Shape Evaluation Properties in Real Space and Virtual Space

Abstract

These days, not only designers but also general people have the chance to evaluate the design of products, such as cars, clothes, and electrical appliances, on computer displays or in virtual space. However, there is a high possibility of disagreement between the evaluation of shape in virtual space and that in real space. In this chapter, a 3D shape evaluation support system is introduced which integrates the visual information in virtual space and the tactile and gazing line-action information in real space. The proposed system can control information, for example, visual or tactile, and the linkage between motion and gazing line, which are used to evaluate the product shape, and investigate the role this information plays in evaluation. The preference for 3D shapes in the proposed virtual space is compared with that of real photoformed products made from the same data by the sensory evaluation of paired comparison and questionnaire analysis. It was found that the preference for shapes in both spaces was consistent with the relation of preferences based on the Bradley–Terry model for sensory evaluation. This indicates that the proposed system provides almost the same environment for shape evaluation as in real space. The results of questionnaires also indicate that the proposed system is enough to evaluate 3D shapes in virtual space. Moreover, the influence of differences in the point of view on the evaluation of shapes in virtual space is investigated using the proposed system by the sensory evaluation of paired comparison and questionnaire analysis. As a result, it is found that, for the evaluation of shapes in virtual space, subjects prefer a point of view from which they can see only their forearms’ motion. The system enables the investigation of human’s sense for shape evaluation by handling visual, tactile, and gazing line-action information.