Judy M. Vance
Iowa Center for Emerging Manufacturing Technology
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa 50011-2160
Chapter in Applied Virtual Reality SIGGRAPH Course Notes
Carolina Cruz-Neira (Organizer)
Association for Computing Machinery SIGGRAPH ’98
Abstract
Because of the desire to produce better products and improve competitiveness, manufacturers are increasingly turning to virtual prototyping. This development follows a logical historical progres-sion of the use of computers in engineering design and manufacturing. Today the benefits of com-puter modeling are being realized and immersive virtual reality is being investigated as a design tool for engineers. As the new century approaches, computer-aided design continues to hold promise for facilitating new and better products. This paper outlines some of the applications of virtual prototyping currently being developed and concludes with the author’s view of the future of virtual reality as applied to engineering problems.
