Research On The Application Of Virtual Reality In The Garment Virtual Product Design

With the increasing global competition and the rapidly developing information technologies, modern companies have to face the difficult problem to promptly meet the market requirements with lower cost and higher qualities. The trends of globalization of the product design and manufacture, working with the Internet and Virtual Reality technology are the key features of modern Manufacture Industry. They are also the most important ways to enhance the companies' competitive power.Virtual Product Design Technology (VPD) is based on the computer simulation and the model of product life circle. It includes Computer Graphics, Artificial Intelligence, Concurrent Engineering, network technologies, multimedia technologies and Virtual Reality (VR). The paper discusses the application in the Garment Industry. On the basis of the existing Garment CAD Technology, this article studies VPD in the garment field from the real design requirements of virtual design and cooperative design. As a result, it puts forward a Garment Virtual Product Design System (GVPDS) based on VR. The system offers a new way to design garment in the virtual reality environment.The paper makes the study mainly focused on the Garment Industry. The main contents are as following:Firstly, the paper studies VR and its software realizations with the help of the related articles. The mechanism and interactive technology of Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) are studied in detail.Secondly, the paper sets up GVPDS on the basis of the research above and the existing Virtual Design Systems in other field. GVPDS is focused on the Garment Industry.Thirdly, the paper puts forward an improved surface modelingmethod and successfully applies it to make 3D garment models. It also realizes a parameterized body model. Certain relations, which make the model easy to control, are established between the 3D model and the body parameter. Besides, 3D pattern models are realized based on draping knowledge. It is a new method to realize garment conversion from 2D to 3D. Based on these models, the article establishes virtual garment.Fourthly, the paper realizes the GVPDS in the local environment after combing the 3D garment models and the interactive methods together.Fifthly, VRML formatted garment models are set up by points set and Proto node in VRML. Certain interactive methods based on EAI are designed according to the features of VRML models.Finally, the realization of a VRML based cooperative platform is discussed. The paper realizes part of the platform based on the VRML models and the interactive methods.GVPDS is a new way to apply the VR to the Garment Industry. If further study is made, GVPDS will be a good platform for garment design in the garment companies.