Interactive 3D Modeling with Virtual Reality

Abstract

The immersive Virtual Reality (VR) environment transforms the way people learn, work, and communicate. While the traditional modeling tools such as Blender and AutoCAD are commonly used for industrial design today, handling 3D objects on a two-dimensional screen with a keyboard and mouse is very challenging. In this work, we introduce a VR modeling system named The Virtual Workshop supporting the design and manipulation of various 3D objects in virtual environments. The proposed system was developed for the Oculus Rift platform allowing a user to efficiently and precisely design 3D objects using two hands directly. The friendly system GUI supports the user to create new 3D objects from scratch using premade “basic objects” or alternatively to import an existing 3D object made in other applications. Meanwhile, the finished 3D models are stored in the standard OBJ file format and exported later for the development of 3D scenarios in other applications such as the Unity engine. From concept to design, the VR modeling system provides an open platform where the designers and the clients can better share their ideas as well as interactively refine the rendered virtual models in collaboration.