Virtual reality emerges from parametric technology; new design software uses virtual products that act like their real-world counterparts.

New design software uses virtual products that act like their real-world counterparts.

There is a whole new breed of design software coming into existence, software that breaks through old barriers to provide undreamed of functionality and power to the user. This new breed of program uses new data (catalog) creation technologies to get phenomenal graphics and smarter software that can fix errors as they are made. The new technology allows users to share information in new and powerful ways, with new capabilities that can enhance the work, from visualization through production.

As an example of the benefits of this new technology, notice the graphic above this article. The furniture in this graphic represents a new breed of graphical object. Not just a standard "wireframe," this furniture works in the software program just like the real thing. Notice real working parts, such as the drawers that pull open. Every component of the real manufactured product can be duplicated in software, even including "rules" which will check a furniture layout for missing pieces or mistakes in placement. "Virtual reality" has come to the furniture industry, and this article will explain some of the foundations which have made this possible.

Software can basically be described as having two parts. One, the software program, is created by the company making the software, and the other is the data that is manipulated by the software, usually controlled by the customer. In the older models, the software contained all the intelligence, and it manipulated the data. The problem with this is that in order to build in more and more "smarts," the programs got bigger and bigger, and eventually could no longer be effectively maintained. Even the world's most powerful companies had massive problems with debugging their software and meeting deadlines. A new strategy was born from this problem that enables software to take quantum leaps beyond old limitations, opening new horizons for everyone.

The new buzzword in the software industry is "object oriented." For the woodworking industry, this means that intelligence which once resided in the core software program is now being moved out into the product catalog where it can be controlled by the manufacturer. The new breed of software takes a giant leap forward because the information set that feeds the program contains massive amounts of information and intelligence that the software can use.

The Old Data Standard

The old model of creating an electronic product catalog used wireframe drawings, one per product.

Because a single furniture item can be finished and optioned with hundreds of possible combinations, it is impossible, using traditional software strategies, to create a graphic for each possible configuration of a furniture item. Because there are so many separate drawings to create and maintain, it is difficult to create images with deep detail. The user must therefore settle for 3-D graphics that are rough approximations, symbolic of the actual product being presented. Graphics are less than exciting, and vendors and buyers have had to accept graphics that are rough approximations of the product being purchased.

While this older strategy for creating information has served the industry well for the past 15 years, it is no longer powerful enough for the demands of today's users. The new software has to match up to the challenge of more intelligence and better graphics, and only a new, more powerful data foundation can enable the software to break through those performance barriers.

Parametrics

The new strategy sweeping the world is called "parametrics." This technology creates a "virtual product," literally a software duplicate of every aspect of the product, a mirror of the engineering, marketing, and administrative information sets about a product. In the case of the graphics, instead of a simple line drawing of the finished product, a powerful "parametric object" is created. Each manufactured component of the finished unit is created separately. [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 1 OMITTED].

These parts are then grouped into subassemblies (i.e. a drawer box), and the sub assemblies are then grouped into the finished unit. [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 2 OMITTED].

The finished assembly then contains all of the engineering principles of the actual product in reality. Doors can be opened, drawers pulled out. But perhaps even more important, the parts, which are actually mathematical formulas, understand their relationships to all of the other parts in the unit. If the unit is stretched an inch, the unit will correctly re-create itself, with all of the internal components following the same principles as the real product line. [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 3 OMITTED].

This "virtual product" can be accurate to an extremely high level of detail. To make a change to the shape, information is sent to the shape itself, and it then recreates itself, for presentation to the screen. In this way, a single "parametric" shape can serve to represent every size, variation, and option for an entire product family. Instead of creating an incomplete, low-detail stick drawing of each size of product, in about the same time, a single powerful and highly detailed shape can be created which can be reconfigured to represent every version of a product. [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 4 OMITTED].

All of the above examples are drawn from a single parametric shape, which was re-configured into several different product variations. Because only a single shape is being maintained, (rather than hundreds of different line drawings to represent the whole product line), time can be spent to create a much higher level of detail. This detail translates to realism and accuracy, both in the manufacturing process, and in the graphics generated by the design software. [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 5 OMITTED].

What Parametric Technology Provides

There are many benefits that this powerful new "Parametric and Object Oriented Technology" can bring to the industry. Here are just a few:

* Economy of Catalog Maintenance: As you can see from the preceding example, a single intelligent object can be made to accurately represent hundreds and even thousands of individual products in a product line. This means there is a single shape to maintain rather than hundreds of separate drawings. Any of the separate parametric tools in the industry will provide output to other formats. In this way, a single shape is maintained, and this shape is used to represent every product of its type and to generate graphics for all other CAD software using this library.

* Breakthrough Graphics: Parametrics, for the first time, allow the actual product being sold to be accurately displayed onscreen, down to the last detail. Parametrics build the product to the screen at time of need, so the product built by the software is a perfect replica of the manufactured product that the customer wants to see. Even working parts that can open or pull can be included in this new-generation graphic rendering. Parametrics allow the level of detail necessary to pave the way for true virtual reality. In the not-too-distant future a vendor and a customer will be able to take a tour of a complete duplicate of the desired environment, walking through rooms, moving objects, opening doors and drawers, etc.

* The Total Information Strategy: This level of graphic realism creates an understanding between all parties concerned with the project. The latest version of an agreed-to product can be accessed by everyone. Any changes during the project can be agreed to and verified visually by all concerned, as the visual representation of the product is passed from one person to another along the chain from customer, through vendor to manufacturer; everyone passing the most current version of virtual duplicate of the product to be delivered.

* A Breakthrough in Artificial Intelligence: Perhaps the most important benefit of all from the new technology is rules. Each object can be loaded with all the rules and constraints of use, so that when it enters the "virtual environment," this furniture object knows exactly how it should be placed, and what the real rules of use are. This new technology can actually correct mistakes in placement or product selection while they happen. Intelligent objects can be taught to know how they should be used in the software, so the product in the software program follows all of the rules that it has to in real life.

* Mass Customization Without Chaos: Parametrics provide the user with an intelligent shape capable of being customized on the spot, in front of a customer. The "intelligent shape" contains the engineering rules inside it; if it works on the screen, it has been pre-approved by the factory. What is more, this custom shape can give an exact cutting list to the shop floor for production.

And beyond...

The aforementioned examples are just the beginning. As this new data standard takes hold in the commercial environment, the influence of this information base will spread to every area of the company. From accounting through to the shop floor, the information that drives the software will enrich the working environment of the user.

Kevin Bidner is the vice president contract and commercial interiors of 20-20 Computerized Design of Ottawa, ONT. He can be reached at [phone].