Aesthetic Shapes Evaluation Through Haptic Technology : The haptic-based immersive system

The design of aesthetic products is a process that requires a set of activities where digital models and physical mockups play an important role in the design process. Typically, virtual objects are modified (and built) several times before reaching the desired design, increasing the development time and, consequently, the final product cost. Moreover, each time a physical mockup is required for evaluating the product, the design process halts, waiting for the construction of the physical prototype. However, while the other phases of the design process only take a few minutes or hours, the physical mockup production requires more time that can range from days to weeks, causing a bigger impact in the design process. The haptic-based immersive system that we propose here will reduce the number of physical mockups during the design process allowing designers to perform all the phases of the product design process (concept, modelling, visual and physical evaluation and modification) continuously and without any interruption.