pARam: Leveraging Parametric Design in Extended Reality to Support the Personalization of Artifacts for Personal Fabrication

Document Title

pARam: Leveraging Parametric Design in Extended Reality to Support the Personalization of Artifacts for Personal Fabrication

Document Information

• Subject Area: Human-Computer Interaction, Extended Reality, Personalized Design and Fabrication
• Keywords: Personal Fabrication, Mixed Reality, Design Customization, 3D Modeling, Parametric Design, In-Situ Modeling, In-Situ Design, Remixing, Customization Interface, pARam

Research Background and Problem

• Identified Problems or Challenges:

  • The design process for personal fabrication typically falls into two extremes: complex 3D modeling or selecting and modifying existing models, both of which have significant limitations.
  • 3D modeling requires users to invest substantial time in learning design, engineering, and material science, while model search and modification are constrained by database content and the difficulty of adjusting designs.
  • Parametric design simplifies the design space through predefined parameter combinations, but existing tools still face challenges such as complex interactions, reliance on external environmental inputs, and difficulties in result validation.

• Significance:

  • Parametric design tools can support a broader range of non-expert users, thereby improving accessibility and efficiency in personal fabrication.
  • Leveraging extended reality devices can embed the design process directly into the intended usage environment, avoiding the need for traditional tools to measure and translate environmental data.

• Research Motivation and Related Work:

  • Parametric design has been applied in manufacturing and architecture, demonstrating its convenience and powerful ability to generate design variations.
  • However, current tools are mostly tailored for expert users and fail to adequately address the practical needs of non-expert users.
  • In-situ design and fabrication have been technically proven to offer convenience, but research combining these approaches with parametric design is still lacking.

Proposed Solution

• Proposed Solution:

  • The authors propose pARam, a tool that integrates parametric design with extended reality to support personal fabrication by enabling real-time configuration of designs in actual environments.
  • pARam allows users to quickly customize designs through gestures, direct interaction, and recommendations, while leveraging extended reality devices for design validation, such as lighting and stability estimation.

• Innovative Features:

  • Shifting design activities from traditional desktop environments to the actual intended usage environment.
  • Supporting intuitive gesture-based measurements and real-time design validation, such as estimating lighting and object stability through scanned environmental meshes.
  • Providing design support integrated with ergonomic recommendations, enabling users to make informed choices for functional designs.

• Implementation Steps and Key Technologies:

  1. Users select a parametric design.
  2. The design is positioned in the actual environment and adjusted parametrically (e.g., resizing, curve drawing).
  3. The extended reality system is used to preview and validate the design in real-time, including lighting effects and stability estimation.
  4. The digital design is ultimately fabricated into a physical object.
  • Core technologies include Microsoft HoloLens 2, the Unity 3D game engine, and the parametric design tool Archimatix.

Research Outcomes

• Specific Outcomes:

  • Users can select parameters related to the physical context in the actual environment, resulting in designs that are better suited to the intended usage scenario.
  • The parameter adjustment process is simplified through gesture and voice input, making it particularly user-friendly for non-experts.

• Advantages Compared to Existing Solutions:

  • pARam significantly reduces the learning curve associated with traditional design tools by directly integrating design activities with the usage environment.
  • It provides immediate feedback that is visually linked to the actual environment, eliminating the need for repeated physical fabrication and validation.

• Experimental or Evaluation Results:

  • In user studies, pARam was found to better immerse users in the design space and optimize design outcomes based on environmental needs compared to desktop environments.
  • Users reported finding it easier to visualize design outcomes and expressed positive attitudes toward the tool's innovative features, such as the curve-drawing functionality.
  • Features like lighting estimation and stability validation, though limited by hardware constraints, demonstrated their importance and potential.

• Limitations and Future Directions:

  • The current tool's interaction precision is limited by hardware, particularly in gesture measurement and environmental scanning capabilities.
  • Supporting more complex objects and different types of items (e.g., clothing or more challenging geometries) requires further research.
  • Automated features, such as design suggestions or highly customizable validation functions, need optimization to better capture users' ambiguous needs.
  • Expanding the library of parametric design models and exploring applications in non-fabrication domains, such as virtual design environments, are potential future directions.