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VR Research at Fraunhofer IGD, Darmstadt, Germany

Wolfgang Felger, Martin Göbel, Dirk Reiners, Gabriel Zachmann

TL;DR

This article surveys Fraunhofer IGD's VR program from 1990 to 2000, detailing hardware and software evolution, including VD2 and advanced collision detection, distortion correction, and real-time rendering. It chronicles a progression from research prototypes to industrial prototyping, public demos, and cross-continental collaborations (BMW, Volkswagen, NASA) that demonstrated VR's viability for prototyping, visualization, and training. The work highlights practical contributions such as collaborative prototyping workflows, architectural exploration of scene graphs and behavior models, and the use of VR as a communication medium with industry and the public. Overall, the paper positions Fraunhofer IGD as a leading force in European VR development, shaping automotive design workflows and large-scale immersive demonstrations.

Abstract

We present a historical outline of the research and developments of Virtual Reality at the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics (IGD) in Darmstadt, Germany, from 1990 through 2000.

VR Research at Fraunhofer IGD, Darmstadt, Germany

TL;DR

This article surveys Fraunhofer IGD's VR program from 1990 to 2000, detailing hardware and software evolution, including VD2 and advanced collision detection, distortion correction, and real-time rendering. It chronicles a progression from research prototypes to industrial prototyping, public demos, and cross-continental collaborations (BMW, Volkswagen, NASA) that demonstrated VR's viability for prototyping, visualization, and training. The work highlights practical contributions such as collaborative prototyping workflows, architectural exploration of scene graphs and behavior models, and the use of VR as a communication medium with industry and the public. Overall, the paper positions Fraunhofer IGD as a leading force in European VR development, shaping automotive design workflows and large-scale immersive demonstrations.

Abstract

We present a historical outline of the research and developments of Virtual Reality at the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics (IGD) in Darmstadt, Germany, from 1990 through 2000.
Paper Structure (8 sections, 9 figures)

This paper contains 8 sections, 9 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. VR Hardware at IGD
  3. The VR System Virtual Design
  4. Early Applications
  5. Demos and Shows
  6. Virtual Prototyping
  7. Applications Demonstrating Feasibility of VR
  8. Conclusions

Figures (9)

  • Figure 1: Some of the VR devices used at Fraunhofer IGD, roughly arranged from left to right according to their acquisition: a) VPL dataglove, Polhemus tracking sensor, and Virtual Research's Flight Helmet, b) Cyberglove and VR4 head-mounted display, c) Steward motion platform,
  • Figure 2: Software architecture of the VR system at Fraunhofer IGD, left: VD1, right: VD2.
  • Figure 3: Early applications and demos: (a) interactive 3D puzzle, (b) immersive freeform modelling, (c) AIT project, investigating the potential of VR for assembly simulation (obviously, some of the normals of the geometry are wrong).
  • Figure 4: Some of the early demos at Fraunhofer IGD: (a) first interactions (grasping and inverse kinematics), (b) CeBIT 1993, (c) the VR show room at Fraunhofer IGD, (d) virtual replica, demonstrated at Siggraph 1994 in a Cave.
  • Figure 5: Detroit auto show in January 1996 using VR to visualize the combustion processes in Volkswagen's diesel TDI engine.
  • ...and 4 more figures