Digital Engineering – August 2019

20 DE^ | Technology for Optimal Engineering Design August 2019 /// DigitalEngineering247.com

FOCUS ON

IMMERSIVE DESIGN | VISUALIZATION

How do they plan on doing this? By returning to the basics.

The advantage in mixed reality systems lies in the form in which

information is presented and the context in which it is applied. To

achieve this, the developers of these systems have turned to exist-

ing and proven technologies: virtual reality (VR) and augmented

reality (AR). What is of significance is how the two are combined.

Two Ways of Viewing It

As if a technology that represents a mix of two systems is not con-

fusing enough, the MR label has two meanings. It can be used as

an independent concept or to classify types of reality technologies.

The broader interpretation, referenced in the reality-virtuality

continuum, describes the coverage of all possible variations and

compositions of real and virtual objects. The continuum ranges

from a completely real and natural environment to a completely

virtual environment.

Developers espousing the independent concept, however,

see MR as a combination of the best features of virtual reality

and augmented reality. This approach produces visualizations in

which physical and digital objects co-exist and interact with each

other in real time.

A Question of Context

Similar to AR, MR superimposes digital content (e.g., text, 3D

graphics, sound and video) onto the backdrop of a real-world en-

vironment. By placing information in context and allowing the

user to simultaneously see elements of both worlds, MR helmet-

mounted displays (HMDs) greatly enhance the user’s ability to

consume and process information.

The element that sets MR systems apart from AR systems is

that MR content appears in the form of a hologram within the

actual real-world environment, an approach that eliminates the

constraints of conventional 2D visualizations.

With MR headsets and gloves, designers can use hand ges-

tures and voice commands to manipulate and interact with their

designs as if they were real objects, walking around and look-

ing inside the design. In addition, MR allows users to see the

real world alongside virtual objects anchored to a defined point,

helping users to treat them as real objects.

Until recently, Microsoft’s HoloLens smart glasses domi-

nated the MR market, but an HMD from Magic Leap blends

holographic data with the real world in a way that some claim

represents a significant advance toward the provision of true

spatial context for the user, aiming to place full-sized, 3D digital

data into the physical world.

What’s the Appeal?

Even after hearing about some of MR’s more impressive features,

design engineers inevitably may ask: How will MR enhance the

Is Mixed Reality Worth a Try?

The visual technology holds much promise for design review and

collaboration, but still faces limitations in hardware and processing power.

Mixed reality places a holographic projection of digital

data into the physical world. This allows development

teams to determine if their design ts into the space

allotted by the application and to ensure that there is

adequate room for adjacent structures or equipment.

Images courtesy of Theorem Solutions.

BY TOM KEVAN

S

CIENTISTS ESTIMATE THAT 80% to 90% of the information processed by humans occurs through the

sense of sight. For design engineers contending with the gap that exists between the physical and digital worlds,

this can be a problem. Developers of mixed reality (MR) systems, however, aim to give product designers the

means to bridge this gap by integrating the two forms of data in an environment that plays to the strengths of

humans’ ability to digest visual information.

DE_0819_Focus_Mixed_Reality_Kevan.indd 20 7/11/19 10:53 AM