An Evaluation Model for Web-based 3D Mass Customization Toolkit Design

Abstract

The development of geometric modelling technologies and web technologies provides the ability to present a virtual 3D product in a mass customization (MC) toolkit. Compared with 2D graphic toolkits, 3D toolkit design requires better consideration of individual customer needs, consumer and toolkit interaction, and also a means of integrating with the underlying technical infrastructure. However, there is currently no widely accepted model or criteria to regulate and evaluate 3D MC toolkit design. Given these considerations, in this paper we provide an evaluation model for web-based 3D toolkits and a heuristic evaluation of two representative commercial web-based 3D toolkits. The evaluation results indicate the usefulness and effectiveness of the model as a scale for evaluating 3D toolkits. It also reveals that despite a fair amount of effort that has been devoted to theoretical research, current 3D toolkits are still at an early development stage. We therefore conclude this paper by identifying and encouraging further topics and questions as directions for future research.