Facilitating virtual design reviews: CAD and SysML model integration in virtual reality environments

Due to the integration of mechanical, electronical and software functions in modern products, virtual product development is becoming increasingly important. In this context, virtual prototyping in particular can benefit from the visualization of CAD models of a system in virtual reality (VR) simulations, as this can support activities such as ergonomic assessments and design reviews in the early stages of development. Furthermore, managing the growing complexity of products can be supported by creating consistent system models following the Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) approach. By combining system models, created by SysML modeling syntax, CAD models, and VR simulations, benefits for the virtual model-based product development can be generated and information as well as model consistency can be improved. This article introduces a tool for the integration, simultaneously visualization, and automated linking of SysML and CAD models in an interactive VR environment. The tool can support design review and validation processes by displaying CAD objects and the associated information of the system model in one virtual environment at the same time. The focus of the exemplary tool application in this article is the validation of system requirements defined in a SysML model through the examination of a true-to-scale CAD model in VR. As a build-in feature, the validation results can be documented in the VR simulation and returned back to the SysML modeling tool so that they can be taken into account in further system development. The tool validation demonstrates potential for virtual reviews, early requirement validation, and bidirectional data exchange.