Abstract

The architectural walkthrough was one of the earliest applications of immersive virtual environments (VEs). In a walkthrough, architects, clients, contractors, and other interested parties can experience a full-scale synthetic model of an architectural design from a first-person point of view, allowing potential problems and other issues to be noticed and resolved before the structure is built. Most architectural VEs, however, have provided only visualization and experience to users, while more complex tasks such as design changes must be done using desktop CAD software or physical blueprints.
In this talk, I will discuss current research at Virginia Tech on architectural VEs. Our work aims to enable immersive design, in which users can interactively create and modify an architectural space while immersed within it, and information-rich virtual environments (IRVEs), in which a building and related abstract information are visualized in the same space. Specifically, our research investigates:
1. Advanced domain-specific 3D interaction techniques
2. Software tools for architectural IRVEs and immersive design systems
3. Empirical evaluation of information display and interaction techniques
4. Comparison of immersive display platforms for architectural applications
5. Collaboration in spatial contexts

Dr. Doug Bowman is an assistant professor of Computer Science at Virginia Tech. His research is in the area of 3D user interface design and evaluation, and incorporates aspects of human-computer interaction (HCI), computer graphics, and virtual environments (VEs). He leads the 3D Interaction research group, and is an active member of the Center for HCI and the University Visualization and Animation Group at Virginia Tech. He recently received a prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER award, and is the lead author of the forthcoming book "3D User Interfaces: Theory and Practice" (Addison-Wesley, 2004). Dr. Bowman received a B.S. in mathematics and computer science from Emory University, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology.