3D Factory Visualization : Implementing 3D visualizations as a communication tool in a production context

Today’s production environment is becoming increasingly complex. This calls for informed decision-making capabilities based on a solid understanding of the production process state. Virtual factories may provide the answer, where different production perspectives are presented by real world data in the same virtual cross-reality. The 3D aspect of the virtual cross-reality may allow the user to quickly associate abstract information and processes with corresponding physical entities in the production layout.The aim of the project is to create a production status visualization application that features an overview of available production data, which empowers the user to quickly find relevant information to make informed decisions. The goal is to solve this by visualizing the factory state in near real-time, creating a production management system which presents data from many sources.This thesis covers the development of visual components for the application development. The report categorizes into the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) domain with an underlying focus on perception and 3D visualization. The main research question of the thesis was: How does the addition of 3D elements affect the user experience of a production status application?The main goals of the thesis was visualize relevant information about the overall production status, thus supporting users in the decision making process. This was be achieved by carrying out the following process:• Performing a literature study that includes researching and establishing the scientific frontier on the subject of 2D/3D visualization as well as learning from any previous research conducted in the field.• Conducting a user study to understand the needs of the users and what type of information that needs to be readily available for showing the process state of a factory.• Carry out a benchmarking analysis to identify current solutions on the market and identifying relevant solutions.• Creating concepts that addressed user requirements, in order to solve issues regarding the current production management system. Detail designs translated early ideas and concepts into viable solutions ready for testing. • Proving whether 3D visualization is relevant in this context, by evaluating prototypes with user tests.The results of this thesis was an application concept design, derived through creative methods and several design iterations. The design was tested against a 2D counterpart design with promising results.Validerat; 20140817 (global_studentproject_submitter