Applications of the Web-based collaborative visualization in distributed product development

This paper illustrates applications of the Web-based collaborative visualization (WCV) in distributed product development. Three software prototypes were developed using the WCV technologies. The first one enables the end users to configure individual parts of 3D assembly in a regular browser, and thus provides an effective tool to collect the customer's voices in e-commerce. The second system realizes mass customization for car interior design. Online ergonomic evaluation is conducted based on the interactions between a digital human mimicking the user and the design model. Finally, an Internet-based design review system is implemented. It enables synchronous communications between a designer and people involved in the change process with no access to CAD. These prototypes demonstrate the practicality, flexibility, and versatility of the WCV in integration with other proprietary software tools using a variety of platforms like ASP framework, Java-based technology, and Windows C/C++ applications. This work shows that the WCV is an interfacing technology, which facilitates 3D information sharing for most product-centric activities in a simple and cost-effective manner. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.