Interactive 3-D Modeling in Virtual Reality

Many applications have been developed for Virtual Reality (VR) during the new wave of VR technology. These new technologies make it possible to create 3D meshes in a virtual environment in real time. However, the usability of VR as a modelling tool is still a new area of research. This study’s research created a VR 3D modeling tool that will provide the user with tools to interactively generate and edit 3D meshes in real-time and teach the users how to create 3D models. The study had two groups of participants, one group used Autodesk Maya, and another used the VR modeling tool. All participants were from Purdue University and all data was collected in the Polytechnic Institute. Both groups were given a task to create a teacup with the time it took to complete it recorded. The VR tool was evaluated with a SUS (System Usability Scale). The participants provided feedback and rated how difficult it was to use the application. With the SUS, it was determined that the application did not meet the industry standard average score of 68. However, further analysis on users’ responses showed many areas to improve in the application. A few recommendations for future research include implementation of multi-selection, a undo and redo feature, and improvements of how the user interacts with the 3D meshes.