Design

From the BBC News website: "Students and teachers in Birmingham will be able to test plans for rebuilding schools using a computer-game style virtual world. A project linking universities and software developers will allow schools to experiment with different furniture layouts and building designs.

It has been likened to playing a computer game in which characters can move around a 3D environment. Birmingham has plans to rebuild or refurbish 82 secondary schools. This virtual tool will help with one of the biggest Building Schools for the Future projects in the country.

This Press Release reports "the virtual aquarium, using rear-projection technology, is one of the largest in the world to showcase aquatic life digitally. Manufactured by Reynolds Polymer Technology Inc., the panel featured mermaids "swimming" in the water at the grand opening to enchant guests.

This Design News article reports that with Simulink 3D Animation, engineers can visually observe the dynamic behavior of systems as part of the design process. From the article: "Responding to the growing demand among engineers to visually observe the dynamic behavior of the systems they're designing, The MathWorks has released Simulink 3D Animation.

The software, an upgraded version of a product formerly known as Virtual Reality Toolbox, provides an interface between the MATLAB environment and Simulink multidomain simulation platform and virtual reality graphics. As a result, engineers and scientists can dynamically simulate their mechanical products and control systems in a 3-D virtual reality environment, giving them a more realistic view of their offering.

This msnbc.com article reports testing subjects in a virtual building could lead to improved design. From the article: "Getting test subjects lost in a virtual building could reveal a lot about how to construct more people-friendly hospitals, schools and other spaces, according to a unique collaboration by a group of California neurologists and architects.

The merging of neuroscience, architecture, psychology and virtual reality is allowing researchers to track the brain signals of study participants as they navigate through a simulated building within a high-tech room called the StarCAVE.

This TG Daily.com article talks about at a tool developed to measure reality of virtual worlds. From the article: "Raleigh (NC) - A research team led by Dr. Mitzi Montoya of North Carolina State University has developed a way to put a number on how realistic online virtual online words are. His measure of realness is being sought after by corporations to identify better training tools and ways to conduct business. The idea is that virtual environments cost less than moving people around the globe, lodging them, etc. If businesses pick up on this idea of going virtual, then how soon until we will see a major push toward perfecting the technology? And how far away are we today?

This Wired Gadget Lab post reports the University of South Australia's Wearable Computer Lab is building the 100-sq.meter AR visualization center to improve AR quality and serve as a 'magic box' for related visual technologies. From the article: "Augmented Reality projects have most recently focused on war games, but a new lab at the Mawson Institute for Advanced Manufacturing will bring this tech closer to home. More specifically, it should jump to the car showrooms of America within years, ultimately leading AR systems to become compelling presentation programs.

This ForConstructionPros.com article reports virtual reality is today a key tool for New Holland Construction's Product Development engineers when designing new machines and components. From the article: "New Holland Construction benefits from the use of two Virtual Reality Centers: one in Burr Ridge, Ill, and a second one, which recently opened in its manufacturing plant in Turin, Italy.

This Autocar article reports Jaguar Land Rover has finally opened its Virtual Reality Centre (we discussed about it previously in this post). From the article: "Jaguar Land Rover has opened its new ‘Virtual Reality Centre’ at the Design and Engineering Centre in Gaydon. The company has invested £2 million in the new technology to speed up product development.

The design facility will use advanced virtual reality software and the world’s highest-resolution projectors to allow engineers and designers wearing 3-D glasses to interact with life-size models of vehicles and components.

JLR hopes that the system will reduce the need for expensive physical prototypes as they claim it is capable of simulating vehicle exteriors and interiors at an almost photo-realistic resolution.

This oneighturbo.com article reports the German Chancellor and the Volkswagen Chairman opened the Volkswagen Virtual Reality Centre in Brazil. From the article: "German Chancellor Angela Merkel was given a warm welcome in the Brazilian city of São Bernardo do Campo by Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, during her tour of South America. In the presence of other representatives from industry and politics, the two dignatories officially opened the Virtual Reality Centre, an innovation in vehicle development and the first of its kind in South America, at the VW site near São Paulo.

This ScienceDaily article reports researchers from four Fraunhofer Institutes are adding new functionalities to their Functional DMU (Digital Mock-Up) project. From the article: "From cars and mobile phones to computers and furniture, most of today's products are created virtually on a computer before they are actually produced. In the context of the Functional DMU (Digital Mock-Up) project, researchers from four Fraunhofer Institutes are adding new functionalities to digital product development.