Exploring Tangible VR as a Tool for Workplace Design

Abstract

In this paper, we present a demonstrator that combines elements of physical prototyping and Virtual Reality. Our goal is to integrate VR in the design process of workplaces, not as a replacement of physical prototyping, but complementary to it. We call this approach Tangible Virtual Reality. We discuss our own background in embodied interaction, and present the context for our research: an industrial work cell for human-robot interaction, proposed by Audi Brussels, Kuka Belgium and FRS Robotics. We explain and illustrate how we used 3D CAD geometry to create a VR model and a physical prototype, and how we mapped them over one another. The result is a demonstrator that offers a VR experience, enhanced with real tactile information, and channeled by the natural limitations of the physical world. We suggest where the benefits of this physical/virtual design approach lay, and discuss how it could be operationalized in workplace design practice.