Enabling Participatory Design of 3D Virtual Scenes on Mobile Devices

Abstract

Designing 3D virtual scenes is essential for computer animation, computer game design, and virtual reality (VR) applications such as virtual museums. In this paper, we present a novel paradigm for participatory design of 3D virtual scenes on mobile devices. Designers and users are actively engaged in the design process so as to ensure that the results meet their needs with high standards of usability. Our new system allows the designers to construct an initial virtual scene via two tablet devices, one of which supports the scene assembly in a 2D window, while the other displays the corresponding 3D scene synchronously. Subsequently, the designers adapt the 3D scene based on real-time feedback of users exploring the virtual scene via a VR device, consisting of a smartphone with cardboard 3D glasses. The participants can then discuss how to further fine-tune the virtual scene by replaying the recorded footage of the user's experience process, interacting on their own respective tablets or smartphones. The system has been applied to the design of VR environments for virtual museums, residential decoration, firefighter training, and 3D games. Our user study suggests that this system not only increases the efficiency of the design process, but also gives rise to better designs.