Abstract

The integration of Extended Reality (XR) together with real-time collaboration is expected to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of spatial design processes. In this thesis, a Virtual Reality-based spatial design prototype was created, incorporating a variety of collaborative tools and features such as multi-user undo/redo, shared assets and their placement, virtual pointing, and teleportation tools. A user study was conducted to assess the importance of these prototype features and to explore new ideas for collaborative tools. User study participants expect VR-based spatial design tools to effectively supplement existing workflows, particularly among those with previous VR experience. However they are not considered a full replacement for conventional 2D editor tools. Most user study participants expressed a desire to use a VR-based spatial design application. Additionally, real-time collaboration was introduced to Hololayer, an existing industrial Augmented Reality (AR) system at Siemens. The integration of a WebSockets-based client in conjunction with a distributed key-value store enables real-time updates for entities within the Hololayer system. Individual properties are synchronized between the key-value store and the client-side using reactive design patterns. The integration lays the foundation for more complex collaborative features to be implemented for the Hololayer system. Future work should consider integrating additional collaborative features into the spatial design prototype, guided by the suggestions from user study participants. The prototype could be used to evaluate collaborative VR-based spatial design methods in additional user studies. The Hololayer collaboration system could also be extended to enable additional functionality, like prohibiting multiple users to modify the same key-value pairs in parallel. Overall, this research highlights the transformative potential of XR technologies in enhancing the efficiency, effectiveness, and collaborative nature of spatial design processes.

Results/Implementation/Project Description

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