Virtual reality in the design process: From design review to ergonomic studies

In this paper, we present a methodology for the design and evaluation of virtual reality applications. We distinguish between three levels of immersion and interaction: the functional level, the mental level and the sensorimotor level. This provides several design rules. The evaluation of virtual environments thus created is also addressed. We give some details of the on the visual perception system for stereoscopic viewing. This issue is usually not addressed for people consider the standard stereo packages being correct. In our application several constraints make this assumption false. We present a case study for a car dashboard manufacturer. The IMAVE system designed for styling review, gaps visualization and simple ergonomic validation is described and analyzed. Its features do not allow the use of standard styling review package, especially as far as stereoscopic visualization is concerned.