Extended virtual traditional Japanese crafting system on CAVE

Abstract

We propose a user-friendly three-dimensional CG presentation system for typical Japanese crafting industry based on agent and virtual reality functions over the high-speed network. A large number of traditional Japanese fittings in local areas are redesigned as CAD data by three-dimensional computer graphic into and stored in the distributed databases over network where user can interactively retrieve the desired fittings and put those into the traditional Japanese interior to design more creative and original houses, hotels and other buildings in real-time. We initially implemented our prototyped system using JAVA and VRML over Internet environment, but extended it using OpenGL and IRIS performer on the CAVE environment over the high-speed network to improve its reality and response. Now, user can walk through the desired virtual space as a Japanese interior organized by various Japanese traditional fittings and interactively change those fittings by selecting fittings and replacing using "liquid shutter glasses" and "wand" device by simple operations. As a result, we could verify the usefulness of our suggested system for those people who are concentrating in this crafting industry but also for the people who are ordinal customers of housing.