Integrating VR and CAD

Suppliers of advanced computer-aided design and engineering applications (CAD/CAE) intend to make interactive, immersive visualization an integral part of their product offerings. Adding virtual reality (VR) capability helps reduce users' design-cycle time and cut costs. Advances in computing power and 3D visualization functionality enable this logical evolution of technology. While many VR companies have established procedures for importing data from CAD applications into VR applications, Dassault Systemes takes a different approach to integrating CAD with VR. Through collaboration with Fakespace, the company is developing native support for immersive visualization display devices within its Catia Version 5 applications. The paper discusses the functionality required to enable immersive visualization and hands-on interactivity within CAD applications. It also describes the joint development effort to bring this functionality into Catia