Use it early: The effect of immersion on spatial and design space aspects in team-based mechanical design reviews

Abstract

The proliferation of high-immersion technologies might change the way virtual prototypes are used in the design process. This paper investigates the effect of immersion on reviews – critical design situations where many decisions are made. More specifically, the paper analyses the effect of immersion on spatial (intrinsic or extrinsic) and design space (problem or solution) aspects of the review. The effects have been tested in an experimental study comparing low- (computer screen) and high- (head-mounted display) immersion collaborative virtual environments (CVEs). In the experiment, four-member distributed teams conducted early-phase reviews with virtual prototypes represented in one of the two environments. Results show that the high-immersion CVE did not significantly affect the number of feedback items. Next, there was a non-significant but medium effect on the number of extrinsic feedback items, i.e., items that consider relations between the design and surroundings (e.g., users, environment). Finally, there was a significantly higher number and proportion of problem-related feedback items. Therefore, a high-immersion CVE might be more suitable if designers would like to get more problem-related or extrinsic feedback – essential aspects for the early design phases. These findings suggest that low-immersion and high-immersion CVEs are not substitutable but rather complementary technologies.