Parallel Coordinates Plots (PCP) are a widely used approach to interactively visualize and analyze multidimensional scientific data in a 2D environment. In this paper, we explore the use of Parallel Coordinates in an immersive Virtual Reality (VR) 3D visualization environment as a means to support the decision-making process in engineering design processes. We evaluate the potential of VR PCP using a formative qualitative study with seven participants. In a task involving 54 points with 29 dimensions per point, we found that participants were able to detect patterns in the dataset compared with a previously published study with two expert users using traditional 2D PCP, which acts as the gold standard for the dataset. The dataset describes the Pareto front for a three-objective aerodynamic design optimization study in turbomachinery.

One of today’s most propitious immersive technologies is virtual reality (VR). This term is colloquially associated with headsets that transport users to a bespoke, built-for-purpose immersive 3D virtual environment. It has given rise to the field of immersive analytics—a new field of research that aims to use immersive technologies for enhancing and empowering data analytics. However, in developing such a new set of tools, one has to ask whether the move from standard hardware setup to a fully immersive 3D environment is justified—both in terms of efficiency and development costs. To this end, in this paper, we present AeroVR—an immersive aerospace design environment with the objective of aiding the component aerodynamic design process by interactively visualizing performance and geometry. We decompose the design of such an environment into function structures, identify the primary and secondary tasks, present an implementation of the system, and verify the interface in terms of usability and expressiveness. We deploy AeroVR on a prototypical design study of a compressor blade for an engine.

One of the today's most propitious immersive technologies is virtual reality (VR). This term is colloquially associated with head-sets that transport users to a bespoke, built-forpurpose immersive 3D virtual environment. It has given rise to the field of immersive visual analytics-a new field of research that aims to use immersive technologies for enhancing and empowering data analytics. In this paper we present a VR aerospace design environment with the objective of aiding the component aerodynamic design process by interactively visualizing performance and geometry. This virtual environment uses ideas from parameter-space dimension reduction to enhance the exploration and exploitation of the design space. We decompose the design of such an environment into function structures, present an implementation of the system, and verify the interface in terms of usability and expressiveness.

Computational engineering design methods and tools are common practice in modern industry. Such approaches are integral in enabling designers to efficiently explore larger and more complex design spaces. However, at the same time, computational engineering design methods tend to dramatically increase the number of candidate solutions that decision-makers must interpret in order to make appropriate choices within a set of solutions. Since all candidate solutions can be represented in digital form together with their assessment criteria, evaluated according to some sort of simulation model, a natural way to explore and understand the complexities of the design problem is to visualize their multidimensional nature. The task now involves the discovery of patterns and trends within the multidimensional design space. In this work, we aim to enhance the design decision-making process by embedding visual analytics into an immersive virtual reality environment. To this end, we present a system called IPCP: immersive parallel coordinates plots. IPCP combines the well-established parallel coordinates visualization technique for high-dimensional data with immersive virtual reality. We propose this approach in order to exploit and discover efficient means to use new technology within a conventional decision-making process. The aim is to provide benefits by enhancing visualizations of 3D geometry and other physical quantities with scientific information. We present the design of this system, which allows the representation and exploration of multidimensional scientific datasets. A qualitative evaluation with two surrogate expert users, knowledgeable in multidimensional data analysis, demonstrate that the system can be used successfully to detect both known and previously unknown patterns in a real-world test dataset, producing an early indicative validation of its suitability for decision support in engineering design processes.

Computational engineering design methods and tools are common practices in the modern industry. Such approaches are integral in enabling designers to efficiently explore large and complex design spaces. However, they also tend to dramatically increase the number of candidate solutions that decision makers must correctly interpret. Since all candidate solutions can be represented in a digital form together with their assessment criteria, a natural way to explore and understand the complexities of the design problem is to visualize their multidimensional nature. The task now involves the discovery of patterns and trends within a multidimensional design space. In this work, we aim to enhance the design decision making process with immersive Parallel Coordinates Plot (IPCP) in virtual reality. We present the design of this system, which allows representation and exploration of multidimensional scientific datasets. A qualitative validation with two surrogate expert users demonstrated that the system can be used successfully to both detect both known and previously unknown patterns and support learning the decision making process in a shorter time. The results serve as a promising indication of how immersive parallel coordinate plots can enhance decision support in complex engineering design processes.