T19:32:48Z
dc.date.available	2023-09-29T19:32:48Z
dc.date.issued	2023-09-21
dc.description.abstract	Design reviews play a crucial role in the development process, ensuring the quality and effectiveness of designs in various industries. However, traditional design review methods face challenges in effectively understanding and communicating complex 3D models. Immersive technologies, particularly Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs), offer new opportunities to enhance the design review process. In this thesis, we investigate using immersive environments, specifically HMDs, for 3D design reviews. We begin with a systematic literature review to understand the current state of employing HMDs in industry for design reviews. As part of this review, we utilize a detailed taxonomy from the literature to categorize and analyze existing approaches. Additionally, we present four iterations of an immersive design review system developed during my industry experience. Two of these iterations are evaluated through case studies involving domain experts, including engineers, designers, and clients. A formal semi-structured focus group is conducted to gain further insights into traditional design review practices. The outcomes of these evaluations and the focus group discussions are thoroughly discussed. Based on the literature review and the focus group findings, we uncover a new challenge associated with using HMDs in immersive design reviews—asynchronous and remote collaboration. Unlike traditional design reviews, where participants view the same section on a shared screen, HMDs allow independent exploration of areas of interest, leading to a shift from synchronous to asynchronous communication. Consequently, important feedback may be missed as the lead designer disconnects from the users' perspectives. To address this challenge, we collaborate with a domain expert to develop a prototype that utilizes heatmap visualization to display 3D gaze data distribution. This prototype enables lead designers to quickly identify areas of review and missed regions. The study incorporates the Design Critique approach and provides valuable insights into different heatmap visualization variants (top view projection, object-based, and volume-based). Furthermore, a list of well-defined requirements is outlined for future spatio-temporal visualization applications aimed at integrating into existing workflows. Overall, this thesis contributes to the understanding and improvement of immersive design review systems, particularly in the context of utilizing HMDs. It offers insights into the current state of employing HMDs for design reviews, utilizes a taxonomy from the literature to analyze existing approaches, highlights challenges associated with asynchronous collaboration, and proposes a prototype solution with heatmap visualization to address the identified challenge.
dc.identifier.citation	Addam, O. K. (2023). 3D design review systems in immersive environments (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/1880/117204
dc.identifier.uri	https://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/42046
dc.language.iso	en
dc.publisher.faculty	Graduate Studies
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subject	Human-Computer interaction (HCI)
dc.subject	Extended reality (XR)
dc.subject	Design Reviews
dc.subject.classification	Computer Science
dc.title	3D Design Review Systems in Immersive Environments
dc.type	doctoral thesis
thesis.degree.discipline	Computer Science
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary
thesis.degree.name	Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
ucalgary.thesis.accesssetbystudent	I do not require a thesis withhold – my thesis will have open access and can be viewed and downloaded publicly as soon as possible.