CONCURRENT ENGINEERING: Research and Applications MEMPHIS: New Framework for Realistic Virtual Engineering

In the manufacturing industry, they are using various concepts and solutions in order to reduce time and costs in the product development. This article introduces an approach that enables Virtual Engineering and links engineering applications with Virtual Reality (VR) solutions. Thus an environment is provided to implement virtual design reviews and enable the application of virtual prototyping methods. Middleware for Exchanging Machinery and Product Data in Highly Immersive Systems (MEMPHIS) enables interoperability between the IT infrastructure for engineering and VR applications to interconnect existing information and extend that knowledge to a VR application. MEMPHIS provides several interfaces for integrating commercial Product Lifecycle Management applications and provides enriched VR data in standard formats. Interoperability and enriched VR information during product development can reduce the Time to Market. Development/ manufacturing costs are reduced by avoiding geometrical defects and errors in product design, product assembly, and usability through simulation of product production processes. Productivity can be increased by providing an environment for collaboration where there is convenient and transparent access to the information required for the manufacturing process.