Visual content adaptation in context to facilitate collaboration in engineering design

Abstract

The heterogeneity of terminal devices poses a huge collaboration challenge for designers and engineers who routinely use these devices in performing professional activities. This study explored how heterogeneous terminal devices such as desktop computers, laptop computers, smartphones and tablet PCs could be used together to facilitate collaborative product visualisation in engineering design. The focus was specifically on addressing the challenge of adapting visual product information content in context. The techniques currently used in content adaptation were reviewed and analysed and some of the main challenges faced in adapting product visual information content in context identified. A scheme for content adaptation in context was subsequently created, with a view to enable ubiquitous remote product data visualisation across heterogeneous terminal devices and to support collaboration in engineering design processes. An application example is presented to illustrate the applicability of the proposed scheme in adapting virtual product models to meet engineering design task requirements while taking into consideration terminal device constraints. This work contributes to overcoming the modern era challenge of using heterogeneous terminal devices effectively to support collaboration in engineering design.