StringCVE: ADVANCES IN A GAME ENGINE-BASED COLLABORATIVE VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT FOR ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN

The University of Auckland has been utilizing a multi-player game engine to develop an application (StringCVE) to coordinate architectural design and critique within a collaborative virtual environment (CVE). The initial emphasis of the research was to provide a low cost but feature rich alternative to commercial Virtual Reality (VR) in order to facilitate virtual design studios for architectural education. This paper summarizes case study feedback from beta tests, reports on current development, and positions the application relative to commercial VR systems and 3D CAD software. We propose that the most suitable use of game engine-based CVE is to support the early stages of design where teams can collaborate and evaluate iterations at a relatively low level of detail. In order for this to be a useful part of the design cycle the easy transfer of data (geometry and embedded information) from the game engine to 3D CAD software is crucial. We describe an integrated project database that allows correspondences between CAD representations and game engine resources to be maintained. This will allow a level of interchange between the game engine and typical CAD software sufficient to enable efficient use of StringCVE in the design and construction process.