Virtual Assembly Collision Detection Algorithm Using Backpropagation Neural Network

As computer graphics technology continues to advance,Collision Detection(CD)has emerged as a critical element in fields such as virtual reality,computer graphics,and interactive simulations.CD is indispensable for ensuring the fidelity of physical interactions and the realism of virtual environments,particularly within complex scenarios like virtual assembly,where both high precision and real-time responsiveness are imperative.Despite ongoing developments,current CD techniques often fall short in meeting these stringent requirements,resulting in inefficiencies and inaccuracies that impede the overall performance of virtual assembly systems.To address these limitations,this study introduces a novel algorithm that leverages the capabilities of a Backpropagation Neural Network(BPNN)to optimize the structural composition of the Hybrid Bounding Volume Tree(HBVT).Through this optimization,the research proposes a refined Hybrid Hierarchical Bounding Box(HHBB)framework,which is specifically designed to enhance the computational efficiency and precision of CD processes.The HHBB framework strategically reduces the complexity of collision detection computations,thereby enabling more rapid and accurate responses to collision events.Extensive experimental validation within virtual assembly environments reveals that the proposed algorithm markedly improves the performance of CD,particularly in handling complex models.The optimized HBVT architecture not only accelerates the speed of collision detection but also significantly diminishes error rates,presenting a robust and scalable solution for real-time applications in intricate virtual systems.These findings suggest that the proposed approach offers a substantial advancement in CD technology,with broad implications for its application in virtual reality,computer graphics,and related fields.

Integrated Virtual Assembly Process Planning System

Assembly process planning（APP） for complicated products is a time-consuming and difficult work with conventional method. Virtual assembly process planning（VAPP） provides engineers a new and efficiency way. Previous studies in VAPP are almost isolated and dispersive, and have not established a whole understanding and discussed key realization techniques of VAPP from a systemic and integrated view. The integrated virtual assembly process planning（IVAPP） system is a new virtual reality based engineering application, which offers engineers an efficient, intuitive, immersive and integrated method for assembly process planning in a virtual environment. Based on analysis the information integration requirement of VAPP, the architecture of IVAPP is proposed. Through the integrated structure, IVAPP system can realize information integration and workflow controlling. In order to mode/the assembly process in IVAPP, a hierarchical assembly task list（HATL） is presented, in which different assembly tasks for assembling different components are organized into a hierarchical list. A process-oriented automatic geometrical constraint recognition algorithm（AGCR） is proposed, so that geometrical constraints between components can be automatically recognized during the process of interactive assembling. At the same time, a progressive hierarchical reasoning（PHR） model is discussed. AGCR and PHR will greatly reduce the interactive workload. A discrete control node model（DCNM） for cable harness assembly planning in IVAPP is detailed. DCNM converts a cable harness into continuous flexed line segments connected by a series of section center points, and designs can realize cable harness planning through controlling those control nodes. Mechanical assemblies （such as transmission case and engine of automobile） are used to illustrate the feasibility of the proposed method and algorithms. The application of IVAPP system reveals advantages over the traditional assembly process planning method in shortening the time-consumed in assembly planning and in minimizing the handling difficulty, excessive reorientation and dissimilarity of assembly operations.

Kinematics Analysis of Mechanisms Based on Virtual Assembly

Currently, virtual assembly technology has attracted increasing attention due to considerations of solving assembly problems in virtual environment before actual assembly in manufactory. Previous studies on kinematic analysis of mechanism only aim at analyzing motion law of single mechanism, but can not simulate the multi-mechanisms motion process at the same time, let alone simulating the automatic assembly process of products in a whole assembly workshop. In order to simulate the assembly process of products in an assembly workshop and provide effective data for analyzing mechanical performance after finishing assembly simulation in virtual environment, this study investigates the kinematics analysis of mechanisms based on virtual assembly. Firstly, in view of the same function of the kinematic pairs and the assembly constraints on restricting the motion of components （subassembly or part）, the method of identifying kinematic pairs automatically based on assembly constraints is presented. The information of kinematic pairs can be obtained through calculating the constraint degree of the assembly constraints. Secondly, the incidence matrix eliminating element method is proposed in order to search the information and establish the models of mechanisms automatically after finishing assembly simulation in virtual environment. Both methods have important significance for reducing the workload of pretreatment and promoting the level of automation of kinematics analysis. Finally, the method of kinematics analysis of mechanisms is presented. Based on Descartes coordinates, three types of kinematics equations are formed. The parameters, like displacement, velocity, and acceleration, can be obtained by solving these equations. All these data are important to analyze mechanical performance. All the methods are implemented and validated in the prototype system virtual assembly process planning（VAPP）. The mechanism models are established and simulated in the VAPP system, and the result curves are shown accurately. The proposed kinematics analysis of mechanisms based on virtual assembly provides an effective method for simulating product assembly process automatically and analyzing mechanical performance after finishing assembly simulation.

RESEARCH OF GUIDANCE TECHNOLOGY FOR ASSEMBLY MODELING IN VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT

Technology of movement and knowledge guidance in virtual assembly is presented The designer can move the mechanical part precisely under the movement guidance The movement guidance is implemented based on constraint recognition and assembly degree of freedom analysis A multi hierarchy knowledge base is built to represent the assembly knowledge and information The virtual assembly system judges the requirement of the designer based on the context of design task and searches for the useful knowledge and information, which can be provided to the designer in a natural way

Contact State Estimation Based on Surface-matching in Virtual Assembly

Contact problems are one of the most challenging fields in virtual assembly. Information of contact states could be utilized to realize compliant motion of work pieces, to analyze the contact stress, to assist positioning parts and so on. Some methods have already been proposed to estimate contact states between objects and in most of these methods contact states between objects are simplified in order to realize real-time visual reality animation. While in virtual assembly contact states between parts are required to analyze contact stress, deformation and quality. Besides the contact state estimation method for virtual assembly should be able to handle a number of complex parts in real time. There are rarely known methods which could meet this requirement till now. In this study a contact state estimation algorithm based on surface-matching for virtual assembly is proposed. Contacts between parts are categorized into six basic types according to contact region of surfaces. Based on continuous collision detection of polyhedral models a novel contact state identification algorithm which is based on surface matching is proposed. Then contact evolution algorithm, which utilizes the extern force and contact information, is implemented to handle evolution of contact state. Finally a prototype system is developed to verify the above technologies. Experiment results reveal that contact state between parts could be estimated correctly in real time virtual assembly. The proposed contact state estimation algorithm provides a complete solution to obtain the contact state between parts in virtual assembly. Information of contact state between parts could be utilized to realize contact dynamic, contact stress analysis, assembly quality analysis, and so on.

Universal Mechanism Modeling Method in Virtual Assembly Environment

Motion simulation and performance analysis of mechanism are important methods for analyzing assembly quality after finishing assembly simulation in virtual assembly environment. However, most simulation systems have no function of mechanism motion simulation due to the randomicity of mechanism and lack of universal mechanism modeling method. In order to realize the simulation of any mechanism after finishing assembly simulation in a virtual environment, a new universal mechanism modeling method is presented. Two main models are contained in the mechanism model： information model and mathematical model. Firstly, the information model of mechanism is proposed to describe the data structure of mechanism which contains bottom geometry data, information of constraint, link, kinematic pair and physical data. Because the object of mechanism simulation is the assembly, which is assembled during the process of assembly simulation, the information of mechanism can be obtained automatically through mechanism automatic search method. Secondly, mathematical model of mechanism is presented. The mathematical model uses mathematical method to express the mechanism. In order to realize the automatic expression of any random mechanism, basic constraint library is presented, consequently random mechanism can be described based on the basic constraint library. Finally, two examples are introduced to validate the method in the prototype system named VAPP（Virtual Assembly Process Planning）. The validation result shows that the mechanism modeling provides a universal modeling method for mechanism motion simulation in virtual assembly environment. This research has important effect on the development both of mechanism motion simulation and virtual assembly.

Realization Techniques of Virtual Assembly Process Planning System

The key realization techniques of virtual assembly process planning （VAPP） system are analyzed, including virtual assembly model, real-time collision detection, automatic constraint recognition algorithm, cable harness assembly process planning and visual assembly process plan at the workshop. A virtual assembly model based on hierarchical assembly task list （HATL） is put forward, in which assembly tasks are defined to express component assembling operations and are sequentially and hierarchically organized according to different subassemblies, which can perfectly model the construction process of product, And a multi-layer automatic geometry constraint recognition algorithm of how to identify assmbly constraint relations in the virtual environment is proposed, then a four-layer collision detection algorithm is discussed. A VAPP system is built and some simple mechanical assemblies are used to illustrate the feasibility of the proposed method and algorithms.

Creation and Evaluation of a Multi-sensory Virtual Assembly Environment

The multi-modal information presentation, integrated into the virtual environment （VE）, has potential for stimulating different senses, improving the user＇s impression of immersion, and increasing the amount of information that is accepted and processed by the user＇s perception system. The increase of the useful feedback information may reduce the user＇s cognitive load, thus enhancing the user＇s efficiency and performance while interacting with VEs. This paper presents our creation of a multi-sensory virtual assembly environment （VAE） and the evaluation of the effects of multi-sensory feedback on the usability. The VAE brings together complex technologies such as constraint-based assembly simulation, optical motion tracking technology, and real-time 3D sound generation technology around a virtual reality workbench and a common software platform. The usability evaluation is in terms of its three attributes： efficiency of use, user satisfaction, and reliability. These are addressed by using task completion times （TCTs）, questionnaires, and human performance error rates （HPERs）, respectively. Two assembly tasks have been used to perform the experiments, using sixteen participants. The outcomes showed that the multi-sensory feedback could improve the usability. They also indicated that the integrated feedback offered better usability than either feedback used in isolation. Most participants preferred the integrated feedback to either feedback （visual or auditory） or no feedback. The participants＇ comments demonstrated that nonrealistic or inappropriate feedback had negative effects on the usability, and easily made them feel frustrated. The possible reasons behind the outcomes are also analysed by using a unifying human computer interaction framework. The implications, concluded from the outcomes of this work, can serve as useful guidelines for improving VE system design and implementation.

Imperfect preventive maintenance for numerical control machine tools with log-linear virtual age process

Based on the log-linear virtual age process, an imperfect preventive maintenance policy for numerical control(NC)machine tools with random maintenance quality is proposed. The proposed model is a combination of the Kijima type virtual age model and the failure intensity adjustment model. Maintenance intervals of the proposed hybrid model are derived when the failure intensity increase factor and the restoration factor are both random variables with uniform distribution. The optimal maintenance policy in infinite time horizon is presented. A numerical example is given when the failures of NC machine tools are described by the log-linear process. Finally, a discussion is presented to show how the optimal results depend on the different cost parameters.

Modular Fixture Assembly Model for Virtual Assembly Design

To support modular fixture assembly design in virtual environment,a multi-view based modular fixture virtual assembly model is proposed.Instead of squeezing all assembly related information into a single model,three complementary views of assembly model,element information,function and structure,and assembly relationship are proposed to be used.The first view contains the detailed element information,while the other two explicitly capture the hierarchical function relationships and mating relationships respectively.These views are complementary in the sense that each view only contains a specific aspect of assembly related information while together they include required assembly related information.The proposed assembly model is specialized to accommodate the features of modular fixture virtual assembly design and applied in our developed prototype system.

Research on an Integrated Modeling Method of Virtual Ship Assembly

A new method of virtual ship assembly modeling which integrates ship three-dimensional design and ship construction planning was described in this paper. A workflow model of simulation modeling based on the virtual ship assembly process was also established; furthermore, a method of information transformation between the ship three-dimensional design and ship construction plan was formulated. To meet the requirements of information sharing between different systems in the ship virtual assembly, a simulation database was created by using the software engineering design method and the relational data model. With the application of this database, the information of ship three-dimensional design, construction planning, and virtual assembly can be integrated into one system. Subsequently, this new method was applied as a tool to simulate the virtual assembly of a ship, and the results guarantee its rationality and reliability.

Application and Design of Virtual Reality Technology in Railway Maintenance Training

Virtual reality technology is a brand new comprehensive information technology emerging during the end of 21 st century. In recent years in particular, it gains rapid development, involving industries like education, industry, military, entertainment and medicine. Combined with the characteristics of railway maintenance training, this thesis proposes the application of virtual reality in courseware, distance education, locomotive simulation driving, locomotive overhauling oil and breakdown processing, and illustrates key technology and solution of the exploitation of virtual reality technology.

Virtual Reality Technology Applied on Maintenance of Painted Walls of Buildings

In a building, the paint coating applied to interior walls conveys their aesthetic character and also performs an important function of protection. It is a construction component which is exposed to agents of deterioration related to its use, needing the regular evaluation of its state of repair. The completed model supports the performance of such periodic inspections and the monitoring of interior wall maintenance, using Virtual Reality (VR) technology. Used during an inspection visit, the application allows users to consult a database of irregularities, normally associated with paint coating, classified by the most probable causes and by recommended repair methodologies. In addition, with this model, a chromatic scale related to the degree of deterioration of the coating, defined as a function of the time between the dates of the application of the paint and the scheduled repainting, can be attributed to each element of coating monitored. This use of VR technology allows inspections and the evaluation of the degree of wear and tear of materials to be carried out in a highly direct and intuitive manner. The computer application has a positive contribution to make in the field of construction, using as it does Information Technology (IT) tools which give access to innovative technology with it capacity for interaction and visualization.

A Virtual Assembly System for Aero-engines Based on VR

In this paper,a synthesized technique is explored through design of a virtual experiment system for main aero-engine based on VR,which attempts to integrate some VR techniques,such as 3D stereo simulation and modeling,3D scene management and human-computer virtual assembly based on data glove and collision detection.The geometry modeling and instantiation technique,virtual hand modeling and data glove interaction technique are discussed chiefly.Finally,taking aim at assembling and dismantling experiment system of a certain aero-engine,interface technology is expounded also.

Performance Characterization of CR/PU Asphalt for Potential Application in Assembled Fast-Repairing Engineering

Conventional repairing methods for asphalt pavement have some inconveniences,such as insufficient strength,and are typically time-consuming.To address these issues,this study proposes a new technological method to design and prepare a high-performance assembled asphalt concrete block for fast repair of the potholes.A series of composite modified asphalt binders with 10%crumb rubber(CR)and different dosages(0%,1%,3%,5%)of polyurethane(PU)are examined to determine the optimized binder.Subsequently,the corresponding asphalt mixtures are prepared for further comparison and assessment of engineering properties,such as moistureinduced damage,high-temperature deformation,and low-temperature cracking characteristics.The test results show that PU can significantly improve the high-temperature performance and hardness of(crumb rubber modified asphalt)CRMA binder;3%PU contributes allowing the resistance of CRMA mixture to moisture-induced damage at higher levels,particularly under water whole immersion;as 3%PU is added,the high-temperature rutting deformation resistance of the CRMA mixture increases significantly,and the low-temperature anti-cracking properties are also improved slightly.Therefore,the innovatively designed high-quality assembled fast-repairing asphalt concrete block is recommended as an appropriate option for highway maintenance.

Cable Harness Assembly Planning in Virtual Environment

Based on the analysis of characteristic of cable harness planning in virtual environment,a discrete control node modeling (DCNM) method of cable harness in virtual environment and the cable harness assembly routing technique based on it are proposed. DCNM converts a cable harness into continuous flexed line segments connected by a series of section center points,and the design can realize cable harness planning through controlling those control nodes. This method of cable harness routing in the virtual environment breaks the status that virtual assembly process planning is just suitable for the rigid components at present,and impulse the virtual assembly process planning to be more practical. Relation algorithms have been verified in a self-developed system named virtual cable harness assembly planning (VCHAP) system,and this VCHAP system has been applied in assembly process planning of aerospace-related products.

Study on Solder Joint Reliability of Plastic Ball Grid Array Component Based on SMT Products Virtual Assembly Technology

Based on surface mount products virtual assembly technology,the solder joint reliability of plastic ball grid array (PBGA) was studied. Four process parameters,including the upper pad diameter,the stencil thickness,the chip weight on a single solder joint and the lower pad diameter were chose as four control factors. By using an L25(56) orthogonal array the PBGA solder joints which have 25 different process parameters’ levels combinations were designed. The numerical models of all the 25 PBGA solder joints were developed and the finite element analysis models were setup. The stress and strain distribution within the PBGA solder joints under thermal cycles were studied by finite element analysis,and the thermal fatigue life of PBGA solder joint was calculated using Coffin-Manson equation. Based on the calculated thermal fatigue life results,the range analysis was performed. The results of study show that that the impact sequence of the four factors from high to low on the fatigue life of PBGA solder joints are the stencil thickness,the upper pad diameter,the lower pad diameter and the chip weight on a single solder joint; the best level combination ofprocess parameters that results in the longest fatigue life is the lower pad diameter of 0.6 mm,the stencil thickness of 0.175 mm,the chip weight on asingle solder joint of 28×10 -5 N and the upper pad diameter of 0.5 mm.

Building Maintenance Supported on Virtual Reality Environments： Roofs and Walls

The paper presents the description of a research work that has its main objective as the development of a technological tool for supporting building maintenance with resort to new information and visualization technologies. Three main components of the building were analyzed： roof, facades and interior walls. The ceramic tile roof covering constitutes a component of the building envelope and fulfils an important function in its performance, namely in its protection against the permeation of moisture and rain water. Facade coating plays a significant role in the durability of buildings, since it constitutes the exterior layer that ensures wall protection against aggressive actions of physical, chemical or biological nature. The paint coating, applied to interior walls while improving their aesthetic character, performs an important function of protection against deterioration agents related to building use. A survey was conducted of the main anomalies that occur in these components, their respective causes and the adequate interventions, in order to plan maintenance strategies. The collected information serves as a basis for the implementation of applications using interactive visualization technologies to support the planning of building maintenance. During this work, the basic knowledge related to the materials, the techniques of rehabilitation and conservation and the planning of maintenance is outlined and discussed. In addition, methods of interconnecting this knowledge with the virtual applications were explored. The implemented prototypes were tested in real cases. This research work provides an innovative contribution to the field of maintenance, supported by emergent virtual reality technology.

Interactive Model Used in Maintenance Planning of Facades Based on Virtual Reality Technology

A virtual reality model was created in order to help in the maintenance of exterior closures and interior finishes of walls in a building. It allows the visual and interactive transmission of information related to the physical behavior of the elements, defined as a function of the time variable. To this end, the basic knowledge of material most often used in walls, anomaly surveillance, techniques of rehabilitation, and inspection planning were studied. This information was included in a database that supports the periodic inspection needed in a program of preventive maintenance. The results are obtained interactively and visualized in the virtual environment itself. This work brings an innovative contribution to the field of maintenance supported by emergent technology.

Modeling and Application of Virtual Maintenance Process Based on Solidworks Composer

In order to realize the virtual maintenance process modeling based on Solidworks Composer, SolidWorks is used to model me main aircraft components in equal proportion and the traditional maintenance operations one by one interpretation and analysis. And then use the composer to repair the work into a three-dimensional human model to repair the three-dimensional related product model, so that visual effects and generate teaching videos. In this paper, the aileron actuator disassembly process as an example to verify the feasibility of the method. This can not only solve the previous training means a single and poor interaction can also be a full range of maintenance engineers to mobilize the vision and heating, but also a clear understanding of the various components of the composition, working principle, connection sequence and maintenance process.