Development of virtual prototyping technology in the Gamsung Engineering Project

It is common practice to design a product using CAD tools. The product design model is analysed with respect to various physical principles using computer-aided engineering (CAE) tools. The result of the analysis is used to modify the product design to improve its functionality. Unfortunately, functionality alone does not sell well in the increasingly competitive world wide market. The product must not only be functional and of high quality, but must also be appealing to the consumer. We have initiated a multi-year national research and development project called the Gamsung Engineering Project. The project uses CAD, virtual reality and CAE tools for analysing various human comfort measures. In this way the user may evaluate the product and indicate his preference to the designer.